Month: April 2013

  • Christianity: The New Face of Terror!

    I Went to Bed a Christian
    and Woke Up a … Terrorist?

    Author: Doug Giles
    Source: Townhall.com - April 14, 2013

    tolerance



    According to the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, evangelical Christians are now a national security threat. I’m talkin’ at the top of the list folks. As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise” eh, Christians?

    [Related Article: Secret Service Power Grab]
    [Related Article: Creeping Tyranny]

    Under the New Rules enacted by these agencies under this administration’s tutelage the following acts are now to cause red flags of “terrorism” to fly, alerting cops and military personnel to a new group[s] which could start blowing crap up like the other group that we can no longer speak the truth about. [Muslims]

    [Related Article: Deconstructing Liberal Tolerance]
    [Related Article: Truth, Inclusion, and Tolerance]

    So, herewith, I guess, are some of the characteristics of the “newfangled” terrorists in the United States of Statism.
    [Characteristics defined by the U.S. Army, the FBI, and the DHS]

    · If you enjoy singing How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you say “bless their heart” after you hear that someone did something really, really stupid – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you believe Jeremiah was a prophet and not a bullfrog – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you feel obligated to say you’ll pray for someone after you’ve gossiped about them – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you watched The Bible on the History Channel and thought it was badass – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you believe it’s wrong and ungodly to hijack airplanes and jam them into skyscrapers full of innocent people – then you might be a terrorist.

    · If you think Billy Graham has been a great gift to our nation – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you made the day you got saved your birthday on your Facebook page verses the day you actually popped out of your mama’s bottom – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you give money towards the preaching of the gospel and to works of charity – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you love your neighbor as yourself – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you recognize, appreciate and wish to pass on to the next generation America’s godly heritage – you might be a terrorist.

    · If you like the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights – you might be terrorist.

    · If you have Jesus Take the Wheel on your iPod – you might be a terrorist.

    [Related Article: Brainwashing in America]
    [Related Article: Judgment, not Warning!]

  • Big Brother Has New Plans (for your kids)!

    Homeschoolers alarmed by plans
    to track students


    'Big Brother' mentality 'has no place in a free society'

    Source: World Net Daily
    Published: 2 days ago

    big_brother_obama

    The nation’s leading homeschooling organization is warning parents that the federal government is advancing its aim of identifying and tracking students throughout their school careers, from birth through college graduation.

    In an online statement, William Estrada, director of federal relations for the Home School Legal Defense Association, acknowledged statistics on student achievement are helpful to researchers and parents.

    But there’s really no need for the government to track such data, he insisted.

    “A national database of student-specific data is very concerning for many reasons,” he wrote. “The national databases being created now include detailed records of students, including race, gender, birth information, learning disabilities, detailed academic records, and much more. This information is being collected soon after birth, all the way through graduation from college.”

    Estrada said the more personal the information, “the greater the danger to the student’s privacy and safety if the data is breached.”

    “Will certain data make it harder for students to get into higher education? Will it be disclosed to government employers, or even private employers?” he asked.

    He said HSLDA believes “each student is unique, with far more to offer society than just the sum of their academic years.”

    “Government tracking students from soon after birth until they graduate from college is Orwellian and seems like a ‘Big Brother’ mentality, and has no place in a free society,” he said.

    Estrada said his organization takes the position “there are very little reasons for the government to track student-specific data.”

    WND reported just days ago on a massive $100 million public-school database spearheaded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

    The files already contain details such as name, address, Social Security number, attendance, test scores, homework completion, career goals, learning disabilities, hobbies and attitudes on millions of public school students.

    Claiming that the national database will enhance education, the main funder of the project, the Gates Foundation, entered the joint venture with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and school officials from a number of states. After Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify Education, a division of News Corp, spent more than a year developing the system’s infrastructure, the Gates Foundation delivered it to inBloom ‒ a nonprofit corporation recently established to run the database.

    Estrada said that project is one that the organization is continuing to check out.

    “This database has the ability to track students, their educational progress and a vast degree of personal information about every student. This database is run and operated by a company called inBloom, and nine states (Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Massachusetts) have already uploaded student information into this database,” he said.

    Already, he added, New York City is also providing details on homeschool students.

    Estrada said HSLDA long has opposed a national database of student-specific information.

    “We believe that such national databases threaten the privacy of students, could be abused by government officials or business interests that may gain access to the data, threaten the safety of young people if their data is breached, and are not necessary in order to educate young people.”

    He said the federal government’s strategy appears to require statewide databases to qualify for federal grants. Those state information files “are aligned between the states, and … are becoming a de facto national database.”

    “We believe that as national databases grow, it will become increasingly difficult to protect the personal information of homeschool and private school students,” he wrote.

    Estrada explained much of the impetus comes from the 2009 stimulus bill that created the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund program of nearly $54 billion under which the Department of Education grants money to states in exchange for student databases.

    The stimulus granted $4.35 billion to “Race to the Top,” which calls for “data systems that measure student growth and success.”

    “Under RTTT, states that receive the grants are required to set up data systems where every public school student from early childhood programs to college will be identified in a system by a bar code showing student enrollment, demographics, transfers, teachers, test records, and transcripts,” Estrada explained.

    In fact, the legislation specifies no database, no grant.

    The links between states and the federal agency granting money “are leading to a de facto national database,” he said.

    “As a result, we are seeing before our eyes the creation of a ‘national database’ where every single public school student’s personal information and academic history will be stored,” he said, even though federal law bans national student databases.

    Efforts such as the Gates strategy already are stirring controversy.

    “It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors,” contended Electronic Privacy Law Center Administrative Counsel Khaliah Barnes in a statement to the New York Daily News. “What happens if a company using the data is compromised? What happens if the company goes out of business? We don’t know the answers.”

    To counter Gates’ school database project, ParentalRights.org, which addresses the rights and responsibilities of the basic family unit, urges Americans to sign a petition supporting the Parental Rights Amendment, which will codify the fundamental right of parents in the U.S. Constitution to direct the upbringing, education and care of their children.

  • Media Silence and Mass Murder!

     
     
     
    deadly_silence


    If it was a trial concerning a school shooting and children were slain, the media would be chugging along at full speed. But it is a trial concerning the deaths of babies born alive and then murdered by a Black abortionist.

    Mass Murder Trial of the Century:
    Media Blackout in Full Effect


    Author: Kira Davis
    Source: Independent Journal Review - April 11, 2013

    There is a lot of discussion here at IJReview and at other blogs about the bias of the mainstream press. There are many examples that can be given of particular media spin on important public issues. There are many arguments to be made for and against media bias, but the latest act of willful ignorance on the part of the MSM is perhaps one of the most vivid examples of bias to date.

    Dr. Kermit Gosnell


    The murder trial of Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell has all the elements of a sensational media story: medical malpractice, fraud, greed and murder. The difference in this case as opposed to, say the O.J. Simpson trial? Babies. Gosnell is on trial not only for the negligent murder of a young woman who died from her abortion procedure in his clinic, he is on trial for deliberately killing babies who survived the abortion process and were born alive.

    Ex-clinic worker Lynda Williams testified Tuesday in the case. From Philly.com:

    One of her duties, Williams said, was to clean up and dispose of fetuses women sometimes spontaneously aborted in the waiting room after getting large doses of drugs to dilate the cervix.

    One day, Williams testified, a woman expelled a fetus into the toilet and she saw its arm moving. Williams said she took a pair of scissors and snipped the spine as Gosnell showed her.

    “I did it once and I didn’t do it again because it gave me the creeps,” Williams said.

    Gosnell’s clinic has been described as a “house of horrors”. Former employees describe botched abortions performed on women well past the Pennsylvania state maximum of 24 weeks. Adrienne Moton worked at Gosnell’s clinic in West Philadelphia and described one baby – Baby Boy A- as so large she actually took a photo with her cell phone. The baby was aborted at 7.5 months gestation.

    “I just saw a big baby boy. He had that color, that color that a baby has,” Moton said in court. “I just felt he could have had a chance. … He could have been born any day.”

    baby_boy_a


    Baby Boy A, snapped by a Gosnell staffer



    Staffers, including Gosnell did not offer babies medical care after being born alive following botched abortions. Instead they routinely snipped the spinal chord at the neck, inducing instant death – although testimony from staffers disputes the “instant death” part. Staffer Ashely Baldwin recalled hearing a baby cry after being born alive and witnessing Gosnell snip the spinal chord and say there was “nothing to worry about”. Gosnell even joked that one “snipped” infant was “… big enough to walk around with me or walk me to the bus stop!”

    murdered_infant


    Testimony of this sort goes on and on. There are repeated stories of patient neglect, babies born alive and then killed and even the defrauding/overcharging of patients. Gosnell is on trial for the murder of seven live infants. Seven!

    [Related Article: Deconstructing Roe vs. Wade]

    [Related Article: Barack Obama and Planned Parenthood]

    Regardless of your stance on abortion, this is one of the most sensational and disturbing stories of the last 50 years, at least. You can talk all you want about “intentions” and “viability” but when a baby breathes outside the mother and is then stabbed in the head, that’s murder. Abortion advocates should be every bit as concerned as pro-lifers. More so, because this type of crime damages the arguments of the pro-abortion lobby and bolsters the pro-life view that allowing abortion at any stage is a slippery slope.

    media_silence



    The mainstream media’s outright blackout on this case is disgusting, disturbing and downright treasonous. This is a story that deserves to be told – for the young woman who lost her life on Gosnell’s table, the countless other women who were wounded during procedures, and the babies who defied the odds and survived their abortion only to basically be beheaded by medical professionals who have taken oaths to heal and treat the sick and wounded.

    [Related Article: The Negro Project (Magret Sanger and Eugenics)]

    [Related Article: America's Spiritual Crisis]

    Think the term “beheaded” is too dramatic? Co-defendant Steve Massof “interned” with Gosnell. He was never officially licensed but performed first trimester abortions and later moved on to what he called “second tris”. Massof testified he witnessed over 100 babies born alive and then snipped. He called it “literally a beheading. It is separating the brain from the body”.

    Americans have a right to know about the trial of this mass murderer. His murderous spree is comparable to the Sandyhook or Colorado theater shootings. It should inspire equal outrage and disgust. The media’s refusal to cover this story is further proof that they are no longer simply conduits of information but literally the deciders of the news cycle; of what is worth our time and what isn’t. I suspect the current crop of MSM talking heads are leery of giving the pro-life crowd any ammunition. However, their self-imposed “blackout” on the Gosnell case may end up being an even bigger boost to those who advocate for the sanctity of human life.

    gosnell_trial

  • Israel Helps Us (more than 60 ways)

    The top 65 ways Israel is saving our planet

    Author: Nicky Blackburn
    Source: Israel21c.org


    israaid

    A member of IsraAid helping out local residents in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Photo courtesy of IsraAID.

    When 22-year-old Emmannuel Buso was pulled barely-alive from the rubble of a three-story building 10 days after an earthquake devastated the island of Haiti, the first faces he saw were those of the Israeli rescue workers who had flown across the world to save lives.

    For Haji Edum, from Zanzibar, his life-saving moment came twice, when he was flown at age 15, and then again at 23, to Israel for open-heart surgery. He is just one of thousands of youngsters to receive emergency heart care from volunteer doctors in Israel.

    War veterans suffering post-traumatic stress in the US; farmers in Senegal, India and China; young women in South Sudan; the wheelchair-bound in Africa; cardiac patients in Gaza and Iraq – all have received life-changing help and expertise from Israeli specialists.

    Today we all know the story of Israel the startup nation. News of its technological prowess and incredible innovation has spread far and wide. But what many people don’t know is that Israel is exporting far more than just technology. It is also sharing its experience and skills in a whole range of humanitarian and environmental fields to help people everywhere live better, fuller and healthier lives.

    Since Israel was founded in 1948, the country has set itself the goal of becoming a light unto the nations. In the early years of the state, despite austerity rationing, the Israeli government founded MASHAV, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Center for International Cooperation, as a vehicle to share Israel’s creative solutions with the rest of the developing world.

    Israel remains true to that vision and every year, with little fanfare, and sometimes very little press attention, Israelis work long hours to find solutions and offer relief to some of the most pressing problems of our times.

    From environmental breakthroughs that will help reduce greenhouse emissions, to technologies that can increase food production and save vital crops, to humanitarian aid missions in the wake of catastrophic natural disasters, Israelis are providing significant assistance.

    To celebrate Israel’s 65th birthday, ISRAEL21c takes a look at some of the many creative and varied ways Israel is helping to enrich and improve our planet.

    The list comes in no particular order, and is by no means exhaustive. There are hundreds, if not thousands, more worthy projects going on every day. If you’ve got a project worth hearing about, we’d be delighted if you include it in our comments section at the end.

    1. An Israeli company is developing a toilet that needs no water, and generates its own power to turn solid waste (including toilet roll) into sterile and odorless fertilizer in 30 seconds. Liquid waste is sterilized and then used to flush the toilet. Developer Paulee CleanTec has been awarded a grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which reports that about 80 percent of human waste goes into rivers and streams untreated, and 1.1 billion people don’t use a toilet.

    2. Fifty years ago, Lake Victoria carp was a significant part of the diet of Ugandan villagers. But when Nile perch was introduced to the lake, it decimated the carp population. Villagers had neither the equipment nor the expertise to catch the huge perch, and symptoms of protein deficiency started becoming apparent in their children.

    Prof. Berta Sivan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem came to the rescue with a multiyear project to help these African families. Using expertise developed in Israel, her project not only successfully spawned carp on Ugandan fish farms, but also provided training on how to dig and fill ponds and raise the small fish. Now local children have an abundant supply of protein.

    3. About 50 percent of every grain and pulse harvest in the developing world is lost to pests and mold, but an Israeli scientist has developed a surprisingly simple and cheap way for African and Asian farmers to keep their grain market-fresh. International food technology consultant Prof. Shlomo Navarro invented huge bags, now marketed by US company GrainPro, which keep both water and air out. The bags are in use all over the developing world, including Africa and the Far East, and even in countries that don’t have diplomatic ties with Israel.

    4. In January 2010, Israel won international praise for the speed and expertise with which it responded to a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti that killed 300,000 people, injured hundreds of thousands and laid waste to the poverty-stricken country.

    A team of 240 Israeli doctors, nurses, rescue and relief workers arrived in Haiti just days after the quake, bringing medicines, communications and medical equipment. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) volunteers set up the country’s most advanced and well-equipped field hospital in the capital of Port-Au-Prince. Israeli search-and-rescue missions pulled survivors from the rubble, saving many Haitians, including a man trapped for 10 days.

    The delegation included volunteers from IsraAID, the IDF, ZAKA, Magen David Adom (MADA), Tevel B’Tzedek, the Negev Institute, and Alyn Hospital. It was the largest Israeli civilian relief mission ever assembled, and was one of the biggest and most skilled on the island.

    In the wake of the disaster, Israel continues to send aid and assistance, including educational projects, trauma programs, micro-financing, development and relief work, rebuilding of communities and schools, aid packages, empowerment for women, and medical assistance.

    5. The invention of drip irrigation by Israeli Simcha Blass and its development by Netafim, and later Plastro and NaanDan Jain, has completely revolutionized agriculture across the world, enabling farmers to increase their yields with less water. Constantly upgraded Israeli drip-irrigation techniques are regularly shared with other countries through MASHAV, Israel’s Center for International Cooperation.

    6. Tal-Ya Water Technologies has developed reusable plastic trays to collect dew from the air, reducing the water needed by crops or trees by up to 50 percent. The square serrated trays, made from non-PET recycled and recyclable plastic with UV filters and a limestone additive, surround each plant or tree. With overnight temperature change, dew forms on both surfaces of the Tal-Ya tray, which funnels the dew and condensation straight to the roots. If it rains, the trays heighten the effect of each millimeter of water 27 times over.

    7. About 1.6 million children under the age of five die from untreated drinking water in developing nations every year. An Israeli company has developed a water purification system that delivers safe drinking water from almost any source, including contaminated water, seawater and even urine.

    WaterSheer’s Sulis personal water purifier is a small 10-gram mouthpiece that attaches to the top of a water bottle. The company has also developed systems to treat large quantities of water.

    Sulis has been used in Taiwan, Myanmar and Haiti, and will be part of contingency plans in case of disaster at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

    8. Israel is building a model agricultural village in South Sudan to teach local farmers about Israeli agricultural methods and technologies to help the fledgling African nation thrive.

    9. In plants in China, Italy and the United States, Israeli company Seambiotic is using algae to turn carbon dioxide emitted by power plants into fuel and nutraceuticals. The company’s algae ponds, which are nourished by power plant effluent and sunlight, generate 30 times more feedstock for biofuel than do crop alternatives. The algae are a good source of valuable nutraceuticals, especially popular in China and the East.

    Seambiotic is also working with the US National Aviation and Space Administration (NASA) to develop a commercially feasible biofuel variety from algae that has a higher freezing point than biofuels from corn or sugarcane.

    10. The lives of thousands of endangered animals in West and Central Africa are being saved thanks to the tireless efforts of Israeli law enforcement activist Ofir Drori, who founded the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA) in Cameroon, the first wildlife law-enforcement NGO in Africa.

    The organization helped propagate a zero-tolerance approach to illegal wildlife trafficking in Cameroon, which has resulted in hundreds of arrests and prosecutions. The model has been replicated throughout West and Central Africa in activities that go beyond nature conservation to the defense of human rights.

    11. Israel is the only country that permanently opens its arms to children sick from radiation caused by the Ukrainian nuclear disaster in Chernobyl over 27 years ago. More than 2,755 affected children, ages eight to 15, have been brought to Israel for treatment and resettlement.

    12. Israeli researchers and farmers have combined the best of Israel’s agri-tech and clean-tech innovation to create a new artificial desert oasis that could help feed millions of desert-dwellers.

    The oasis was developed by researchers from Ben-Gurion University and the Central and Northern Arava Research and Development center, and uses Israel’s expertise in growing salt-resistant crops in the Negev desert with little rain under a harsh sun. The oasis uses low-cost desalination technology that runs on solar power to turn brackish water into sweet water.

    14. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called on Israeli company Waze to use its real-time traffic navigation updates in an effort to bring fuel to New Jersey residents suffering from shortages at the gas pump.

    15. An Israeli company has developed an alternative seed treatment that could revolutionize farming, protecting vegetable seeds from infestation, fungus, bacteria and even drought, without the side effects of genetic engineering (GMO).

    Morflora’s product, TraitUP, “inoculates” any seed from foreseeable challenges without altering its genetic makeup in new generations — just like a mumps or measles shot in humans. The product has won international awards and goes on the market this year.

    16. Doctors from Israel are restoring the gift of sight to hundreds of people in developing countries thanks to Israeli non-profit Eye from Zion.

    The organization sends eye doctors from Israel to do free cataract removal operations in places such as Vietnam, China, Myanmar, the Maldives and even Muslim countries including Azerbaijan. The doctors are all volunteers, and most of the people arriving at their mobile clinics are blind in either one or both eyes. The organization also brings doctors from developing countries to Israel for training.

    17. Overfishing and pollution are seriously depleting the number of fish in the sea and threatening some fish species with extinction, but now an Israeli company, Grow Fish Anywhere (GFA) has found a way to raise saltwater fish anywhere, even in the desert, without any of the usual problems of pollution. The company has facilities in Israel and New York.

    18. An international charity is building a $6 million factory in Africa to build cardboard wheelchairs designed and developed in Israel. The wheelchairs are the brainchild of Israeli entrepreneur Nimrod Elmish of I.G. Cardboard Technologies, and are made entirely of cheap, recycled materials. The charity, which is dedicated to providing free wheelchairs for the disabled in developing nations, spends more than $6 million annually on buying metal wheelchairs from China and sending them to Africa.

    19. With its plentiful year-round sunshine, it’s no surprise that Israeli companies are leading the way in creating viable and successful new solar energies that are already helping reduce the world’s dependence on pollution-causing oil.

    Israel has become a startup nation for the sun with dozens, if not hundreds, of companies operating in this field, many of them driven by the early solar pioneers Zvi Tabor and Levi Yissar, and then later ones David Faiman, Jacob Karni and Avi Kribus.

    Aside from BrightSource, mentioned in an item below, solar companies to watch include Aora, HelioFocus and Arava Power.

    20. Israeli educational entrepreneur Shai Reshef founded University of the People, the world’s first tuition-free, online academic institution offering a recognized bachelor’s degree. More than 3,000 professors from major universities volunteer as lecturers and tutors for students from many countries, including China, Pakistan, Haiti, Rwanda, Mali, Peru, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and South Sudan. “I believe that if you educate one person, you can change a life; if you educate many, you can change the world,” Reshef says.

    21. The Health Ministry in Kenya has adopted the model of Terem – a chain of independent emergency medical centers in Jerusalem that provides critical care within the community, dramatically reducing hospital visits. Kenya is setting up a chain of 50 such clinics in a move that will revolutionize the African country’s healthcare system. Some 35 million people live in Kenya, but hospitals are few and far between.

    22. Norway is sending teachers to Israel to learn how to revitalize the Lapp language of Sámi. Of about 10 Sámi dialects once spoken in the country, only four are still known among the estimated 100,000 Sámi-speakers of Lapland and current teaching methods are not successful.

    Israel is considered an expert in reviving old languages because of its experience recreating Hebrew. Israeli language experts have worked with experts in Scotland and Wales, where long-suppressed minority languages are now making a comeback.

    23. A professional dancer who lost his right leg in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti is dancing once more thanks to the help of Israeli father and son, Yisrael and Yehuda Pilosof, who specialize in manufacturing precision artificial limbs. After the quake, Yehuda Pilosof flew to Haiti to help at an Israeli rehab center. He made limbs for 15 people, including the dancer who was flown to Israel for treatment. Since then the Pilosofs have led a seminar on prosthetics in Peru, and have made artificial limbs for soldiers in Sri Lanka on an Israeli humanitarian mission.

    24. IsraAID is an Israeli humanitarian organization that gathers Israeli professionals from 17 different relief and activist organizations to respond to emergencies. Founded in 2001, it offers targeted help including disaster relief, search and rescue, rebuilding communities and schools, aid packages, medical assistance, micro-financing and post-psychotrauma care.

    In 2004, IsraAID sent search-and-rescue teams and doctors to tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. In 2007, it sent medical staff to Peru after a major earthquake, and provided assistance at a refugee camp in Somalia.

    In 2008, members flew to Myanmar after a major cyclone, and the following year IsraAID sent medical assistance to the Philippines after two devastating typhoons. IsraAID helped in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, and has provided aid in South Sudan.

    israaid_soth_sudan

    25. Traumatized US war veterans are now being healed thanks to a novel treatment developed by Israeli-American psychologist Edna Foa. In the United States, an estimated half million war veterans from Vietnam, and another 300,000 from Afghanistan and Iraq, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

    Foa, honored by TIME magazine as one of the most influential people in 2010, developed a treatment called PE (Prolonged Exposure), designed to help patients focus on the thoughts and feelings that elicit the highest levels of fear, and then works with them to enable them to confront those fears, moving gradually from the minor to the major terrors.

    26. MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation, runs a variety of programs, but is best known for its training seminars in Israel and wherever needed –– Africa, the Middle East, South America, Central America, India, China — on techniques ranging from greenhouse management and irrigation to fish farming and dairy farming. MASHAV has trained some 200,000 people from about 140 countries and has set up dozens of demonstration projects in fields of Israeli expertise. MASHAV also sends medical aid around the world.

    27. Israeli public health activist Dr. Zvi Bentwich, director of the Center for Emerging Tropical Diseases and AIDS at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), has been laboring for years to eradicate common parasitic infestations that contribute to Africa’s AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics. In 2011 he won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israeli government for his groundbreaking medical contributions in Israel and among Africans.

    28. A three-year-old British charity, Tag International Development, runs more than 20 health, agriculture, disaster preparedness and community development projects in developing nations. All of the knowledge and experience for these projects comes from Israel.

    Israeli volunteers and professionals with Tag have launched beekeeping and road safety projects in Myanmar; empowerment seminars for Bedouin women in Israel and Jordan; emotional resilience, healthcare and weaving projects in Azerbaijan; model farm and agricultural training center in Sri Lanka; rain harvesting in Kenya; a safe drinking-water project in Pakistan, and a homecare project for the elderly in Indonesia.

    29. When Japan was rocked by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, which killed nearly 16,000 people, the IDF sent doctors and other volunteers to set up a field hospital in one of the areas worst hit by the island nation’s worst-ever natural disaster. The facility had wards for pediatrics, surgery, maternity, gynecology, ophthalmology and intensive care, as well as a lab and a pharmacy. Israel also sent over tons of aid to Japanese communities.

    japan_idf_aid

    Since then, Israel has continued to send regular delegations of specialists on post-trauma missions to help the victims of the disaster, training local teachers and mental health workers, and setting up youth leadership training programs for students from Japan’s Tohoku earthquake-affected region.

    30. The Israeli company Pythagoras Solar has developed a new solar window that can generate power, reduce energy consumption and let in daylight, promising a green revolution in the construction industry.

    The world’s first transparent photovoltaic glass unit, which won the prestigious GE Ecomagination Challenge, can easily be integrated into conventional building design. Existing office blocks can be retrofitted with the new material to take the place of energy-seeping glass windows.

    31. With pollution growing to dangerous levels in the Mediterranean Sea, Israel’s EcoOcean research and educational organization trains local youngsters on land and sea, and provides local and international marine researchers with an at-cost vessel for advanced marine science studies in the Mediterranean, Red and Black seas.

    32. The Israeli organization Save a Child’s Heart has brought more than 3,000 children from all over the developing world, including about 1,500 from Gaza and the West Bank, to Israel for vital heart operations at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. All 70 to 80 doctors and nurses working with the non-profit organization give their time as volunteers.

    Aside from their work in Israel, medical staff fly on missions abroad to carry out heart operations, and to teach local doctors the latest surgical techniques. The organization also trains physicians from abroad in Israel.

    33. US veterans suffering PTSD after being wounded in combat are experiencing emotional and spiritual healing thanks to a new program that brings the wounded vets to Israel to meet Israeli peers.

    34. The Israeli organization ZAKA (Disaster Victim Identification) provides expert search-and-rescue assistance after natural and manmade disasters around the world. In late 2004 and early 2005, members of ZAKA provided help in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean earthquake.

    Forensic teams dubbed the group “the team that sleeps with the dead” because they toiled nearly 24 hours a day at Buddhist pagodas transformed into morgues in Thailand. ZAKA volunteers flew to Mumbai, India, after terror attacks there in November 2008; assisted with search and recovery after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, rescuing eight students trapped in rubble; and also aided search-and-rescue efforts in Japan in March 2011.

    35. Students in several countries are scoring higher marks in math and algebra tests thanks to the help of Israeli professor Michal Yerushalmy. Yerushalmy developed VisualMath and Math4Mobile, which help students score better on standardized tests, out-perform peers in solving algebra word problems and complex new problems, and devise superior strategies for identifying and correcting mistakes.

    36. A new Israeli-developed tooth varnish is saving the lives of kangaroos in captivity, who often fall victim to a contagious, and sometimes fatal, gum condition called lumpy jaw disease.

    Veterinarians at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo and the northern Gan Garoo Park – which lost 40 percent of its marsupials to this disease — teamed up with dentists and pharmacists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to create a tooth varnish that successfully prevents the condition. After receiving requests worldwide, the veterinarians published the recipe for the treatment online.

    37. An Israeli research team has found a way to mate male prawns and increase yields and profitability for farmers. The revolutionary advanced gene-silencing biotechnology for aquaculture was developed at BGU and can reverse the sex of the crustacean, helping local farmers increase their income. The technology is already being put to use in Vietnam.

    40. Israeli aid organizations Israel Flying Aid, IsraAID and Israeli Humanitarian Aid-Latet put Israeli know-how to work getting food, fuel, generators and other critical supplies to emergency workers and victims after Hurricane Sandy devastated the US east coast in 2012.

    Israeli volunteers delivered fuel to hospitals in the stricken area, prepared emergency food convoys and helped clear debris. An Israeli delegation of trained rescue volunteers also flew to the disaster area. The effort was financed by young Israelis and Israeli companies with partner US companies.

    42. Israel is the world-recognized leader in raising therapeutic clowning to the level of a standardized, research-backed healthcare discipline. Its internationally renowned Dream Doctors Project has trained and placed nearly 100 practitioners at 22 hospitals in Israel. Dream Doctors worked with the University of Haifa to establish the world’s only academic degree program in clown therapy as a paramedical profession. Much of the groundbreaking research on the measurable effects of medical clowning is being done in Israel and shared in international forums.

    43. Water-purification technologies developed in Israel to recycle the country’s limited water resources are now being used to help save India’s Noyyal River.

    The 160-kilometer Noyyal River once provided water for around 20,000 acres of rich agricultural land, but toxic waste from textile factories has choked the river, destroying local agriculture and wildlife, and polluting groundwater in more than 95 villages in the region.

    The Indians are using Israeli-developed nano-filtration to remove dissolved pollutants. Israeli desalination expert, BGU Prof. Yoram Oren, is spearheading the effort.

    44. Earlier this month, Israel set up a field hospital along its border with Syria to treat Syrians wounded in the country’s bloody civil war. Though Syria is an enemy nation, Israeli army medics have been treating dozens of wounded Syrian civilians at the makeshift hospital and in past months Israeli hospitals have treated refugee Syrians as well. According to the UN, about 1.2 million Syrians have been internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to neighboring countries.

    45. Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa runs a yearly trauma-care training course for participants from Africa, South America and the Far East in cooperation with Israel’s Foreign Ministry. The medical center also offers fellowships to African doctors specializing in areas including plastic surgery, pediatrics and AIDS, funded by partners such as MASHAV, the Foreign Ministry, international NGOs and the host countries.

    46. Israeli engineers and medical specialists have erected a state-of-the-art emergency room in Kisumu, Kenya, servicing a population of six million. The facility, at the Kisumu East District Hospital, was built in less than a month and is the hospital’s first fully-equipped ER. It will be a center for both regional emergency treatment and professional training.

    The effort was led by MASHAV, which has been working in Kenya since the 1950s, when it set up ophthalmology field clinics. Since then, the organization is also involved in projects on food security, health, education and empowerment of women.

    47. Israel’s Galten Global Alternative Energy has developed a method of obtaining biofuel from the seeds of the jatropha, a plant that doesn’t compete with food crops. Plantings have already begun in Ghana. Currently only one ton of biofuel can be extracted from 2.5 acres of edible crops such as corn or soybeans, whereas three tons of biofuel can be produced from the same amount of soil growing jatropha plants.

    49. In November 2012, the IDF and MADA sent rescue and medical personnel to help when a shopping mall collapsed in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. The IDF group consisted of 18 healthcare workers, engineers and communication experts to assist in the rescue operation. MADA sent another delegation of doctors, paramedics and emergency medical personnel to set up a field hospital.

    50. Water is such a precious resource in Israel that engineers and innovators have developed a slew of technologies to make sure every drop counts. Israel is a world leader in reusing its wastewater, with some 70 percent recycled and funneled into agriculture projects. That technology is being sought out abroad as countries elsewhere try to reduce water consumption.

    Large companies such as the Tahal Group offer low-tech and high-tech software solutions to make wastewater treatment processes more efficient and relevant. Aqwise makes small plastic beads to aerate wastewater so bacteria can work better, a solution now being used at the Taj Mahal in India. Another Israeli company sparking interest worldwide is Applied Clean Tech, whose product removes solids from wastewater.

    51. BrightSource might look all-American, but one of the world’s largest solar thermal power plants, about to fire up its 370-megawatt Ivanpah facility in the Mojave Desert in California this summer, is built on Israeli expertise started in the 1980s by a company called Luz. The technology which sprawls over 35,000 acres, uses thousands of software-controlled mirrors to direct sun to three collection towers that power a turbine.

    Since utilities companies in California need to deliver one-third of their power from renewables by 2020, BrightSource has placed its bets to be part of an even larger solar energy installation to go live by 2016.

    Based in Oakland with R&D in Israel, BrightSource is partnering with the Spanish company Abengoa Solar to build and operate a new solar 500-megawatt installation in Riverside County, California. The company is in the final stages of securing a contract in Israel, and is also seeking opportunities in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and China.

    52. Israeli volunteer organization Yad Sarah, which lends medical equipment to people throughout Israel, is serving as a model for countries like Turkey, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Angola, Cameroon, China, El Salvador and Hungary. The NGO has become the world’s largest lender of medical devices such as respirators, crutches, oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and hospital beds, and is a recognized UNESCO advisory body. With more than 100 branches across Israel, Yad Sarah offers free rehabilitation centers, meals on wheels, free home repairs, legal aid for the elderly and other services.

    53. The Mediterranean’s two remaining species of sea turtles are in danger of extinction, but an Israeli organization is hoping to reverse the trend. Part hospital and part stud farm, the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center at Michmoret treats injured turtles, incubates eggs and increases awareness of the turtles’ plight.

    A century ago, some 2,000 to 3,000 green and loggerhead turtles used to nest along Israel’s shores. Now the numbers are estimated at 180 loggerheads and fewer than 30 green turtles. Thanks to the work of the rescue center, the number of loggerhead turtles is now rising.

    54. Hebrew University’s Prof. David Levy has developed new strains of potatoes that thrive in hot, dry climates, and can be irrigated by saltwater. Potatoes are one of the top sources of nutrition in the world, but they never before grew well in hot, desert regions like the Middle East. Now farmers in these regions can grow potatoes as a cash crop.

    55. Israeli neonatologists have established two new neonatal units in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. The city has a population of 1.5 million people, but only one hospital. Of the 28,000 babies born in the city every year, some 4,800 died. Israeli specialists are now training local doctors and nurses to help save infants’ lives.

    56. In October 2011, despite a severe diplomatic crisis in the wake of the deadly Gaza flotilla raid over a year earlier, Israel sent a package of aid to Turkey after a massive 7.2 magnitude quake hit the country’s eastern region. Israel was the first country in the world to offer Ankara assistance in the aftermath of the disaster. It sent portable buildings to help homeless survivors in the quake-ravaged area.

    Israel has sent rescue teams to Turkey before. In 1999, Israeli rescue teams pulled 12 people out of earthquake rubble and recovered 140 bodies. Israel also set up a field hospital and treated more than 1,000 victims.

    58. A    sian countries have turned to Israel for help as they look to increase domestic milk production and consumption. Israel set up a demonstration dairy farm near Beijing to show Israeli dairy farming technology. The site became a training center for thousands of dairy farmers in China and from neighboring countries.

    China and Vietnam have awarded huge contracts to kibbutz-based company SAE Afikim, whose AfiMilk and AfiFarm computerized systems for modern dairy farm and herd management are globally recognized for their technology and efficiency. Afikim sends personnel to build dairy farms and teaches local workers how to run them, and in cooperation with the Israeli government hosts Asian workers for intensive training in Israel.

    59. Israeli start up GlobeLight & Water System is helping keep roads safer in Africa and South America with solar-powered light fixtures. The theft-proof product highlights blue-and-white ingenuity with its built-in microprocessor that monitors and regulates bulb temperature and battery charge.

    The environmentally friendly light fixtures do not rely on electricity infrastructures, need maintenance once every three years, and can be used in any climate.

    60. The United Nations turned to an Israeli company to help purify water for Syrians suffering water contamination during the country’s current violent conflict. Medentech, Israel Chemicals’ Ireland-based subsidiary, produces AquaTabs, the world’s best-selling effervescent tablets, which are considered a better alternative to boiling water to remove contaminants. The Israeli government blessed the deal despite a law nixing trade with an enemy state.

    61. IsraAid has launched a social-worker training program in the new African state of South Sudan, considered one of the most undeveloped in the world, in cooperation with Israeli NGOs FIRST and Operation Blessing-Israel.

    Three Israeli experts on sexual violence flew to Juba to train 30 South Sudanese social workers with the tools to identify and address gender-based violence, such as rape and forced marriage. Violence against women is considered one of the biggest challenges in the region.

    62. Faced with chronic water shortages, Israel pioneered new membrane technology and solar desalination plants to make salty and polluted water safe for human consumption and crops.

    IDE Technologies mega-installations can now be found in countries all over the world, from the United States to the Caribbean. In China, IDE has built the country’s largest and greenest desalination plant to meet the country’s expanding energy needs.

    63. Airports around the world are a great deal safer now, thanks to a technology developed by Israel’s XSight Systems, which detects foreign object debris (FOD) on the runway – that’s birds, small animals and fragments that break off planes.

    The system, which is effective in all weather and visibility conditions, is already in use at international airports in Boston, Paris, Bangkok and Tel Aviv, with more to follow.

    Think FOD isn’t that significant? In 2000, the supersonic jetliner Concorde crashed killing 113 people when it hit debris dropped onto the runway by a DC-10 just before it took off. FOD is estimated to cost about $14 billion in direct and indirect damage every year.

    64. Strawberries, sweet peppers, cucumbers and eggplants are just some of the crops that are much healthier today because of some tiny little insects and mites bred in Israel. Kibbutz-based Bio-Bee breeds beneficial insects for biological pest control, which enable farmers to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 75 percent. The company exports eight different species of biological control agents, plus pollinating bumblebees, to 32 nations from Japan and the US to Chile. The company’s subsidiary, Bio-Fly, also sells sterile Mediterranean fruit flies to control this major pest in fruit trees, and collaborates with Jordanian and West Bank Palestinian Authority agricultural experts.

    65. An Israeli scientist has developed the world’s first vaccine against canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME), a sometimes fatal tick-borne disease in dogs. CME is one of the most common infectious diseases in canines, affecting not only pets but also foxes, wolves, jackals and other wild dogs. It is prevalent worldwide, and currently cannot be prevented aside from tick control. If dogs are infected they need a lengthy course of antiobiotics.This is the first vaccine to be proven effective against the disease.

    With additional reporting by Viva Sarah Press, Abigail Klein Leichman and Karin Kloosterman.

  • Bats In Bill's Belfry?

    Gay Marriage: Bill O'Reilly Misses the Point

    Source: AmericanThinker
    Author: Monte Kuligowski - April 8, 2013

    bill_o'reilly

    During the highly publicized exchange between Bill O'Reilly and Laura Ingraham on gay marriage, O'Reilly made this statement: "There are Bible thumpers, and all they do is say, 'I object to gay marriage because God objects to it.' You don't win a policy debate in America with that."

    Really?

    Before central control out of Washington was imposed in 2003, policy arguments for criminalizing homosexual acts were won explicitly "with that." And because of "that," the idea of gay marriage has been unthinkable throughout the history of the American nation.

    Just over four years ago, during the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama was part of the winning policy debate in America, disapproving of gay marriage. That moral debate, consistent with America's history, was won "with that." In fact, Barack Obama was quite the Bible-thumper on the campaign trail.

    Barack Obama was for gay marriage (1996) before he was against it (2004 Senate race; 2008 presidential race) before he was for it again (2012). But during his tenure during which he was against it, he based his opposition to it on "that." The "that," of course, was his alleged Christian faith.

    At the Rick Warren forum in August of 2008, Obama stated: "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian -- for me -- for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God's in the mix."

    Hmm. We learn in the Bible that God considers marriage a sacred union. In fact, Christian cultures have long referred to marriage as "holy matrimony." Though polygamy existed in ancient cultures, there is no biblical record of God establishing it. God originally placed one man with one woman, and in the New Testament, God makes clear that a man should have one wife.

    Barack Obama supposedly believed in 2008 that "God is in the mix." Since the worldviews of Christians are informed by the Bible, wasn't that Obama's way of saying, "I object to gay marriage because God objects to it"?

    Apparently, God was "in the mix" in 2008, disapproving of gay marriage. But how did Obama know that God was against homosexual marriage? He could know only in the same way all Christians know -- he must have based his knowledge upon the revealed and written words from God found in the Bible.

    Or was Obama just being politically expedient to win an election?

    We know that Obama has since "evolved," and some of the country has evolved with him. But have the Bible and Christianity evolved with Obama and his disciples?

    The last time I checked, the Bible's condemnation of sin, and of homosexual acts in particular, has not changed.

    What has changed is the way people view and interpret the Bible. Many now view the Bible and Christianity the way Obama views the same.

    In the 2006 memoir The Audacity of Hope, Obama reveals: "When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static text but the Living Word and that I must continually be open to new revelations -- whether they come from a lesbian friend or a doctor[.]"

    Rather than viewing the Bible as "living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow ... a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV), Obama views it as "living" in the sense that it can be manipulated.

    Not surprisingly, Obama views the Holy Bible in the same manner as how he views our revered Constitution -- believing that both are living documents and are subject to postmodern interpretations and applications. Neither the Bible nor the Constitution provides fixed principles from which to govern our lives and country. The radical liberal class somehow has permission to determine what is flexible in both manuscripts -- regardless of what the actual words say.

    On his show, The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly, informed Megyn Kelly that:

    "The compelling argument is on the side of homosexuals. That's where the compelling argument is. "We're Americans. We just want to be treated like everybody else." That's a compelling argument, and to deny that, you gotta have a very strong argument on the other side, and the other side hasn't been able to do anything but thump the Bible."

    Well, God is either "in the mix," or not. When God is not in the mix, both sides are reduced to moral relativism. No one can say one side's arguments are better than the other's. What makes sense to one side is foolishness to the other.

    To the radical left, which largely controls education and the media, there will never be a "compelling" reason to ban homosexual marriage, whether based on secular or celestial arguments or a combination of both. Gay marriage is being advanced on emotion and rejection of our flawed traditions.

    Since there never will be a "compelling argument" against gay marriage to the left, why not stand on religious principle? Such a stance gives sacred purpose to the secular interests in preserving marriage.

    What so-called conservatives like O'Reilly must realize is that without the moral authority of our Creator, one can take a man marrying another man or a man marrying a few men or a mother marrying her adult son or a man marrying a woman and a man, etc. and put all of these on the same intellectual footing. Even Obama knew he had to appeal to divine authority when he was pretending to be against homosexual marriage.

    To win the culture is to win the argument. If the culture cannot be won, there will be no moral restoration in America, and the slide to Gomorrah will continue. Conservatives and Christians must contend that the moral compass of the Bible has not changed.

    To win the argument, we must be convinced that Western civilization's time-tested definition of marriage is not subject to evolution. Marriage does not evolve, because the Bible does not evolve.

    Contrary to what Bill O'Reilly believes, objecting to gay marriage because God objects to it is the most profound argument of all.

    Related Articles:

    Liberal Tolerance - Xanga.com
    Barack Obama: The Man Behind the Mask - Xanga.com
    Examining Homosexual Myths - Xanga.com
    The Spirit of Antichrist - Xanga.com
    They Call Us Haters - Xanga.com
    Is Homosexuality A Sin? - Xanga.com
    Postmodern Truth vs. Biblical Truth - Xanga.com

  • Hinduism: Part Two

    Hinduism - Part Two

    hindu_idolatry

    Hinduism and Christianity:
    How Does Hindu Teaching Compare to the Bible?

    Author: David E. Pratte
    Source: GospleWay.com

    Hinduism compared to Christianity and the gospel of Jesus Christ: What about such Hindu concepts as polytheism, pantheism, idolatry, reincarnation, karma, nirvana, and meditation?
    How does Hinduism compare to Christianity and the gospel of Jesus Christ? How do Hindu gods such as Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Rama, and Krishna compare to the God of the Bible? Should people accept polytheism, pantheism, and the use of images (idolatry)? What about Hindu concepts of reincarnation, karma, nirvana, and meditation? Should a Christian accept or oppose Hinduism?

    Introduction:
    The purpose of this study is to compare the main doctrines of Hinduism to the teachings of the Bible.


    Influence of Hinduism:
    Years ago Hinduism had few adherents in Western countries, but many would be surprised how much influence it has in Western cultures today.

    Hinduism has several missionary movements [WR-137]:

    (1) Ramakrishna Mission

    (2) Krishna Consciousness Society - The Hare Krishna movement

    (3) Divine Light Mission

    (4) Transcendental Meditation

    As evidence of the success of these movements, consider:

    (1) Hinduism claims to be the oldest religion on earth with many believers: "Hinduism ... is our planet's original and oldest living religion, with over one billion adherents." - Hinduism Today. It has built palaces in the United States and its devotees are often seen in airports and other public places.

    (2) Many popular musical groups have songs with Hindu themes including Moody Blues, John McLaughlin, John Lennon, and George Harrison of the Beatles, and many others. Harrison, in particular, was a practicing Hindu. His song "My Sweet Lord" was written to praise the Hindu god Krishna.

    (3) Transcendental Meditation has become extremely popular, yet is Hindu to the core.

    (4) Games such as "Dungeons and Dragons" and similar computer games are filled with Hindu concepts.

    (5) The New Age Movement also promotes Hindu ideas.

    (6) Many Hindu concepts, such as reincarnation, are taken seriously by many people who would not consider themselves to actually be Hindus.

    Among people who respond to materials on our Bible websites, Hindus respond nearly as much as any other one religious group.

    Definition of Hinduism:
    The term Hinduism refers to the religious and social institutions of India. We are concerned mainly with the religious aspects, but both are tied together and are referred to by the term.

    Hinduism developed progressively, so modern Hinduism differs from its historical roots. There is much variation and sectarianism in Hinduism as in other religions. Our discussion will generally emphasize beliefs and practices that are presently held in common by most Hindus.

    [See bibliography at the end of our study for sources cited.]

    I. Religious Authority

    A. Hindu Religious Authorities

    Hinduism recognizes many different religious authorities. Different Hindu groups may emphasize different authorities.

    The highest written authorities in Hinduism are the Vedas.

    Lesser authorities include the epic poems Ramayana and Mahabhrata. The latter includes the Bhagavad-gita (BG, p. 24). These are not considered quite as high in authority as the Vedas, yet in practice they have had greater popular influence.

    "The Absolute Truth is contained in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of Krishna's words" - (Back, inside front cover; cf. BG, p. 13).

    The Brahmanas are authoritative commentaries on the basic Vedas. Upanishads and Aranyakas are more recent writings generally considered authoritative.

    In addition, the highest caste called the Brahmans (religious teachers) are considered authorities.

    Hindus do not claim these authorities were all revealed by a direct, deliberate act of God (as the Bible claims to have been). In general Hindus believe God is everywhere in nature, and godly men can perceive the truth revealed within or around them. These Scriptures are viewed as truths these godly men have perceived from their own study. The Bhagavad-gita, however, does claim to be the very words of Krishna.
    [WR136-140]

    B. The Bible Doctrine of Authority

    Men can learn how to please God only by means of Divine revelation.

    Isaiah 55:8,9 - God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours like the heavens are higher than the earth.

    Jeremiah 10:23 - The way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

    Galatians 1:8,9 - No teaching except the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring salvation and a right relationship with God.

    Man cannot discover spiritual truth within his own conscience or his own human wisdom. No amount of meditation within oneself can show man how to have a proper relationship with God. We will see that this is because man is not part of God and God is not part of man.

    So a man cannot find spiritual truth by looking within himself. God must speak to man to reveal spiritual truth from outside the man himself.
    [John 6:44,45; Proverbs 14:12; Romans 10:17,14; 1:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Acts 8:26,29,35; 9:6; 11:14; 2 John 9-11]


    The Bible is a perfect revelation of God's will.


    The Bible was spoken by God.

    1 Thessalonians 2:13 - It is not the word of men, but the word of God. God sent the Holy Spirit to guide inspired men and teach them the will of God. So every word, as originally given, was exactly the word God wanted.

    1 Corinthians 14:37 - Paul claimed that the things he wrote were the commands of the Lord. Nearly all other Bible writers made similar claims. Such statements are found repeatedly in the Bible.

    So Hindu writings generally make no claim to be the very words of a god, but Bible writings claim that the whole Bible speaks the very word of God. This message came, not from within man, but from outside man by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
    [Galatians 1:11,12; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Ephesians 3:3-5; 2 Peter 1:21; John 16:13; Matthew 10:19,20; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Luke 10:16.]


    The Bible contains all truth regarding God's will for man.

    John 16:13 - The Holy Spirit guided the inspired apostles into all truth. This is the message that they then recorded for man in the Scriptures.

    2 Timothy 3:16,17 - As a result, the Scriptures make the man of God complete, furnished completely to all good works. No further revelation is needed.[John 14:26; 16:13; 2 Peter 1:3; Acts 20:20,27.]


    God preserves the Scriptures since they were written so they will always be available to instruct men.

    1 Peter 1:22-25 - The gospel will live and abide forever, unlike grass that springs forth and then dies.

    2 John 2 - The truth will be with us forever.

    So the Bible is a complete and perfect revelation of God's will preserved by the providence of God Himself to reveal His will for man today (cf. James 1:25). We need no other source of religious authority or guidance to determine our beliefs or practices.[Psalm 12:6,7; 119:152,160; Isaiah 40:8; 30:8; John 12:48; 2 Peter 1:12-15; 2 Timothy 3:16,17]

    No religious guides other than the Bible are acceptable to God.

    Since the Bible is a perfect revelation of God's will, no other authoritative guides are needed. And since no spiritual truth can be found within man that was not revealed to him by God, God has decreed that we must follow only His message revealed in the Bible. No other sources of spiritual authority should be accepted.

    Man-made laws and human traditions are not acceptable as spiritual guides.

    Matthew 15:1-9,13     - Doctrines of men make our worship vain.

    Proverbs 14:12 - When men follow ways that seem right by human wisdom, the end result is death.

    This again shows that religious truth cannot be determined by man's mind or conscience.[2 John 9-11; Colossians 3:17; Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 14:12; Revelation 22:18,19; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:13; John 5:43]

    God has revealed no new truths, no new revelations, since the New Testament was given.

    Jude 3 - The faith was delivered to men once, just like Jesus only had to die once. It was done so perfectly that it need not be repeated and will not be repeated.

    So, any teaching different from the gospel is not acceptable.

    Galatians 1:8,9 - If anyone teaches as religious authority a gospel different from what inspired men recorded in Scripture, that person is accursed. No other guide is acceptable, because no one is wise enough to reveal a message as good as the Bible.

    2 John 9 - Whoever does not abide in Jesus' teaching does not have God. But the Hindu scriptures do differ from Jesus' teaching, therefore they are unacceptable to God.

    Not only has God revealed all His will in the Bible, but He has provided evidence in the Bible itself sufficient to convince any honest, diligent student that it is in fact His message to man. This evidence includes fulfilled prophecy, eyewitness testimony of miracles, the resurrection of Christ, etc. That evidence is a study of its own, beyond the scope of this current study.

    Summary: Hinduism contains numerous sacred writings, most of which do not even claim to be directly revealed from God. It necessarily follows that no Hindu can ever know that he has a complete revelation of religious truth. But the Christian holding a Bible can be confident that he has in his hand all truth that God ever has or ever will reveal for mankind - a complete and infallible spiritual guide - and he can offer convincing evidence that the message is from God.

    [To learn more about the evidence for the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, we urge you to study our free articles on that subject listed at the end of this article.]

    II. The Nature of God

    A. The Hindu Concept of God

    Pantheism

    Hinduism teaches that God is ultimately an impersonal, eternal force, essence, or power of existence, having none of the attributes or characteristics of persons (such as knowing, thinking, loving, etc.). This force, called Brahman, is present everywhere in everything in nature, especially in all living things: every plant, every animal, and especially every man.

    Brahman can be thought of as a sort of spirit force that has no personal qualities, but which pervades everything in the Universe. The attributes of personality are believed to exist only in physical, material beings. But God, in pure form, is impersonal and has no personal characteristics.

    This impersonal essence, pervading all things, is also found within us. So, the "spirit" within us is Divine. It is part of God. The real inner you is God. Your inner essence is the essence of Deity.

    The Bhagavad-gita says our eternal souls are "part and parcels of God." "The soul is a small God" (BG, Back - inside front cover and page 6).

    When you understand such concepts, you begin to notice common references to them. For example, the "Force" in the Star Wars movies is essentially Brahman - the impersonal universal force present in everywhere and in everything.
    These concepts are also popularized by the New Age Movement.

    Polytheism

    The Divine Essence or Brahman manifests or expresses itself in the physical world in the form of physical beings that possess personality. As such, Deity is manifested in many gods of many forms.

    "Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments and personal devotionals create a communion with these ... Gods." Hinduism Today

    There are three Supreme gods:
    (1) Brahma, the creator,
    (2) Vishnu, the preserver, and
    (3) Siva, the destroyer. These are generally recognized as equal, though certain sects emphasize one or the other. And note that they differ in realms of power and authority.

    Avatars are incarnations of these gods who have come to earth as men. The best known are avatars of Vishnu:
    (1) Rama, and
    (2) Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita.

    There are also many lesser deities having various levels or realms of authority. Some rule over certain areas of the earth or certain aspects of nature, such as fire, sun, wealth, water, etc.

    Religious teachers and dead ancestors are also worshiped.

    The worship of various deities and images is popular among the people. This worship often involves the use of many images. The concept of the all-pervading Brahman is mainly theoretical among the religious leaders.
    [WR140-142; EB-III, 1011ff; EB-XI, 577ff; EB-XII, 182f]

    B. The Bible Concept of God

    God possesses the characteristics of a living, personal spirit Being.

    The Bible says that God is spirit (John 4:24), and is not flesh and blood (Matthew 16:17).

    However, God possesses the qualities that characterize living, personal, individual beings. These include the following:

    * Living (John 5:26)

    * Loving (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-11)

    * Speaking (Matthew 3:17)

    * Working (John 5:17,20)

    * Knowing (Matthew 6:8,32)

    * Willing (Matthew 7:21)

    * Seeing (Matthew 6:4,6,18)

    God is not just an impersonal force, nor does God need a physical body in order to possess personal characteristics. God is spirit, not material or physical, and yet He possesses the characteristics of a personal individual.

    Man is not divine and cannot become God.

    Spiritually man is in the image or likeness of God (Genesis 1:26f; 5:1; 9:6; James 3:9; 1 Corinthians 11:7). But our inner being is not divine, not of the essence of God, and not to be worshiped.

    Acts 10:25,26 - Peter refused to accept worship from Cornelius because Peter himself was "a man." [Cf. Revelation 22:8,9; 19:10]

    Acts 14:15 - When the people of Lystra tried to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas as gods (vv 8-18), the inspired men said the people should cease such practices and worship the living God. They said they were men like with those attempting to worship them.

    1 Samuel 15:29 - God is not a man.

    It is not true that our inner essence is that of God. Therefore, it is not right to worship any man, neither ancestors nor religious teachers. God is different from man, infinitely above us.[See also Matthew 23:8-12; Ezekiel 28:2,6-10; Genesis 3:5; Acts 12:22,23; Isaiah 55:8,9; Hebrews 2:7; John 10:33; Numbers 23:19.]

    There is only one true God.

    Three separate Beings possess Deity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But unlike Hindu deities, these three are completely united in will, goals, purposes, etc. All have complete authority over all aspects of creation (in contrast to one over fire, one over wealth, etc.). So, they are completely united to form one God (John 17:20,21).

    Deuteronomy 4:35-39 - The Lord is God and there is none else besides Him.

    Isaiah 43:10,11 - Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior.

    Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before Me.

    [Isaiah 44:6-8; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Matthew 4:10; 2 Corinthians 6:16-18]


    Use of images in worship is forbidden.

    Exodus 20:4,5 - You shall not make any graven image nor bow down to such.

    Acts 17:29 - Since we are God's offspring, we should not think the Godhead is like gold or silver or stone graven by art or device of men.

    2 Corinthians 6:16-18 - Christians should have no agreement with idolatry, but should separate ourselves from it.

    Summary: Hindus may believe in an all-pervasive god who has no characteristics of personality or in a multitude of different personal gods, often worshiped by images of gold, silver, stone, etc. But Christians believe in one true God, who is the living all-powerful, all-wise Creator of the universe. Since God has real personal characteristics, we can have a loving, caring personal relationship with God. We can communicate with God, so He speaks to us in His word and we speak to Him in prayer and worship.
    [Isaiah 42:8,9; 40:18-26; 44:9-20; 46:1-11; 48:3-6; 41:21-24; Psalm 115:1-9; 96:5; 97:7; Leviticus 19:4; 26:1; Exodus 32:1-35; 23:24; 34:12-17; Hab. 2:18,19; Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7; 27:5; Daniel 3; Romans 1:23,25; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 5:10,11; 6:9,10; 10:7,14; Revelation 21:8; 22:15; Acts 14:8-18.]

    III. Belief about Human Destiny


    The Hindu Concept of Man's Destiny

    Hindus believe that, when a person dies, his spirit is given another earthly body, that of an animal, a person of another caste (social level), or a god, depending on how he lived his current life. This cycle of death and rebirth continues on and on until one is finally released.

    Note some specific beliefs:

    Reincarnation

    "Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and ... liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny."Hinduism Today
    This concept is widely believed in our society. People often speak of what they were or did "in another life."

    Karma

    Hindus believe that ones circumstances in life are completely determined by his previous conduct, either in this life or in previous lives. This is called "karma" (action). Everything good and everything bad that happens to us in this life comes as a payment for our own past conduct. Nothing is ever the fruit of what others did, but always the consequences of our own conduct.

    By doing good deeds in this life, therefore, one can improve his circumstances in the future, especially in future reincarnations. (BG, p. 9,10)

    The term "karma" is also becoming popular and is often seen or heard in the entertainment industry - movies, music, television, etc.

    Liberation

    "Hinduism explains that the soul reincarnates until all karmas are resolved and God Realization is attained. All souls, without exception, will attain this highest spiritual summit, though it may take many lives. This is a mystical religion ... finally reaching the pinnacle of consciousness where man and God are forever one." Hinduism Today

    "Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny." Hinduism Today So it follows that: "There is no eternal hell, no damnation, in Hinduism, and no intrinsic evil--no satanic force that opposes the will of God." - Hinduism Today, 9/2011

    So, the final goal of Hinduism is to escape or be released from the cycle of reincarnation. Hindus seek to be set free from birth, death, and rebirth, so they exist in a state of pure impersonal being without a physical body. The exact nature of this final state is not clearly defined. Some view it as a ceasing of consciousness, others as a sense of bliss. But the end result is that man is somehow absorbed into the eternal Being (Brahman), becoming part of God.

    To the Hindu, therefore, punishment consists of continuing to exist on earth. "Eternal life" consists of ceasing to exist in a bodily form and becoming part of the impersonal God. There is no concept of a bodily resurrection, and no ultimate punishment of the wicked. In fact there is no ultimate spirit being who opposes God or urges men to do evil. So all will eventually progress, after a sufficient number of lives, to liberation.
    [BG, p. 19-28; WR142-144; EB-III, 1014; EB-XI, 580; cf. Renou, 40-44]

    B. The Bible Teaching about Man's Destiny

    Death

    Man has only one earthly life and death.

    Hebrews 9:27 - It is appointed unto man once to die.

    Ecclesiastes 12:7 - At death, the body returns to dust and the spirit returns to God who gave it (not to another body).

    Luke 16:26 - When one has died, his destiny is fixed. He cannot pass from a destiny of suffering to one of bliss, nor vice-versa.

    It follows that there is no such thing as reincarnation. This defeats the whole Hindu concept of future life. If there is no cycle of death and rebirth, the entire Hindu concept of man's future destiny is cut off at the root.
    [Ecclesiastes 9:5,6; 2 Corinthians 5:10]

    Resurrection

    John 5:28,29 - All in the tombs will come forth to the resurrection of life or damnation. Rather than reincarnation, the Bible teaches resurrection.

    1 Corinthians 15:22 - After Jesus died, He arose from the dead: His spirit was reunited with His body. As in Adam all die, so in Jesus all shall be made alive. The guarantee of this is the fact that Jesus Himself arose (vv 1-23). Like Jesus arose, so the spirit of each person will be reunited with his body when Jesus comes again. It will then be changed to a spirit body to receive an eternal reward.

    Notice that each person will come back from the dead as himself or herself - the same person - not as an animal, a god, or some other person. We will be reunited with our own body, not that of someone else. Once again, the Bible doctrine of resurrection from the dead flatly contradicts the whole Hindu concept of man's future destiny.
    [Matthew 22:23-33; Acts 24:15; John 11:24; James 2:26]

    Judgment

    Hebrews 9:27 - Just as it is appointed to man once to die, so it is appointed after that to face judgment. In contradiction to the doctrine of karma, the Bible teaches that, on earth, men often do not receive fair or just rewards for their lives. So, when Jesus returns, He will judge all men and declare our eternal rewards on the basis of our lives, good or bad.

    2 Corinthians 5:10 - At judgment, each one will receive a reward according to the life he lived in the body, good or bad. Note that this reward is for what he did in the body - just one body, not many.

    Acts 17:30,31 - Paul told the idol worshipers of Athens that they must repent because God has appointed a day in which He will judge all men. The proof of this is Jesus' resurrection. So once again the gospel not only describes man's future destiny, it gives historical eyewitness evidence to confirm that it will be so.
    [Romans 2:1-16; 14:10-12; 8:17,18; Ecclesiastes 12:13,14; Matthew 25:31-46; 5:11,12; Revelation 20:11-15; Luke 16:19-31; 1 Peter 4:12-16; 2:19-23; 1 Thessalonians 3:2-4; Acts 14:22; Hebrews 11:32-38; Job 1 & 2; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:20]


    Final destinies

    Matthew 25:46 - After judgment, men receive their eternal destinies. The righteous receive eternal life, a state of bliss, in the presence of God. The wicked receive eternal punishment, suffering and sorrow, separated from God.

    Revelation 20:11-16 - The punishment of the wicked is called "the second death." This confirms that souls do not face a repeated cycle of deaths and rebirths as in reincarnation.

    So, the Bible teaches that both the righteous and the wicked will be rewarded or punished after we leave the earth, not while on the earth. The idea that man's future after death will involve living here on earth simply is not true, regardless of whether we are good or bad. And we have already learned that man can never become part of God.

    And remember, unlike any other religious system, the gospel of Christ offers eyewitness historical proof that the future it describes must be true: The founder of our faith has already demonstrated the truth of resurrection. Just as surely as Jesus arose from the dead, so we too will arise, be judged and rewarded.

    Whereas the Hindu concept of man's future destiny is based on unfounded speculation, the Bible not only contradicts Hindu teaching, it offers proof that no other religion in the world can offer or even attempts to offer.
    [Matthew 25:34,41; Titus 3:7; Romans 6:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 5:9,10; Matthew 18:8,9; 5:10-12,22; 13:39-42; 1 Peter 1:3,4; Revelation 21:1-22:5; Philippians 3:20,21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9]

    IV. The Doctrine of Salvation



    How does a person achieve or reach the goal of man's ultimate destiny?


    A. The Hindu Concept of "Transcending"

    The hope of Hinduism is to escape material existence and the reincarnation cycle. This occurs when each person ultimately becomes absorbed into God. But Hindus often use other terms for this goal other than "salvation." Leaving this material life or moving beyond it is commonly referred to as "transcending"; whatever helps achieve that goal is called "transcendental." (This term is used repeatedly in the introduction to the Bhagavad-gita.)

    There are several ways taught by which this can be done. Different groups emphasize different methods, but they do not reject the methods taught by others.

    "Each soul is free to find his own way, whether by devotion, austerity, meditation, yoga or selfless service ... Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving tolerance and understanding." Hinduism Today

    Here are some of the common ways Hindus seek to reach liberation:

    Good deeds (karma)

    It is believed that, if people do enough good works - especially works that are unselfish and de-emphasize material interests - they will achieve a better reincarnation. This process continues till finally one escapes reincarnation and material existence completely.

    Austerity and self-denial

    One must live as a recluse, withdrawing from the pleasures and personal interests of life, putting no emphasis on possessions, etc. As a result, physical life loses its hold on the person's inner being. When he dies, he is released forever.


    Knowledge

    As one learns more and more, especially by studying the Vedas, he comes to understand that his true nature is part of the Diving Being. As he fills his mind with such ideas, his thoughts and deeds are less concerned with material interests. When he dies, physical life has no power over him, so he is released.


    Devotion (worship)

    If one continually expresses love and dedication to God, he will become so concerned for God that this life loses its attraction. When he dies, he is released from the reincarnation cycle.

    This is especially emphasized in the Hare Krishna movement. If one dies thinking proper thoughts about Krishna, he is guaranteed to immediately be taken out of the reincarnation cycle to the spirit realm. In order to be sure one is thinking right when he dies, his life must be filled with constant thought of Krishna. This proper thinking comes by reading the Vedas, but especially it comes by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra (BG, pp. 19-28).

    "The recommended means for achieving the mature stage of love of God ... is to chant the holy names of the Lord. The easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare" (Back - inside front cover).

    "The Hare Krishna mantra is both a glorification of God and an appeal to be engaged in His service" (Back, p. 3).


    Meditation (Yoga)

    Life (physical circumstances) is thought to be a temporary illusion (maya). It is not the ultimate reality. We think it is reality only because we do not understand that our inner self is part of God, which is the ultimate reality.

    By deep inner meditation in his self-conscious mind, one can discover his real self. This is called self-realization. As we understand this and begin to think and act accordingly, we become detached from the importance of this life. Things in this life become better, but especially when we die we are released from the reincarnation cycle. This method is also described in the Bhagavad-gita (6.20-23) and is the method involved in Transcendental Meditation.

    In all these avenues, repeated reincarnations may be required as a person gradually moves to higher and higher levels till he leaves the cycle. He must bring this about by his own effort. The gods may help, but there is no concept of a Supreme Being who pays the penalty of sin on behalf of the sinner.
    [WR, 144-148f; EB-III, 1014; EB-XI, 580; Renou, 40-44]

    B. The Bible Teaching about Salvation

    Our sins spiritually separate us from God.

    Romans 3:23- All people are guilty of sin, which is disobedience to God's will (1 John 3:4).

    Isaiah 59:1,2 - Because of our sins, we are out of harmony and fellowship with God. He is then not dwelling within us. Because of this spiritual alienation from God, we will be separated from God eternally (as described above) if our sins are not forgiven.

    It follows that, contrary to Hinduism, God cannot be found within the heart of the sinner, because God is not there. Our souls simply are not part of God, nor are sinners in fellowship with Him. No amount of meditation or other form of soul searching can find in the heart of man that which simply is not present there.
    [Ephesians 2:11-19; Romans 6:23]


    Because of God's love and grace, Deity came to earth in the form of man (Jesus) and died as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of man's sins.

    John 3:16 - God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that those who believe in Him might not perish but have eternal life.

    1 Peter 2:24 - Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might live.

    The incredible beauty of the gospel is that God Himself chose to do for His creatures what man could not do for himself. He did this at incredible cost of suffering and anguish to Himself. That is the gospel concept of Divine grace, but the concept is totally absent from Hinduism.
    [Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 9:11-14,23-10:18; Isaiah 53:4-11; 1 Peter 1:18,19; 3:18; Revelation 1:5; Matthew 26:28; Acts 20:28; John 1:29]


    No human effort can achieve forgiveness or restore a relationship with God apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

    Ephesians 2:8,9 - Our good works cannot save us apart from faith in Jesus. We ought to live good lives, worship God, pray, etc. But if we do not receive forgiveness by Jesus, none of these can save. Yet every Hindu avenue to God is based on human works apart from Jesus.

    Matthew 6:7 - Heathen idol worshipers believe they can please God by endless repetition of certain phrases. This is clearly illustrated by Hindu mantras. But such cannot save, for God says He will not accept it.

    Acts 4:12 - So, there is salvation in no one other than Jesus.

    John 14:6 - He [Jesus] is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Him. There simply is no salvation apart from the sacrifice of Jesus.

    It follows that no Hindu deity can save, because none of them died as the sacrifice for our sins. Furthermore, there is no choice of several or many ways any one of which can save. There is one way and only one way for man to come back to God: only through receiving forgiveness of sins by the crucified Christ.
    To receive the forgiveness God offers, man must meet conditions.

    The fact that man's works cannot earn salvation apart from Christ does not mean there is nothing for us to do to obtain the forgiveness Jesus offers.

    Believe - Mark 16:16; John 8:24. Note that this requires belief in Jesus and in His gospel. Without this faith, man cannot be saved. Salvation is impossible apart from trusting in Jesus' saving death.

    Repent of sins - Acts 17:30.

    Confess Christ - Romans 10:9,10. We must not only believe in Jesus, we must be willing to confess that faith.

    Be baptized - Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16. Baptism requires an immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No rituals in the name of other gods can possibly save.

    Live a faithful life - 1 Corinthians 15:58

    These conditions do not earn God's forgiveness but are necessary so He will grant the forgiveness we do not deserve.

    Summary: Although Hinduism offers a choice of many avenues to God, we have now seen that none of those avenues are valid. All Hindu methods of achieving liberation are fundamentally based on reincarnation, which the Bible disproves as being untrue. Further, all require achieving liberation by human efforts apart from the sacrifice of Jesus. In fact, Hinduism offers no means of forgiveness by any Divine sacrifice.

    The gospel of Jesus Christ stands unique among all the religions of the world. The founder of our faith alone offered the perfect sacrifice of the sinless Divine Son of God who paid the price for our sins. Then He arose from the dead to prove He can give us eternal life.
    [Hebrews 10:39; 5:9; James 2:14-26; Romans 6; 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:12]

    Conclusion

    Again, Hinduism offers no objective evidence that its teachings were revealed by God or that its Scriptures are truly divine in origin. They may try to show they are reasonable, but mainly they urge you to try it to see if you find it satisfying.

    "This is a mystical religion, leading devotees to personally experience its eternal truths within themselves..." Hinduism Today

    As with other experiential religions, when people become emotionally committed to it, they tend to reject contrary evidence based on reason. But there is no valid evidence why anyone should believe it.

    Only the Bible offers consistent reasonable evidence to convince the unbeliever that it is truly revealed by God. That evidence is found in fulfilled prophecy, eyewitness testimony of miracles, the resurrection of Christ, etc. Only in Christ can we have assurance for our faith.

    Hinduism cannot save because it worships the wrong God, follows the wrong religious authority, seeks the wrong destiny, and teaches the wrong ways to achieve that destiny. True salvation can be found only in Jesus Christ. It can be understood only through the gospel of Jesus. And it can be obtained only by faith and obedience to Jesus' teaching.

    To learn more about the evidence for the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, we urge you to study our free articles on that subject listed below.

    Bibliography

    Back — Back to Godhead, "The Magazine of the Hare Krishna Movement; Vol. 10, No. 12.

    BG — Bhagavad-gita (Hindu Scripture)

    EB — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1956 edition (followed by volume and page #)

    "Hinduism: An Overview," Hinduism Today, 9/2011;
    "What Is Hinduism?" (hinduismtoday.com),
    and “Nine Beliefs of Hinduism,” Hinduism Today, 9/2011;

    Nine Beliefs of Hinduism, (hinduismtoday.com).

    WR — The World’s Religions, Norman Anderson, ed.

    (C) Copyright 2001, 2011, David E. Pratte

  • Life After Death? Really?

    Is There Life After Death?

    Author: Mike Taylor
    Source: RaptureReady.com

    the_resurrection



    “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).


    [Related Article: The Sedgefield Community]

    Of all the trials of this life, when they end, there is nothing that gives the average man on the street more anxiety than thinking of his own: death. Most don’t want to think about that time. The young never think about it, as they are full of life and to them they are virtually immortal. Sadly, many come to the realization too late, that life is fleeting and very fragile and must be guarded with caution and utmost regards as to its safety. Every man and woman alive wants to put off that inevitable outcome. That is the finality of death.

    Men in their darkened hearts deny the existence of God. They are called atheists, as they see no need for God. They believe in themselves only, and deny a life after this one.

    “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good” (Psalm 14:1).

    Paul reprimanded such thinking in Romans 1:20:

    “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

    So men seeing the world and its creation clearly see the wonders of an intelligent design that many atheists have proven by science could not have happened by chance, or evolution. Then there is no explanation for what we see with our own eyes, but a supernatural presence in our universe that made the earth, heavens and all that exist in this world by one author, we call God, namely the God of the Bible. If we are honest with ourselves and acknowledge that we have been gloriously made, how do we discover this supernatural power? We begin with the only written revelation of His power and authority, which is found in your Bible. It is God’s only communication with man during the times we live in that He has chosen to reveal Himself to a sinful creation that we have become.

    The Bible is a collection of Holy Spirit inspired books that deals with one subject and is about one Man, Jesus Christ. God’s creation was stolen because of the will of man to sin against the commands of God and believe the lie of Satan, “You will become as gods.” But God had a plan from the very beginning. Knowing all things, He put into action the plan to redeem His creation and draw men unto Himself. He knew that men could not save themselves; it would be impossible. There had to be a way to satisfy the requirements of pardoned sin. God is holy and without sin, and will not allow it into His presence so sin must be covered by a perfect sacrifice. Paul speaks of this requirement for forgiveness of sin in Hebrews 9.22:

    “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

    It must be a sinless offering, not an offering of sheep and bulls, but a sinless offering, which required that God come and offer Himself as a ransom for many. He was to be our Kinsman Redeemer, born of woman, born of God, sinless and undefiled to take our place.

    John 3.16:
    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

    [Related Article: Company and Coworkers]

    So the greatest manifestation of eternal love laid down His life willingly for the redemption of all who believe on the name of Jesus Christ, in faith to cleanse them from their sins and lead them into a new life of becoming transformed into His image, His likeness and model the way He lived while here on earth. This is the beginning of the greatest story ever told and believed by millions of people unto salvation, but the last part of the story is even greater. On the third day, Jesus was raised to life to receive a resurrection body, and became the first fruits of those “born of the dead.” Let us now turn to the chapter in the bible that some call the “resurrection chapter” found in your Bible in 1 Corinthians 15.


    Resurrection of the Dead?

    Paul tackles this question head on, as many had come to believe that there was no resurrection. Paul gives one of the clearest, most concise definitions of the “gospel” found anywhere in the Bible. He shows how a denial of the resurrection of the dead is a denial of the gospel itself, and how believing in the gospel gives one hope for the next world as well as for the present.

    “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”
    (1 Corinthians 15:12)

    This heresy had come into the congregations in Corinth by the pagans surrounding this church, these Greek citizens did not believe in a physical resurrection. Paul reminds them of the many witnesses that saw the Lord Jesus in the flesh after His resurrection:

    1 Corinthians 15.3-8:
    “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
    And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
    After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time    .”

    Paul goes onto affirm by witness accounts the bodily resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but he makes an even more astounding pronouncement later in this chapter.

    1 Corinthians 15:12-18:
    “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
    But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
    And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
    Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
    For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
    And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
    Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished    .”

    Paul is testifying that if Jesus was not resurrected (and by extension we will not be resurrected) then His sacrifice meant nothing. For if Christ was not raised, we are not raised, if He is still dead, then we are dead as well. The resurrection of Jesus Christ to life, a well-documented historical fact seen by hundreds of witnesses who actually touched Him, ate with Him, and listened to His Words and untold hundreds into the thousands in this time period -- that went to their death with the knowledge of His resurrection and their own future resurrection to eternal life as well.

    Paul goes onto explain that there is an order of those born of the dead. Jesus Christ, the first of the first fruits and the first resurrection of Jesus coming for His church.

    “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15.20-23).

    Paul goes on to explain that we will be same as Jesus is, in the same resurrection that He experienced.

    1 Corinthians 15.38-44:
    “But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
    There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
    So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body    .”

    John wrote about what we can expect, when we finally see Him in our glorified bodies.

    “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
    This is the final fulfillment of our eternal lives that begins right then. But some say, “What about the dead in Christ now, what are they and where are they    ?” (1 John 3:2).


    The Dead in Jesus Christ

    Many interpretations have been made about the hereafter, what our dear departed love ones are enjoying or not enjoying right now...All of us have seen the depictions of winged spirits floating on clouds playing a harp, or walking around on streets of gold, or people alive contacting long dead relatives in a forbidden act called “necromancy.” The plane of existence between spirit world and the world of flesh is a parallel existence from what I can gather from reading our Bibles. A war goes on in the spirit world that is played out in a mirror image of the fleshly and material world we live in. Paul warned us of this spiritual warfare when in Ephesians he encouraged each of us who call on the name of the Lord, to take on the whole armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6:
    “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

    Our brother Ed Wood gave a very good analogy of this spirit world that surrounds us and is populated with the power and the prince of the air. To speak to souls departed, is most likely speaking with demons and is forbidden. From Scripture we can learn several things and that is, people go one place or another, one is good, the other is bad. One is with God and the other is devoid of everything that is God.

    In the Old Testament, it was called Paradise and the souls that departed this life dying in faith believing the coming of the Messiah, found peace in the “bosom of Abraham” as noted in the parable about the rich man and Lazarus. Some try to make this just a parable that Jesus spoke of to make a point, but Jesus used real life examples to state a spiritual truth. In this we see Lazarus who died a poor man in the bosom of Abraham comforted, and the rich man who had everything enduring torment in Sheol, called hell. Jesus mentions flames that torment and needing only a drop of water to quench his thirst. In picturesque terms a very graphic picture of lost hope.

    In Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon speaks of the grave:

    “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

    If you speak of that material body, that is correct. That flesh turns back to dust and knows nothing...but what of the spiritual part that man is made of?

    “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 9:7).

    “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5.8).

    So according to Scripture, the body, which is flesh goes to dust, but the spirit that God gave goes back to Him, but in what form? That is when the Bible goes silent. We are not told, but glimpses of the glory we will share. We are told of the City of God, but that is after Jesus Christ comes back and God lives with us. There are many testimonies of experiences of seeing a glimpse of the life on the other side. I have in my library, the book by Terry James, who I believe experienced glory in an all too brief encounter that he wrote about in his book, Heaven Vision. It will bring a sense of awe that a person can experience just a taste of what we can expect when we are with the Lord for all eternity.

    I go back to the explanation that Jesus gave of those who are found in Jesus Christ, when He spoke to the thief on the cross. “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” We cannot fully comprehend, apart from what the Bible describes of the glory that will be found in us at the end of this age, to understand what transpires at the last breath we take and the angels of God usher us, (those that are saved in Jesus Christ), to be with God.

    Yes, I can hear the naysayers quoting Scripture, and I am aware of those as well. Jesus made mention of that:

    “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man’ (John 3:13).

    But does that limit God? Who are we to say what God does with the spirit that belongs to Him?

    “Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things)” (Ephesians 4:8-10).

    If manifestations were mentioned in the parable of Lazarus, would it not make sense that when Jesus rose from the dead that He released captives who were captive and brought them with Him? Brought them where? Scripture does not say definitively, but we are left wondering about life after death. One thing we know for sure, life does not end with physical death. But let us make an assumption, just for the sake of argument for you naysayers about the concept of the resurrection of the dead, and life after death....

    [Related Article: Concerning Richmond VA]

    Belief vs. Unbelief in God

    Scenario one...

    “Billy” is an atheist and has lived like the devil for most of his natural life. He relies on no one but Billy and proclaims no god but the god of his flesh, which he satisfies in any ungodly manner he can think of...when he dies, he is like the cockroach, or the animal who dies in the wilderness. He goes to nothing, nobody remembers him, and his time of glory is over.

    A Christian dies, “Joe,” about the same time. He believed and followed the God of the Bible. He attempted to live a life that was taught by Jesus Christ his whole life. He also dies, but as the atheist, there is nothing out there and he goes to be as the animals...to the dust. Both have lived their life of their own free will, and both have received the same reward...NOTHING.

    Scenario two…

    “Billy” finds out one second after his death, that his belief that there is no resurrection, no life, no nothing after death -- finds out he was terribly and horribly mistaken. He finds himself in a black pit. There is no light, no laughter, no joy and sounds of anguish fill his ears. He is bumped into once in a while -- in the dark by someone he can’t see but can feel. He senses total loss, total hopelessness, total despair and wonders, is this real? His throat is dry and parched. His mind is in a whirl about what is happening and he screams out in emotional pain of total loss.

    At the same time, the Christian, “Joe,” opens his eyes and peers back at loving eyes holding his hands pulling him up, standing him on his feet. Light is all around, people are laughing. Children are running and playing. The sights and smells are more intense than he ever experienced in the life he just left. He feels joy, everlasting hope, and intense emotions of gratitude wash over him, as the loving eyes are his Lord and Savior welcoming him home. Where is this place? He doesn’t know, but doesn’t care, as he knows he will be taken care of, as His Lord is by his side.

    Tell me reader, in the conjecture of each scenario starting with number one...what has each lost? Nothing, if there is no resurrection and no life after death. They are both equal. They lived their lives and the result is blackness...nothing...void...

    But what of scenario number two? If the Christian “Joe” who believed on the only begotten Son of God is correct, what has he gained...? Answer...everything! And conversely, what has the atheist lost…again… EVERYTHING!

    Jesus rightly said in Matthew 16.26:
    "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

    You who are reading this, you don’t like to think of yourself as a “fool,” nobody does. But the Bible says those who do not believe in God, or His Son, are just that. Me, I’m not a gambling man. I never did well at betting on an unseen or unknown quantity. I sure am not so foolish to play Russian roulette with my eternal destination for all the tea in China, let alone the fleeting pleasures of this world. That is an over simplification of what I have spoken of.

    Who amongst you are so SURE in your belief that there is no God, that you would risk your very soul for all eternity, when this life is but a vapor in the wind, and gone so quickly? If you knew that if I am right, and I have testimony of countless millions outside the Bible, and thousands inside its pages that say, I’m right, that eternity is forever, either with God or apart from Him, would you go one more day denying your need to put your faith in the only begotten Son of God? One is pure joy and the other is pure...well, for a lack of a better word...HELL and all that it implies.

    hell

    Ladies and gentleman, citizens of this fast dying world, “Where will you spend eternity?” If the grim reaper came calling tomorrow, would you be “Billy” or “Joe” in my scenarios? Will you bet your soul on it?

  • Bank of America Gets Foreclosed!

    Bank of America Gets Pad Locked
    After Homeowner Forecloses On It

    Original Source: digtriad.com


    Collier County, Florida -- Have you heard the one about a homeowner foreclosing on a bank?

    Well, it has happened in Florida and involves a North Carolina based bank.

    Instead of Bank of America foreclosing on some Florida homeowner, the homeowners had sheriff's deputies foreclose on the bank.

    It started five months ago when Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on the home of a couple, who didn't owe a dime on their home.

    The couple said they paid cash for the house.

    The case went to court and the homeowners were able to prove they didn't owe Bank of America anything on the house. In fact, it was proven that the couple never even had a mortgage bill to pay.

    A Collier County Judge agreed and after the hearing, Bank of America was ordered, by the court to pay the legal fees of the homeowners', Maurenn Nyergers and her husband.

    The Judge said the bank wrongfully tried to foreclose on the Nyergers' house.

    So, how did it end with bank being foreclosed on? After more than 5 months of the judge's ruling, the bank still hadn't paid the legal fees, and the homeowner's attorney did exactly what the bank tried to do to the homeowners. He seized the bank's assets.

    "They've ignored our calls, ignored our letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated, " attorney Todd Allen told CBS.

    foreclose_bank

    Sheriff's deputies, movers, and the Nyergers' attorney went to the bank and foreclosed on it. The attorney gave instructions to to remove desks, computers, copiers, filing cabinets and any cash in the teller's drawers.

    After about an hour of being locked out of the bank, the bank manager handed the attorney a check for the legal fees.

    "As a foreclosure defense attorney this is sweet justice", says Allen.

    Allen says this is something that he sees often in court, banks making errors because they didn't investigate the foreclosure and it becomes a lengthy and expensive battle for the homeowner.

    ORIGINAL STORY FROM WINK-TV IN FORT MYERS, FLORIDA

    CBS News / WINK

  • Those Pesky Chemtrails!

    Chemtrails:
    Frightening Lesser-Known Facts


    Author: Henry Makow
    Source: henrymakow.com - April 2, 2013

    chems


    Human Pesticide?

    "In the last ten years, respiratory disease in the US has moved from 8th to 3rd highest cause of death. Asthma rates have more than doubled in the western world and Alzheimer's' disease, a condition that is caused by aluminum poisoning, has also skyrocketed. "



    If we don't organize to stop this scourge, we deserve what we get.

    by David Richards
    (henrymakow.com)

    There has been an increasing awareness of chemtrails in recent years. Protests have been organized, movies have been released and whistle blowers have come forward. Most significantly, former Los Angeles FBI chief Ted Gunderson made a video denouncing chemtrails shortly before his death in 2011.

    The heavy spraying began in NATO countries in the late 90s, but today chemtrails are being recorded pretty much everywhere, from Russia to Brazil, South Korea to Cuba. This is a program of extraordinary scope and importance. However, while we know a chemtrail program exists, there is very little hard information on how it functions and what its goals are.

    I have been researching chemtrails and, while I don't yet have the full picture, I present this information in the hopes it will plug a few holes.


    • Most politicians are as oblivious as we are. A.C. Griffin, a former CIA and NSA operative, says: 'The monies that go into CIA projects don't necessarily come from congressional appropriations.The congress as a whole is completely oblivious to the aerosol program.They are afraid to ask.'

    People on the inside who oppose the program are punished. 'One of the key people who designed the aerosol is now sitting in federal penitentiary. They still go to him to ask him questions.'

    boorda_34

    Griffin also revealed that former Clinton era Navy Chief of Naval Operations, Jeremy Boorda, left, was murdered because he opposed the program. Boorda was found dead in 1996 with three shotgun wounds in his chest. The authorities were quick to claim he committed suicide, and the autopsy results were never released to the public.






    • Commercial airliners are involved in spraying. In the very beginning, the aerosols were sprayed solely by military planes, but now the program has been expanded and commercial airliners have been outfitted with aerosol units controlled by computers and satellites. Photos provide evidence of this, like this Lufthansa jet flying over the US (below,left).

    luftjet



    In the airline industry, the operation is known as Project Cloverfield. In 2000, a high level executive at an American airline revealed his office was visited by two men from an unnamed government agency:

    'They told us that the government was going to pay our airline, along with others, to release special chemicals from commercial aircraft. When asked what the chemicals were and why we were going to spray them, they told us that information was given on a need-to-know basis and we weren't cleared for it...We were made to sign non-disclosure forms that basically stated that we would go to prison if we told anyone what we knew.'


    Delivery by commercial aircraft raises the possibility that many countries have not given consent to being sprayed, and may be unaware it's even happening.

    • Weather manipulation is a daily occurrence - Chemtrails are used in conjunction with the HAARP program for geo-engineering (the technical term for weather control). Much is written about the ability to create disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis against an enemy, but we don't realize that weather patterns are manipulated all the time. Scott Stevens was a TV weatherman in the US but quit his job upon realizing that this was happening on a nigh daily basis.


    GAMBLING ON FOOD: 'WEATHER DERIVATIVES"

    Global warming is the cover story for the increasingly severe and bizarre weather worldwide.

    • Geo-engineering is used to force GMO crops on the world. Manufactured floods and droughts damage harvests and put farmers out of business.

    Monsanto has the patent for GMO seeds that are drought and flood resistant, as well as resistant to the poisonous effects of aluminum, one of the key metals in chemtrails. Any farmer who refuses to grow GMO crops will not be able to guarantee a good harvest and will go out of business.
    Even worse, Monsanto's end game is to force what are termed 'Terminator' seeds on farmers worldwide. These crops don't produce seeds, meaning the farmer has to buy new seeds from Monsanto every planting season!
    [Related Article: Monsanto and Genetically Engineered Food: Playing Roulette With Our Health]


    • Weather Derivatives are chemtrail insurance. - You may wonder how the big players protect their interests from weather warfare. Say, how does George Soros, who owns thousands of acres of farmland in America, protect his profits from engineered drought?

    cia_patent

    Companies use financial instruments to hedge against risk of adverse weather conditions. They first appeared in the late-nineties, the same time the heavy spraying started! Michael Agne, a trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, explains how they work:

    'You're betting there's going to be a weather disaster within a particular time-frame, at a particular location, and when it does happen there's going to be a big pay-off.' Obviously, insiders can make big bucks making bets based on the geo-engineering timetable.



    CREATING A SICKLY DEPENDENT POPULATION

    • Chemtrails are a 'soft kill' operation - Soft kill attacks primarily aim to disable and weaken the enemy, not kill him. As Dr. Len Horowitz has explained, wars are an inefficient way to lower population numbers because they destroy infrastructure. The preferable scenario is to create a sick population dependent on the military-medical-industrial complex for their health. In this way, you have population control, make vast fortunes doing it and keep the infrastructure intact.

    Chemtrails are a multi-pronged attack.

    Firstly, the metallic salts used in the aerosols are highly toxic and require our bodies to waste tremendous amounts of energy removing them. Millions of people cannot do it. In the last ten years, respiratory disease in the US has moved from 8th to 3rd highest cause of death. Asthma rates have more than doubled in the western world and Alzheimer's' disease, a condition that is caused by aluminum poisoning, has also skyrocketed.

    The second thing is the release of diseases. A high placed military insider claims that bacteria and viruses are freeze-dried and placed on fine filaments for release. The metals released along with the diseases heat up from the sun, creating a perfect environment for the bacteria and viruses to thrive in the air supply.

    Third, chemtrails contain nano-technological weapons. Surprisingly, this fact has remained low-key in the alternative media. It is well proven by researchers like Dr. Hildegarde Staninger and former government scientist Clifford Carnicom.

    The nanotech consists of genetically modified organisms that are basically bio-robots. When we inhale them, they take up residence in our bodies and live as parasites. When the infestation becomes advanced, the individual develops what is termed Morgellons disease. He is so weak that he can barely do anything and suffers an array of bizarre and ghastly symptoms: scabs that don't heal, hair that falls out and is replaced by pseudo hair and unceasing crawling sensations beneath the skin.

    morg_disease


    Morgellons is a new condition that has appeared in the last decade - the same time the heavy spraying kicked in! There are an estimated 60,000 sufferers in the US alone, and their symptoms are chronicled by the Morgellons Research Foundation.


    BIO WARFARE

    There is evidence that the nanotechnology in the aerosols creates genetically modified red blood cells. Clifford Carnicom has found these cells in the atmosphere and in the blood samples of most people he tests. They are quite unlike normal red blood cells; they can grow outside of the body in a petri dish, survive high temperatures and withstand being doused in acid. Clearly, this is highly sophisticated bio-warfare!

    We don't know for sure what purpose they serve, but the answer may have been provided by Ray Kurtwell, one of the biggest names in the transhumanism movement. In a recent speech he said: 'In the next 25 years we will have bloodcell -sized devices that go inside your body and keep you healthy from inside, that go in your brain and interact with your biological neurons and merge with our biological intelligence.'

    When an establishment scientist tells us with certainty that something will exist, assume that it already does. There is a chance that the 'blood-cell sized devices' that Kurtwell mentioned are the weaponized red blood cells being discovered, and that mind alteration is currently underway.

    • How do the perpetrators protect themselves? The shotcallers never launch an attack without making sure they're protected first. For instance, President Bush took an anthrax vaccine two weeks before the anthrax attacks in 2001. They may drink a solution once a day that removes the toxins from their bloodstream, or have a chip put in their arm that acts like a tiny dialysis machine.

    Many involved in the operation probably don't know the true agenda. Dr. Bill Deagle was a doctor at Buckley air force base and claims to have treated the pilots who were spraying the aerosols, '95% of them told me they were up there spraying to reflect the sun to stop global warming, so most of them are dumb enough to believe that garbage.'


    CONCLUSION

    The shotcallers are vandalizing the skies, as visibly as a graffiti artist spraying a wall, and yet most of us remain oblivious. Like little else, chemtrails bring home just how desperate our predicament is.

    Despite this, I think anti-chemtrail activism has tremendous potential. The existence of the operation is easy to prove and we have the testimony of many whistle blowers. The protest movement can continue to generate momentum because chemtrails will persist for decades to come.
    --

    David Richards, 24, teaches English in Mongolia. He is a regular contributor.
    ---

    Related Information:

    1. What In the World Are They Spraying?

    2. From Chemtrails to Pseudo-Life: The Dark Agenda of Synthetic Biology

    Comments:


    Art said (April 3, 2013):

    The program seemed to start in the late 90's, in central Texas at least. The planes were all white, early model 737 it seemed. They were so easy to spot then ... and many people shouted about it, but the sheeple kept their heads down and ignored it. That seemed to be the test phase, to measure dispersal over time and area .. etc. Also, of prime importance, must have been to get a mixture of whatever chemicals they wanted to survive being combusted inside the jet engine. Because there simply is NO WAY to attach a spray system to a commercial airliner without a hundred thousand people knowing about it within 24 hours.

    The picture of the plane "surrounded" in mist ... is simply that. That is simple condensation and is completely normal. The picture of the tanks and plumbing are actually either a plane being delivered (with mega fuel tanks to allow non-stop flight), or the tanks are for simulating passenger weight and is used for flight testing. I am 100% positive that both those images are of normal heavy metal commercial ops.

    It's too late to stick your head up and cry about the chemtrails ... that was 10 years ago. No way in the world to prove it now that ALL commercial planes dump their exhausts on normal airways (no turning around and backtracking any more to make grids in the sky).

    Next time, when people plead with you to pay attention .... DO IT for God's sake. (facepalm)
    ---

    David Richards replies:

    Scott Stevens says I haven’t seen a global airline NOT participating in this program. No doubt the powers that be buy payload access OR demand payload access from these corporations. People can decided for themselves here- weatherwars.info



    Jonny said (April 3, 2013):

    Great article, but activism is not a real solution. It is naive to believe the people in government who are responsible for 9/11 or chem-trails give a hoot about what we think, or that they have any real power to halt these programs even if they did. Writing congressmen is useless. Organizing citizen rallies can only be useful if the goal is to take up arms and overthrow the bastards. In times before fluoridated medication and water, aluminum particulate matter in our air, and television mind control programming people could have organized and trained to fight. Short of that we are now at their mercy and their show will go on. I think our geese are cooked. What do you think?
    Jonny

    I don't think we should wait any longer before becoming militant. We need to challenge their mental consensus and keep challenging it.
    henry


    Robert said (April 3, 2013):

    For your reader who asked what can be done to eliminate toxic heavy metals from the body, have them research bentonite clay. A good brand is Redmond Clay, which is produced in Utah.


    Robbie said (April 2, 2013):

    I live in the City of York, in the UK.

    About 4 years ago, whilst working outside on a building site, I watched an aircraft go back and forth across the sky, spraying chemicals.

    When you see it with your own eyes it hits you like a freight train !!

  • Hinduism: A Christian Perspective

    Hinduism
    A Christian Perspective


    Author: Rick Rood
    Source: InPlainSite.org

    shiva_dancing


    Though Hinduism may seem far removed from our everyday experience, it's becoming increasingly important that we as Christians understand this mysterious religion from India. This is so, if for no other reason than that Hinduism claims 1/6 of the world's population, with over 750 million followers worldwide. But it's also important because its influence is being felt more and more in our own country.

    Most of us have had at least some exposure to what has become known as the New Age movement. If so, we have probably realized that Hinduism is the wellspring of a good deal of New Age thinking. Most of us are probably also aware than an increasing number of Asian Indians are residing in the U.S. We may be surprised, in fact, to learn that there are approximately 200 Hindu temples or Hindu centers in the U.S. Many believe that due to its eclectic nature, Hinduism has the potential to serve as a major vehicle for uniting much of the non-Christian religious world.
    [Also See The Influence of Eastern Mysticism]

    The appeal of Hinduism to Western culture is not difficult to comprehend. For one, Hinduism is comfortable with evolutionary thinking. As modern science emphasizes our physical evolution, so Hinduism emphasizes our spiritual evolution. As much of modern psychology emphasizes the basic goodness and unlimited potential of human nature, so Hinduism emphasizes man's essential divinity. As modern philosophy emphasizes the relativity of all truth claims, so Hinduism tolerates many seemingly contradictory religious beliefs. As a religion that also emphasizes the primacy of the spiritual over material reality, Hinduism appeals to many who are disillusioned with strictly material pursuits.

    The word "Hindu" is of Persian origin, and simply means "Indian." The word was probably first used in its modern sense by the Muslim invaders of India about A.D. 1200 to distinguish the religion of the Indians from their own. Though there are some core beliefs common to virtually all Hindus, there really is no "Hindu orthodoxy"--no hard and fast dogma that all Hindus must believe. It's actually a family of gradually developing beliefs and practices.

    Hinduism has its roots in the interrelationship of two basic religious systems: that of the ancient civilization residing in the Indus River Valley from the third millennium B.C., and the religious beliefs brought to India by the Aryan people (possibly from the Baltic region) who began infiltrating the Indus Valley sometime after 2000 B.C.

    The religion of the Aryans is described in the writings of "holy men" contained in the Vedas (meaning "knowledge" or "wisdom"). The Vedas are four collections of writings composed between about 1500 and 500 B.C., which form the basis for Hindu beliefs, and which reveal a gradual development of religious ideas. The later sections of the Vedas are known as the Upanishads. These Vedic writings are considered inspired. Later Hindu writings, including the renowned Bhagavad Gita, are of lesser authority, but widely popular.

    Hindu Beliefs About God And the World
    An understanding of the Hindu beliefs about God is important even if we don't know any Hindus or people from India because we are all in contact with the New Age movement, and it draws its ideas about God from Hinduism. What then do Hindus believe about God?

    The early portions of the Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas describe a number of deities who for the most part are personifications of natural phenomena, such as storms and fire. Prayers and sacrifices were offered to these gods. An extensive system of priestly rituals and sacrifices was eventually developed which served as means of obtaining the blessing of these gods.

    The later portions of the Vedas, called the Upanishads, reflect a significant development in Hinduism's concept of the divine. Many of the Upanishads, instead of speaking of a multitude of gods, refer to an ultimate reality beyond our comprehension called Brahman. Though Brahman is impersonal in nature, it is sometimes referred to in personal terms by the name Isvara.

    Along with this idea of a single divine reality, the Upanishads also teach that at the core of our being (referred to as "Atman") we are identical with this ultimate reality.

    A popular saying in Hinduism is "Atman is Brahman!" In fact, all living things are Brahman at their innermost core! In addition, instead of ritual sacrifice, intuitive knowledge of the oneness of all things came to be endorsed as the way of contact with divine reality. Also found in the Upanishads is the teaching that the material world (including our conscious personalities) is less than fully real. The word "maya" is used to designate the power by which God, or ultimate reality, brought this less than real world into existence.

    Though this monistic or pantheistic philosophy provided a comprehensive intellectual understanding of the divine reality for Hindus, it lacked a strong appeal to the heart. As a result, just before the dawn of the Christian era, a great transformation occurred in Hinduism, spurred particularly by the writing of the Bhagavad Gita, the "New Testament" of Hinduism. The Gita recounts the exploits of the god Krishna and emphasizes the importance of personal devotion to a god as the essence of true religion, rather than intuitive knowledge of the oneness of all things.

    From this time forward, these two major streams of Hindu thought and practice grew and developed--the more intellectual and philosophical stream that emphasized the oneness of all things, and the stream that emphasized personal devotion to a god. The latter stream has predominated among the common people of India to this present day. Chief among the gods so venerated are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). In India there are many temples devoted to Shiva (or to one of his "wives," such as Kali), or to Vishnu (or to one of his ten incarnations known as avatars). All in all, it is often stated that Hinduism claims 330 million gods and goddesses!

    One might wonder how such a multitude of beliefs about the divine could possibly co-exist in one religion. But they do. There is, however, a widespread recognition that none of the personal gods of Hinduism is in any way exclusive or unique. They are all simply different ways of conceiving of the one reality behind all things-- Brahman.

    Foundational Hindu Beliefs
    Next we must turn our attention to two core beliefs of Hindus: (a) what they believe about the source of evil and suffering and (b) what they believe about life after death.

    The first of these core beliefs is the doctrine of karma. The word karma means "action." But the religious concept has more to do with the results or consequences of actions. The doctrine of karma states that every thought and action results in certain consequences born by the actor or thinker. If a person lies or steals, he will be wronged in some way in the future. Hindus believe that all suffering is due to one's own past actions, in this or in a previous life. Some believe that karma implies strict determinism or fatalism (that one must simply resign himself to living out his karma). Most, however, believe that though our present is determined by our past, nonetheless we can influence our future by conducting ourselves in a proper manner in the present.

    Some have equated the doctrine of karma with the statement in Galatians 6:7 that "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." It is certainly a biblical teaching that our actions have consequences--for good or ill. But this is not the same as believing that every experience in life is a consequence of one's own past actions. This is definitely not a biblical idea.

    The second core belief of Hinduism is the doctrine of reincarnation, or transmigration of souls, called samsara. Since it is impossible that all of one's karma be experienced in one lifetime, the Hindu scriptures state that after death individual souls are "reborn" in this world, in another body--human or otherwise. The nature of one's rebirth is determined by the karma resulting from past actions. [See Section on Reincarnation]

    Closely associated with the doctrine of reincarnation is that of ahimsa or non-injury to living things. This is the core moral value of Hinduism, the protection of all life (which is ultimately divine), and is the main reason why some Hindus are vegetarian.

    Also associated with reincarnation is the caste system. According to Hindu teaching, there are four basic castes or social classes (and thousands of sub-groups within the castes). Each has its own rules and obligations pertaining to nearly every facet of life. At the top are the Brahmins or priests. Second in rank are the Kshatriyas or warriors and rulers. Third are the Vaisyas or merchants and farmers. Below these are the Shudras or laboring class. Salvation is possible only for the top three castes, who are called the "twice born." Outside the caste system are the untouchables or outcastes. Though outlawed in India in the late 1940s, many in the countryside are still considered outcastes.

    One's caste is determined at birth by his or her own personal karma. Attempts, therefore, to bring about social change or to improve one's social position would appear to run contrary to the law of karma and the caste system.

    It's little wonder that the chief aim of the Hindu is to experience release or liberation from this cycle of death and rebirth caused by karma. Hindus call this liberation moksha.

    Hindu Ways Of Salvation
    Why do New Agers practice yoga? Why are they so devoted to meditation? It may come as some surprise that these practices are central to the Hindu search for salvation!

    We noted earlier that the chief aim in Hinduism is to gain release from the cycle of reincarnation caused by karma--the consequences of past actions, in this or in previous lives! Now we want to look at the primary ways in which followers of Hinduism seek to achieve this salvation--liberation from earthly existence.

    Before discussing the three primary ways of salvation in Hinduism, we must mention the four goals of life permissible to Hindus. Hinduism recognizes that in the course of many lifetimes people may legitimately give themselves to any of these goals. The first is the goal of pleasure or enjoyment, particularly through love and sexual desire. This is called kama. The second legitimate aim in life is for wealth and success. This is called artha. The third aim in life is moral duty or dharma. One who gives himself to dharma renounces personal pleasure and power, to seek the common good. The final aim in life, however, is moksha-- liberation from the cycle of lives in this material world, and entrance into Nirvana.

    Hindus recognize three possible paths to moksha, or salvation. The first is the way of works or karma yoga. This is a very popular way of salvation and lays emphasis on the idea that liberation may be obtained by fulfilling one's familial and social duties thereby overcoming the weight of bad karma one has accrued. The Code of Manu lists many of these rules. Most important among them are certain rituals conducted at various stages of life.

    The second way of salvation is the way of knowledge or jnana yoga. The basic premise of the way of knowledge is that the cause of our bondage to the cycle of rebirths in this world is ignorance or avidya. According to the predominant view among those committed to this way, our ignorance consists of the mistaken belief that we are individual selves and not one with the ultimate divine reality called Brahman. It is this ignorance that gives rise to our bad actions which result in bad karma. Salvation is achieved through attaining a state of consciousness in which we realize our identity with Brahman. This is achieved through deep meditation, often as a part of the discipline of yoga.

    The third and final way of salvation is the way of devotion or bhakti yoga. This is the way most favored by the common people of India; it satisfies the longing for a more emotional and personal approach to religion. It is self-surrender to one of the many personal gods and goddesses of Hinduism. Such devotion is expressed through acts of worship, puja, at the temple, in the home, through participation in the many festivals in honor of such gods, and through pilgrimages to one of the numerous holy sites in India. In the way of devotion, the focus is one obtaining the mercy and help of a god in finding release from the cycle of reincarnation. Some Hindus conceive of ultimate salvation as absorption into the one divine reality, with all loss of individual existence. Others conceive of it as heavenly existence in adoration of the personal God.


    A Christian Response to Hinduism
    The editor of the periodical Hinduism Today said not long ago that a "small army of yoga missionaries" has been trained to "set upon the Western world." And in his own words, "They may not call themselves Hindu, but Hindus know where yoga came from and where it goes."

    What should be the appropriate Christian perspective on this religion of the East that is making such an impact in the West? At the outset we must say that as Christians we concur with Hindus on a couple of points. Hindus are correct in their recognition that all is not right with the world and with human existence in it. They are correct as well in suggesting that the ultimate remedy to the human dilemma is spiritual in nature. Beyond these two points, however, there's little common ground between Hinduism and Christianity. Let's note just a few of the more important areas of divergence.

    First, Hinduism lacks any understanding that God created this world for a good purpose. It is common for Hindus to speak of God bringing the universe into existence simply as a "playful" exercise of His power. Also lacking is a conception of God as infinitely holy and righteous and as the One to whom we as His creatures are accountable for the way we conduct our lives.

    The second major area of contrast between Hinduism and Christianity is the conception of human nature and of the source of our estrangement from God. According to Hindu teaching, man is divine at the core of his being. He is one with God! The problem is that man is ignorant of this fact. He is deceived by his focus on this temporal and material world, and this ignorance gives rise to acts that result in bad karma and traps us in the cycle of reincarnation.

    According to the biblical teaching, however, the source of our alienation from God (and ultimately of all that is imperfect in this world), is not ignorance of our divinity, but our sinful rebellion against God and His purpose for our lives.

    This leads to the third and final point of contrast--the way of salvation. According to most Hindu teaching, salvation from the cycle of reincarnation is achieved by our own efforts--whether through good works, meditation, or devotion to a deity. According to the Bible, however, our spiritual need is for deliverance from God's judgment on our sin and for restoration to a life under His direction and care. This salvation can be provided only by God's gracious and undeserved action in our behalf.
    [See article Is One Way the Only Way?]

    It is true that in certain Hindu groups there is a similar emphasis on God's grace (probably as a result of past Christian influence). But even here, there is a major distinction. The Hindu teaching about grace sees no need for an atonement for sin, but simply offers forgiveness without any satisfaction of the judgment on sin required by a holy God.

    In contrast, the Christian gospel is this: God the Son became a man, died a sacrificial death on the cross, making real forgiveness of real sins against the real God possible to those who place complete trust in Christ. All who do so can experience true forgiveness, know God and His purpose for their lives, and have the certainty of eternal life with Him! [See Salvation]

    For a list of resources on Hinduism, and on sharing the gospel with our Hindu friends, contact Probe!

    1994 Probe! Ministries. Copyright/Reproduction Limitations
    This document is the sole property of Probe! Ministries. It may not be altered or edited in any way. Permission is granted to use in digital or printed form so long as it is circulated without charge, and in its entirety. This document may not be repackaged in any form for sale or resale. All reproductions of this document must contain the copyright notice (i.e., Copyright 2007 Probe! Ministries) and this Copyright/Limitations notice