Liberal churches' nativity scenes depict Christ child as a caged refugee

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

"What utter blasphemy!"
--James Stolee

The apostasy and blasphemy of apostate denominations such as the United Church of Canada and their various components continues. Submitted for your approval, a couple of examples reported by David Menzies of Rebel News, December 16, 2019:

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas... Well, not really. Case in point: the nativity scene at Toronto’s Eastminster United Church.

Now called “The Detained Christ”, the church's Christmas display depicts the baby Jesus inside a cage and wrapped in a solar blanket.

Apparently, this art installation is meant to raise awareness of illegal migrants and refugee claimants. Gee, where are the Three Wise Men when you really need them?



It hardly needs to be pointed out--but I will, anyway--that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were not refugees at the time of Jesus' birth, but were temporarily in Bethlehem to register for a census (Luke 2:1-7). They were refugees in Egypt for a time when Herod was seeking to kill Jesus, but returned to Nazareth after Joseph was informed by an angel that those who were seeking to kill Jesus were dead (Matthew 2:13-23). This was a family of three people who were temporarily in exile, and returned home when it was safe. They weren't part of a movement of mass migration such as is being promoted by the liberal churches today. If those who claim that their views are based on Christian charity and compassion find themselves on the same side of an issue as anti-Christian figures such as George Soros and Justin Trudeau, I suggest they reexamine their positions.

Alphabet pervert altarpiece removed from Swedish church after 10 days on display

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

"What utter blasphemy!"
--James Stolee

The fact that this church has a female pastor is already a sign of apostasy, which is accelerating, as reported by Russia Today, December 2, 2019 (links in original):

(Paradise)

A church in Malmo has a new altarpiece meant to celebrate inclusivity by replacing Adam and Eve in paradise with gay couples in suggestive poses, while depicting the serpent tempting them as a transgender woman.

The controversial work of art is not new. Photographer and artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin painted it in 2012 and tried to donate it to the Skara Cathedral just before the church was preparing to conduct the first same-sex wedding in its 1,000-year history.

The openly lesbian artist, who has a history of blending religious imagery with pro-minority activism, said at the time that she wanted to test if the Church of Sweden was as gay-friendly as it claimed to be when it embraced same-sex marriage in 2009. The Skara Cathedral politely declined the gift, saying it was about political activism and not faith.

But over seven years have passed, and now Wallin has got her way, even if it isn’t in her home city. St. Paul’s Church in Malmo accepted the painting called “Paradise” as its new altarpiece and unveiled it on Sunday, the first day of Advent. Helena Myrstener, the pastor, said that “history was written” in the hanging of the “LGBT altarpiece” as she tweeted a photo of the painting.

Wallin’s reimagining of paradise was inspired by one of the works by Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder. The artist/activist said she wanted to show that, since the beginning of time, the place for gay people was in paradise rather than hell. The modern interpretation interestingly seems more prudish in terms of nudity than the 16th century originals as both “lesbian Eves” have their breasts covered by leaves rather than concealing only their genitals, as is traditional.

But it’s probably not because the artist has problems with nudity. After all, her most famous photo exhibition – the 2012 Bible-inspired “Ecce Homo” – featured an image portraying the baptism of Jesus with the model standing for Christ having his penis fully exposed.

Ecce Homo

The Church of Sweden, the state Church of the Scandinavian country until 2000 and still by far its largest denomination, prides itself on embracing a laundry list of woke agendas. Despite this, Swedes have been leaving the Church in record numbers lately, according to surveys.

Judging by some comments on social media, the new altarpiece won’t help much with stopping the exodus. “The politization has gone too far,” one member commented on the news as she announced leaving the Church. Another one said that while there were plenty of enlightened priests in the Church of Sweden, radicals from a “PC-pack” have turned it into their own arena.

As reported by Sputnik News, December 12, 2019 (links in original):

Barely a fortnight ago, the controversial LGBT painting called "Paradise" was hailed for “making history” and revered as a milestone in the church's acceptance of sexual minorities. Now it's removed for sending the wrong signal about transsexuals, as it depicted the Serpent as a transsexual woman.

After only ten days, St. Paul's church in Malmö has decided to remove its new altarpiece depicting same-sex couples in suggestive poses.

The inauguration of the homoerotic painting “Paradise” by controversial artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin as the church's new altar on the first day of Advent was widely celebrated by church officials and the media.

However, the Swedish Church has announced that the altar will be removed, because it “leaves too many unanswered questions".

The church suggested in a press release that it is “totally uncontroversial” to have two gay couples in the artwork, and confirmed its commitment to the LGBT cause, being one of the first in the world to start blessing same-sex couples.

“But there is the Serpent, which traditionally stands for evil, and it also turns out to be a trans person, which may be interpreted in a way that a trans person is evil or even the devil. The Church of Sweden absolutely cannot support this,” the church said in a press release.

According to the church, the depiction of the forbidden fruit is also problematic, as it raises questions on what kind of knowledge it represents.

“At first I did not realise the complexity, but upon closer reflection and careful discussion with the management, there is no alternative but to move the painting from the church premises,” pastor Per Svensson said, adding that the Church has “listened to criticism”.

Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin's “Paradise” depicts the Biblical Garden of Eden and is a variation of Lucas Cranach's work, only with Adam and Eve replaced with black and white gay people in sexual poses.

Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, herself a lesbian, is known as a staunch supporter of the LGBT cause. In 1998, her exhibition Ecce Homo, held in Uppsala Cathedral, sparked a major controversy for depicting Jesus as the champion of homosexuals and transvestites, even riding a bicycle in a gay pride parade.

​The Church of Sweden maintains a rather liberal position on a plethora of issues, such as homosexuality, mass immigration, and climate change. At over 5 million members, it remains Sweden's largest religious organisation and Europe's largest Lutheran denomination, despite a rapid decline in worshippers (at a pace of about 2 percent annually). The Church of Sweden went from 95 percent of the Swedish population to barely 57 percent within a matter of several decades.

The perceptive reader will notice that in addition to supporting the alphabet pervert agenda, this apostate denomination takes liberal positions on other issues, such as women in leadership, mass immigration, and climate change.

European Union and George Soros try to prevent Jewish access to Jerusalem's holy sites

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it...
...In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem...
... In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2-3, 6, 8-9

As reported by David Sidman in Breaking Israel News, December 17, 2019 (links in original):

The Jerusalem municipality has created a plan to transport people from from the First Station to the Old City and Mount Olives via cable car. But not everyone is happy with the project reports Mynet. Especially the EU and the George Soros backed New Israel Fund.

Both have invested in an anti-Israel NGO called Emek Shaveh (equal valley) who works to deligitimize Biblical archaeology throughout Jerusalem. Emek Shaveh has called an emergency conference to stop the plan. The conference will feature left-wing architects.

The NGO claims that the route and construction of the cable cars will take place in sensitive locations in the capital. They also question the necessity and efficiency of the project. In their petition to the High Court, Emek Shaveh argue that the project should be shelved as it doesn’t meet the “criteria” of a transportation project, even though it was recently approved by the Government Housing Committee.

The stated purpose of the cable car initiative is to facilitate arrival to the Western Wall and the Old City, which is currently suffering from accessibility issues and transportation problems. The plan involves 73 cars with the capability of transporting up to 3,000 people an hour, on a 1.4 kilometer aerial route.

According to their site, Emek Shaveh claims to be “an organization of archaeologists and community activists focusing on the role of archaeology in Israeli society and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

However at the same time they claim that: “archaeological findings should not function as a means to prove ownership by one people or one religion over a given tract of land. The archaeological finding is an integral part of local culture… The development of an archaeological site located within a built-up area cannot be justified if it ignores the local community.”

Watchdog group NGO Monitor notes that: “it promotes distorted facts and unsubstantiated positions that promote the Palestinian narrative of victimization and sole Israeli aggression.”

The reason that they fight against archaeology as a means of ownership is because they are heavily funded by the European Union and the New Israel Fund, who is backed by among other people, George Soros.

Greek Orthodox Church protests Palestinian Authority's attempt to expropriate church property in Bethlehem

As reported by Baruch Yedid in the Jewish Press, December 15, 2019:

The Christian Greek Orthodox community in Bethlehem has been in a tumult in recent days following the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) intention to expropriate the lands of the Church of Nativity which belong to the Church.

A few days ago, 11 institutions associated with the Greek-Orthodox Church published a statement protesting the ongoing attempt by the PA to take control of the plaza in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The proclamation, which was initiated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, protests the harming of the Christian presence in Bethlehem, the forfeiting of their rights, the harm to the Church’s assets and the violation of their right to light Christmas trees on the plaza.

The protest was also joined by Michelle Freij, the son of former Bethlehem mayor Elias Freij.

The leaders of the Greek Orthodox community have accused the PA of working in recent years to put its hand on the area near the Church of the Nativity, property of the Orthodox Church and turn it over to the municipality of Bethlehem and the PA’s local government office.

The protest has spread through social media networks, prompting the Bethlehem City Council to announce that it does not intend to harm the various sectors and will maintain the status quo in the city.

A church official told TPS that for three years, one of the Catholic Church’s leaders, Ibrahim Faltas, has been working with Bethlehem’s Mayor Anton Salman, a Catholic as well, to take over the Greek Orthodox Church’s lands.

He said the two became good friends while participating in negotiations during the 2002 crisis that took place in the Church of the Nativity in which terrorists barricaded themselves there and left only after extensive negotiations. The two are considered in Bethlehem to be PA operatives and close to the Fatah.

The official added that while the PA has recently announced through the municipality that it does not intend to discriminate against any of the communities or take over the land, the Greek Orthodox Church leaders are aware of the authority’s efforts to gain control of their property.

Speaking off record, sources involved in the affair said that one of the Greek Orthodox Church’s leaders is suspected by the PA of dealing in land with Jews and, therefore, the PA is working to counteract his actions by taking over the land. The tension is mounting between Salman and his deputy, Hanna Hananya, who supports the Greek Orthodox Church’s claims.

A Bethlehem official told TPS that since the PA arrived in the city in 1994, the number of Christians in the city has significantly diminished and currently accounts for less than 22 percent of the city’s residents.

He further said that Christmas ceremonies are gradually turning from a religious Christian event to a national event sponsored by the PA, even though in recent years it has acted to deprive Christians of their properties.

Meanwhile, further tensions are rising among Greek Orthodox Christians after the municipality of al-Azzariya near Bethlehem released a tender to operate the Tomb of Lazarus. Christians are angry because they say the land does not belong to the municipality and therefore it does not have the authority to issue tenders to operate the tourism site.

A Bethlehem resident told TPS that tourists who have recently visited the Tomb of Lazarus testified that a number of young people and thugs are demanding entry fees.

Several months ago, a violent incident occurred in the Christian village of Jifna, near Ramallah, when Fatah activists, operating under a senior official close to PA head Mahmoud Abbas, rioted in the village and ordered the Christian to pay the Jizyah tax “so that they could enjoy the PA’s protection.”

The Jizyah is an annual per capita tax levied by Islamic law on non-Muslim subjects residing in Muslim lands. The tax is a fee for protection provided by the Muslim ruler to non-Muslims, for the permission to practice a non-Muslim religion with some communal autonomy in a Muslim state, and as proof of the non-Muslims’ submission to the Muslim state and its laws.

Jizyah has also been understood by some as a ritual humiliation of non-Muslims in a Muslim state for not converting to Islam.

Brazil to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2020

As reported by Ariel Kahana of Israel Hayom, December 15, 2019:

Son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo Bolsonaro, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that Brazil was committed to moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2020.

Bolsonaro Jr. spoke during a meeting inaugurating an office of Brazil's APEX-Brasil trade organization in Jerusalem.

Bolsonaro Jr. said that he had spoken with his father, the president, prior to arriving in Israel, and that "he intends to move the embassy to Jerusalem and … he will do it."

During the meeting, Netanyahu spoke with President Bolsonaro by telephone.

A few months ago, reports said that Brazil had decided not to relocate its embassy in Israel due to opposition to the move in the Brazilian government.

Netanyahu said that the opening of the Brazilian trade office in Jerusalem was part of the "strengthening ties between Israel and Brazil."

"I would like to express my appreciation for President Bolsonaro's stances supporting Israel in international forums. President Bolsonaro changed [Brazilian] policy immediately and said, 'We stand with Israel, we stand by the truth.' We here in Israel stand with Brazil because we stand by the truth, and we support Brazil in any way we can," Netanyahu said.

Bolsonaro Jr. said, "Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, we will fight terrorism together. If we want to prevent terrorist attacks, we must demonstrate strength. So sooner or later, we [Brazil] will declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization."

Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu warned that if Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah attacked Israel, both Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon would pay a very "heavy price."

Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, "In recent days we have heard a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander again threaten that Iran will destroy Tel Aviv from Lebanon. He thus reveals a simple truth: Hezbollah is simply Iran's arm in Lebanon against Israel.

"Even though Nasrallah immediately denied the senior Iranian commander's remarks, I would like to make it clear that if Nasrallah dares to attack Israel, the organization and the Lebanese state that enable aggression from its territory against us will pay a very heavy price," Netanyahu continued.

See also my posts:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands by his choice as Ambassador to Brazil despite Brazilian objections (January 16, 2016)

The first Palestinian embassy in the Western Hemisphere is inaugurated in Brazil (February 11, 2016)

U.S. Reform Judaism supports racial extortion

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Matthew 23:27

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

Reform Judaism is the Jewish equivalent of liberal "Christianity," which has largely substituted liberal political and social "values" for the Jewish religion, although its adherents will cite the Bible when convenient. The adherents then whine about "anti-semitism" when they're criticized for their political and social liberalism. One of the latest bandwagons for political and social liberals to jump on is that of "reparations" for slavery--a practice which ended in the United States just over 150 years ago. This is nothing more than an attempt to play on racial guilt feelings of ignorant white people in order to extort money from them. The Canadian equivalent is "reconciliation" with the Native peoples, which consists of an ever-expanding list of grievances.

The irony of liberal Jews' support for extortionists of colour is that the very victim class they support doesn't seem to have much affection for their benefactors. I hardly need mention--but I will, anyway--that "anti-racist" is a code term for "anti-white."

As reported by Ben Sales of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 13, 2019 (links in original):

CHICAGO — The Reform movement, the country’s largest Jewish denomination, declared its support for reparations for African-Americans at its biennial conference.

The resolution, which was approved Friday by voice vote at the 5,000-person gathering of the Union for Reform Judaism, calls for “a federal commission to study and develop proposals for reparations to redress the historic and continuing effects of slavery and subsequent systemic racial, societal, and economic discrimination against Black Americans.”

It said that reparations can take the form of anything from an expression of remorse to education to monetary compensation.

Reform leaders painted the resolution as the next step in the movement’s historical support for civil rights. The movement passed its first resolution in support of civil rights in 1950 and has passed four more. Two came in the past five years, addressing reforms to the way law enforcement treats African-Americans, and racial inequities within the Reform movement.

“Combating hate is the most urgent call of our time,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said in a keynote address Thursday night. “We must be anti-racist. That means taking an active part to eliminate racism in our society. It’s our job as Reform Jews to continue this fight. We must face down the structures of racism and we must knock them down.”

The resolution is part of a growing movement in progressive American circles to support reparations that was galvanized in 2014 by an essay in The Atlantic called “The Case for Reparations.” Democrats have introduced bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to create a commission on studying reparations. Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, have supported the measures. Booker introduced the Senate version.

The Reform resolution cites the biblical precept that humans are created in God’s image and the rabbinic emphasis on all of humanity being equal given its shared descent from Adam and Eve. The resolution also calls on Reform congregations to study systemic racism, undertake efforts to combat it and actively promote racial equality.

Two other resolutions approved Friday also address issues in American society at large. One seeks a ban on private prisons and the closure of those that currently exist. Another calls on the government to increase funding and encourage medical treatment to combat the opioid addiction crisis.

Jacobs said the reparations resolution is part of the movement’s ongoing efforts to work on behalf of people of color. In his speech, he mentioned the movement’s fellowship for Jewish minorities. The biennial conference also included sessions on addressing racial justice and creating space for Jews of color and other marginalized groups in Reform synagogues.

“Schedule a training about equity, inclusion and anti-racism in your community,” Jacobs said. “Learn about unconscious and implicit bias and how to be a better ally. When marginalized members of your community find the courage to speak up, treat this as a gift and listen deeply to what they have to say.”

See also my posts:

50 years ago: A United Methodist Church in New York City pays extortion reparations to Negro extortionists economic development organization (July 6, 2019)

Some black churches in the United States use the issue of slavery to sow discord (July 24, 2019)

70 years ago: Israeli Knesset votes to move government to Jerusalem

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it...
...In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem...
... In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2-3, 6, 8-9

On December 13, 1949, an early example of the fulfillment of the scripture passage above occurred when the Israeli Knesset voted to transfer all government offices except the defense and foreign ministries to the new city of Jerusalem. It was a move to thwart internationalization of the city, in the early years of the United Nations, and 19 months after the state of Israel came into existence. Three days later, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced that Jerusalem would become Israel's capital at the end of the year. On December 20, the United Nations Trusteeship Council passed a resolution asking Israel to refrain from establishing its capital in Jerusalem. On December 31, 1949, Israel rejected the Trusteeship Council's request. The end-time prophecies regarding Jerusalem continue to be fulfilled according to God's schedule.

Rare Roman Period mosaic floor discovered in Golan Heights synagogue

(Photo by Dr. Mechael Osband)

(Photo by Dr. Mechael Osband)

As reported by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich of Breaking Israel News, December 3, 2019:

A rare mosaic floor with a design of the footprints of bird and mammals has been discovered in the excavation of a synagogue in the ancient settlement of Majdulia on the Golan Heights. The settlement was apparently established at the end of the Second Temple period, in the first century in the Common Era, but it disappeared at the end of the Third Century CE.

The unusual floor design indicates the changes in the Jewish community during the Roman period, “This is the ancient testimony of a colorful and decorated mosaic in a Golan synagogue and dates back to a period about which we have almost no knowledge of the Jewish community in the Golan in particular and few remnants of synagogues in Israel in general,” said Dr. Mechael Osband of the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archeology who led the excavations.

Osband’s team has been excavating in the ancient settlement of Majdulia next to the settlement of Natur, a moshav made up of both religious and secular families that is located adjacent to the Samakh Stream and only 10 kilometers from Lake Kinneret.

A few years ago, the researchers found the remains of a synagogue in a place with a rectangular floor plan measuring 13 x 23 meters. Finding the remains of the synagogue was of great importance, as until a few years ago, historians and archeologists believed that the Jewish settlement in the Golan ceased to exist after the Great Revolt with the destruction of Gamla in 67 CE. The synagogue findings, along with similar evidence from other excavations and surveys in recent years, bolstered the understanding that the Jewish community continued to exist. The last excavation season in the synagogue added new and important understandings of the development of Jewish life over the years and life in the countryside during the Roman period in the Golan.

“This is the earliest discovery of a colorful and decorated mosaic in a Golan synagogue, dating back to the third century CE,” said Osband. “We see an interesting combination of the continued tradition of synagogues from the Second Temple period, such as the seating arrangement and the relative lack of architectural decorations, with new added elements that would later become common in synagogues over time, such as a colorful mosaic that features animals.”

Inside the synagogue, researchers were able to uncover colored mosaic sections. The building was exposed with the help of Shalom Ariel who joined the project as part of his graduate studies in Eretz Israel studies at the Kinneret College, and without his dedication and patience it is doubtful whether the building’s investigation in general and the mosaic in particular could be promoted to their present state, Osband added.

The fact that the settlement was abandoned in the late Third Century made it possible to more accurately date the findings. Only the lower tiers of the synagogue survived, and the mosaic in a few sections alone remained, apparently due to deliberate dismantling of the structure over the years.

The mosaic sections that were exposed indicate that the lounge (side halls) floor was colorful and characterized by the richness of geometric shapes. However, the mosaic in the main hall turned out to be more complex and elaborate, and despite its poor state of preservation, the legs of birds and of a number of unidentified animals can still be seen.

The researchers say that the mosaic’s rich design may prove that the synagogue was changed at some point in time into a place of learning and prayer for the whole Jewish community. “We know that synagogues at the end of the Second Temple period were mainly used as a place of Torah study. Synagogues at the end of the Roman period and especially in the Byzantine period are used as a place for prayer, a kind of ‘little temple’ – so they are much more luxurious. It is not uncommon to include fancy mosaics. They are some of the earliest found so far to indicate that as early as the third century the synagogues are beginning to undergo this important change of consciousness,” Osband concluded.

Christian charities in Britain criticize "millionaire's Advent calendar"

As reported by Mason Boycott-Owen in the London Daily Telegraph, November 25, 2019 (link in original):

Christian groups have spoken out against ‘millionaire advent calendars’ which they argue undermine the Christmas message.

Two advent calendars from well-known jewelers will set you back as much as £100,000.

An advent calendar from Beaverbrooks features a platinum diamond ring worth £26,000 behind one of its doors, while Tiffany’s offering has trinkets worth up to £13,000 in its famous blue boxes.

Some Christian charities suggested that the vast sums of money could be better spent on helping those in need, with some charities seeing their donations fall in recent years.

Since 2016, the individual donations to Christian Aid has fallen by almost a quarter from £62.6 million to £49.7 million last year.

Deborah Auty from Christian Aid said: “To put the £100,000 advent calendars in perspective, it’s worth remembering that it takes a very small amount to offer hope to communities living in dire conditions globally.

“For example, the same amount of money could provide safe shelter for over 500 families living in camps in Afghanistan throughout the forthcoming harsh winter.”

Many churches in the UK remain in disrepair as the Christmas season approaches after last year saw a 75% increase in Heritage Crime attacks.

A spokesperson for the National Churches Trust said: “"A gift of £100,000 would be a dream come true for many churches needing urgent repairs as many major building projects cost at least £200,000.

“Each year we receive many more applications than we are able to fund.

“With £100,000 we award 20 small grants of £5,000 to help fund urgent maintenance work to ensure that churches are windproof and watertight and able to serve their local communities at Christmas and throughout the winter season."

Backlog: Schoolchildren are increasingly being prepared to receive the mark of the beast

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16-17

When I was in kindergarten in Edmonton in 1966-67, I didn't go to a bus stop. A station wagon with a "School Bus" sign on top, driven by a nice, attractive brunette (who must be in her late 70s now, if she's still alive), stopped at the house of each child, and took us all downtown, where we had kindergarten in the basement of the Seven Seas restaurant, and then took us home afterward. I'll take that over the surveillance technology of the 21st century.

The following article, six years old but still relevant (maybe now just for historical purposes), illustrates that surveillance technology can have positive aspects. No parents want their children to be on the wrong bus or in the wrong school, or who-knows-where. However, it's only a matter of time before an electronically-scanned card today becomes a mark in the right hand or forehead tomorrow. As reported by Andrea Sands in the Edmonton Journal, September 20, 2013:

When five-year-old Jack Rattray gets on his school bus to leave Wes Hosford Elementary School in Sherwood Park, a swipe of his electronic bus pass tells school district authorities he's aboard.

Jack swipes the card again when he gets off the bus at a busy transfer centre at Salisbury Composite High School, where he boards a second bus to his day home with another swipe. On days his mom isn't working, Jack takes a different bus from school straight home.

Jack's mom, Sydney Rattray, can log in at work using an application called My Stop and see on a map where Jack's bus is located and its estimated arrival time.

"If he got confused one day and thought he was supposed to go to the day home, I could find him," said Rattray, a pharmacy technician who does shift work at the University of Alberta.

"It feels safe. You can monitor without being there, without hovering...It does give me peace of mind."

Elk Island Public Schools was the first school district in Canada to use student-scanning bus passes and GPS on all its buses, said transportation director Lisa Weder.

Now, Edmonton Public Schools and Edmonton Catholic Schools are testing similar on-board GPS systems that will let parents locate their child's bus pass on a map.

Elk Island Public Schools started rolling out the technology last year, Weder said.

More than 8,000 of Elk Island Public Schools' 16,500 students travel on about 165 buses running 591 routes across Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville and Strathcona County, she said.

The student-scan and GPS technology, plus an automated system called Checkmate that ensures no child is accidentally left on the bus, are now fully installed at a cost of $275,000, Weder said.

"Because we run so many transfers and we transport kindergarten to Grade 12 students on all the same buses, it really helps us if a student boards an incorrect bus," Weder said.

Last week, a four-year-old boy in Winnipeg was dropped off at the wrong school, where he spent his entire first day of kindergarten before someone noticed the error. Also last week, an Edmonton boy got off his bus at the wrong school when he took the bus for the first time to kindergarten, Global News reported.

A school bus driver with the Northern Lights School District was suspended in January 2012 after a young boy was left alone on a bus for an entire school day.

Mix-ups are most common with new students, and more frequent at the beginning of the school year, said Weder.

"There's a significant number of students boarding incorrect buses. In the first two weeks of school, we probably had, I would say, at least four to five cases a day where students were boarding incorrect buses."

The scanned bus passes allow school authorities to monitor which bus each student boards and leaves and at what time. The data also shows transportation planners exactly how many students are taking the bus each day so they can plan most efficiently, Weder added.

"You could have 70 students registered to a 72-passenger bus, but who's actually riding that bus?"

On-board GPS systems also send data about what the bus is doing to school district staff, Weder said. That means employees can see if a bus is speeding, if it stops completely at railway crossings, if it follows the designated route, if it stops on time and in the proper spots to pick up or drop off children, she said.

Edmonton Public Schools started testing on-board GPS at six schools this fall, said district spokeswoman Jane Sterling.

Backlog: Today's university life includes organized orgies and paganism

A pair of items from the University of Alberta that are a few years old, but still relevant. As reported by Jamie Sarkonak in the U of A student newspaper The Gateway, October 27, 2015 (bold in original):

The rumours are true: there’s going to be an orgy for University of Alberta students..

The location and date of the “sexual mixer” is still tentative, but it will be held on November 13 at one of three tentative locations. It’s open to any student of the U of A, as long as they are willing to be screened by organizers.

Gender and sexuality ratios will be kept as close to equal as possible, to make sure nobody feels outnumbered or left out. The group is sex-positive, and said they are accepting of anyone on the gender and sexuality spectra to attend. It’s challenging to keep a balance, but keeping relatively equal numbers from all groups is important for the group’s comfort, U of A student and organizer Matthew James Hardy said.

“This way they can actually explore and not feel suppressed,” he said.

Despite the popular view that only males want to participate in group sex, there’s been equal anonymous interest from both men and women. “Slut-shaming” culture tends to make women more hesitant, but there are indeed confirmed female attendees for November’s event. There has also been interest from LGBT individuals as well, Hardy said.

“I think there’s a significant number of people out there with an interest in group sex,” Hardy said. “They just never really take the plunge.”

All levels of experience are welcome; the orgy is open to anyone who wishes to explore their fantasies in that context, he said.

The fun and thrill that comes with seeing other couples enjoying themselves in group sex can strengthen one’s own relationship, Hardy said. There’s also a greater confidence that comes after expressing oneself naked in the presence of strangers, he said. Hardy is experienced with group sex, so he will act as a moderator to make sure rules are respected.

Hardy added that orgy is not a free-for-all; no one has to interact if they don’t want to. Guidelines for etiquette, consent, and safety must be followed.

Hardy said he is willing to be the face of the group to help others express themselves without having to face any judgement. Participants themselves can stay anonymous and only need to reveal their names to Hardy himself for security purposes. Names will remain confidential and are mainly used for the screening process, which ensures participants aren’t random people who will show up and make others feel uncomfortable, Hardy said. Within the orgy, attendees can remain anonymous or disclose a fake name. Identity security will be taken very seriously, he said.

“Discretion is my number one concern,” he said. “I want to give (participants) a safe environment to express themselves in that regard and not have to worry about any peering eyes.”

Regarding STIs, there’s no way to completely know if an individual is negative since tests quickly become outdated, so Hardy is not requiring participants to get tested. They are encouraged to bring and use barrier contraceptives however. Condoms will also be supplied.

Orgy-goers can bring partners from within or outside the U of A, as long as these partners are also screened. The idea is to make sure everyone is as comfortable as possible — if bringing a friend helps, all the better, Hardy said.

The orgy will start at around 7 p.m. and end around midnight. It’s currently undecided whether alcohol will be permitted and full details will be up to the finalized in the upcoming weeks. Also undecided is the location, which will be either a Fantasyland hotel room, the local lifestyle club 4-Play, or the host’s own home. Details will be finalized closer to the date to get the most input from participants.

Hardy is open to answering questions from anyone interested. He can be contacted on Facebook or as “Duraflame” on fetlife.com in the group UAlberta Kink.

The idea in the end is to just help people express themselves in a safe environment, Hardy said.

“I don’t like the idea of having to hide what you enjoy just because someone else may find it distasteful,” he said.

Hardy’s Orgy Guidelines

1. Safe environment — Consent must be given for any interaction: participants are not to touch or initiate without first reviving explicit permission. Flirting is not always a sign they’re interested in anything beyond the verbal exchange. Coercion is not considered consent, and is thereby prohibited.

2. Etiquette — This orgy in particular will be accepting to all types and whatever part of the sexual spectrum they may consider themselves on. Nobody has to interact if they’re not interested or comfortable, but basic etiquette expects participants to decline if asked to interact. To join a particular part of the orgy, participants must ask permission. This allows things to run more smoothly. Overt aggression can result in expulsion from the orgy

3. Cleanliness — Wipe up any bodily fluids, and dispose of any contraceptives. Participants are guests, and should behave as such.

I don't know if the orgy actually took place, but given reports of what's happening at other universities, such as the University of Toronto, I wouldn't discount it. Such activities, as far as I know, haven't been made compulsory at Canadian universities--yet.

The other item, by the same writer in the same issue of The Gateway, is an interview with the U of A's Wiccan chaplain--yes, they have one:

An old Wiccan saying says, “What is remembered, lives.” The idea of life through remembrance is the backbone of both ancient and modern Halloween celebrations.

Samhain, pronounced SOW-en, is the Wiccan celebration of the last harvest of the year, and the time to consult one’s ancestors for guidance. It’s a Sabbat, a Wiccan festival aligned with the lunar and solar cycles. The Sabbat of Samhain in particular is about “putting the world to bed,” University of Alberta Wiccan Chaplain Samuel Wagar said.

Community Samhain celebrations are all different, but usually include a divination where a Wiccan acts as the Crone Goddess and gives ancestral advice to individuals seeking direction. The evening ends with traditional food and drink: pork, apples and nuts.

Wagar still remembers his first Samhain from his early 20s. He had only recently become Pagan, and attended a community celebration at the Wiccan Church of Canada in Toronto. The ceremony was a divination, where a priestess went into a trance and embodied the Pagan Goddess to give advice, which Wagar had thought of as “very cool.”

“I thought it was very moving,” Wagar said. “I liked the idea of talking to the ancestors at this time of year. It felt right to me. It also was helpful to break past the normal fear of death … The idea that the ancestors are available to consult was very heartwarming to me.”

Smaller family celebrations closely resemble a typical Thanksgiving dinner. There’s a traditional feast for the living, but also a plate and candle lit for the dead at the end of the table.

Samhain also includes the classic dressing up and going door-to-door; it’s the parent of today’s secular trick-or-treating. Hundreds of years ago, homeowners would treat disguised anonymous figures as temporarily-returned ancestors and give them gifts. Later, for a lot of European descendants, those gifts became candy.

The feeling that goes though people in Samhain celebrations is one of remembrance, Wagar said. Wiccans reflect on loved ones who have died, and even attempt to communicate with them. This time of year most appropriate, as the late fall is considered by Wiccans to be the time when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. Though the ancestors can always be asked for advice, they’re believed to be most communicative in this time of the year, Wagar said.

“Death is in the air,” Wagar said. “It’s a difficult time, especially for people in early agricultural societies.”

Historically, the late Fall was a time of foreboding since there wasn’t always enough harvest to make it through the winter. Winter was a time of risk and death, especially hundreds of years ago. Daily life has since changed considerably, but rituals still are used to recreate the old experiences, Wagar said.

This time of year opens up the opportunity to talk about the fact that everyone will eventually die, something most people avoid talking about on a daily basis. Death is inevitable, so people might as well accept it, Wagar said. The entire process of being alive is much more meaningful if one can understand the beginning and end of it, he added.

“It’s good to remind yourself that life is uncertain,” Wagar said “You have to be to be in good with your family, your community, your ancestors, and the natural world. And Halloween’s a good time to do that.”

Pope Francis transfers a piece of the alleged manger of Christ to Bethlehem

As reported by M.K. of the Palestine News Agency Wafa, November 30, 2019:

BETHLEHEM – Christmas celebrations this year in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank will have a different texture with the arrival in the city today of the relic of Christ’s crib.

The relic, kept at Santa Maria Maggiore church in Rome, was a gift to the Custody of the Holy Land from Pope Francis after President Mahmoud Abbas requested Pope Francis to return the relic to its original place, Bethlehem, where Christ was born.

The relic arrived yesterday at the Notre Dame in Jerusalem before it was moved to Bethlehem where it will be on display at St. Catherine Cathedral in the Nativity Church on the eve of the start of the Christmas celebration and where tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims are expected to arrive during this month.

Opening hours have been extended this year, and for the first time, at the Nativity Church to meet the accommodate the millions of pilgrims and tourists visiting the Palestinian city.

The Christmas tree will also be lit tonight at Manger Square in Bethlehem in ceremonies attended by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and other officials and religious leaders.

As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, November 29, 2019 (link in original):

The Vatican is transporting pieces of wood to Bethlehem that are claimed to be from the manger that held Jesus when he was born. Citing Bethlehem’s mayor, Anton Salman, WAFA News reported last Friday that the permanent transfer of the relic came as a result of a meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Pope Francis. Salman said the relics were taken from Bethlehem around 1,000 years ago, and are now likely to be placed inside Saint Catherine’s Church, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, the reputed site of Jesus’s birth. The relics are expected to be displayed in ceremonies in Jerusalem on Friday and will arrive in Bethlehem on Saturday, the day the Palestinian town traditionally lights its Manger Square Christmas tree.

The relic, known as the Holy Crib, was donated by St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem to Pope Theodore I (642-649 CE). It is currently in Rome stored and displayed in an ornate container constructed by Virginio Vespignani in the mid 19th century. It was displayed in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

“It is a historic move. It returns to its original place, and it will be a factor of attraction to believers from inside Palestine and to tourists from all over the world,” Amira Hanania, a member of Abbas’s Higher Committee of Churches Affairs, said to the press. “To celebrate Christmas with the presence of part of the manger in which Jesus Christ was born will be a magnificent and huge event.”

The Palestinian Authority, currently charged with administering the city, hopes the appearance of the relic will generate an uptick in Christian tourism. The city suffers from twenty percent unemployment and seasonal tourism is a major part of its income. Tourism has been on the decline, mirroring the decline in the Christian population of the city. Ironically, the Christian mayor of Bethlehem blames the “Israeli occupation.” When the city was under Israeli rule in the 1950’s, Christians represented 80 percent of the population. Christians are currently 12 percent of Bethlehem’s population. It should be noted that Israel is the only country in the region in which Christian populations are growing. In every other country in the region, Christians are the focus of Muslim persecution.

The gesture by the Vatican raises the question of many other artifacts from the holy land possessed by the Vatican and museums around the world that originated in Jerusalem.

Mayor of Norwegian municipality asks church to replace Star of David with Christmas star

As reported by Cnaan Liphshiz of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 29, 2019 (link in original):

A Norwegian mayor asked a church to replace its traditional Star of David Christmas decoration due to complaints that it’s too associated with Israel and Jews.

Strand Mayor Irene Heng Lauvsnes asked the Klippen Pentecostal church, which lights a large Star of David neon decoration in a municipal park where it holds a Christmas celebration, to replace the symbol with a “traditional Christmas star,” the Strandbuen newspaper reported Wednesday.

The unnamed critics said the church “designed [the decoration] as a Star of David, a national symbol both for the Jews and for the State of Israel” and “therefore does not fit in the public space” in Strand.

The church is considering the request as it does “not want to provoke in any way,” its representative told Strandbuen.

The use of the Star of David in Christmas decorations is common throughout Northern Europe.

The municipality’s intervention provoked anger, including by the editor in chief of the Dagen daily, Vebjorn Selbekk.

“Municipal Christmas bureaucrats obviously do not want a Jewish or Israeli mark on their Christmas. Then we almost have to remind them of some key facts about why we celebrate Christmas at all,” Selbekk wrote in a column titled “merry Jew-free Christmas,” adding “That holiday is marked by the fact that a Jewish boy was born to a Jewish mother in a Jewish stable in a Jewish city in a Jewish country.”

The park must remain “neutral,” especially in light of the controversy, Lauvsnes told Aftenbladet.

The Star of David, aka Shield of David, aka Mogen David, has an interesting history, and has not always been an exclusively Jewish symbol.

Click on the link to see the original article in Norwegian from the Strandbuen, Menighet justerer stjerne etter negative reaksjoner.

Backlog: South Korea's constitutional court lifts country's abortion ban

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 30:19

As reported by Nicola Smith of the London Daily Telegraph, April 11, 2019:

South Korea’s constitutional court ruled to lift the country’s 66-year-old ban on abortion on Thursday, in a landmark decision that will decriminalise the medical procedure by the end of 2020.

Seven out of nine judges declared that the current penalising of abortion was “unconstitutional” and ordered parliament to revise the 1953 law.

"(The current law) limits the pregnant woman's right to choose freely, which is against the principle that an infringement on a person's right must be kept to the minimum," said the judgement, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The watershed moment comes as the East Asian nation faces a growing, and unprecedented, women's rights movement inspired by the global #MeToo campaign and revolting against the patriarchal values underpinning South Korean society.

South Korea, Asia’s fourth largest economy, is one of the few industrialised nations where the procedure is illegal except in cases of rape, incest and when the mother faces serious health risks.

Women caught going ahead with abortions can face a prison sentence of one year and a fine of £1,340, while medical workers who help terminate a pregnancy can be jailed for up to two years.

Although prosecutions are rare, pro-abortion activists argue that the fear of jail time leaves women in a vulnerable position – unable to pay their medical bills or seek follow-up treatment.

Pro and anti-abortion activists gathered on opposite sides of the road outside the Seoul court awaiting the judgement, with one side letting out a cheer as the announcement was made.

The issue has deeply divided South Korea’s conservative society. A 2017 opinion poll showed a narrow public majority – 51.9 per cent – in favour of abolishing the ban.

However, a survey this year by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs found that three quarters of women aged 15 to 44 regarded the law as unfair.

Thursday’s ruling came in response to a 2017 complaint filed by an obstetrician standing trial for performing almost 70 abortions.

The court last upheld the ban in 2012, arguing that abortion would “end up running rampant” if punishments were abolished.

However, seven years later, six of the nine judges had been appointed by Moon Jae-in, the liberal-leaning president.

Ryu Min-hee, one of the counsels on the constitutional court case, told AFP that as long as women could not make their own choices about pregnancy and parenthood, the country “won’t be able to establish an equal society in its true sense.”

Barcelona's nativity scene attracts criticism

As reported by The Local (Spain), November 29, 2019:

(photo)

You know the Christmas season is here when social media becomes awash with criticism for Barcelona’s Belen – the Nativity scene installed by City Hall in the Plaça Sant Jaume.

Continuing a tradition that began when Ada Colau became mayor five years ago, the Nativity scene unveiled on Friday immediately divided opinions and left many scratching their heads as to the meaning it was supposed to convey.

This year’s offering may at first glance appear not to have been unpacked properly as the figures one expects to find in a traditional depiction of the Christmas story all appear in old wooden storage boxes.

Baby Jesus in his crib takes pride of place in the centre ( in a wooden crate) and piled in boxes around him it is possible to spot Mary, Joseph, the odd farm animal, visiting shepherds, a wise man astride a camel and even an angle.

So the elements are there.

But the characters are joined by other boxes containing the detritus of Christmas; a poinsettia, boxed up baubles, a turkey roasting in a tin, tangles of tinsel and a Christmas hamper.

“When I think of the nativity scene, what comes to mind is Christmases spent living at my parents' house. For me, the most notable thing was not setting up the scene, arranging the elements of the stable on a table and placing the figurines around the manger, but rather all the previous preparation that led up to it,” said artist Paula Bosch explaining her inspiration for the installation.

“It started with a visit to the attic and rummaging through all the storage boxes.”

But although her reference is clear, her artistry hasn’t been appreciated by everyone.

“Instead of a nativity scene, it looks like a storage room,” said one detractor on Twitter.

Another joked that Ada Colau had set up a new ‘Punto Limpia’ in Plaça Sant Jaume. “You can take your old tat to throw away and recycle”.

Someone else said it looked “like a rummage sale”, while another said it was like a “kitsch stall at a flea market”.

Another cleverly announced that it was Black Friday in Plaça Sant Jaume - meaning everything was going cheap.

Josep Bou Vila, a city councillor for the conservative PP branded it "a disgrace" and pointed out that the installation that cost €97,000 looked like a recycling dump.

In 2016, the elements of the traditional stable scene were placed individually in their own snow globe, including a cow on skis emblazed with the Catalan flag.

The following year, in 2017, the scene was represented by white cardboard cutouts on stilts.



Even more bizarre was the effort in 2018 when giant chairs set around a Christmas table represented the holy figures.

United Nations gives preliminary approval to resolution referring to Jerusalem only by its Muslim name

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it...
...In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem...
... In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2-3, 6, 8-9

What arguably is the world's most corrupt organization continues its obsession with singling out Israel for criticism; as reported by Tovah Lazaroff in The Jerusalem Post, November 18, 2019 (link in original):

The UN gave its preliminary approval to a resolution that referred to the Temple Mount solely by its Muslim name of Haram al-Sharif.

The resolution passed at the UN’s Fourth Committee in New York 154-8, with 14 abstentions and 17 absences. It was one of eight pro-Palestinian resolutions approved on Friday, out of a slate of more than 15 such texts the committee is expected to approve. The UN General Assembly will take a final vote on the texts in December.

Ben Bourgel, the Israeli political coordinator at the UN mission in New York, pushed the committee on the issue of Jerusalem, asking why it was so difficult for UN member states to use the phrase Temple Mount.

“Is it acceptable in this committee’s view that in the resolutions presented it is inconceivable to add the phrase ‘Temple Mount?’” Bourgel asked.

His remarks referenced the resolution entitled, “Enforcing Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem.”

That text states that the UN is “gravely concerned by the tensions and violence in the recent period throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem and including with regard to the holy places of Jerusalem, including the Haram al-Sharif.”

The resolution makes no mention of the Jewish name for the area, the Temple Mount, which is Judaism’s holiest site, and Islam’s third holiest site.

Israel in the last five years has fought a pitched and very public battle against such language at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) based in Paris. In the last two few years, what had been known as the Jerusalem resolution has been neutralized, in an effort to tone down politicization at UNESCO.

But scant attention has been paid to similarly worded texts in annual anti-Israel resolutions in New York. Unlike at UNESCO, the text did mention the connection between Jerusalem and the three monotheistic religions, but did not link that connection specifically to the Old City or to its Temple Mount.

The resolution reaffirmed “the special significance of the holy sites and the importance of the City of Jerusalem for the three monotheistic religions.”

The US and Israel voted against the resolution and the other seven, the only two countries to vote against all eight texts. They were joined in their opposition to the Jerusalem text by Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Nauru.

All 28 European Union member states supported this resolution, along with six others. But a Finnish representative, who spoke to the Fourth Committee on behalf of the EU, said it disagreed with attempts by Arab states to solely reference the Temple Mount by its Muslim name of Haram al-Sharif.

New language linking Jerusalem with the three monotheistic religions is welcome, but the text had not gone far enough in underscoring that connection, the Finnish representative said.

“The EU understands the language on the holy sites of Jerusalem as reflecting the importance and historical significance of both the city of Jerusalem and the holy sites for three monotheistic religions,” the representative said. “The EU stresses the need for language on terminology that reflects respect for religious and cultural sensitivities. The future choice of language may affect the EU’s collective support for this resolution.”

Out of the eight approved resolutions, three involved the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. This included a resolution to extended UNRWA’s mandate by three years.

A fourth resolution to ensure the protection of Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues within sovereign Israel passed 162-6, with nine abstentions. The text reaffirmed that “Palestine refugees are entitled to their property and to the income derived therefrom, in conformity with the principles of equity and justice.” The text also asked the UN to protect “Arab property, assets and property rights in Israel.”

A NUMBER of the resolutions took issue with past and future Israeli attempts to annex territory over the pre-1967 lines.

“The occupation of a territory is to be a temporary, de facto situation, whereby the occupying power can neither claim possession nor exert its sovereignty over the territory it occupies,” a resolution stated. That same resolution recalled “the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by force and therefore the illegality of the annexation of any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” It also expressed “grave concern at recent statements calling for the annexation by Israel of areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Some of the resolutions condemned Israeli actions in Gaza. In one instance, a line was added condemning Palestinian rocket attacks without pointing at either Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

A resolution on the Golan Heights took Israel to task for its annexation of that territory, which it captured from Syria after being attacked in the 1967 Six Day War.

“Reaffirming once more the illegality of the decision of 14 December 1981 taken by Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan, which has resulted in the effective annexation of that territory,” it said. The resolution was approved 155-2, with 19 abstentions. Prior to the vote, Brazil explained its abstention, explaining that the text was unbalanced in that it only referred to Israel actions and did not also address Syrian violations.

Acting US Deputy Representative to the United Nations Cherith Norman Chalet told the Fourth Committee it opposed the “annual submission of more than a dozen resolutions biased against Israel. This one-sided approach only undermines trust between the parties, and fails to create the kind of positive international environment critical to achieving peace.

“We are disappointed that despite support for reform, member states continue to disproportionately single out Israel through these types of resolutions,” she said. “It is deplorable that the United Nations – an institution founded upon the idea that all nations should be treated equally – should be so often used by member states to treat one state in particular, Israel, unequally.

“As the United States has repeatedly made clear, this dynamic is unacceptable,” Chalet continued. “We see resolutions that are quick to condemn all manner of Israeli actions, but say nothing or almost nothing about terrorist attacks against innocent civilians. And so the United States will once again vote against these one-sided resolutions and encourages other nations to do so.”

Bolivia to renew diplomatic relations with Israel

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: Genesis 12:3a

As reported by Marcy Oster of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 28, 2019:

JERUSALEM — Bolivia will renew diplomatic ties with Israel, a decade after it broke off relations with Israel over its 2008 Operation Cast Lead against Gaza.

Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric made the announcement on Thursday.

She told reporters that the decision to renew relations was made “out of respect for the sovereignty of the state, cordiality and that relations could lead to positive aspects for both sides and contribute to Bolivian tourism.”

In 2010, then-President Evo Morales formally recognized Palestine as an independent and sovereign state within the 1967 borders.

Morales resigned earlier this month and sought asylum in Mexico following a disputed national election.

See also my posts:

South Africa downgrades its embassy in Israel to a liaison office (January 2, 2018)

Israel pursues [diplomatic] relations with U.S. Virgin [Islands] (August 8, 2018)

Israel to resume diplomatic relations with Chad, while seeking relations with Bahrain and Oman (December 2, 2018)

Israel renews diplomatic relations with Chad; Mali may be next (January 23, 2019)

Earth Church holds services in Colorado

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:20-23

More evidence for why Mad magazine will no longer be publishing new material; as reported by Seth Boster of the Colorado Springs Gazette, August 25, 2019:

A strange sound drifts from the gazebo in Manitou Springs’ Memorial Park.

Shaunti Lally (Shaun, as he was known in a previous life) sits cross-legged in a circle with 16 others, stirring an empty crystal bowl. Deep vibrations bounce off sternums, filling ears, almost drowning out the steady trickle of a natural spring, of bird songs, of highway traffic above.

Long-haired with a long frame that recalls his basketball-playing days at Manitou High, Lally speaks.

“Imagine this energy we’re cultivating together ... expanding outward across the country ... expanding beyond all borders ... this radiant light across the oceans ... and so too does it pick up momentum with all others who are in prayer at this time ...”

His eyes are closed until they open — bright blues that roam the circle. Some are decades older than Lally, some much younger, babies of meditating mothers.

“I’m so thankful to everyone who came here today,” Lally says with a grin. “Welcome.”

Welcome to Earth Church.

“Sound bathing” starts things off every Sunday, followed by thanks to nature in song and sermon, followed by a vegan potluck and dancing. This has no semblance to “church” as the people here have known it. And that’s the point.

“This is a collaborative space,” Lally tells today’s group. This is not organized religion, he says, “where someone speaks to you and expects you to take their word as truth.”

Lally, 37, speaks today. About the colonial legacy that “was very effective in turning us on each other.” About threats of deforestation in the Amazon. About ideas to build a telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, sparking the same protesters as at the Dakota Access Pipeline. About the native legacy sadly forgotten.

But anyone is free to speak here, Lally says. Others have filled in when he’s been away at music festivals, for example — such as Ki (formerly Kyle) Sha, who met Lally in a Manitou drum circle last fall and helped with that first Earth Church gathering the Sunday before Earth Day. It was to be a kumbaya for a planet in peril.

Onlookers might have dismissed another hippie upstart in Colorado Springs’ hippie central.

“Everyone’s on their own path, and it is sad to see people judge,” Sha says. “But we can’t judge them back. The only thing we can do is love, and hopefully they see the light in us.”

Like him, another Earth Church collaborator grew up Christian. Abigail (toying with Abi) Lyons is the daughter of an Indiana pastor. She came to Colorado in 2012 for cannabis and has missed one aspect of church.

“The community was like everything to me, like my family,” she says. “Leaving that, it was like, ‘Ahh, I wish I could just keep that part without the doctrine that I’m not quite clear on.’”

Earth Church, she says beside her 2-year-old, “is what I’ve wanted for myself and my son for a while.”

And it’s what Lally has wanted for a while. He says he’s always been “spiritually curious,” as was written in his stars.

“I’m a double (Sagittarius),” he says. “I was a couple of hours from triple. Someone told me triple Sagittarius are cult leaders.”

Is that was this is?

“I think every cult that I’ve heard of requires members to give up personal attachments. This is a noncommittal, no pressure, guilt-free, shame-free zone. I don’t want to ever make someone feel pressured to be here. I don’t want to make someone feel like they’re being coerced or required to do something that’s not within their own guidance or constitution.”

Pagan is another label he avoids.

“I believe there’s truth in all teachings. ... The only real requirement here is that we unify, and that we’re never talking in terms of us and them. It’s we. And let’s be humble to the mystery, and let’s realize no one really knows the full picture.”

That’s thinking gained along his winding path from Manitou and back. Out of high school in 2000, his head shaved, his pants baggy, he was partying and rapping. Lally wanted something more. He recalls a shift one night as a kegger raged while he sat at a piano in a side room.

“Someone rushed in,” he says. “’There’s a fight!’”

He says he tried to break it up, resulting in what looked like a brick bashing his head. When he came home from the hospital, his friends were ready to find the guy.

“I was like: No,” Lally says. “This ends now.”

Soon he moved to Denver, where he knew nobody, growing his hair out as he pursued a degree in sociology. After five years, he moved to study transformative leadership at the California Institute of Integral Studies, but not before seeing some of the world.

Nepal was part of a six-month odyssey. Lally learned to meditate there, living in a poor village where he didn’t feel like a stranger. Everywhere, people greeted him with “Namaste.”

It was weird back home.

“Westerners were just so ugly to me for a while,” Lally says. “I was like, ‘Dang it, I wanna look at you! I wanna connect, and you’re ignoring me, and why?’ And I feel so invisible and isolated and depressed, and why?”

But he connects here at Earth Church, at one point in his sermon mentioning Namaste.

“This is just to say hello, just to acknowledge you as a person and to recognize the light in you,” he says. “This way of thinking has dramatic results.”

Parliament of the World's Religions advances its syncretistic agenda in Toledo under the guise of "compassion"

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. II Corinthians 6:14-18

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Revelation 18:1-5

This might be a companion to the post below, and shows the extent of the tentacles of the religion of the end times. As reported by Nicki Gorny of the Toledo Blade, November 1, 2019 (bold, links in original):

The 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto drew 8,324 individuals from 81 countries, collectively representing 118 different spiritual and secular traditions. In a week’s worth of varied programming, they gathered together to pursue “understanding, reconciliation, and change,” in line with the parliament objectives.

“It was stunning,” said Judy Trautman, one of a handful of locals who participated. “They’re all there together, celebrating peace and harmony and working for the betterment of our planet and our communities. That’s so uplifting.”

Toledoans will experience a taste of that atmosphere beginning Sunday, when the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio opens the Parliament of Northwest Ohio Religions at Warren AME Church. It’s a smaller-scale meeting of hearts and minds that unfolds at various venues through Thursday, according to Ms. Trautman, who’s the co-founder of the MultiFaith Council. Local Christians, Buddhists, Baha'is, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs are set to participate, reflecting in daily programming on the theme: “What is my Piece of Peace?”

The Parliament of Northwest Ohio Religions is organized in line with the fifth anniversary of the region’s designation as a Compassionate Community, a title that was formalized when local government officials signed the Charter for Compassion on April 25, 2014. It also comes in the same year that the Greater Toledo Compassionate Community set a new record in what’s perhaps the most visible manifestation of compassion.

The Compassion Games quantify global compassion annually, putting a metric on elements like volunteer hours and numbers of individual served in a weeklong recording period, as reported by each of the organizations or communities that participate around the world.

Compassionate Toledo was “off the charts this year,” Compassion Games co-founder Sommer Joy Ramer said, recording 6,451 volunteers, 125,972 hours served, 1,536,165 people served and $171,550 raised in the recording period between Sept. 11-22.

“This is way more than any team has reported around the world,” she said.

Ms. Trautman is proud to say that’s just a week like any other in northwest Ohio.

“It isn’t really counting anything extraordinary or invented for the games,” Ms. Trautman said. “It’s indicative that we do a lot.”

Compassionate Toledo

When then-Mayor Michael D. Collins, along with other local officials, signed onto the Charter for Compassion in 2014, Toledo and northwest Ohio became the 39th city and first region to do so — a relatively earlier adoptee among the more than 400 communities to have signed as of this year, according to Marilyn Turkovich, who is the executive director of the nonprofit organization behind the document of the same name.

The Charter for Compassion itself was unveiled in 2009, a document envisioned in a 2008 TED Talk that won that year’s TED Prize. In her impactful presentation earlier, Karen Armstrong, a scholar of religions, had traced a core value of compassion through all religious traditions.

“It was really seminal in that she as a scholar of religions concludes that at the core of all religions and philosophical thought through the years has been compassion and the Golden Rule,” said Ms. Trautman, an admirer of Ms. Armstrong. “In the face of all the discord, which was already happening then and now has just gotten worse, she called upon religious leaders of all types to send ideas for a Charter for Compassion.”

Initially individuals and organizations showed their support by signing onto the charter. When civic leaders in Seattle affirmed the charter in 2010, a precedent was set for Compassionate Communities.

A Compassionate Community looks different from community to community, in that those involved in the movement look specifically at the needs surrounding them, Ms. Turkovich said. In India, for example, a focus might be water conservation and sanitation. She was speaking from Austin, Texas, where she was helping in an effort addressing homelessness.

“Toledo was one of the first efforts in the U.S., and it’s been very, very consistent in the work that it’s doing,” Ms. Turkovich said. “It’s very concerned with promoting dialogue between people, having those difficult conversations that are essential for a community to work together.”

The MultiFaith Council has taken up Compassionate Toledo as a major initiative, working toward its goals and values in numerous ways aside from the annual Compassion Games. After an initial convention in 2014, in which organizers brought together many of the city’s nonprofits and aid organizations, they’ve been organizing forums on various themes each year.

Ms. Trautman said another objective is to tell the untold stories of compassion, as they do through the Heroes of Compassion that they recognize each year at the MultiFaith Banquet. Honorees are added to a plaque that’s housed with the Lucas County Commissioners.

“I’m really proud of our community,” Ms. Trautman said. “Yeah, we have our warts and we have our problems. But I think communities like ours can be a comfort in a world where the main news is so horrible. The quiet folks are still here, and they’re quietly doing the work of compassion in their local communities. We must not forget that.”

Parliament in Ohio

To recognize the five-year anniversary of Compassionate Toledo with a Parliament of Northwest Ohio feels appropriate to Tarunjit Singh Butalia, who’s set to be one of the keynote speakers at the opening ceremony on Sunday.

Mr. Butalia, of Columbus, the executive director of Religions for Peace USA.

The first-ever Parliament of the World’s Religions took place in Chicago in 1893, he pointed out, in line with the Chicago World’s Fair. So representatives from the East Coast would have traveled through northern Ohio to attend, in some cases stopping en route to lecture in Cleveland.

There’s also a rich history of religion in Toledo, which, for example, is the site of the first mosque to be constructed in the traditional Islamic style in the country. That’s the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg. Ms. Trautman, for her part, credits the region with an impressive diversity of religious traditions and an admirable engagement among them.

The Parliament of Northwest Ohio Religions opens with an opening ceremony and compassion forum at Warren AME Church, 915 Collingwood Blvd., beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday. It continues with luncheons and evening programs each day through Thursday.

Noon luncheons are at First Congregational Church, 2315 Collingwood Blvd., on Monday; Hindu Temple of Toledo, 4336 King Rd., Sylvania, on Tuesday, Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, 25877 Scheider Rd., Perrysburg, on Wednesday and Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, 2535 Collingwood Blvd., on Thursday.

Evening programs are a Universal Worship Service at Zoar Lutheran Church, 314 E. Indiana Ave., Perrysburg, at 6 p.m. Monday; Sacred Music Concert at the Lourdes University Franciscan Center, 6832 Convent Blvd., Sylvania, at 7 p.m. Tuesday; Forum on Becoming a Disability-Friendly City at First Unitarian Church of Toledo, 3205 Glendale Ave., at 7 p.m. Wednesday; and Food Sufficiency Forum and Re-Commitment Ceremony at Epworth United Methodist Church, 4855 W. Central Ave., at 7 p.m. Thursday.

For a full schedule of events, including registration information, go to multifaithcouncil.org. Cost of registration varies for each event.

In advance of the opening ceremony, Mr. Butalia reflected on the theme of the parliament, “What is my Piece of Peace?”

“As my perspective is to be a person of faith, or to be a religious person, you have to be compassionate,” he said. “That is the foundational ethical norm for peacemaking.”

Compassion doesn’t entail agreement with another point of view, he said, but it does require a person to empathize with others, a point that becomes especially important in religious communities in conflict. People of faith are called to be righteous, he said, but should be wary of self-righteousness that prevents them from recognizing the humanity in others.

“Compassion is what we need as people of faith, and compassion with people we disagree with, in particular,” he said. “It comes back to compassion.”

As far as "compassion" is concerned, when Mary anointed the Lord Jesus Christ with expensive perfume (John 12:3-8), Judas Iscariot protested that the perfume could have been sold, and the proceeds given to the poor. An ignorant bystander would likely have concluded that Judas Iscariot had greater compassion and social concern than the Lord Himself. The attempt to quantify "compassion" by recording the number of hours spent in community service reminds this blogger of Peter Drucker's three-legged stool of communitarianism, with charities and churches combining with business and government to govern society. See my post The Rock Church in San Diego (Carrie Prejean's church): First Church of Christ, Druckerist (May 8, 2009).

Another thing: where is that "core value of compassion through all religious traditions" when it comes to Islam's treatment of non-Muslims?

See also my posts:

125 years ago: The World's Parliament of Religions opens in Chicago (September 11, 2018)

Indigenous spirituality takes centre stage at the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto (November 5, 2018)

Muslims, Reform Jews, and liberal "Christians" build Tri-Faith Center in Omaha

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. II Corinthians 6:14-18

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Revelation 18:1-5

The religious situation during the last days prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ continues to take shape, right on schedule--God's schedule, that is. The "Christian" church mentioned in the following article is affiliated with the extremely liberal and apostate United Church of Christ, mixing theological liberalism with contemplative spirituality.

As reported by Sierra Karst of the Omaha World-Herald, November 16, 2019 (links in original):

As the clock ticked toward noon, a smattering of people — from elderly couples to casually dressed young adults — congregated around a dust-blown construction site.

Enter Wendy Goldberg, interim executive director of the Tri-Faith Initiative, wielding a handful of colorful markers.

“Let’s shake up the pens and get it going,” she said.

The pens were for members of the initiative’s three congregations to sign a black beam that will be installed in the new Tri-Faith Center near 132nd and Pacific Streets.

Board members from the American Muslim Institute, Countryside Community Church and Temple Israel had signed the beam Friday night, and, when community members were done signing Saturday, the beam held more than 130 names.

The center will be the only completely shared building on Tri-Faith’s 35-acre plot. Plans for an interactive exhibit, a reflection room overlooking the entire campus and a tri-paneled front wall will celebrate the initiative as a whole.

The church, mosque and temple are already built and occupied, and the new center will be done in June, Goldberg said.

The initiative places Islamic, Jewish and Christian houses of worship on literal common ground to connect the congregations physically and socially. The goal is to encourage empathy, understanding and shared effort among the three faith’s members.

A larger multipurpose room and grand, bleacherlike staircase will allow for events such as educational presentations and weddings. Office spaces and a dual-use catering and teaching kitchen will allow Tri-Faith staff to gather and talk together, Goldberg said.

It’s been 13 years since the initiative was first incorporated as a nonprofit and started looking for available land. Goldberg called it “a slow-baked experience.”

“I believe that our mission moving forward is about deepening relationships and building trust,” she said. “Less focused on bricks and mortar.”

For the Rev. Chris Alexander of Countryside, the new center will be perfect for growing friendships with the initiative’s other faith partners.

As a participant in the initiative, Alexander said, she has discussed everything from what to name her church’s coffee drinks to how to deal with troublesome scriptures with her Jewish and Muslim counterparts, who have become friends.

“We wouldn’t just naturally come together and have a cup of coffee if we were 6 miles apart,” she said. “We interact in ways we never did before, and with this (new building), it’ll just expand that.”

For families like Cary and Rashid Mohiuddin and their two children, the Tri-Faith Initiative is about more than faith.

Raised Catholic and married to a Muslim man, Cary Mohiuddin said she loves attending educational Islam classes at the mosque. The community, with its accepting atmosphere and close relationships, is like a piece of utopia right here in Omaha, she said.

“To be able to build a fourth building devoted to all of the faiths under Abraham’s tent is very special,” she said. “It’s a great example of what humans are capable of if we keep love in mind.”

In light of the 85 headstones recently vandalized at the cemetery on North 42nd Street owned by Temple Israel, Goldberg spoke of the shared American value of religious freedom.

“The more that we come together for experiments like the Tri-Faith Initiative and hear the narratives of the religious other,” she said, “the less fear will fill that narrative and the more opportunities we have to believe that we were all created in the image of God.”

Ms. Goldberg is the interim director of the Tri-Faith Center because the liberal United Methodist minister who was hired in 2018 as the Center's director is on leave while facing accusations of sexual misconduct. As reported by Christopher Burbach of the Omaha World-Herald, October 18, 2019 (links in original):

The former executive director of Omaha’s Tri-Faith Initiative, the Rev. Donald “Bud” Heckman, has been suspended from ministry by the United Methodist Church over accusations of sexual harassment and domestic abuse.

Four women filed complaints about Heckman’s behavior toward them between 2011 and 2015, according to a United Methodist News Service article. One of them was Heckman’s ex-wife. The other three were connected to interfaith ministry, a field in which Heckman is nationally prominent.

Heckman did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday.

The dates of the alleged misconduct were before Heckman’s time as executive director of the Tri-Faith Initiative, a partnership among Temple Israel, the American Muslim Institute and Countryside Community Church on a single campus in west Omaha.

Heckman was the organization’s executive director from March 2018 to February 2019. Heckman was placed on leave when the initiative’s board learned of an allegation, and the organization severed ties with Heckman “as soon as we confirmed that there was some validity to the allegations,” said Wendy Goldberg, the initiative’s interim executive director.

“It was important that we act responsibly in putting the mission of the initiative ahead of any individual,” she said Friday.

Asked if there had been any complaints against Heckman at the initiative, Goldberg said, “None that we’re aware of.”

The organization released a statement that said, “The Tri-Faith Initiative is committed to providing an environment free of discriminatory intimidation or harassment. In keeping with this commitment, we maintain a strict policy prohibiting harassment in any form, including verbal, physical and visual harassment.”

The United Methodist News Service reported that the denomination’s West Ohio Conference confirmed that Heckman was suspended from active ministry. He could face a church trial in December.

The four women filed formal complaints after 15 women had raised allegations of harassment or domestic abuse against Heckman, according to the News Service.