25 years ago: The death of Nancy Cruzan

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

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

On December 26, 1990, Nancy Cruzan, who had suffered permanent brain damage in a car accident in Missouri in 1983, and had been fed through a tube while being hospitalized in a "permanent vegetative state," died after 12 days of court-ordered starvation.

On June 25, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, voted 5-4 to reject an appeal from Miss Cruzan's parents to remove the tube and allow her to die, but a probate court judge in Jasper County, Missouri ruled on December 14 that they had a right to remove the tube because three of Miss Cruzan's co-workers had testified in November that she had once said that she would never want to live under such circumstances. The tube was removed two hours after the court ruling, and it took 12 days for Miss Cruzan to finally be starved to death.

See also my posts:

30 years ago: The death of Karen Ann Quinlan (June 11, 2015)

10 years ago: The execution of Terri Schiavo (March 31, 2015)

50 years ago: The death of false prophet William Branham

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:20-22

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:29-30

On December 24, 1965, William Marrion Branham, generally acknowledged to be the founder of the post-World War II healing "revival," died at the age of 56, six days after suffering serious injuries in a car accident. He claimed to be the "Elijah" prophet of the Laodicean age just prior to the return of Jesus to Earth, and became the object of a personality cult; his followers apparently expected Mr. Branham to rise from the dead, and didn't bury him until April 11, 1966.

Other people have done a better job than this blogger ever could of cataloguing Mr. Branham's heresies and false prophecies (and such an undertaking would require more time than I'm willing to spend). For further information, I suggest Seek the Truth; I have my doubts about the biblical orthodoxy of Believe The Sign, but it's useful for information on William Branham.

British movie theatres refuse to show advertisement with the Lord's Prayer

More evidence that once-Great Britain, like the countries descended from her, is now a rotting corpse--as reported by Kylie MacLellan of Reuters, November 22, 2015:

LONDON--The Church of England said on Sunday it was "bewildered" by the refusal of some of Britain's biggest cinema chains to show an advert featuring the Lord's Prayer.

The 60-second advert, which shows a variety of Christians including a police officer, weight lifter and school children each saying one line of the prayer, had been due to be shown next month before screenings of the new Star Wars film "The Force Awakens".

Digital Cinema Media, which provides 80 percent of cinema advertising through chains including Cineworld, Odeon and Vue, said in a statement it had a policy of not accepting political or religious advertising in case they caused offence.

"We are bewildered by the decision of the cinemas. The Lord's Prayer is prayed by billions of people across the globe every day and in this country has been part of everyday life for centuries," Reverend Arun Arora, director of communications for the Church of England, said in a statement.

"In one way the decision of the cinemas is just plain silly but the fact that they have insisted upon it makes it rather chilling in terms of limiting free speech."

Religious Jewish sexual freaks flaunt their perversions online

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

As reported by Ynet News, December 14, 2015 (bold in original):

Dozens of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender religious Jews have revealed their identities and sexual orientation online, publishing their names and photos in a first-of-its kind campaign.

Titled "Our Faces," the campaign is the work of Bat Kol, an organization of religious gay women, and Havruta, the men's equivalent, in cooperation with religious groups at the IGY (Israeli Gay Youth) NGO.

The groups published the details of 44 members of the religious LGBT community. For some of them, this initiative marks their first public coming-out.

The campaign was preceded by a message to religious newspapers with a list of the participants' names. Now they are taking an additional step – being photographed and saying which religious schools they went to, in addition to stating their current relationship and family status.

"There is someone to talk to. You have friends who are like you," the two organizations wrote on their websites and Facebook pages.

"We, gays and lesbians who grew up in religious and ultra-Orthodox homes, know the feelings of loneliness, the alienation, the suffocation. We know the period of discovery and realization that we are a little different from others," the organizations' statement continued.

"Like you we were in yeshivas, religious schools, movements, seminaries, the army. Like you we were scared to share our story. But we are here – strong and out in the open – and we invite you to read a small story from our lives, that might help you to feel more secure."

'Yes, I'm afraid'

Everyone who revealed themselves in the campaign, which was initiated and produced by Dan Uziel, was encouraged to share photos with their friends on social media – "so that our support and visibility would reach as many people as possible," he says.

One of the participants, Nadav Schwartz, told Ynet that the exposure was not easy for him, despite his activism at the forefront of the battle for recognition of religious LGBT Jews.

"It's a little frightening to suddenly think about my photo next to my name going around the internet," Schwartz said. "I don't know where it'll get to and who will see it. And yes, I'm afraid."

So why did you still do it?

"I hope that it will reassure a young person who is still in the closet, who is still afraid and is still unsure in which direction life will take them. I want them to see and understand that it's possible to live believing in yourself and in the system in which you grew up. I want them not to repeat my mistakes. And most of all, I want them not to despair."

The head of Havruta – Religious Gays, Daniel Jonas, said: "For years there were people who were happy to say 'it doesn't happen to us,' or 'yes, but it's a trivial phenomenon that doesn't happen everywhere.'

"Well then, we're here! With faces, names, personal stories and a clear message to all those young people – you're not alone! We experienced what you are experiencing now, but you have a future as religiously-observant LGBTs who are fulfilled and live with love, a partner, and even children," Jonas added.

Jordanian border guards bar Israeli tourists for wearing yarmulkes

Israel and Jordan are officially at peace with each other, but some Jordanian border guards are apparently unaware of this. As reported by Tali Farkash of Ynet News, December 10, 2015:

A tour guide and her family who were supposed to enter Jordan on Wednesday for a family vacation were delayed at the border and not allowed to enter the country, because they had yarmulkes in their possession.

"They took the yarmulkes from our heads without any warning or explanation," Tamar Hayardeni told Ynet.

She added that even after pleading and promising to hide the yarmulkes in their bags, the Jordanian inspectors were not satisfied, ordering them to leave them at the border. The inspectors also said that entering Jordanian territory with "Jewish items" is forbidden.

The Foreign Ministry responded that it was clarifying the family's complaint with the Jordanian embassy: "We are with the family, and explaining that there is no justification in banning yarmulkes."

Hayardeni has previously been to Jordan, having organized a tour in cooperation with guides who know the procedures there, and said that this is the first time they have heard about the prohibition on entering Jordan with "Jewish items."

"I was writing to one of the tour guides while the event was ongoing," Hayardeni said. "We were stuck at the border for two hours, until they agreed to give us our passports back.

"The guide told me that he has heard about something like this once before, when some ultra-Orthodox were given a hard time. But that's it. And even they were allowed to enter," she continued.

Hayardeni explained that after crossing over to the Jordanian side of the border terminal and paying the crossing fee, a soldier approached them and with no warning or explanation snatched the yarmulkes from the heads of her husband and sons.

"It was done in a very ugly manner. He didn't explain or say anything, he just took the yarmulkes from their heads and disappeared," she said. "After some time he returned and started to shout at us. He ordered us to go back to Israel in order to 'be rid of the yarmulkes.'"

The family's attempts to change their minds fell on deaf ears. "We told them that we have no problem with keeping the yarmulkes hidden deep inside our luggage. But they didn't agree at all," Hayardeni said.

Hayardeni added that "even the local driver who we'd hired tried to intervene, saying that he would take responsibility and keep the yarmulkes in his taxi and then take them home. Nothing helped. The message was clear: You cannot enter Jordanian territory with a Jewish item."

Another family had a similar experience at the same time. "Another tourist entered the room we were in and was told to go back because he had phylacteries in his bag! The same tour guide said that he didn't know what was going on, because he had personally crossed into Jordan with phylacteries before," Hayardeni said.

In the end, Hayardeni said, they decided not to try and go ahead with their holiday – primarily because of the children. "The children said they were not interested, they felt that they were not wanted in Jordan as Jews, which is in fact what we all felt. That was the key point in this whole story," Hayardeni said.

For now the family has settled for staying in a hotel in Eilat, for an Israeli holiday. According to them, they lost a lot of money after the hotel in Jordan and other services they had paid for in advance refused to refund them their money.

"The message is very clear to us: Maybe they want us as Israelis, but not as Jews," Hayardeni said.

20 years ago: Bethlehem comes under Palestinian control

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:4-7

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Matthew 2:1-6

On December 21, 1995, Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, changed hands when Israeli military forces withdrew and Palestinian Police entered in keeping with the Oslo II peace accords.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is among those who, in recent years, have claimed that Jesus was a Palestinian--usually as another excuse for criticizing Israel. As reported by Ahuva Balofsky of Breaking Israel News, December 24, 2013:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a Christmas message Monday in which he suggested Israel persecutes Christians and claimed Jesus was a “Palestinian messenger.” Despite the confrontational tone of his message, he maintains he is committed to negotiations with Israel.

“As we Palestinians strive for our freedom two millennia later,” he wrote in a statement, “we do our best to follow his example. We work with hope, seeking justice, in order to achieve a lasting peace.”

Abbas elaborated on the PA’s commitment towards a peaceful settlement with Israel, “including ending the occupation of the Holy Land with the establishment of a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian State on the 1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He was critical of Israel, saying, this Christmas Eve, our hearts and prayers will be with the millions who are being denied their right to worship in their homeland.

“We are thinking of our people in Gaza, trapped under siege, and of those who are prevented from worshiping in Bethlehem,” he said. “Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Al Dbayeh Refugee Camp in Beirut, along with all of our Palestinian refugees — Christians and Muslims uprooted from their hometowns in 1948 and who, since that time, have suffered the vicissitudes of a forced exile.”

Abbas went on to express solidarity with his Christian constituents, claiming, “Christians are not a minority here, they are an integral part of the Palestinian people. Orthodox, Catholics, Armenians, Assyrians, Lutherans, Anglicans, Copts, Melkites, Protestants and others are all part of the rich mosaic of this free, sovereign, democratic and pluralistic Palestine we aspire to have and as established in our declaration of independence and draft constitution.”

As heart-warming as such a description may be, it flies in the face of reality, as Christian populations throughout Muslim-controlled areas across the Middle East dwindle. Israel is the only country in the region whose Christian population is growing. In Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, where Christians used to make up the majority, they are now in the minority.

Israeli officials scoffed at Abbas’ comments. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told The Times of Israel, “He should have read the Gospel before uttering such offensive nonsense, but we will forgive him because he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” He referred to Abbas’ statement as an “outrageous rewriting of Christian history.” He called Abbas’ harsh words, “not exactly in the spirit of Christmas,” and joked, “Maybe he needs a hug from Santa?”

Another Israeli official took offense to Abbas’ implication that Israeli policy is responsible for the mass Christian departure from the Holy Land. “The exodus of Christians from Bethlehem turned into a flood the moment the PA took control,” the official said.

Local nominal Christian authorities have taken issue with the claims of Mr. Abbad and others, as reported by Ahuva Balovsky of Breaking Israel News, December 21, 2015:

In response to repeated statements by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials that Jesus was a Palestinian, Israeli Christian leader Father Gabriel Naddaf denounced the claims on Facebook earlier this month.

“On what authority does President Abbas claim that Jesus was a Palestinian?” Naddaf wrote. “The Bible says that He was born in the Jewish city of Bethlehem to Jewish parents from the city of Nazareth and was circumcised on the 8th day as a Jew and presented to the Jewish Temple by His parents according to the Mosaic law.”

The PA has had a long-standing policy of rewriting history to undermine Jewish connections to the Land of Israel and to strengthen Palestinian and Arab claims to the land.

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented this effort since 1998, when Al-Ayyam daily paper printed, “Dr. Yussuf Alzamili [Chairman History Department, Khan Yunis Educational College] called on all universities and colleges to write the history of Palestine and to guard it, and not to enable the [foreign] implants and enemies to distort it or to legitimize the existence of Jews on this land… [History lecturer Abu Amar] clarified that there is no connection between the ancient generation of Jews and the new generation.”

According to PMW, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said last Christmas season, “We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian messenger of love, justice and peace.” ‎This was not the first or last time Abbas or other PA officials have made or repeated such a claim. Some have gone so far as to call Jesus “the first martyr” for the Palestinian cause.

In a television special earlier this year about former Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Hilarion Capucci, who exploited his position to smuggle arms, PA Secretary-General of the Jerusalem Council Hanna Issa claimed the archbishop told him, “First of all, don’t forget that the first Martyr (Shahid) was Palestinian – Jesus the Messiah. Look how they tortured, crucified and killed him…”

Naddaf serves as Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Yafia, near Nazareth, and of the Christian Empowerment Council, a group committed to further integration of Christians into Israeli society. He blasted the erroneous position.
“His family were Torah-observant Jews,” Naddaf explained, “and as an adult, Jesus Himself affirmed the authority of the Torah and the Prophets. He attended Synagogue on Sabbath and even taught in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and observed the Jewish feasts of Hanukah and Passover.”

Naddaf also called out the PA for its abuse of history for political gains. “According to the Bible, the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, belongs to the Jewish people forever. So, no matter how much the Palestinian Authority tries to distort history, they cannot manipulate the Word of God to legitimise their political aims. The Promises of God to His people cannot be erased.”

The best argument against the idea of Jesus as a Palestinian is the Biblical record. The Palestinians are Arabs, who are descended from Abraham through Ishmael. Jesus, however, is descended from Abraham through Isaac, not Abraham, as per the covenant that God made with Abraham:

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. Genesis 17:19-21

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; Matthew 1:1-2

And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,...
...Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, Luke 3:23,34

The reader will notice that Isaac, but not Ishmael, is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

75 years ago: The death of Kyösti Kallio

On December 19, 1940, Kyösti Kallio died at the age of 67. Mr. Kallio, a devout Christian and leader of the Agrarian League, served as Prime Minister of Finland four times: 1922-1924, 1925-1926, 1929-1930, 1936-1937. In 1937 he took office as President of Finland, the country's head of state.

Mr. Kallio was in office during the Winter War against the U.S.S.R. in 1939-1940. When the invading Soviets won the war in March 1940 and imposed peace terms on Finland, President Kallio was obliged to sign a document authorizing four Finnish government officials to travel to Moscow and sign the Moscow Peace Treaty--as unjust a peace that has ever been forced upon a defeated people--on behalf of Finland. As he signed the odious document, Mr. Kallio said (presumably in Finnish), "Let my hand wither, that has been forced to sign this piece of paper."

The Lord granted Mr. Kallio's request; on August 28, 1940, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right arm. Mr. Kallio's health continued to decline, and on November 27, he left his notice of resignation, intending to retire to his farm at Nivala. A few hours after Risto Ryti officially succeeded Mr. Kallio as President, a band was playing the patriotic Finnish march Porilaisten marssi (March of the Men of Pori) while an honour guard saluted Mr. Kallio at Helsinki Central Railway Station as he prepared to depart for his retirement, but he collapsed and died in the arms of his adjutant, Marshal Carl Mannerheim, and went to be with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Orthodox Jewish rabbi in New Jersey sentenced to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and torturing Jewish men to coerce them into divorce

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Isaiah 29:13

Another exciting episode in the life of Orthodox Judaism, as reported by MaryAnn Spoto of NJ.com, December 15, 2015:

TRENTON — A prominent Lakewood rabbi convicted of helping to arrange the kidnapping of Orthodox Jewish men who refused to grant their wives religious divorces was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday.

The sentence for Rabbi Mendel Epstein, 70, is less than what the federal government had requested for a man prosecutors said was the head of a well-organized operation that kidnapped and beat men. But it also was more than what his defense attorney argued was deserving of a man who devoted his life to good deeds and charitable acts.

The sentence was one, though, that U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson said was necessary to deter others in the Orthodox Jewish community from continuing what federal prosecutors called "paid vigilantism."

"No one is permitted to commit acts of violence against another," Wolfson said during the three-hour sentencing proceeding in Trenton. "It is not the law of our society and what we live under."

During the hearing, much was made about the conversations undercover FBI agents secretly recorded with Epstein in 2013 in setting up a sting operation in which Epstein bragged about using a cattle prod and other violent means to force recalcitrant husbands to agree to the religious divorces, known as gets.

In those conversations, which were played for a jury during Epstein's trial earlier this year, Epstein provides the undercover agents with details of how the husband – who turned out to be fictitious – would be taken to a warehouse in Edison where he would be kidnapped and beaten until he agreed to the get.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gribko said that in those secretly taped conversations, Epstein boasted about having a reputation as a "tough" guy who could effectuate gets.

"He did this regularly. He did this for money," Gribko said. "He understood exactly how out of hand this could get."

In a 10-minute address to the judge, Epstein said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" at what he said in those conversations.

"Over the years, I guess, I got caught up in my tough guy image," he said. "Truthfully, it helped me -- the reputation -- convince many of these reprobates to do the right thing."

He recalled going to the docks in Red Hook in Brooklyn where he confronted one of the stubborn husbands who worked there to convince him without using coercion to grant a divorce. In another case, he recalled going to a club full of belly dancers where he knew he'd find another recalcitrant husband.

"I had a reputation (that) this is the rabbi who goes and gets into all crazy places and he doesn't give up He gets you the get," he said.

But he also objected strongly to the government's portrayal of him as a person motivated by money to help the so-called "chained" wives. He said he was driven to help them out of a compassion for the women, who couldn't remarry without the get, and their children, who would have been considered illegitimate.

Wolfson noted that Epstein demanded $60,000 from the undercover agent in the 2013 sting and that only a small portion of that payment went to the "muscle men" who were there to rough up the fictitious husband.

Epstein's attorney, Robert Stahl, said an appeal of the conviction is forthcoming.

"While we're heartened that the judge listened carefully to what we argued, we're disappointed the sentence was for 10 years," he said after court. "We believe there serious issues for the Court of Appeals to examine in this very unique case."

Stahl had argued that Epstein's sentence should be less than that for the traditional kidnapping cases before judges, which usually involve murder, terrorism or child abduction.

Wolfson said she didn't see a difference. She also said that although Epstein may have been motivated by his desire to help women, his methods were not legal.

"You may start with the motive of hoping the chained women...but the means certainly don't justify the ends," she said.

During the trial, Gribko and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wolfe elicited testimony about five kidnappings to which they claimed Epstein was tied. The father of nine, grandfather of 45 and great-grandfather of five was convicted in April of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Sitting in the audience Tuesday was Menachem Teitelbaum, a Brooklyn man who testified during the he and his roommate were beaten for hours in their apartment in 2011 Teitelbaum told jurors that his attackers yelled to his roommate, Usher Chaimowitz, orders to give his wife a divorce.

"They were calling out all the time 'give a get. Give a divorce to your wife,'" Teitelbaum testified at the time.

Epstein's wife and several of his children were in attendance and cried as he and one of his daughters addressed the judge. Epstein wiped away tears as that daughter, Dina Gongola, asked Wolfson for a light sentence for her father, particularly in light of his health problems, which includes diabetes, high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea and coronary artery disease. She asked Wolfson to consider his lifetime of good deeds and not his one "major mistake."

"Please, please, your honor. Have mercy," she begged through tears. "Please judge him as a whole human being."

The family left court without commenting and whisked Epstein away in an SUV that was waiting in front of the federal courthouse. Up the block, he got into a minivan with other family members.

Wolfson allowed Epstein to report to prison on March 1.

As reported by Associated Press, December 15, 2015:

...A second rabbi, Binyamin Stimler, 40, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 3¼ years in prison for his role in the scheme. He was also convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

See also the earlier articles:

Lakewood rabbi exaggerated force used to get divorces from husbands, attorney says (April 14, 2015)

Lakewood rabbi and 2 others convicted in kidnapping conspiracy; son acquitted (April 21, 2015)

1,500-year-old Hebrew inscription discovered on east coast of Sea of Galilee

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. Matthew 8:28

As reported by Jewish Press, December 16, 2015:

An inscription in Hebrew letters engraved on a large, 1,500-year-old marble slab, first of its kind to be found in Israel, was excavated in the Kursi Beach National Park on the east coast of the Sea of ​​Galilee. The inscription confirms for the first time that the ancient settlement in the area was Jewish or Jewish-Christian. The common assumption has been for years that this was the location of the settlement of Kursi or “Land of the Gergesenes,” which is mentioned in Matthew 8:28. Now, that assumption has received significant support.

Prof. Michal Artzi of the Institute for Maritime Studies at Haifa University said that “this first evidence of the existence of a Jewish settlement strengthens the theory, which until now was considered folklore, that the settlement is Kursi.” Artzi is the director of the excavation, along with Dr. Haim Cohen, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

The existence of an ancient settlement at the site, on the northeastern coast of the Sea of ​​Galilee, was already known in the 1960s, when the remains of a large pier were discovered below sea level. Later, a short distance away, the remains of a city were found, whose main characteristics made it appear like a Byzantine Christian site. The entire complex became a national park in 1980, and was given the name Kursi, after a nearby Syrian village. The sharp drop in the water level of the Sea of Galilee allowed researchers to return to the location of the breakwater, and after intensive work they realized that the ancient harbor is much bigger than they had thought, and may even be a separate settlement. They were surprised to find there a 59.05 by 27.6 inches marble tablet, with an Aramaic inscription in Hebrew letters. Two of the words on the tablet are “Aman” and “Marmaria.”

Apparently the Hebrew inscription was probably engraved in 500 CE, and according to the researchers, there was a Jewish settlement there which evolved into a mixed town. “The existence of a Jewish settlement on the eastern shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee is a very rare thing. Until now we had no proof that Jewish settlements, which have disappeared over the years, actually existed during that period on the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee, except for the town of Migdal,” said Prof. Artzi.

Besides its testimony of the existence of the Jewish roots of the excavated settlement, the tablet is unique in other ways: it is the first of its kind found in Israel. Most inscription tablets of that period were made of mosaic; this is the first ever inscription on a slab of marble, specially commissioned from Greece. The inscription is at the entrance to an interior room in a building which probably was a synagogue.

“The inscription consists of eight lines, which means it is very detailed,” said Prof. Artzi. “Usually you won’t find so many words in Hebrew letters engraved in stone, so that the person to whom it was dedicated had to have had a huge impact on the local people. There is no comparable dedication in details and cost in all the archaeological discoveries found in Israel to date.”

Mormon dissidents protest church policy regarding children of "married" same-sex couples

You know that times are strange when the Mormon church, with its history of polygamy, poses as a defender of traditional marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presents a clean-cut image to the world, but the reality is considerably less monolithic. As reported by Jon Herskovitz of Reuters, November 15, 2015:

About 1,500 Latter-day Saints have submitted letters of resignation from the Mormon Church to protest a new policy barring children of married same-sex couples from being baptized until they are adults, movement organizers said on Sunday.

More than 1,000 people gathered on Saturday near the Salt Lake City headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to protest the policy they see as discriminatory and harmful to families, with many standing in long lines to submit their resignations, they said.

A similar protest called "The Utah Rally for Love, Equality, Family and Acceptance" is set for next Saturday in the same area.

Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints approved the policy this month. It added same-sex marriage to acts considered to be a renunciation of the Mormon faith and thus subject to church discipline, including excommunication.

"It is difficult for people to leave the Church. It takes people a long time to make this decision. It is a well-thought-out one and it is not taken lightly," said Brooke Swallow, one of the organizers of the Saturday protest.

"The people in the Mormon Church are finding that this is not a Christ-centered policy," Swallow added. "This is a policy that is about the people at the top, and their views and prejudices, and they are not thinking through what this will do long-term to families."

A Church spokesman said: "We don’t want to see anyone leave the Church, especially people who have been struggling with any aspect of their life.

"It’s extremely important that our members read what leaders have said, and do not rely on other sources or interpretations or what people think they have said," Eric Hawkins said in a statement.

The Church has more than 15 million adherents and 85,000 missionaries globally.

The new church policy bars children of gay married couples from being baptized in the faith until they turn 18, leave their parents' home and disavow same-sex marriage or cohabitation.

Church leaders elaborated on Friday, saying the withholding of baptism would apply only to children whose primary residence was with a same-sex couple.

The provisions do not curtail the membership activities of children who have already been baptized.

The Church said this year it would support laws protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment. But Mormon leaders have said sex should only happen between a married couple, and they cannot sanction same-sex marriage.

70 years ago: Allied occupying authorities in Japan abolish State Shinto

On December 15, 1945, Assistant Adjutant General Colonel H.W. Allen, on behalf of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan General Douglas MacArthur, issued the Shinto Directive, abolishing state support for the Shinto religion, the faith that had provided the religious underpinning for Japanese militarism and imperialism.

Notable passages of the Shinto Directive include:

It is hereby directed that:

a. The sponsorhsip, support, perpetuation, control and dissemination of Shinto by the Japanese national, prefectural, and local governments, or by public officials, subordinates, and employees acting in their official capacity are prohibited and will cease immediately.

b. All financial support from public funds and all official affiliation with Shinto and Shinto shrines are prohibited and will cease immediately...

...c. All propagation and dissemination of militaristic and ultranationalistic ideology in Shinto doctrines, practices, rites, ceremonies, or observances, as well as in the doctrines, practices, rites, ceremonies, and observances of any other religion, faith, sect, creed, or philosophy, are prohibited and will cease immediately...

...f. All public educational institutions whose primary function is either the investigation and dissemination of Shinto or the training of a Shinto priesthood will be abolished and their physical properties diverted to other uses. Their present functions, duties and administrative obligations will not be assumed by any other governmental or tax-supported agency...

...h. The dissemination of Shinto doctrines in any form and by any means in any educational institution supported wholly or in part by public funds is prohibited and will cease immediately...

...j. The use in offcial writings of the terms "Greater East Asia War" (Dai Toa Senso), The Whole World Under One Roof (Hakko Ichi-u), and all other terms whose connotation in Japanese is inextricably connected with State Shinto, militarism, and ultra-nationalism is prohibited and will cease immediately.

k. God-shelves (Kamidana) and all othe physical symbols of State Shinto in any office, school, institution, organization, or structure supported wholly or in part by public funds are prohibited and will be removed immediately...

...m. No official of the national, prefectural, or local government, acting in his public capacity, will visit any shrine to report his assumption of office, to report on conditions of government or to participate as a representative of government in any capacity or observance.

2 a. The purpose of this directive is to separate religion from the state, to prevent misuse of religion for political ends, and to put all religions, faiths, and creeds upon exactly the same basis, entitled to precisely the same opportunites and protection. It forbids affiliation with the government and the propagation and dissemination of militaristic and ultra-nationalistic ideology not only to Shinto but to the followers of all religions, faiths, sects, creeds, or philosophies...

...c. The term State Shinto within the meaning of this directive will refer to that branch of Shinto (Kokka Shinto or Jinja Shinto) which by official acts of the Japanese Government has been differentiated from the religion of Sect Shinto (Shuha Shinto or Kyoha Shinto) and has been classified as a non-religious cult commonly known as State Shinto, National Shinto, or Shrine Shinto.

d. The term Sect Shinto (Shuha Shinto or Kyoha Shinto) will refer to that branch of Shinto (composed of 13 recognized sects) which by popular belief, legal commentary, and the official acts of the Japanese Government has been recognized to be a religion.

e...(1) Sect Shinto will enjoy the same protection as any other religion.

(2) Shrine Shinto, after having been divorced from the state and divested of its militaristic and ultra-nationalistic elements, will be recognized as a religion if its adherents so desire and will be granted the same protection as any other religion in so far as it may in fact be the philosophy or religion of Japanese individuals.

...f. Militaristic and ultra-nationalistic ideology, as used in this directive, embraces those teachings, beliefs, and theories which advocate or justify a mission on the part of Japan to extend its rule over other nations and peoples by reason of:

(1) The doctrine that the Emperor of Japan is superior to the heads of other states because of ancestry, descent, or special origin.

(2) The doctrine that the people of Japan are superior to the people of other lands because of ancestry, descent, or special origin.

(3) The doctrine that the islands of Japan are superior to other lands because of divine or special origin.

(4) Any other doctrine which tends to delude the Japanese people into embarking upon wars of aggression or to glorify the use of force as an instrument for the settlements of disputes with other peoples.

The first dramatic result of the Shinto Directive was that Emperor Hirohito issued the Humanity Declaration on January 1, 1946, denying that he was a living god.

A more recent example of the effects of the Shinto Directive occurred on February 18, 2002, when U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura visited the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo (and the allegedly "Christian" Mr. Bush committed an act of worship, angering Christians in Japan and South Korea. As reported by The Japan Times, February 19, 2002:

U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, on Monday visited Meiji Shrine, a major venue for Shinto worshippers in Tokyo.

Bush and the first lady paid their respects by bowing in front of the main shrine hall before signing a registry book, including a brief comment on their visit.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did not accompany Bush to the shrine, apparently to avoid a stir over the constitutional separation of state and religion.

However, Koizumi later joined Bush on the grounds of the shrine to watch a display of “yabusame,” or traditional mounted archery.

The shrine in Shibuya Ward is dedicated to Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his consort, Empress Shoken (1850-1914). The emperor was famous for transforming Japan from an isolated and feudal country into a modern world power during his reign. Bush’s visit was said to symbolize Japan’s need to take bold reform steps.

Originally built in 1920, the shrine was destroyed by a U.S. air raid on April 14, 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958.

The visit was arranged at the request of Bush, who reportedly hoped to get a sense of the country’s traditional culture...

...When former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan visited the shrine on their visits to Japan, the prime ministers at the time also declined to accompany them.

Koizumi angered Japan’s neighbors in August when he visited Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Japan’s war dead, including Class-A Japanese war criminals. He did not specify at that time whether he was visiting in a private or official capacity.

It's hard to imagine in 2015 that an American governing authority would officially prohibit a religion of militarism and imperial conquest.

Santeria priest charged in Connecticut with snatching bodies from Massachusetts mausoleum

Lets hear it, let's really hear it, for diversity! As reported by Jesse Leavenworth and Kristin Stoller in the Hartford Courant, December 5, 2015:

HARTFORD — A man who was arrested after skeletal remains of five bodies were found in his apartment said he was using the bones in his religion, police said Saturday.

The tenant of the apartment where the remains were seized, Amador Medina, 32, told investigators that he had the bones for use in Santeria, an Afro-Cuban religion that originated in West Africa, Deputy Chief Brian Foley said. At least one of the skeletons was clothed, apparently in the garments the body was buried in, Foley said.

Taken from Hope Cemetery in Worcester, Mass., the remains were recovered in Medina's Preston Street apartment on Friday afternoon. Medina was arrested in Hartford and charged as a fugitive from justice in Massachusetts, police said. He was cooperative and showed officers where the skeletal remains were located, police said. He said he used the bones in ceremonies and for healing, Foley said.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported late Saturday that a Massachusetts arrest warrant for Medina includes five counts of disinterment of bodies. Police said the bodies of three adults and two young children were taken from caskets in a mausoleum at Hope Cemetery. and the theft was discovered about two months ago, the newspaper reported.

Inscribed with the name, "Houghton," the mausoleum was secured by two wooden doors and a wrought iron gate with a heavy gauge chain and lock, the paper reported. The chain had been cut, police said. The last time a person was interred in the mausoleum was about 70 years ago, according to the Telegram.

Santeria ("The Way of the Saints") developed in Cuba among slaves and spread throughout Latin America and the United States. The religion combines aspects of Catholicism and deities worshiped in West Africa.

Some believers practice animal sacrifice. News reports from around the country about decapitated goats, chickens and other animals have been linked to rituals of Santeria.

As reported by Nick Kotsopoulos of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, December 6, 2015:

WORCESTER - A Hartford man has been arrested in connection with the theft of five sets of skeletal remains from a mausoleum in Hope Cemetery that were found in his home Friday afternoon.

Amador Medina, 32, of 245 Preston St. in Hartford was arrested by Hartford police at his home and charged with being a fugitive from justice in Massachusetts.

He was arrested in connection with a warrant for his arrest issued by Worcester police. In that warrant Mr. Medina is charged with five counts of disinterment of bodies, conspiracy to commit a crime (disinterment of bodies), and accessory before the fact (breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony).

Mr. Medina is to be arraigned in Hartford on Monday.

Worcester police, meanwhile, confirmed Saturday night that a mausoleum at Hope Cemetery was broken into nearly two months ago and that skeletal remains were found to be missing from damaged caskets inside.

A member of the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a forensic anthropologist were called to analyze the scene, and it was determined that five sets of skeletal remains had been stolen from the mausoleum - those of three adults and two young children, according to police.

The break into the mausoleum was discovered on the morning of Oct. 9 by a woman who was walking in the cemetery, police said.

When she noticed that the mausoleum had been broken into she notified cemetery employees, who then reported it to the police.

The mausoleum, which had the name "Houghton" inscribed on its front, was secured by two wooden doors and a wrought iron gate that had been secured with a heavy guage chain and lock, according to police.

Upon arriving at the scene, police officers noticed that the chain had been cut. The cut marks also had a rust buildup, indicating the incident may have occurred prior to the discovery, police said.

After breaking into the mausoleum, police said the suspect placed the chain and lock back in place in an attempt to avoid discovery.

The exact time of the incident is not known.

Upon entering the mausoleum, police officers found that several crypts had been forced open and that several bodies had been disinterred.

Officers also observed damage to the crypt's panels as well as damage to the caskets and that the skeletal remains were missing from the damaged caskets.

Based on those findings, the Police Department's Detective Bureau was called and took charge of the investigation. The Worcester Police Crime Scene Unit processed the mausoleum for potential evidence.

Police said an extensive investigation was done in an attempt to locate the missing human remains. Also, investigators attempted to locate family members, but were unsuccessful.

It is believed that the last time a person was interred in the mausoleum was approximately 71 years ago, police said.

Hartford police said patrol units came to Mr. Medina's apartment Friday afternoon after receiving a tip that he had stored human remains there.

They said when police made contact with Mr. Medina, they were allowed inside his apartment.

Hartford police detectives obtained and executed a search warrant for Mr. Medina's apartment, where the remains were subsequently located and secured as evidence.

They said Mr. Medina was "cooperative and forthcoming" and showed the officers where the remains were located.

Soon after the skeletal remains were discovered, Hartford police contacted Worcester police detectives. They informed Worcester police of their discovery and that they had made contact with Mr. Medina.

Worcester police said investigators will coordinate with Connecticut officials with regard to recovering the remains. Investigators will also be working on rendition proceedings for Mr. Medina.

According to the Hartford Courant, Mr. Medina told Hartford police he was using the bones in ceremonies for healing for Santeria.

Santeria (The way of the Saints) incorporates elements of several faiths including Catholicism and deities worshiped in West Africa. Some who practice the religion use animal sacrifices.

This investigation is ongoing, police said.

As reported by Monica Madeja of NBC Connecticut, December 8, 2015:

A 32-year-old Santeria priest accused of stealing five skeletons from a Massachusetts mausoleum appeared in court Tuesday, where a judge set his bail at $100,000.

Amador Medina, of Hartford, Connecticut, appeared in a Worcester courtroom Tuesday morning on charges of breaking into and stealing the remains of five family members laid to rest in a mausoleum at Hope Cemetery.

Investigators said the skeletons belonged to three adults and two children in the Houghton family and were believed to have been interred in the early 1900s. The crime was discovered Oct. 9, when a visitor to the cemetery noticed open crypts.

Medina is a priest who practices Santeria, an Afro-Cuban religion derived from the beliefs and customs of the Yoruba people that incorporates elements of the Catholic faith. Investigators said Medina wanted the bones for medicinal reasons, and that older bones are preferred.

Police allege they found the remains in two garbage bags on the porch of Medina's apartment.

Authorities said Tuesday that Medina claimed to have bought the bones from someone else.

"The defendant had stated that he had purchased these remains from another individual, but he was aware that they did come from the mausoleum and he did not have permission to have those remains," Assistant District Attorney Joe Simmons said.

Medina was scheduled to start a new job today, according to his attorney. That attorney argued that because of his work history and minimal criminal record, bail should be set between $1,000 and $2,000.

Instead, the judge lowered the prosecution's suggestion of $200,000, setting cash bail at $100,000.

Medina is set to appear again in court next month.

Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis resigns after covering up for pedophile priest

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6 (also Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2)

Here's another story I missed when it was published earlier this year; there are so many, it's hard to keep up with them all. As reported by Associated Press, June 15, 2015:

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has started making good on his promise to not let even the most senior churchmen get away with sex abuse or cover-up.

On Monday, he accepted the resignation of the embattled archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and his deputy bishop after prosecutors there charged the archdiocese with having failed to protect children from unspeakable harm from a pedophile priest who was later convicted of molesting two boys.

Separately, the Vatican indicted its own former ambassador to the Dominican Republic with sexually abusing minors in the Caribbean country — the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to stand trial for a sex crime.

The developments came days after Francis approved the creation of a new tribunal inside the Vatican to specifically hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect minors, answering years of criticism that top-ranked churchmen have long been immune to punishment for ignoring or covering up for priests who rape and molest children.

It’s not clear if the tribunal — once it becomes functioning — would handle the case of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche of St. Paul and Minneapolis, since they are now no longer in office.

They quit under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign before they retire because of illness or some other “grave” reason that makes them unfit for office.

Earlier this month, prosecutors charged the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as a corporation of having “turned a blind eye” to repeated reports of inappropriate behavior by a priest who was later convicted of molesting two boys. No individual was named in the complaint.

The charges came two years after diocesan canon lawyer-turned-whistleblower Jennifer Haselberger alleged widespread cover-up of clergy sex misconduct in the archdiocese, saying archbishops and their top staff lied to the public and ignored the U.S. bishops’ pledge to have no tolerance of priests who abuse.

Haselberger, who was Nienstedt’s archivist, accused the church of using a chaotic system of record-keeping that helped conceal the backgrounds of guilty priests who remained on assignment.

She said she repeatedly warned Nienstedt and his aides about the risk of keeping accused priests in ministry, but they took action only in one case. As a result of raising alarms, she said she was eventually shut out of meetings about priest misconduct, and later resigned.

Nienstedt had refused to resign after Haselberger’s accusations, and later after announcing that allegations had been made against him of inappropriate sexual behavior. He denied misconduct and the archdiocese hired a firm to investigate. No results were ever announced and recently Nienstedt hired his own attorney to look at the matter again.

In a statement Monday, Nienstedt said he was stepping down to give the archdiocese a new beginning. But he insisted he was leaving “with a clear conscience knowing that my team and I have put in place solid protocols to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.”

In a statement, Piche said: “The people of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis need healing and hope. I was getting in the way of that, and so I had to resign.”

With Monday’s resignations, there have been 18 bishops who have resigned after being publicly criticized for covering up for abusers, according to Anne Barrett Doyle of the online resource BishopAccountability.org.

In April, Francis accepted the resignation of U.S. bishop Robert Finn, who had been convicted in a U.S. court of failing to report a suspected child abuser.

Francis has pledged that not even high-ranking churchmen — “daddy’s boys” he called them — will get away with abuse or cover-up.

“All bishops must carry out their pastoral ministry with utmost care in order to help foster the protection of minors, and they will be held accountable,” Francis declared in July during a Mass with survivors of abuse at the Vatican.

The criminal charges against the archdiocese stem from its handling of Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, who is serving a five-year prison sentence for molesting two boys and faces prosecution involving a third boy in Wisconsin.

Prosecutors say church leaders failed to respond to “numerous and repeated reports of troubling conduct” by Wehmeyer from the time he entered seminary until he was removed from the priesthood in 2015. The criminal complaint says many people — including parishioners, fellow priests and parish staff — reported issues with Wehmeyer, and many of those claims were discounted.

The resignations came on the same day that the Vatican announced it was putting its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Jozef Wesolowski, on trial in a Vatican court on charges he sexually abused boys in the Caribbean country and possessed child pornography. Wesolowski, who has already been defrocked after being convicted in a canon law court, now faces possible jail time if convicted by the criminal tribunal of the Vatican City State.

The case has been highly sensitive, given that the Polish-born Wesolowski was an ambassador of the Holy See — a direct representative of the pope and not just one of the world’s 440,000 priests — and had been ordained both a priest and a bishop by St. John Paul II.

Former megachurch pastor sentenced to 40 years in prison in Texas for sexually assaulting girl

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6 (also Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2)

I missed this story a few months ago; file under "Yet another one!" As reported by Mitch Mitchell of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 13, 2015 (bold in original, typos in original corrected by blogger):

FORT WORTH — Geronimo Aguilar, a former minister praised for his good work in his churches, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the 1990s in Tarrant County.

Aguilar, 45, who has been in jail since his conviction in June, faced a life sentence on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child — a girl who was 13 when he started having sex with her in October 1996.

Aguilar was not convicted of sexually assaulting the girl’s younger sister, as was previously reported. An aggravated sexual assault charge is still pending in that case, prosecutors said.

Aguilar had asked state District Judge Louis Sturns to sentence him. Sturns ordered a pre-sentencing report and heard 1 1/2 days of testimony this week from people who know Aguilar.

In pronouncing sentence, Sturns called Aguilar’s flawed character — his constant quest for sex contrasted with his ability to be a good minister — a tragedy of “epic proportions.”

Aguilar has been credited with establishing a large church in one of the worst neighborhoods on the south side of Richmond, Va.

“I don’t have any doubt that your ministry did good things,” Sturns said. “The state attorney general, the governor, the police chief, fire officials, an impressive number of people felt strongly about your ministry. That you were able to establish a ministry like that in such a short period of time is amazing.”

But that made what Sturns characterized as Aguilar’s “campaign of destruction” all the more devastating.

“You had an opportunity to do things that very few people could do,” Sturns said. “The fact that you had such great gifts and were not able to use them properly is what makes this case one of my most difficult.”

A troubled family

Witnesses called by Aguilar’s attorneys this week said they did not recognize the man who seduced, coerced and sexually assaulted teenage and pre-teen girls and also had sex with married women who were members of his church. The defense witnesses said they knew a minister who clothed the naked, fed the hungry and housed the homeless.

Aguilar grew up in a troubled family, relatives said. Faye Zucker, his mother’s cousin, testified that Aguilar was 8 or 9 when his stepfather fatally shot his mother in the head five times.

Years later, when Aguilar met his biological father, Phil Aguilar, who founded a motorcycle-themed church in California called Set Free Ministries, their relationship had problems, his uncle, Mel Aguilar, testified.

“My nephew needed a better representative. His dad didn’t dad him,” Mel Aguilar said, looking directly at Aguilar’s father, who was sitting in the gallery. “Your father should have helped you. You should have been there.”

Mel Aguilar said his brother had an affair with his wife, and he and his wife eventually divorced because of her affairs.

“My wife had six affairs, but you know what, I forgave her for every one of them,” Mel Aguilar said. “I forgive my brother. I still love my brother. I forgive my ex-wife. I still love my ex-wife. There is still love there. There is still use.”

Mel Aguilar told Sturns that his nephew needed restoration, that he understood the gravity of the crimes he had committed and that he could still do good for the community. After visiting Aguilar in jail, Mel Aguilar said, he met men who credited his nephew with changing their lives and bringing them to Christ.

After leaving Fort Worth in 2003, Aguilar and his wife moved to Richmond, where he started the Richmond Outreach Center (The ROC) in a warehouse with only a few members. It grew to have several thousand members. The ROC had a salon, a gym, a laundromat, a clothing pantry where the church almost gave clothes away, among other programs, Mel Aguilar said.

“There’s going to be a penalty, I understand that. But we need to start restoring this man. He did the best he could with what he had where he was at,” Mel Aguilar said. “Christians are the only people who shoot their wounded.”

But Nickols asked Mel Aguilar how many young girls had to be victimized before the judge could begin to think about restoration for them and their families, and punishment for the crimes that were committed.

“I think you can agree with me that the best way to restore these families is to put the person who harmed them in a place where he can no longer harm anyone else?” Nickols asked Mel Aguilar.

Mel Aguilar said he did not know if he could agree with that.

In an interview outside the courtroom, Phil Aguilar, who did not testify, said he appreciated what his younger brother said.

“He's been with me through the good, bad and ugly, even though I did him wrong,” Phil Aguilar said. “He's my youngest brother, and I really love him for saying that and it proves how much a man of God he really is.”

Phil Aguilar said he was not always the best father, but said he loves his son.

“I’m a slow learner and a late bloomer,” he said. “God always saves the best wine for last.”

Ruined lives

The sisters at the center of the case testified in June that they grew up with Aguilar in communal homes owned by Phil Aguilar’s Set Free Church in Anaheim, Calif.

Geronimo Aguilar married his wife, Samantha, there in 1995 when she was 17. They soon moved to Fort Worth to the New Beginnings International Church, where he was music minister, according to testimony. The family of the two sisters followed the Aguilars to Fort Worth.

In December 2007, the older sister, then 30, told authorities in Anaheim and Fort Worth that Aguilar had repeatedly sexually assaulted her, beginning in October 1996, when she was 13, and continuing until she was nearly 15. The encounters occurred at their communal home, in motels, in the church van, in the church bathroom and in public restrooms, she told police.

The younger sister told police that she had sex with Aguilar beginning when she was 11. She said the abuse happened in the home and while she cleaned at the church.

He was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury in 2014.

On Monday, the sisters testified that their lives have been in shambles since they became involved with Aguilar while living in the house with him and their parents.

“It’s ruined so many relationships in my life,” the younger sister testified. “He was part of my family and they loved him, and when that happened I felt like they hated me. It’s like I ruined their big dreams of being a part of a ministry like Set Free.

“My sister and I hated each other. We went years without talking to each other as adults. It created this competition between us.”

Aguilar’s 15-year-old daughter, now attending school in Tarrant County, said the family moved back to Texas from Virginia to be closer to Aguilar and to visit him in jail. He is and has been a good father, his daughter said. Aguilar made time for her and her two sisters, even though he was a busy man, taking them to the mall, movies and shopping, the daughter said.

The world and the media talk differently about her father now, she testified through tears.

“That’s all I’ve seen written” she said. “That basically they just think he is this monster.”

Charges, sentences

Geronimo Aguilar was convicted in June of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17 and two counts of indecency with a child.

State District Judge Louis Sturns sentenced Aguilar to 40 years each on the aggravated sexual assault counts, 20 years each on the three counts of sexual assault and 20 years each on the two counts of indecency.

Sturns gave Aguilar, who has been in jail since his conviction in June, credit for time served and ruled that the sentences will run concurrently.

Aguilar will have to serve at least half of his 40-year sentence before he becomes eligible for parole, said prosecutor Elizabeth Kamber.

For earlier articles on this case, see:

Witnesses say mother knew minister was having sex with young daughters

Minister’s wife testifies she knew about her husband’s affairs

Ex-Fort Worth minister admits affairs, denies having sex with minors

Jury convicts ex-minister of sexually assaulting young sisters

It seems as though the acorn hasn't fallen far from the tree. Set Free Christian Fellowship, led by Phil Aguilar, was one of the subjects of Ronald Enroth's book Churches that Abuse (1992).

70 years ago: John D. Rockefeller, Jr. gives $1 million to Friends of the World Council of Churches

On December 4, 1945, Friends of the World Council of Churches, Inc. received a gift of $1 million from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to help finance "religious reconstruction" in Europe. The World Council of Churches is the organization of mainline Protestant churches that has been at the forefront of apostasy prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The best comment on the WCC that I've ever seen is from Malcolm Muggeridge, when he said that the World Council of Churches was like a row of drunks holding one another up lest alone they each fall into the gutter.

I knew that the WCC had been founded on August 23, 1948 (with the International Council of Christian Churches, led by Carl McIntire, founded a week earlier in opposition to the WCC), but until recently I didn't know that there had been an organization called Friends of the World Council of Churches, founded more than five years earlier. This organization was incorporated on January 27, 1943 and dissolved on February 13, 2013, with headquarters in Room 1062, 475 Riverside Drive in New York City (go here and here for official information).

According to Susan Bradford in A Church of Community Organizers: How the United Church of Christ was transformed into a political machine for the Left, published in Organization Trends, June 2014:

Two years after the Federal Council was established in the United States, representatives from Protestant denominations and missionary societies, principally from North America and Northern Europe, convened at the United Free Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the World Missionary Conference, which was chaired and organized by John Mott, a Methodist layman and community organizer who would later become a close friend and confidante of John D. Rockefeller Jr., a leading champion of the ecumenical movement. After Mott was appointed the first honorary president of the World Council of Churches, Rockefeller, a philanthropist and heir to the Standard Oil fortune, donated $1 million to the Friends of the World Council of Churches, which then established a Commission on International Relations whose stated purpose was to “stimulate the churches of all nations to a more vigorous expression of the demand of the Christian conscience in relation to the political policies of governments.”

Mott laid down “marching orders” intended for “members of every Protestant church around the world in an effort to expand Christianity.” He later won the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing Protestant student organizations. He was the world’s first community organizer, a tradition Obama would follow decades later. Mott also courted the financial elite and enlisted them to invest in the ecumenical movement.

As an “apostle of unity,” Mott convinced progressive Protestant denominations to set aside doctrinal differences in the interests of advancing “a vision of worldwide Christianity based on concepts they believed Christians around the world could agree on and work together to implement.” The movement was modeled after the streamlined and efficient organizational structure of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, which was ruthless in its efforts to secure monopolies for its businesses and drive competition out of its markets.

The ecumenical movement that endeavored to unite the churches under a central authority developed in concert with the movement to unite the nations under global structures like the League of Nations and its successor organization, the United Nations. “The League of Churches was to become a union of all churches on faith and order as the final purpose of the League of Nations,” remarked Willem Adolph Visser T. Hooft, a Dutch theologian who was later appointed Secretary General of the World Council of Churches. “The dream dreamt by so many philosophers, the dream of international order, based on law and justice, seemed at last to become a political reality.”

The Federal Council of Churches was established in 1908. For further reading on the origins of the modern ecumenical movement, see my posts:

100 years ago: The modern ecumenical movement begins with the World Missionary Conference

Edinburgh 2010: The ecumenical movement observes its 100th anniversary

50 years ago: Second Vatican Council concludes

On December 8, 1965, Pope Paul VI adjourned the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council, concluding the ecumenical council that had been convoked by his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, and opened on October 11, 1962. I don't feel like repeating comments that I've already made, so I recommend that readers see my previous posts:

50 years ago: Second Vatican Council opens

50 years ago: Pope Paul VI promulgates Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate)

Go here to see the full text of the Vatican II documents.

50 years ago: The Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration

On December 7, 1965, the joint Catholic-Orthodox declaration, approved by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople, was read simultaneously at a public meeting of the ecumenical council in Rome and at a special ceremony in Istanbul. The declaration concerned mutual excommunications between the churches that had occurred at the time of the Great Schism in 1054.

The text of the declaration includes the following:

2. Among the obstacles along the road of the development of these fraternal relations of confidence and esteem, there is the memory of the decisions, actions and painful incidents which in 1054 resulted in the sentence of excommunication leveled against the Patriarch Michael Cerularius and two other persons by the legate of the Roman See under the leadership of Cardinal Humbertus, legates who then became the object of a similar sentence pronounced by the patriarch and the Synod of Constantinople...

...4. Since they are certain that they express the common desire for justice and the unanimous sentiment of charity which moves the faithful, and since they recall the command of the Lord: "If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brethren has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother" (Matt. 5:23-24), Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I with his synod, in common agreement, declare that:

A. They regret the offensive words, the reproaches without foundation, and the reprehensible gestures which, on both sides, have marked or accompanied the sad events of this period.

B. They likewise regret and remove both from memory and from the midst of the Church the sentences of excommunication which followed these events, the memory of which has influenced actions up to our day and has hindered closer relations in charity; and they commit these excommunications to oblivion.

C. Finally, they deplore the preceding and later vexing events which, under the influence of various factors—among which, lack of understanding and mutual trust—eventually led to the effective rupture of ecclesiastical communion.

5. Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I with his synod realize that this gesture of justice and mutual pardon is not sufficient to end both old and more recent differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

Through the action of the Holy Spirit those differences will be overcome through cleansing of hearts, through regret for historical wrongs, and through an efficacious determination to arrive at a common understanding and expression of the faith of the Apostles and its demands...

The Joint Catholic-Orthodox declaration was another milestone on the road to the one-world church and religion of the end times just prior to the return of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hindus in India challenge the history of the Taj Mahal as a Muslim site

Strange revisionist ideas can be found anywhere, as reported from New Delhi by Andrew Marszal of the London Daily Telegraph, December 1, 2015:

India’s government has been dragged into a bizarre row over whether the Taj Mahal, widely seen as a masterpiece of Muslim architecture, should be converted into a Hindu temple.

A legal case, first brought by six lawyers in Agra in April, claims that the monument famously built by a seventeenth-century Mughal emperor as a tomb for his beloved wife was originally an ancient shrine to the Hindu god Shiva.

The petition, which was accepted by the Agra Court, names a Hindu deity as its main plaintiff.

It calls for ownership of the monument to be transferred to Hindus for worship and, most controversially, for Muslim religious activity to be blocked and graves to be removed.

Currently, only Muslims are allowed to worship at the site, offering Friday prayers at a mosque attached to the Taj Mahal.

Questioned in parliament on Monday, Dr Mahesh Sharma, India’s culture minister, said he was aware of the suit, but that “the government has not found any evidence which can suggest that Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple of Shiva”.

However, experts warned this alone will not be enough to quash the suit, which has inflamed tensions in India at a time when growing religious intolerance is already a daily talking point.

“What the culture minister has said will be the government’s official stand on it, but the court has yet to decide,” said Dr Bhuvan Vikrama, of the Archaeological Survey of India, which manages the mausoleum.

Theories over the Taj Mahal’s supposed Hindu heritage have abounded for decades, albeit well outside the historical mainstream.

In his 1989 book Taj Mahal: The True Story, revisionist historian PN Oak claimed the monument was built in 1155, decades before the Muslim invasion of India. He said its name is a corrupt form of the sanskrit term “Tejo Mahalay”, signifying a Shiva Temple.

However, Oak is the author of many outlandish and discredited theories, including bizarre claims that the Hindus once conquered Italy, and even that Westminster Abbey was once also a Shiva temple.

That, though, has not stopped his writings being widely circulated online.

As British historian William Dalrymple noted, Hindu supremacists "have found it hard to believe that such a masterpiece was built by the same Muslims they despised”.

Today, the same claims have been taken up by some members of the ruling BJP, the Hindu nationalist party led by prime minister Narenda Modi.

Lakshmikant Bajpayee, the BJP president of Uttar Pradesh state, where the monument is located, said in December that the Taj Mahal was an ancient temple that was sold by Hindu king Jai Singh to Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor widely believed to have built it.

"I am not saying this in air but there are documents to prove this," he said.

Likewise, the Agra court case was filed by lawyer Hari Shankar Jain, who claims to be a sympathiser of the RSS, a Hindu nationalist organisation with close ideological links to Mr Modi's BJP.

While government ministers have now been forced to pour cold water on the claims, some in the tourism industry surrounding the Taj Mahal believe the damage is already being done.

Speaking at the Agra district court in May, a collection of tourist bodies warned: “The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and a symbol of national pride not only for Agra but also for the entire country.

“Making the Taj Mahal controversial would affect not only the source of attraction for the world but also tourism in the country.”

Vatican astronomer's views seem to be based more on science fiction than on the Bible

On September 18, 2015, Pope Francis--a Jesuit--named American Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno to be the new director of the Vatican Observatory, replacing yet another Jesuit, Father Jose Funes of Argentina. As reported by Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service, September 18, 2015:

...Brother Consolmagno is a planetary scientist who has studied meteorites and asteroids as an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory since 1993.

He had been serving as president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, coordinator of public relations and curator of the Vatican meteorite collection in Castel Gandolfo, one of the largest in the world.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brother Consolmagno was a post-doctorate lecturer at Harvard College Observatory and at M.I.T. before serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Kenya where he taught physics and astronomy. He entered the Jesuit order in 1989 when he was in his late 30s.

His research focuses on meteorites, asteroids and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system.

He was honored for his work by the International Astronomical Union in 2000 with the naming of an asteroid after him, the "4597 Consolmagno," a small, 12-mile-wide rock orbiting near the sun.

Author of numerous books on science and faith, he received the prestigious Carl Sagan Medal in 2014 for his ability to communicate accurately and clearly the discoveries of planetary science to the general public.

The same day the Vatican announced Brother Consolmagno's appointment, Pope Francis met with the observatory staff and guests taking part in a special symposium sponsored by the papal astronomers...

...Pope Francis encouraged continued and deeper dialogue between science and religion, underlining the special role scientific research can have in promoting interreligious dialogue, "which is more urgent than ever today..."

As reported by Dennis Sadowski of Catholic News Service, September 19, 2015:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, the new president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, has no doubt that life exists elsewhere in the universe and that when humanity discovers it, the news will come as no big surprise.

He suggested that the likely discovery -- whether next month or a millennium from now -- will be received much the way that news of planets orbiting far off stars has filtered in since the 1990s.

"The general public is going to be, 'Oh, I knew that. I knew it was going to be there,'" Brother Consolmagno told Catholic News Service prior to a presentation at a NASA/Library of Congress symposium on preparing for the discovery of life in the universe Sept. 18-19.

A planetary scientist who has studied meteorites and asteroids as an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory since 1993, Brother Consolmagno said he hopes the questions about life on other planets will focus more on how humanity sees itself.

"When we say human, human as compared to what?" he asked.

While the discovery of life elsewhere will not prove nor disprove the existence of God, Brother Consolmagno expects that it will open the door to ponder what form salvation history may take in other intelligent societies.

The longtime Vatican astronomer addresses the same question and a series of others that cross the threshold between science and religion in a new book, "Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? ... and Other Strange Questions From the Inbox at the Vatican Observatory," set to be published in October. Co-written by Jesuit Father Paul Mueller, another Vatican Observatory astronomer, the book uses a series of easy-to-read conversations between the two in an effort to explain how the church supports science and provide insight into how religion works...

...In his presentation Sept. 19 bearing the same title as his new book, Brother Consolmagno suggested the idea of discovering extraterrestrial life may be so appealing to humanity, with all its pain, injustice and disease, that there is hope that "any race advanced enough to cross the stars to visit us must also be advanced enough to show us how to overcome all those human ills. They look to the aliens to be saviors of mankind."

Other symposium participants from around the world involved in searching for life on other planets addressed topics such as how society should cope with the discovery, astrobiology and theology, the moral status of non-human organisms and moving beyond preconceptions of what life is.

An avid reader of science fiction, Brother Consolmagno will receive the Carl Sagan Medal from the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in November. The award is being given for his work in communicating planetary science to the general public.

As reported by Wisconsin Public Radio, September 22, 2015:

Consolmagno, who is a graduate of MIT and has been working at the observatory since 1993, has spoken out frequently on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and doesn’t believe that being human is a prerequisite for believing in God.

According to Consolmagno, the "image" of God as described in the Bible is an idea, not a literal physical likeness.

"An entity is aware of itself, aware of other entities and able to make choices maybe to love or not love, to interact or not interact. That’s the essence of what the image and likeness of God is about. It has nothing to do with how many tentacles you have," he said.

As Consolmagno has said before, "Any entity -- no matter how many tentacles it has -- has a soul."

To those who wonder if this is out of step with Roman Catholic theology, Consolmagno points to the fact that the faith is already filled with supernatural intelligent beings: Angels. In addition to not being human, he said angels are also "intelligent beings free to choose or not choose creations of the Creator."

Consolmagno admits that his fascination with these topics is driven not only by his love of science, but also by his love of science fiction. He was initially attracted to MIT for his doctoral work because of their large science fiction library. He said he enjoys the large questions being asked in both science and religion, and sees the challenges presented by both as a good thing.

"A religion that doesn’t challenge you is not much of a religion and, frankly, a science that doesn’t challenge you is not much of a science," he said.

One "extraterrestrial" whom Brother Consolmagno is probably not expecting to see is the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be coming back to Earth from Heaven (Zechariah 14:2-5; Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:11) to rule as King.

The perceptive reader will notice that Brother Consolmagno's choice for Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a place to pursue his doctorate was initiated not by a desire for greater knowledge of God's creation, but by MIT's large library of science fiction, and it's science fiction, not the Bible, from which he derives his beliefs about intelligent life on other worlds. As for angels, scripture says:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14 (NIV)

Never trust a Jesuit.

HT: Dracul Van Helsing

Opposing idolatry in India can get you killed

Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. Jeremiah 10:2-15

Here's an example from India of secular multiculturalism's difficulty in handling militant religious opposition--Trudeaupians and other residents of Western "democracies," please note--as reported by Katy Daigle of Associated Press, August 31 2015:

NEW DELHI — Following a knock at his front door, an Indian scholar greeted two unidentified visitors and was shot in the head and the chest, becoming the third critic of religious superstition to be killed in the country in three years.

The attack on Malleshappa M. Kalburgi sent a chill through Indian civil society, stoking worries about religious extremism and intolerance and prompting an outpouring of condemnation as the 77-year-old author and academic was cremated Monday in his hometown of Dharwad, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

“This incident should not have happened. It is highly condemnable,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Authorities are searching for two men who according to Kalburgi’s daughter arrived on a motorcycle at their home Sunday, knocked on the door and fired two shots that killed her father, Inspector S.S. Hiremath said. He declined to give further details about the attack.

Police are investigating whether Kalburgi’s murder is connected to death threats he received last year from angry right-wing Hindu groups after he criticized idol worship and superstitious beliefs by Hindus. He was provided police security after the threats but it was removed about two weeks ago at the scholar’s request, police said.

The attack was widely condemned.

“Everyone has the right to express his opinion,” actor and director Girish Karnad said. “If this grows in Karnataka, we are in trouble.”

Columnist Nitin Pai, who founded a think-tank in the southern city of Bangalore, said on Twitter that he was “Shocked at the murder of M.M. Kalburgi. Disgusted that his killers have apologists among us.”

India has long held secularism to be a keystone of its constitution — and a necessity for keeping the peace among its cacophony of cultures defined by caste, clan, tribe or religion, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Earlier this year, unknown attackers gunned down another anti-superstition crusader, Indian writer and communist politician Govind Pansare, as he and his wife were taking a walk in western Maharashtra state.

In another daytime attack in 2013, two assailants gunned down Narendra Dabholkar, a 68-year-old doctor-turned-activist, while he was out for a walk in the Maharashtra city of Pune, near Mumbai.

Police have arrested two suspects in Dabholkar’s murder. He had received years of death threats and demands that he stop giving lectures in villages across Maharashtra state promoting rationalist thought and discouraging superstitions, religious extremism, black magic and animal or human sacrifice.

Maharashtra’s government later passed long-stalled legislation that Dabholkar had worked on banning religious exploitation and fraudulent medical workers.

Activists have said the legislation does not go far enough since it only allows complaints from victims and their families, not from third parties, which they say limits the law’s effectiveness because most victims are invested in superstitious beliefs and are not likely to complain.