Here’s an interesting take on the possible origins of the Antichrist -- he could be a descendant of Esau. Esau began the whole idea of trying to wipe out the Jews by plotting to kill his brother Jacob who, of course, ended up being the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Among Esau’s descendants were the children of Amalek and one of the most famous Amalekites was Haman who also tried to wipe out the Jews in Persia as told in the book of Esther. Herod was an Idumean, also descendants of Esau, and as we all know from the Christmas story, he tried to kill every single Jewish male baby in Bethlehem in order to hold onto his power.
Later during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Idumeans pleaded with the inhabitants of the city to let them come inside the walls. The Jews allowed them in because they promised to help with the fighting. They came in, all right, and then they turned on the Jews and helped the Romans slaughter them.
The entire book of Obadiah shows God’s anger at Edom, the nation that sprang from Esau. Obadiah graphically depicts God’s fury concerning their treatment of his chosen people with prophecies of Edom's future punishment.
The Bible tells us that there will be one time when Esau breaks the yoke of his brother Jacob (as predicted by their father Isaac during that whole incident with the stolen blessing in Genesis 29). Can this possibly be the time when the Antichrist rules because the Antichrist is a descendant of Esau?
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As if we didn’t have enough to deal with on the gay marriage front, now a dictionary has gotten into the act. Merriam-Webster now includes one of its definitions of marriage as “the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage.” Noah Webster, our founding father who created the Webster dictionary, must be turning over in his grave. Here’s what his original definition had to say about marriage... it’s “the act of uniting a man and a woman for life; wedlock; the legal union of a man and a woman for life. Marriage is a contract both civil and religious, by which the partied engage to live together in mutual affection and fidelity till death shall separate them. Marriage was instituted by God himself.”
Not many people know that Noah Webster included a call to repentance and the sinner’s prayer in the opening pages of his dictionary. We’ve come a long and not-so-good way since then.
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Are you feeling like you’re in the minority lately? If you’re a true Bible-believing Christian, it’s very likely you are. According to a recent survey, only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview. Even more chilling, only 1% of young adults hold a biblical worldview. We’re not doing a very good job of passing our faith on to the next generation. I’ve often wondered how God would be able to declare his church complete and to initiate the rapture, but with stats like these, it’s sadly getting easier to imagine, at least here in the United States. Happily the rest of the world is exploding with new believers, China and the Middle East in particular.
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Speaking of stats, here’s another sobering one. There were 14,000 pastors in Germany as Hitler was rising to power. Only a little more than 800 stood up to him. The problem was that the churches in Germany had divided their worldview between the secular and the sacred, something no Christian should ever do. And so Hitler was able to use their foolish -- and unbiblical -- worldview to gain political power with no one to stop him. The separation of church and state IS NOT in our constitution, but it was in the former Soviet Union’s!
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Five consequences for rejecting God according to Romans 1.
1. People become futile in their thinking and indulge in stupid speculations.
2. People exchange the truth of God’s word for the lie that we can be God ourselves (just like Eve did in Eden).
3. People accept homosexuality as normal.
4. The whole culture becomes violent and debased.
5. The culture encourages immorality which means we end up with corrupt judicial, executive, and legislative branches of the government.
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Some worldview trends taking the place of the word of God
1. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS which is also known as cultural Marxism. This is forced on the culture by the so-called elites who do everything in their power to deny God. Everything is equal except for the ultimate truth of the Bible and God.
2. PAGAN SPIRITUALITY from across the spectrum which is being heavily promoted by Oprah among others. This is a growing trend because it gives people license to rebel against the God of the Bible. It also provides spiritual salve for their guilty consciences -- people are able to do whatever works for them. Pluralism and tolerance become cool (for everything except the Bible). It also justifies people’s political liberalism so they can be in favor of abortion and gay marriage and other sins without feeling bad.
3. ONE WORLD SPIRITUALITY which is the amalgamation of Darwinian evolution, pantheism (God is everything and everything is God), and occultism (as evidenced by the explosion of movies and stories about vampires, demons, aliens, and superheroes with god-like powers, as well as the rise of the Wicca religion).
These trends have two goals in common -- to destroy Christianity and to create chaos so people will cry out for more government. The elites want socialism, but they want it to come through evolution rather than revolution.
****************
Have you noticed how the facts about Islam that keep turning up in the news and online get scarier and scarier and yet most people seem more oblivious than ever about the dangers of this all-encompassing political/religious system. The latest comes out of Turkey where half of all murders last year were honor killings. Now family members are forcing women to commit suicide, so the male members of the family won’t have to kill them and end up in jail. Families used to call on the younger men to do the killing because they felt the law would deal with them more leniently. Now, however, Turkey has passed a law that calls for mandatory life imprisonment for those who perform these honor killings. In order to avoid that penalty, after the family council decides that a woman should no longer be allowed to live for bringing ‘dishonor’ on the family, they leave her in a locked room with a noose, a knife, and rat poison until she complies with their verdict. How nice of them to give her a choice on how to off herself.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
International Prophecy Conference 2009
I recently attended the 2009 International Prophecy Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.
All I can say is a great, big WOW.
The speakers were a who’s who of biblical prophecy and included the host pastor, Joe Van Koevering along with Tim LaHaye, Grant Jeffrey, Mark Hitchcock, Perry Stone, Donald Perkins, and John McTernan.
Here are some of the highlights of what we all learned.
The Bible tells us that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse her. John McTernan spoke about how every time America has done something to violate this principle, we’ve have some sort of catastrophe. For example, George Herbert Bush was in the process of giving a speech in Madrid insisting that Israel must divide the land when a freakish storm that eventually came to be known as the Perfect Storm (of George Clooney movie fame) began swirling in the north Atlantic where storms never have their origin and headed southwest, which storms never do. This killer storm skirted the coast of Maine where Bush has a summer home and 30 foot waves just happened to wash over that residence, blowing out the windows and destroying the place. Later in 1992, this so called Peace Process which Bush senior initiated and whose core principle calls for the dividing of the land of Israel, moved from Madrid to the United States at the same time that Hurricane Andrew hit. Soon after all this, it became clear to everyone that Bush senior was done politically and would not win re-election.
Another really amazing connection between what happens when we mess with Israel concerns the Gaza strip. At the urging of the U.S., Israel turned over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians. Jews were warned to leave and then forcibly evicted from their homes. Within the week, Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans and people here in the United States were warned to leave and then forcibly evicted from their homes. George W. Bush never recovered from the political fallout of this disaster and he left office with some of the worst ratings in history. God had judged him as he had judged his father for trying to divide the land of Israel.
More interesting tidbits: Our economy started to fall on July 20th, 2007 after another speech was given that Israel must be divided. The stock market crashed in a big way (in the 600-700 point range) on the three Jewish holidays of Rosh Shoshana, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Trumpets.
Check out McTernan’s book on the subject AS AMERICA HAS DONE TO ISRAEL for more mind-boggling connections that are too numerous to be coincidental.
Mark Hitchcock spoke about four possible scenarios for America since it is not mentioned in end times prophecy: 1) a nuclear or EMP attack, 2) a financial apocalypse, 3) an energy crisis, or 4) a fall from within. He also felt that during the Rapture, America will lose more Christians percentage-wise than any other country and that this would reduce us to a third world country overnight. His book, THE LATE GREAT UNITED STATES has more on all of this.
Perry Stone pointed out that God is a God of patterns and that the things that occurred in Genesis provide a template of what will happen again. He then proceeded to show how America follows the pattern both of ancient Israel (13 tribes vs 13 colonies, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea to become a nation, we crossed the Atlantic ocean, etc.) and the Roman empire (where it seems that we are similarly being destroyed from within). He suggested that our economic situation is very much like the story of Joseph in Egypt and that Obama is like ‘the pharaoh who knew not Joseph’.
America seems to have reached her peak. The Antichrist and the one world government can’t bring the mark of the beast to bear while the U.S. dollar still exists nor can the world join together in a global government in the first place unless America is no longer strong and free. Israel has to stand alone, which means no more support from the U.S. which also means no more blessings on America. America is also ripe for judgment for the sin of killing millions of babies and its growing support of the abomination of state-sanctioned gay marriage.
Grant Jeffrey gave a riveting talk about the Shadow Government and the plan by global elites to take over the entire earth. Even before the election was decided, both Obama and Hilary Clinton attended a meeting of the Bildiburgers, a select, elite group somewhat like the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Likely it didn’t matter who came out on top because whoever ended up as president would choose the other as secretary of state.
Even scarier is the ever-growing technology which can now keep tabs on all of us. Radio Frequency chips (RFIDs) are in everything, including the clothes you wear. They don’t disable them when you buy the clothes (with your also-able-to-be-tracked credit card) and these chips can be read up to 100 feet away with a reader. Right now it’s used for inventory control, but the possibilities for more evil purposes are endless. American passports now have this chip and they’re talking about putting them in drivers licenses. And did you know that every email any of us has ever sent since the beginning of email is still out there, even if you immediately erase it. The National Security Agency runs a huge computer that keeps all the data. Mr. Jeffrey’s advice -- when sending emails, act as if a policeman is watching over your shoulder.
A crew from God TV filmed all the sessions and they’re going to be on sometime in the future. Check out their website at GodTV for the times and also check out the website of conference host Dr. Van Koevering at God's News Behind the News.
All I can say is a great, big WOW.
The speakers were a who’s who of biblical prophecy and included the host pastor, Joe Van Koevering along with Tim LaHaye, Grant Jeffrey, Mark Hitchcock, Perry Stone, Donald Perkins, and John McTernan.
Here are some of the highlights of what we all learned.
The Bible tells us that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse her. John McTernan spoke about how every time America has done something to violate this principle, we’ve have some sort of catastrophe. For example, George Herbert Bush was in the process of giving a speech in Madrid insisting that Israel must divide the land when a freakish storm that eventually came to be known as the Perfect Storm (of George Clooney movie fame) began swirling in the north Atlantic where storms never have their origin and headed southwest, which storms never do. This killer storm skirted the coast of Maine where Bush has a summer home and 30 foot waves just happened to wash over that residence, blowing out the windows and destroying the place. Later in 1992, this so called Peace Process which Bush senior initiated and whose core principle calls for the dividing of the land of Israel, moved from Madrid to the United States at the same time that Hurricane Andrew hit. Soon after all this, it became clear to everyone that Bush senior was done politically and would not win re-election.
Another really amazing connection between what happens when we mess with Israel concerns the Gaza strip. At the urging of the U.S., Israel turned over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians. Jews were warned to leave and then forcibly evicted from their homes. Within the week, Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans and people here in the United States were warned to leave and then forcibly evicted from their homes. George W. Bush never recovered from the political fallout of this disaster and he left office with some of the worst ratings in history. God had judged him as he had judged his father for trying to divide the land of Israel.
More interesting tidbits: Our economy started to fall on July 20th, 2007 after another speech was given that Israel must be divided. The stock market crashed in a big way (in the 600-700 point range) on the three Jewish holidays of Rosh Shoshana, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Trumpets.
Check out McTernan’s book on the subject AS AMERICA HAS DONE TO ISRAEL for more mind-boggling connections that are too numerous to be coincidental.
Mark Hitchcock spoke about four possible scenarios for America since it is not mentioned in end times prophecy: 1) a nuclear or EMP attack, 2) a financial apocalypse, 3) an energy crisis, or 4) a fall from within. He also felt that during the Rapture, America will lose more Christians percentage-wise than any other country and that this would reduce us to a third world country overnight. His book, THE LATE GREAT UNITED STATES has more on all of this.
Perry Stone pointed out that God is a God of patterns and that the things that occurred in Genesis provide a template of what will happen again. He then proceeded to show how America follows the pattern both of ancient Israel (13 tribes vs 13 colonies, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea to become a nation, we crossed the Atlantic ocean, etc.) and the Roman empire (where it seems that we are similarly being destroyed from within). He suggested that our economic situation is very much like the story of Joseph in Egypt and that Obama is like ‘the pharaoh who knew not Joseph’.
America seems to have reached her peak. The Antichrist and the one world government can’t bring the mark of the beast to bear while the U.S. dollar still exists nor can the world join together in a global government in the first place unless America is no longer strong and free. Israel has to stand alone, which means no more support from the U.S. which also means no more blessings on America. America is also ripe for judgment for the sin of killing millions of babies and its growing support of the abomination of state-sanctioned gay marriage.
Grant Jeffrey gave a riveting talk about the Shadow Government and the plan by global elites to take over the entire earth. Even before the election was decided, both Obama and Hilary Clinton attended a meeting of the Bildiburgers, a select, elite group somewhat like the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Likely it didn’t matter who came out on top because whoever ended up as president would choose the other as secretary of state.
Even scarier is the ever-growing technology which can now keep tabs on all of us. Radio Frequency chips (RFIDs) are in everything, including the clothes you wear. They don’t disable them when you buy the clothes (with your also-able-to-be-tracked credit card) and these chips can be read up to 100 feet away with a reader. Right now it’s used for inventory control, but the possibilities for more evil purposes are endless. American passports now have this chip and they’re talking about putting them in drivers licenses. And did you know that every email any of us has ever sent since the beginning of email is still out there, even if you immediately erase it. The National Security Agency runs a huge computer that keeps all the data. Mr. Jeffrey’s advice -- when sending emails, act as if a policeman is watching over your shoulder.
A crew from God TV filmed all the sessions and they’re going to be on sometime in the future. Check out their website at GodTV for the times and also check out the website of conference host Dr. Van Koevering at God's News Behind the News.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Islam -- Cruel and Usual Punishment
It still amazes me that so many people think Islam is a religion of peace and that those who follow it come to the United States and happily blend right in to our American way of life. Muslims do not and cannot integrate with our culture because they’re living under another cultural imperative entirely.
Christians have no cultural mandate, but are able to work, eat, and dress according to the places where they live. In contrast, Islam deifies 7th century Arabian culture. It’s Arab imperialism disguised as a religion. Islam is a one party totalitarian system that puts you to death if you try to leave it.
We continue to call Islam a religion, but it’s actually a political system whereas Christianity and other religions are not. Islam follows the political structure of 7th century Arabia where the chief had absolute power over the members of his tribe. Every Muslim nation today has a dictator or other single leader who holds absolute power over the people. Just like in the Arabian desert all those centuries ago, freedom of speech and religion are nowhere in sight.
As most people know, Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day facing toward Mecca. Again, this is cultural imperialism. Christians don’t pray toward Rome or the Holy Land nor do Jews pray toward Jerusalem. Is Allah in Mecca? I don’t think so.
As for dietary laws, only those foods which were acceptable in 7th century Arabia are allowed today, thus the prohibition on pork among other foods.
Women really lose out under Islam where they are totally subjected to horrible treatment. Women are forced to wear what illiterate, nomadic tribeswomen wore in the desert during the 7th century when Islam was founded. Women are pretty much a segregated subculture under the total dominance of men. They’re separated in schools and are even segregated in fast food restaurants -- no family dinners at McDonald’s allowed under Islam. Worse, public decency police called muttawa search the malls for women whose loose scarves might reveal a curl of hair. Once found, they are allowed to beat these poor women with sticks. Islam punishes rape victims rather than the rapists -- a woman needs four male witnesses to attest to a rape otherwise she is considered the guilty party and can even be stoned to death because of it. Thanks to the Islamic concept of ‘honor’ killing, a woman can be legally murdered by her male relatives for such 'violations' of the family honor as dating an unacceptable man or wanting a divorce or losing her virginity outside marriage. The perpetrators suffer little or no consequences for their acts. Islam allows men to have an endless number of ‘pleasure’ wives, a woman whom a man can legally 'marry' for a single night of sex, then walk away from in the morning, no strings attached.
Punishment is cruel, unusual, and downright barbaric under Sharia law in Islam. The Koran specifically commands that those who disobey Allah be tortured, so they cut off hands, ears, and tongues. They gouge out eyes. They behead people and carry out public floggings. Did you know there are three official state beheaders in Saudi Arabla? These guys are like rock stars over there. Every Friday, they have public beheadings of murderers, sorcerers, adulterers, robbers, and others in Riyadh’s ‘Chop Chop’ square.
The United States must NEVER allow Sharia law to gain a foothold, not even in enclaves of predominantly Muslim populations. If you want to know more, check out Noni Darwish’s riveting new book, CRUEL AND USUAL PUNISHMENT. Ms Darwish lived the first thirty years of her life under Sharia law and she tells how that was and how Sharia might soon be coming to a neighborhood near you if all of us don’t stand up for our constitutional freedoms and for our country.
Christians have no cultural mandate, but are able to work, eat, and dress according to the places where they live. In contrast, Islam deifies 7th century Arabian culture. It’s Arab imperialism disguised as a religion. Islam is a one party totalitarian system that puts you to death if you try to leave it.
We continue to call Islam a religion, but it’s actually a political system whereas Christianity and other religions are not. Islam follows the political structure of 7th century Arabia where the chief had absolute power over the members of his tribe. Every Muslim nation today has a dictator or other single leader who holds absolute power over the people. Just like in the Arabian desert all those centuries ago, freedom of speech and religion are nowhere in sight.
As most people know, Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day facing toward Mecca. Again, this is cultural imperialism. Christians don’t pray toward Rome or the Holy Land nor do Jews pray toward Jerusalem. Is Allah in Mecca? I don’t think so.
As for dietary laws, only those foods which were acceptable in 7th century Arabia are allowed today, thus the prohibition on pork among other foods.
Women really lose out under Islam where they are totally subjected to horrible treatment. Women are forced to wear what illiterate, nomadic tribeswomen wore in the desert during the 7th century when Islam was founded. Women are pretty much a segregated subculture under the total dominance of men. They’re separated in schools and are even segregated in fast food restaurants -- no family dinners at McDonald’s allowed under Islam. Worse, public decency police called muttawa search the malls for women whose loose scarves might reveal a curl of hair. Once found, they are allowed to beat these poor women with sticks. Islam punishes rape victims rather than the rapists -- a woman needs four male witnesses to attest to a rape otherwise she is considered the guilty party and can even be stoned to death because of it. Thanks to the Islamic concept of ‘honor’ killing, a woman can be legally murdered by her male relatives for such 'violations' of the family honor as dating an unacceptable man or wanting a divorce or losing her virginity outside marriage. The perpetrators suffer little or no consequences for their acts. Islam allows men to have an endless number of ‘pleasure’ wives, a woman whom a man can legally 'marry' for a single night of sex, then walk away from in the morning, no strings attached.
Punishment is cruel, unusual, and downright barbaric under Sharia law in Islam. The Koran specifically commands that those who disobey Allah be tortured, so they cut off hands, ears, and tongues. They gouge out eyes. They behead people and carry out public floggings. Did you know there are three official state beheaders in Saudi Arabla? These guys are like rock stars over there. Every Friday, they have public beheadings of murderers, sorcerers, adulterers, robbers, and others in Riyadh’s ‘Chop Chop’ square.
The United States must NEVER allow Sharia law to gain a foothold, not even in enclaves of predominantly Muslim populations. If you want to know more, check out Noni Darwish’s riveting new book, CRUEL AND USUAL PUNISHMENT. Ms Darwish lived the first thirty years of her life under Sharia law and she tells how that was and how Sharia might soon be coming to a neighborhood near you if all of us don’t stand up for our constitutional freedoms and for our country.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Movie Madness
Movieguide magazine, a Christian family guide to movies and entertainment, has put out their annual year in review issue.
There’s lots of interesting stuff.
They list the ten Best Movies of 2008 for families and give the theme/reason why they were chosen:
1. WALL-E (love gives all to save mankind -- best love and sacrifice)
2. FIREPROOF (learning to truly love -- best redemptive love story)
3. PRINCE CASPIAN (substance of things hoped for -- best faith and chivalry)
4. BOLT (love overcomes all obstacles -- best faith and trust triumph)
5. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D (discovering the value of family -- best finding family)
6. NIM’S ISLAND (hope, courage, and keeping promises -- best coming of age)
7. KUNG FU PANDA (the truth is there is no secret -- best overcoming elitism)
8. THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (commending a code of real honor -- best valor in the face of danger)
9. MADAGASCAR 2 (love bears ignominy and perseveres -- best father/son reunion)
10. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 (learning to do the right thing -- best good, clean fun).
The ten Best Movies of 2008 for Mature Audiences:
1. IRONMAN (sacrifice redeems cad -- best conversion to righteousness)
2. GRAN TORINO (redemptive power of sacrifice -- best learning true valor)
3. VALKYRIE (righteous courage -- best standing against evil)
4. CHANGELING (a mother’s love will not be silenced -- best truth triumphs)
5. THE LONGSHOTS (the gifts God gives you -- best use of God’s gifts)
6. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (save mankind to save the world -- best pro-humankind)
7. EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED (truth vanquishes false philosophy -- best expose of tyranny)
8. TYLER PERRY’S THE FAMILY THAT PREYS (Jesus forgives sinners -- best forgiveness in Christ)
9. MARLEY AND ME (unruly dog builds family -- best pet builds marriage)
10. HENRY POOLE IS HERE (miraculous deliverance from despair -- best atheist finds God).
One of the cool findings they report: movies reflecting high moral, biblical, and Christian standards do much better at the box office than movies that violate those high standards. Even better, this is especially true of movies that go out of their way to aggressively violate such standards. Moviegoers tend to reject them.
Four of the top five movies in 2008 had strong or very strong Christian, moral, and/or biblical content (with HANCOCK being the exception). Ten of the top ten movies had at least some Christian, moral, and/or biblical principles.
I don’t know about you, but I often have a beef with movie critics -- it seems the more they like a movie, the more I’ll probably dislike it. So I especially enjoyed this tidbit -- according to Movieguide, most movie critics picked as their favorites the worst movies seen by the fewest number of people.
The bottom line good news is that family friendly movies and movies with positive Christian content make the most money, on average, of any other kind of movie and these kinds of movies did so again in 2008. In fact, 2008 was the year that Communist movies like CHE totally bombed at the box office. Pedophile movies like HOUNDDOG with Dakota Fanning, anti-American movies like WAR, INC., anti-Christian movies like ADAM RESURRECTED, RELIGULOUS, and SAVE ME, also all bombed at the box office. It was the year where sex, foul language, graphic nudity, and homosexuality did not sell yet again.
Christians need to realize that this trend will not continue unless they support good movies as much as they can, thus sending the message to Hollywood to produce more of the same. We can’t ignore the huge influence Hollywood has on our kids and grandkids and on the society in which we all live.
With that said, here are some of the worst movies of 2008 for contributing to the corruption of the culture. In no particular order, they include: MILK, HANCOCK, W., SEX AND THE CITY, THE READER, THE HOUSE BUNNY, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, SAW V, THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, and WANTED.
****************
The top three religions in the world are:
1. Christianity -- 2.1 billion
2. Islam -- 1.5 billion
3. Secular/Non-Religious/Agnostic/Atheist -- 1.1 billion.
The largest religious bodies and churches in the world are:
1. Catholic Church -- 1,100,000,000
2. Sunni Muslim -- 1,000,000,000
3. Eastern Orthodox Church -- 225,000,000
****************
Americans seem to be confused about several important moral issues. While 88% of Americans disapprove of adultery, only 52% say abortion is wrong while 50% say homosexual behavior is morally wrong.
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If you needed more proof that we're living in a post-Christian age, check this out. Active Christians in American number about 43 millions adults or 19% of the nation’s 226.2 million adults according to an R.R. Bowker study. ‘Active’ Christians are those most likely to read the Bible in their spare time, be committed churchgoers. accept leadership positions in the church, and feel obligated to share their faith.
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The political correctness gestapo isn’t only at work in the U.S. when it comes to the homosexual agenda. Now the European Union has demanded that all foreign aid to Nigeria be suspended after the Nigerians voted not to recognize homosexual marriage.
There’s lots of interesting stuff.
They list the ten Best Movies of 2008 for families and give the theme/reason why they were chosen:
1. WALL-E (love gives all to save mankind -- best love and sacrifice)
2. FIREPROOF (learning to truly love -- best redemptive love story)
3. PRINCE CASPIAN (substance of things hoped for -- best faith and chivalry)
4. BOLT (love overcomes all obstacles -- best faith and trust triumph)
5. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D (discovering the value of family -- best finding family)
6. NIM’S ISLAND (hope, courage, and keeping promises -- best coming of age)
7. KUNG FU PANDA (the truth is there is no secret -- best overcoming elitism)
8. THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (commending a code of real honor -- best valor in the face of danger)
9. MADAGASCAR 2 (love bears ignominy and perseveres -- best father/son reunion)
10. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 (learning to do the right thing -- best good, clean fun).
The ten Best Movies of 2008 for Mature Audiences:
1. IRONMAN (sacrifice redeems cad -- best conversion to righteousness)
2. GRAN TORINO (redemptive power of sacrifice -- best learning true valor)
3. VALKYRIE (righteous courage -- best standing against evil)
4. CHANGELING (a mother’s love will not be silenced -- best truth triumphs)
5. THE LONGSHOTS (the gifts God gives you -- best use of God’s gifts)
6. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (save mankind to save the world -- best pro-humankind)
7. EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED (truth vanquishes false philosophy -- best expose of tyranny)
8. TYLER PERRY’S THE FAMILY THAT PREYS (Jesus forgives sinners -- best forgiveness in Christ)
9. MARLEY AND ME (unruly dog builds family -- best pet builds marriage)
10. HENRY POOLE IS HERE (miraculous deliverance from despair -- best atheist finds God).
One of the cool findings they report: movies reflecting high moral, biblical, and Christian standards do much better at the box office than movies that violate those high standards. Even better, this is especially true of movies that go out of their way to aggressively violate such standards. Moviegoers tend to reject them.
Four of the top five movies in 2008 had strong or very strong Christian, moral, and/or biblical content (with HANCOCK being the exception). Ten of the top ten movies had at least some Christian, moral, and/or biblical principles.
I don’t know about you, but I often have a beef with movie critics -- it seems the more they like a movie, the more I’ll probably dislike it. So I especially enjoyed this tidbit -- according to Movieguide, most movie critics picked as their favorites the worst movies seen by the fewest number of people.
The bottom line good news is that family friendly movies and movies with positive Christian content make the most money, on average, of any other kind of movie and these kinds of movies did so again in 2008. In fact, 2008 was the year that Communist movies like CHE totally bombed at the box office. Pedophile movies like HOUNDDOG with Dakota Fanning, anti-American movies like WAR, INC., anti-Christian movies like ADAM RESURRECTED, RELIGULOUS, and SAVE ME, also all bombed at the box office. It was the year where sex, foul language, graphic nudity, and homosexuality did not sell yet again.
Christians need to realize that this trend will not continue unless they support good movies as much as they can, thus sending the message to Hollywood to produce more of the same. We can’t ignore the huge influence Hollywood has on our kids and grandkids and on the society in which we all live.
With that said, here are some of the worst movies of 2008 for contributing to the corruption of the culture. In no particular order, they include: MILK, HANCOCK, W., SEX AND THE CITY, THE READER, THE HOUSE BUNNY, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, SAW V, THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, and WANTED.
****************
The top three religions in the world are:
1. Christianity -- 2.1 billion
2. Islam -- 1.5 billion
3. Secular/Non-Religious/Agnostic/Atheist -- 1.1 billion.
The largest religious bodies and churches in the world are:
1. Catholic Church -- 1,100,000,000
2. Sunni Muslim -- 1,000,000,000
3. Eastern Orthodox Church -- 225,000,000
****************
Americans seem to be confused about several important moral issues. While 88% of Americans disapprove of adultery, only 52% say abortion is wrong while 50% say homosexual behavior is morally wrong.
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If you needed more proof that we're living in a post-Christian age, check this out. Active Christians in American number about 43 millions adults or 19% of the nation’s 226.2 million adults according to an R.R. Bowker study. ‘Active’ Christians are those most likely to read the Bible in their spare time, be committed churchgoers. accept leadership positions in the church, and feel obligated to share their faith.
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The political correctness gestapo isn’t only at work in the U.S. when it comes to the homosexual agenda. Now the European Union has demanded that all foreign aid to Nigeria be suspended after the Nigerians voted not to recognize homosexual marriage.
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