Posted in discernment, madison county, misuse, red raiders, scripture, separation of church and state

The Madison County Red Raiders Monument and scripture misuse

Posted on by elizabethprata

Last Friday, an issue blew up in our county. The Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Humanist Association separately lodged letters ordering the Superintendent and School Board to remove or modify a spots statue containing two scriptures. That is a lot of firepower for a tiny rural county in the foothills of the mountains in north Georgia. It was privately donated to the District and it was installed in front of the field house. The two scriptures on the statue, which also contains a ‘sword in the stone’ atop the 2-ton granite structure, are:

–Romans 8:31,“If God be with us, who can be against us?”
–Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” which had been shortened on the monument to read “I can do all things”, and, “strengthen me”

I’d written about the statue issue and the resulting outcry – from both sides – here:

The scripture laden Madison County Red Raiders Monument and the Humanist Association who wants it gone

In that essay, I had not discussed the legalities of the statue’s installation on public school because I’m not versed on those things. I did take issue with the statue, having come to believe it should be removed. Not because it violates the Constitutional Establishment clause, I don’t know if it does or doesn’t, but because it is an idol.

One thing I’d taken issue with is the pagan portion of the statue. The sword in the stone is from a pagan myth of King Arthur with a few Christian-y elements woven in. The other things I’d taken issue with is the stumbling block put in front of the young football players. They have incorporated it into a superstitious tradition, touching it for luck. In the essay I’d explained superstition, and how God hates to be manipulated.

Mixing pagan myths and Christianity, and engaging in superstitions, are serious to God. They are bad. Another issue I’d taken with the statue is the fact that the scriptures themselves have been ripped from their context and reduced in power to a motto in order to help kids win a game. This, also, is serious.

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17

Four days after the issue blew up in the print news and broadcast tv, an opinion letter to the editor of the local daily newspaper was published.

The Madison County High School Monument is Constitutional, by David Larkins

It is well-written by a local resident who also has a son on the football team in question. It addresses the Constitutional issue very thoroughly. In the letter making his case that the statue’s location is constitutional, the author also mentions the following:

The monument was paid for with a private donation, and it has no religious purpose. Its intent is to inspire the football team to play hard, and do their best, as they engage their opponent on the football field. The inscriptions on the monument are appropriate for that purpose, regardless of the original source of those inscriptions.

I am sure that Mr Larkins is a kind and good father and a proud resident of the County. He is obviously well-spoken. The opinion piece was well done. Which is what gives me the confidence to write this next part. A letter like that has a lot of thought that goes into it. It is edited, and thought over and it’s edited again. But it confirms exactly what I’ve been saying about using such scriptures in the sports arena, an arena that is all too often an idol-arena.

–“no religious purpose“? Yet the bible tells us that all scriptures have a purpose. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16

–he write that the inscriptions however, do have a secular purpose, which is to ‘inspire players’ to play a game well and win. Is this how we ‘use’ the word of God? Our sovereign and holy God?

–“The inscriptions on the monument are appropriate for that purpose, regardless of the original source of those inscriptions.“

What he just said is, disregard Jesus. The scriptures are useful, and the source doesn’t matter. Dismissing the source of the scriptures, using verses for a secular purpose and a favorable outcome, and unhitching them from their context, is blasphemous. It is not to be done. The source always matters!

This use of scriptures is no different than how false teachers use scriptures to twist them for their own gain.

On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4

It is no different than when a faith healer uses the word to get money from followers.

It is no different than when false teacher uses the word to promote personal prosperity or financial success.

It is no different than when any false teacher uses the scriptures to obtain a secular personal outcome (fame, book sales, accolades…)

When we see a Benny Hinn saying things like, “If you will come back and make that pledge, God will heal your heart tonight,” or, “God will begin to prosper you, for money always follows righteousness,” we tut-tut and say, ‘How dare Benny Hinn use the scriptures for such a craven purpose!’

Or when we see Joyce Meyer say things like “The Bible says right here John 10:34 . . . ‘and Jesus answered is it not written in your law I say we are gods.’ So men are called God’s by the law…”  we understand that she ripped the verse out of context in order to preach her unbiblical and heretical ‘little gods’ doctrine. When a heretic like Meyer uses verses we understand by the Spirit that most times, she is preaching out of context in order to promote a false teaching.

So why, when we see a scripture on a stone monument and it is stated to the public that it is not for religious purposes but there simply to promote good gamesmanship, do we NOT say it also is heretical, and unbiblical and a blot against God?

There’s misquoting God’s word, and there’s misUSING God’s word. Ben Irwin wrote about the most misused scriptures, that

Christians read (and quote) Scripture in tiny, artificial fragments all the time. And by doing so, do we alter the meaning without even realizing it.

Bill Hitchcock said in this piece, Philippians 4:13: Misused, Misapplied, and Misinterpreted,

It is important to note that a big problem often occurs when people pluck out a single verse from the Bible. The context and meaning of one or two sentences disjointed from its message can alter tremendously. Sometimes you have to read entire chapter(s) or more to get the meaning of one sentence. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” It has become the battle cry of self willed. Here’s where the hiccup begins; “I”. The first and biggest problem that occurs is when folks make this passage about themselves. I want to do something that I have determined I want to do. And I am going to employ the power of Christ to accomplish My goal. Anything that is focused on self is worldly and is a sin.

And again, from The Cripplegate, Nathan Busenitz in his piece I Can Do All Things,

They have turned it into a slogan of personal empowerment—a declaration of self-achievement, ambition, and accomplishment. For many, this verse has been trivialized into some sort of motivating motto for material prosperity, career advancement, or athletic success. But in reality it is nothing of the sort.

They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Titus 1:11

Using scripture for personal advantage, in this case, to win a game, should never be done. Just as we should not rip verses from context to twist and use to gain money, or to gain healing, or to gain fame, or to gain notoriety, or to gain false converts, we should be equally aghast when it is used for sports in a terrible trivialization that we have unfortunately become used to and have accepted.

Jesus is the Word. He was with God from the beginning. He bled and died and rose again,  triumphing over death to reign in patience from heaven until the moment when the Father will tell His Son to get His bride. Scripture should reveal who He is, why He did this for us, and train us in righteousness. His word contains the glories of heaven, the revelation of the Father, the power of the Spirit, the record of creation, the promises of a holy future.

Why reduce it to a sports slogan? Why?

Posted in daniel, encouragement, prophecy

The UN tries to solve the world’s unsolvable problems

Posted on by elizabethprata

I read an interesting article last week. It concerns the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. The UN website states the purpose of the General Assembly:

The General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.

Every year in September, the world gathers at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Secretary-General of the UN gives his “State of the World” speech. This year’s speech (the 69th) was much darker, with much less hope than previous years. Here are some excerpts from this year’s speech by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

“This year, the horizon of hope is darkened. Our hearts are made heavy by unspeakable acts and the deaths of innocents,” he told the assembled leaders from 193 nations. “Not since the end of the Second World War have there been so many refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers. Never before has the United Nations been asked to reach so many people with emergency food assistance and other life-saving supplies,” he said.

“It may seem as if the world is falling apart, as crises pile up and disease spreads. But leadership is precisely about finding the seeds of hope and nurturing them into something bigger. That is our duty. That is my call to you today.”

Another article about the UN Opening Day session reports a bleak world picture as well. It was published this morning before the Secretary-General gave his speech.
Here are some excerpts from this article.

World leaders meet with multiple crises on agenda

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Facing a world in turmoil from multiple crises ranging from wars in the Mideast and Africa to the deadly scourge of Ebola and growing Islamic radicalism, leaders from more than 140 countries open their annual meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday with few solutions.

Looking at the array of complex challenges, Norway’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende told The Associated Press: “It’s unprecedented in decades, that’s for sure.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will deliver his state of the world report at Wednesday’s opening of the General Assembly ministerial session, gave a bleak preview to reporters last week: The world is facing “multiple crises,” with all featuring attacks on civilians and having dangerous sectarian, ethnic or tribal dimensions.

World problems have always been difficult. The world after WWII when the UN was formed was very different than the world that had existed before the war began. Two atomic bombs had been dropped, ushering in the atomic age, and then the space age came in. Every generation has had to deal with complex problems and policy makers at this highest level have always gone into the UN General Sessions knowing that.

However, every generation has had to deal with problems that have been incrementally more difficult than the generation before. It was only a matter of time until the problems outpaced man’s ability to solve them. I think we are reaching that tipping point.

Source
It is a restless, sinful world, nation against nation.
Isaiah 17:12, Isaiah 57:20, Matthew 24:7.

These world problems will only grow more seemingly unsolvable. The unsolvable problems will grow so large and wearisome to the people that they will stagger under the weight of tension from the world coming apart at the seams, not only as Ban Ki Moon said, but also as US Vice President Joe Biden said this week:

“The international order that we painstakingly built after World War II and defended over the past several decades is literally fraying at the seams right now.”  ~Joe Biden

He’s right, the world IS coming apart at the seams. Not uncontrollably, but under the sovereign and perfect eye of God. The world will continue to stagger under threat of global pandemic, tribal uprisings, civil uprisings, moral decay, government enforced cultural perversity, famine, drought, …until one king comes along and he’s got the answers-

And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. (Daniel 8:23).

This man understands riddles, he is cunning, comes out of nowhere, he will seem greater than his companions (Daniel 11:21, Daniel 7:8, Daniel 7:20).

He will be energized by satan, and remember, satan is described in Ezekiel 28 as an angel “full of wisdom”. Satan is an angel ascribed the term ‘wisdom’ many times in that chapter- but his wisdom was corrupted by his pride and arrogance. This same wisdom, though corrupt and evil now, is still endowed to satan. He hasn’t lost it. He gives it to the antichrist, who appears on the world scene like a god. After a while the antichrist will believe his own propaganda, that is actually IS a god, and force all to worship him. (Daniel 8:25)

The world will accept him. Weary of problems, they just want some relief. This man promises it.

I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. (John 5:43, Revelation 13:3)

What a heartbreaking moment. An ignorant world rejected Jesus, the precious Creator and Savior, but will accept the one called The Beast and Man of Sin.

But our Savior did not leave us without hope. He will rapture us when He is ready to get His bride, and He will render the due judgment on the unholy world that it deserves. All we have to do is persevere. Persevering is the sign that we are saved, it is the assurance of the seal of hope we have within us. It is the signal the the power of the Spirit is working in us to help us be His light in this present darkness. (Ephesians 6:12.)

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:19)

If they go out from us, they never were of us. Therefore, staying in Him proves we are of Him. Persevere! 2 Timothy 2:12, Galatians 6:9, Revelation 3:11. It all has a very happy ending!

Posted in confess, encouragement, forgiveness, sanctification, sins

Oliver Cromwell, "Warts and all"

Posted on by elizabethprata

BBC History describes Oliver Cromwell as:

an English soldier and statesman who helped make England a republic and then ruled as lord protector from 1653 to 1658. After overthrowing Charles I and then successfully defending the republic from his son Charles II, Lord Protector Cromwell reorganised the national church, established Puritanism, readmitted Jews into Britain and presided over a certain degree of religious tolerance. Abroad, he ended the war with Portugal (1653) and Holland (1654) and allied with France against Spain, defeating the Spanish at the Battle of the Dunes (1658). Cromwell died on 3 September 1658 in London.

Such an august person would naturally sit for a portrait, and in the Puritan days, Flemish painter Peter Lely was the go-to court painter. Wikipedia says,

Lely was of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. … His talent ensured that his career was not interrupted by Charles’s execution, and he served Oliver Cromwell, whom he painted …

In the days before photography and social media, controlling one’s personal image was easy to do, and common. Leaders commanded idealized portraits, paintings, or statues, as opposed to realistic depictions. As this blogger opined about idealized portraiture,

It goes back as long as portraiture itself, of course; early classical portraits of emperors and such tended to cycle through emphasis on either a rugged, realistic appearance (as would befit a warrior and statesman) or an angelic, unblemished appearance (as would befit a god). In the same way, later emperors (such as Constantine) saw value in associating themselves in the public eye with prior, well-regarded emperors.

In modern times, photographic airbrushing was common as well. See the official photograph of Mikhail Gorbachev, last Secretary General of the old Communist Party of the USSR (it was to Gorbachev that President Reagan urged, “Tear down this wall!”)

Where is Mr Gorbachev’s birthmark?

Oliver Cromwell was a not too attractive man whose ruddy complexion and wrinkles was studded with pimples and warts. Cromwell commissioned Peter Lely for the official portrait. Lely sketched Cromwell and then presented the proofs for perusal. There were no warts.

For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:20)

In one of those 100-years-later (mis)quotes, Horace Walpole allegedly captured Cromwell’s reaction,

“Mr Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me; otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it.”—Anecdotes of Painting in England (1763) by Horace Walpole>

It seems that the quote is likely somewhat accurate, since the final portrait did indeed to have been controversially painted in realistic and not idealistic fashion. Whatever Cromwell actually said, it is generally accepted that this incident is where the phrase, “warts and all” comes from.

“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

We’re all vain to some degree. We all want to put forward ‘our best face’ as it were. Just think of Facebook. We all put out our best sayings and our most cordial attitudes but our warts still show.

He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You’ (John 21:17). Peter did not conclude from Jesus’ knowledge of his heart that he knew all things; rather he concluded from the omniscience of Jesus that he knew his heart.
See, that’s the thing. There is no point in hiding our warts. Cromwell’s were on the outside but ours are on the inside. It makes no difference to Jesus, He sees all of them. Nothing is hidden from Christ. He knows all our sins, all our flaws, all our foibles, all our proclivities. Our Father loves His children anyway. That is really the miracle. Our Holy Savior loves His sinful children.

There is no point in hiding from Him. There is no point to airbrushing away our flaws. We really are like little children when we fail to go to the throne and confess our sins. It’s like we’re toddlers who scurry to the bed and pull the covers up to hide from mom, thinking if we can’t see mom, then mom can’t see us.

Source, CC

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)

Since He sees us as we are, and He has already forgiven us, it glorifies Him to approach Him and confess our sins. This is our part in participating in our sanctification, where He is conforming us to His likeness.

Live humbly before Jesus, with no pride or vanity. Live before Him warts and all. I believe we will find in the end, that the more we do this, the more beautiful our face will become, because it will be like His.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading:

John Piper: Nothing is Hidden from Christ

GraceGems, Arthur Pink: “Nothing Is Hidden“

Posted in Coast Guard, futile thinking, jesus, peace, reza baluchi

Coast Guard rescues man in Atlantic Ocean trying to “run” to Bermuda in an inflatable bubble

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m posting this because I think it’s extremely odd and weirdly amazing. Here is the story:

He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. (Job 9:8)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

COAST GUARD RESCUES MAN FROM HYDRO BUBBLE EAST OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA.

The Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber arrives on scene off the coast of Miami to respond to a report of a man aboard an inflatable hydro bubble who was disoriented asking for directions to Bermuda Oct. 1, 2014. The man was later rescued on Oct. 4, 2014, after he activated his personal indicating radio beacon upon suffering from exhaustion. U.S. Coast Guard photo

An MH-60 aircrew with Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater assists a man they medically evacuated east of St. Augustine, Florida, Oct. 4, 2014. The man was rescued after suffering from exhaustion from an inflatable hydro bubble while enroute to Bermuda. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

MIAMI — A man was rescued from his hydro pod bubble 70 nautical miles east of St. Augustine, Florida, by a Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew from Air Station Clearwater Saturday morning.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 7th District command center received a report of Reza Baluchi, a U.S. citizen, floating in an inflatable bubble Wednesday. Baluchi was reportedly disoriented and asking for directions to Bermuda. The Coast Guard Cutter Webber arrived on scene, conveyed the dangers of his voyage and requested Baluchi terminate his trip due to the lack of supplies on board to sustain him.

On board, Baluchi had protein bars, bottled water, a GPS and a satellite phone.

After he refused to leave his vessel, the watchstanders continued to monitor his movements until he activated his Personal Locating Beacon (PLB) Saturday morning. Coast Guard HC-130 airplane and MH-60 helicopter crews out of Air Station Clearwater, Florida, were dispatched to Baluchi’s position along with the Maersk Montana, a vessel registered with the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER).

Once the aircrews arrived on scene, a rescue swimmer from the Jayhawk crew safely hoisted Baluchi from his inflatable raft into the helicopter. The MH-60 crew transported Baluchi to Air Station Clearwater where emergency medical services evaluated him. There were no reports of any injuries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man planned this. He had forethought. He purchased the bubble, bought GPS, bottled water and protein bars. His goal was admirable, wanting to get to the other side. However, his efforts were so far short of the mark that it causes one to both laugh hysterically and mourn his massive inability.

His thinking just wasn’t right. It was very wrong. He woke up one say saying, “I can do this!” But reality showed him he could not.

Kind of like our efforts to overcome sin, without Jesus. Kind of like our plans, no matter how carefully thought out or earnest, will ultimately fail in the face of the utter reality that there exists a great gulf, over which we may not come. Reza’s great gulf was the Atlantic Ocean.

Ours is our sin.

The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. (Psalm 94:11)

For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. (Ecclesiastes 2:21)

We cannot outrun our sin, we cannot dispense with our sin. It will hinder us in all our efforts to reach the other side. We need someone FROM the other side, holy and perfect, to cauterize our sin from us, burn it out and clean us. The someone of course is Jesus. Bless His holy name.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, (Ephesians 2:14)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More about the man Reza Baluchi, who is actually quite interesting. He escaped Iran on the bicycling team (after imprisonment and torture, and other hardships. “I was tired of having no freedom.”) Here are a few links to his story. I encourage you to read about him. He has run around the perimeter of the US once and across it twice. He has biked around the world. He planned to run up Everest. He has traveled the world for peace. The bubble was another of his efforts to bring attention to the need for world peace. Again, it is an admirable effort, and I do not believe any layperson has done more in constant and persistent effort in this goal, but it is for naught. One cannot have peace without Jesus. The world needs Jesus. It makes Mr Baluchi’s story doubly sad.

Iranian ‘Running Man’ spreads message of peace (essay)

Run Around The World with Reza Baluchi (2009 video)
I would like to introduce you to one of the most amazing athletes of our time, Reza Baluchi. He has run over 100,000 miles in the past 22 years and last year ran 11,720 miles in 202 days non-stop! He is about to embark upon an epic adventure in September of 2009. He will be the first man to run to every country in the world! Why? Check out http://www.runwithreza.org

Posted in biocontainment, ebola, nebraska, pestilence, prophecy

How many hospital beds are there in the US prepared to handle Ebola? The answer may astound you

Posted on by elizabethprata
Training exercise, Nebraska Biocontainment Unit brochure

The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha Nebraska, put out a press release in July 2014. It stated,

Ebola Outbreak: Qualified and Prepared

In late July 2014, representative from the U.S. State Department recently visited The Nebraska Medical Center to take a closer look at the capabilities of our 10 bed Biocontainment Unit. There are no current plans for Ebola patients to be transferred here. This was strictly a fact-finding mission, to make government officials aware of the unit’s capabilities in case the need arises for treatment of additional patients with the Ebola virus here in the U.S. The unit has been operational for nearly ten years and is one of four such units in the country equipped to handle an outbreak of this nature.

A few thoughts:

–Ten beds? In an outbreak where a ‘biocontainment unit’ is needed, 10 isn’t that many beds.

–One of four Units in the US? Where are the other three? Maybe they have more beds. The National Institute of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, Bethesda Maryland, has 3 beds. Emory Hospital, Atlanta has 3 beds and St Patrick’s Hospital, Missoula Montana has 3 beds. Nineteen beds total in the US. Oops, Nebraska’s ten seems like an embarrassment of riches compared to paltry 3 in the other places.

–I guess those ‘no current plans’ to receive patients in July turned into ‘you must open for business now’ in October

It is hopeful to read that “And any hospital equipped to care for a tuberculosis patient can care for an Ebola patient, according to Dr. George Risi, an infectious disease specialist who recently returned from spending 20 days in a Sierra Leone Ebola ward.” But it still doesn’t make it a Biohazard level-4 facility.

Ebola virus causes a medical response to a Biohazard Safety level-4 (BSL-4). It is the highest level.

Biosafety level 1
This level is suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adult humans, and of minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment (CDC,1997)

Biosafety level 2
This level is similar to Biosafety Level 1 and is suitable for work involving agents of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment. It includes various bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as C. difficile, most Chlamydiae, hepatitis A, B, and C, orthopoxviruses (other than smallpox), influenza A, Lyme disease, Salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, MRSA, and VRSA.

Biosafety level 3
This level is applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities in which work is done with indigenous or exotic agents which may cause serious or potentially lethal disease after inhalation. It includes various bacteria, parasites and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans but for which treatments exist, such as Yersinia pestis (causative agent of plague), Francisella tularensis, Leishmania donovani, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Chlamydia psittaci, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, SARS coronavirus, Coxiella burnetii, Rift Valley fever virus, Rickettsia rickettsii, several species of Brucella, rabies virus, chikungunya, yellow fever virus, and West Nile virus.

Biosafety level 4
This level is required for work with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections, agents which cause severe to fatal disease in humans for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and various other hemorrhagic diseases. This level is also used for work with agents such as smallpox that are considered dangerous enough to require the additional safety measures, regardless of vaccination availability.

Source for above, Wikipedia

Praise God there are medical personnel willing to work with BSL-4 patients!

I was glad to read that the patient being monitored at Queens Hospital in Honolulu does NOT have Ebola, according to reports.

Interesting article below. The author does a lot of math… and a little scaremongering. Though the numbers she uses are like-to-like, the scenario between W. Africa and the US has a few additional variables than simply numbers. In West Africa, rural clinics are so poor they habitually reuse needles. As a result, standards are different. Also, governments vary in their responses and protocols.

Though a disease will do what it will do whether it emerges in West Africa or the US, there is more to compare than just numbers to numbers. However, in one article I read, the medical personnel interviewed said that by simply applying IV drip, anti-coagulant and electrolytes, one can reduce Ebola’s mortality rate from 80% to 40%. That sounds like a great reduction, but when you consider that the Spanish Influenza killed 3-5% of the world’s population…and had a mortality rate of 10-20%, then 40% doesn’t sound so great anymore. Anyway, for what it’s worth, here is the article.

There are only 19 level 4 bio-containment beds in the whole of the United States…and four in the UK

And the beat goes on… “Two Washington area hospitals said within hours of each other Friday that they had each admitted a patient with symptoms and travel histories associated with Ebola.”

Posted in butterfly, creation, encouragement, metamorphosis

Butterflies: the Death and Resurrection Theory

Posted on by elizabethprata
I recommend the following one-hour documentary:

Metamorphosis: The Beauty and Power of Intelligent Design, explores compelling evidence for intelligent design as revealed through the life cycle of butterflies.

The transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis to adult butterfly defies Darwinian evolution through random variation and small gradual steps. In fact, some evolutionary biologists have called the process of metamorphosis “butterfly magic.” That’s not surprising, given that inside the chrysalis, the cells of the caterpillar break down into a chemical soup. Then new cells – butterfly cells – form from the molecular components. In just a few days, these cells are reassembled into an adult butterfly that has virtually no resemblance to a caterpillar, a process which defies evolution. 

I work as a teacher’s aide in a kindergarten in a public school. At age 5 and 6, girls love butterflies. They wear butterfly shirts, have butterfly hair clips, and love to chase after butterflies on the playground when they happen to flutter by.

Maine butterfly. EPrata photo

As adults, we often stop what we are doing and watch a butterfly alight on a flower. We might not stop to smell the roses, lol, but we usually stop to admire a butterfly. There’s something magical about this little insect, something colorful and worth pausing in our day to wonder about.
Butterflies exist on every continent, except Antarctica. The come in all colors, some quite vivid, and some, transparent as glass.

Source

We know that the moth is mentioned in the bible, moths come out at night, and destroy in secret. God likened Himself to a moth once. In Hosea 5:12 God said “But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like dry rot to the house of Judah“. Barnes Notes says of the verse,

“Therefore I will be unto Ephraim a moth – Literally, “and I as a moth.” This form of speaking expresses what God was doing, while Ephraim was “willingly following” sin. “And I” was all the while “as a moth.” The moth in a garment, and the decay in wood, corrode and prey upon the substance, in which they lie hid, slowly, imperceptibly, but, at the last, effectually.”

But what of the butterfly? It specifically is not mentioned in the bible, but a similar kind of transformation is.

Vintage butterfly drawing: The Graphics Fairy

We all know from first grade science, that a caterpillar is born from an egg. It is “very hungry.” It munches its way through a couple of weeks of leaf eating, and then spins a chrysalis. It tucks itself into the chrysalis, and unseen by human eyes, it transforms itself into a butterfly, emerging in fully winged glory two weeks later.

Until recently, scientists did not know exactly what went on inside the chrysalis. Now that they do, they are astounded, and scrambling to defend evolution. Even if scientists find a way to defend evolution, they have to come up with theories that have amazing twists and turns to explain this process. Why?

“Metamorphosis” Pixabay Free pics

Evolution does not support that an animal completely disintegrates, where every cell commits suicide in an orderly fashion as it were, and then re-forms to emerge as a new animal. Survival of the fittest says that if the caterpillar had turned into cellular soup once, the animal would have died out. Its caterpillar brain did not say, “Oh, let’s commit suicide because I know that I’ll re-form into different cells later!” To put it simply.

So scientists are asking,

Are Butterflies Two Different Animals in One? The Death And Resurrection Theory

Here’s a dangerous, crazy thought from an otherwise sober (and very eminent) biologist, Bernd Heinrich. He’s thinking about moths and butterflies, and how they radically change shape as they grow, from little wormy, caterpillar critters to airborne beauties. Why, he wondered, do these flying animals begin their lives as wingless, crawling worms? Baby ducks have wings. Baby bats have wings. Why not baby butterflies?
His answer — and I’m quoting him here — knocked me silly.
“[T]he radical change that occurs,” he says, “does indeed arguably involve death followed by reincarnation.
What he’s saying is, while a moth appears to be one animal, with a wormy start and a flying finish, it’s actually two animals — two in one! We start with a baby caterpillar that lives a full life and then dies, dissolves. There’s a pause. Then a new animal, the moth, springs to life, from the same cells, reincarnated.

Now…here’s a question. Why is it a ‘crazy, dangerous thought’? Christians know it is dangerous for the unsaved to ask this because the unsaved already know that God is real in creation, for He has made it plain to them. (Romans 1:18-19). To allow one’s mind to drift into holy territory is dangerous to them because to them it is enemy territory. So satan causes them to suppress that thought.

Dangerous thoughts: poster outside City Lights Bookstore,
San Francisco. EPrata photo

One does not usually see them express creation thoughts in print on liberal websites. But this is how powerful the butterfly’s transformation is. It pushes through the chemical fog in the unsaved’s brain to pop up unwanted and uninvited.

Yet look how hard satan pushes back. The scientist who sees plainly that the butterfly defies evolution, came up with a theory as to why. You see, according to science, the explanation is that two different animals mated in the distant past. From the same article:

According to this theory, long, long ago, two very different animals, one destined to be wormy, the other destined to take wing, accidentally mated, and somehow their genes learned to live side-by-side in their descendants. But their genes never really integrated. They are sharing a DNA molecule like two folks sharing a car, except half way through the trip, one driver dissolves and up pops his totally different successor. Driver No. 2 emerges from the body of driver No. 1.

Um…okaaaay. Or, God.

The migration of the Monarch Butterfly is another wonder.

What Mysterious Cloud Over St. Louis Turned Out to Be

A mysterious cloud that appeared on weather radar over southern Illinois and Central Missouri last week turned out to be a swarm of monarch butterflies. Meteorologists from the National Weather Service analyzed the shape-shifting cloud that was moving toward Mexico to figure out what exactly it could be. “We think these targets are Monarch butterflies.,” the National Weather Service said in a Facebook post. “A Monarch in flight would look oblate to the radar, and flapping wings would account for the changing shape!” With the mystery solved, the fine folks at the NWS wished the butterflies “good luck and a safe journey” on their trip south for the autumn and winter.

What a delight to ponder our God as Creator. He is magnificent and powerful.

With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. (Jeremiah 27:5)

Posted in ebola, jesus, pestilence, signs

Dallas Ebola updates, children exposed, person being monitored in Hawaiian hospital

Posted on by elizabethprata

In 1976 Ebola was discovered. I was 16 at the time and I was absolutely freaked out by the discovery. I read about it National Geographic or Smithsonian Magazine I think. A disease that melts your insides? Perfect fodder for the overactive teenage imagination. The shock and horror of Ebola never quite left my mind.

It is a terrible disease, sneaky and final. Sneaky because it take up to 21 days to show its face, and final because the death rate can be upwards of 90%. The current outbreak has been showing a death rate of 55-60%. By comparison, the Spanish Influenza mortality rate was 2.5-3%.

In this NatGeo article from September 2014, we read,

Since the first outbreaks in Africa in 1976, three of the five species of Ebolavirus have accounted for almost all cases of the disease seen below: the Sudan, Bundibugyo and Zaire species. A fourth species (Taï Forest) caused one nonfatal case in Cote d’Ivoire in 1994. A fifth (Reston) has not yet been transmitted to humans.

Silverback Gorilla, CC

Ebola is named after the river in the area it first made an appearance. It was discovered in green monkeys and then gorillas in 1975-1976. This article from 2006 reports on the devastation the disease has been causing in gorillas.

Ebola Killing Thousands of Gorillas, Study Says
for National Geographic News, December 7, 2006

The Ebola virus is marching steadily across western and central Africa, wiping out more than 90 percent of the gorillas in its path and threatening the species with extinction, a new study says. About 5,000 gorillas were killed by the virus in one study area alone, according to results to be published in tomorrow’s issue of the journal Science. Ebola causes a hemorrhagic fever, resulting in massive internal and external bleeding that kills within two weeks of symptoms appearing. There is no known cure, and in humans the mortality rate is around 80 percent. The virus is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near where the first known outbreak occurred in 1976.

Back when Ebola was first discovered both in primates and in humans, it sort of freaked out the medical world. It popped up out of nowhere and to this day they don’t quite know where it emerged from or why. Dr. Karl Johnson wrote in 1979 in the Annals of Internal Medicine,

Ebola Virus and Hemorrhagic Fever: Andromeda Strain or Localized Pathogen?
KARL M. JOHNSON, M.D.

The nearly simultaneous occurrence of major epidemics of acute hemorrhagic fever with high mortality in Sudan (1) and Zaire (2) during late 1976 serves as a poignant reminder that infectious “plagues” have not been, nor are they likely soon to be, eliminated from our world. The causative agent of these epidemics was found to be a virus new to science and was named Ebola after a small river near Yambuku, Zaire, a disease epicenter where the initial isolate was made…. Until effective vaccines are developed, careful management of patients and surveillance of their close contacts offer the only rational way to deal with agents sometimes viewed as Andromeda’s children.”

Thirty-five years later an effective vaccine is still not developed and the careful management of patients showing symptoms kind of went out the window in Dallas this week as a man recently returned from Liberia was sent home from the hospital he arrived at for treatment. He went back two days later, in an ambulance, after a chaotic scene outside his apartment building where witnesses say “he was vomiting all over the place.” The ambulance he was delivered to the hospital in is now under quarantine as a bio-hazard. The patient’s condition has been upgraded to serious, which is great, considering the only drug available, ZMapp, has been used up and further doses are not available at this time. Perhaps Thomas Eric Duncan will bounce back. I hope so. It turns out he had been a chaufferur in Liberia for the last two years before abruptly quitting in September and walking out without notice, His boss had no idea where he was until he saw Duncan in the news as the US Ebola patient.

The Andromeda Strain referred to in the 1979 Annals of Internal Medicine article, is the title of a 1969 novel by Michael Crichton. The Andromeda Strain is a techno-thriller novel documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating the outbreak of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in Arizona that rapidly and fatally clots the blood in most humans, while inducing insanity in a small handful of others. (Wikipedia)

The Dallas apartment complex where Duncan was believed to be staying was cordoned off Wednesday, and the management was turning away visitors. TV cameras lined the fence of the parking lot, and at least one helicopter hovered overhead.

Andromeda Strain, Russian release, 1971

The intense news interest in the story is indicative of the intense viewer interest in the story. This kind of interest was evidenced almost immediately upon publication of Crichton’s Andromeda novel,

“Written while Michael was still in medical school, it caused an immediate sensation: partly because the author was still in his twenties; partly because it focused on a biological crisis when most people were thinking about nuclear crises…”

The Dallas news outlets are reporting the Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, after he was sent home, had contact with close friends and family, including several school children who attend different schools. Several of the kids are being monitored, but parents are still pulling their children from school.

Twitter, Jake Tapper: “80 people being monitored for Ebola in Dallas: the patient, his contacts and anyone they contacted, officials say.” via @cnnbrk

Oops, since this morning, that number has risen now to 100.

The first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the U.S. wasn’t appropriately treated for suspected infection until after a relative personally called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, his nephew told NBC News on Wednesday night. … Weeks said the CDC referred him to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, which spoke to him and then took appropriate action. “I called the CDC and they instructed me of the process, and that got the ball rolling,” Weeks said.

A second person is being monitored for Ebola, “Let me be real frank to the Dallas County residents: The fact that we have one confirmed case, there may be another case that is a close associate with this particular patient,” he said. “So this is real. There should be a concern, but it’s contained to the specific family members and close friends at this moment.”

Five children from four DISD [Dallas Independent School District] campuses were possibly exposed to the virus. [Superintendent] Miles said none of the students have exhibited any symptoms of Ebola at this time.

Yeah, but doesn’t it take up to three weeks for symptoms to show? So of course after one day they would not be showing symptoms. Meanwhile in Hawaii, another possible Ebola patient is being monitored.

Ebola fears quarantine man in Hawaiian hospital: The unnamed patient has yet to be tested for the deadly virus, but Hawaii Department of Health officials said Wednesday they quarantined him at a Honolulu hospital after he showed symptoms.

At some point, the pale horse of pestilence is going to ride. (Revelation 6:7-8). The Seals will not be broken until after the rapture but we could be seeing a set-up. Or not. We never know at the time whether this is an outbreak or not. In Fort Riley Kansas in 1918 did they have a clue that when the camp cook came down sick he would be nearly the first victim of a worldwide Spanish Influenza pandemic that would eventually kill three to five percent of the entire population?

It infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of them—three to five percent of the world’s population—making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history…A large factor in the worldwide occurrence of this flu was increased travel. Modern transportation systems made it easier for soldiers, sailors, and civilian travelers to spread the disease. In the United States, the disease was first observed in Haskell County, Kansas, in January 1918, prompting local doctor Loring Miner to warn the U.S. Public Health Service’s academic journal. On 4 March 1918, company cook Albert Gitchell reported sick at Fort Riley, Kansas. By noon on 11 March 1918, over 100 soldiers were in the hospital. Within days, 522 men at the camp had reported sick. By 11 March 1918 the virus had reached Queens, New York.

The Dallas (and Honolulu) situation is of concern, as is the African Ebola situation in general. People are scared of pestilential disease, it is creepy in the way that the 1970s shark movie Jaws caught our deepest fears of being hunted while swimming in unfamiliar habitats. A primal fear, different from the horror of nukes falling on us, the enemy of disease invades our bodies and destroys from the inside.

I can’t help but remember that another of the books that caught my attention so deeply when I was a teenager, Stephen King’s The Stand, was about a superflu that killed 99% of the world population within 2 months. It, also, began in Texas, by a man named Campion…

Posted in earthquakes, ebola, prophecy, signs, weather

News roundup: Ebola in US, Japanese volcano eruption, quake swarm at Mammoth

Posted on by elizabethprata

PESTILENCE

CDC confirms first case of Ebola in US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a patient being treated at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case diagnosed in the United States. The patient left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the United States on September 20, CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. It’s the first patient to be diagnosed with this particular strain of Ebola outside of Africa.“[The patient] had no symptoms when departing Liberia or entering this country. But four or five days later on the 24th of September, he began to develop symptoms,” said Frieden. The patient, who was in the U.S. visiting family in Texas, initially sought care on September 26, but was sent home and was not admitted until two days later. He was placed in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where he remains critically ill, according to Frieden.

The assurances we’ve been receiving from officials since the outbreak in Africa spread have not made much sense to me.

“The risk of the spread of Ebola in California is low.”

“and the past-president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told weather.com Americans should not fear the disease. “We see the risk as essentially zero,”

If an ill traveler arrives in the U.S., CDC has protocols in place to protect against further spread of disease.

The problem is, the patient in Dallas was not showing any symptoms. Secondly, he had traveled to Liberia and when he arrived at the Dallas hospital for treatment, he was sent home. It doesn’t seem those protocols are working.

Granted, one patient isn’t an outbreak. But the worry is that he was ill, AND showing symptoms and walked around Dallas for days. The CDC press conference last night never did answer the question as to whether the patient’s family has been quarantined. However, several medical workers are now quarantined:

Paramedics, ER staff under Ebola observation in Dallas

DALLAS — Three Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics and several emergency room workers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital are off work and under observation after making contact with the patient being treated for Ebola. Perhaps the most tangible evidence of Ebola in Dallas is an ambulance parked in a city lot in Pleasant Grove, an area about 15 minutes southeast of downtown Dallas. It’s quarantined and roped off with red tape warning of a biohazard. Ambulance No. 37 carried the Ebola patient to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday morning.

So on September 26 the patient walked into the hospital seeking care, and just three days later had to be taken by ambulance. It seems that this is either a very rapid progression, or symptoms were evident on the 26th and were missed. Neither scenario are particularly comforting.

The ambulance used to transport the Dallas Ebola patient is now a biohazard,
and the paramedics are quarantined. Source

But the CDC assures us, still, that everything is just fine. But just in case, they issued Ebola guidelines for US funeral homes. The article’s opening poses the following question:

ROSWELL, GA (CBS46) – CBS46 News has confirmed the Centers for Disease Control has issued guidelines to U.S. funeral homes on how to handle the remains of Ebola patients. If the outbreak of the potentially deadly virus is in West Africa, why are funeral homes in America being given guidelines?

They asked the question because the article was initially published on September 29. The news did not break about the Dallas Ebola patient until September 30. Now we know the answer.

All I can say is that the same thing is on many peoples’ minds. First is Mark Davis’ tweet

Fred Butler summed it up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WEATHER

I love spooky clouds. Or non-spooky clouds. I just like clouds.

PSU meteorology student & storm chaser Jacob DeFlitch ‏@WxDeFlitch tweeted this pic yesterday, “Incredible photo of clouds this morning over NYC from the air.” [Via: Angela Wang]

Ginger Zee, Chief Meteorologist at ABC News; re-tweeted this photo yesterday morning.

“Great capture! “@TheNan08: Heading into NYC crazy looking clouds @Ginger_Zee @Evansweather”

Denver severe weather dumps massive amounts of hail

An impressive hail storm slammed into the Denver metropolitan area around 2 p.m. MDT, dropping hail as large as golf balls. Photos posted to social media show what looked like snow, but was actually a thick sheet of hail covering highways and grassy areas. Denver’s 9 News reports Cherry Creek schools delayed dismissing students because of the weather. Hail drifts several feet deep were reported in some towns, according to AOL.com.

South of France hit by devastating floods

Around 60 towns in the south of France have been officially declared natural disaster sites following severe flooding caused by torrential downpours, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced on Tuesday.

Scientists are grappling for reasons as to why the weather is worsening so palpably. This is from NOAA weather:

New report finds human-caused climate change increased severity of 2013 heat waves in Asia, Europe and Australia September 29, 2014. The report, “Explaining Extreme Events of 2013 From a Climate Perspective,” can be viewed online. (Credit: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society) A report released today investigates the causes of a wide variety of extreme weather and climate events from around the world in 2013. Published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, “Explaining Extreme Events of 2013 from a Climate Perspective” addresses the causes of 16 individual extreme events that occurred on four continents in 2013. NOAA scientists served as three of the four lead editors on the report.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUAKES

The Weather Channel ‏@weatherchannel posted the following yesterday,
“JUST IN: M4.2 #earthquake near Perry, OK at 10:01pm CDT; shaking felt from Wichita KS to Norman OK.”

4.2 is pretty big for Oklahoma.

Mammoth Lakes in California has been experiencing the “most intense” quake swarm of the last decade. LA Times has mapped them in a .gif

Watch 900 earthquakes erupt during Mammoth swarm

There were 947 total quakes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VOLCANO

Mount Ontake, a Japanese volcano, erupted unexpectedly, unfortunately killing and injuring climbers. A hiker who was on scene filmed the terrifying event. Below is a screen shot and below that, the video.

I truly hope those poor people made it out!

UK Daily Mail

The search for at least two dozen victims of Japan’s worst volcanic eruption in decades has been called off again today amid fears that another deadly steam explosion is imminent. Hundreds of military searchers had been preparing to enter Mount Ontake by foot and helicopter to resume the recovery of at least 24 people caught in a deadly rain of ash and stone after the peak erupted without warning on Saturday when it was crowded with hikers, including children. Twelve bodies have been recovered from the 10,062 feet peak but at least 36 are feared to have died, with the recovery hampered by high levels of toxic gas and ash piled hip-high in places on the still-smoking mountain. At least 69 people have been injured, 30 of them seriously.

UK Daily Mail(as usual, great photos)

Mount Sinabung Spouts Off

Mt. Sinabung in Sumatra let out a long roar on Wednesday, erupting for a full 907 seconds, or just over 15 minutes – about 0.0028% of the year since it first started acting up. Daily eruptions, which started last November and lasted for months, coated the countryside in gray ash and forced tens of thousands of people from their villages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CULTURE

Video: Fla. commissioner walks out of meeting when Pagan delivers bizarre ‘satanic,’ singing invocation

A Florida pagan was given the opportunity to offer the invocation at an Escambia County Commission meeting Thursday, but one commissioner wouldn’t stick around to hear it. By law, the commission had to allow David Suhor, a self-described Agnostic Pagan Pantheist who worships nature, to give an invocation, according to ABC affiliate WEAR-TV. When Suhor recited the pagan prayer in song calling of the directions north, east, south, and west, Commissioner Wilson Robertson walked out. “People may not realize it,” Robertson told WEAR. “But when we invite someone, a minister to pray, they are praying for the county commissioners, for us to make wise decisions and I’m just not going to have a pagan or satanic minister pray for me.”

Good for him. The law may require that equal opportunity be given to all religions, but that does not mean we have to accept the prayer in the ‘spirit’ in which it was intended. I hope the commissioner prayed for the pagan man to repent and come to Jesus.

Posted in last days, prophecy, sex week, signs, sin, university of new mexico

University of New Mexico’s ‘sex week; Church teaches Harry Potter

Posted on by elizabethprata
Jesus told the disciples at the Mount of Olives the signs of His return. They had learned that the establishment of the Kingdom was not going to happen immediately, as they had thought. So they asked Jesus.

“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3)

The ‘these things’ refers to a statement Jesus had made in verse 2. He said the temple would be destroyed, not one stone left upon another. So there are three questions they asked,

–When will the temple be thrown down?
–What will be the signs of the end of the age?
–What will be the sign of Your coming?

In terms of the signs of the end of the age, and Jesus was speaking of the Tribulation (Mathew 24 is a Tribulation passage, NOT a message to the Church). However there are some general principles we can look at to understand the cycle of depravity in the world.

After the Fall of man in Genesis 3, the first murder occurred in Genesis 4. So did the first case of polygamy and another murder. It didn’t take long, did it? By Genesis 6:5,

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually

We went from perfection to utter sin in three chapters. God sent the Flood in Genesis 7-8, and when it subsided in Genesis 9, the nations began to spread in Genesis 10 and by Genesis 11, again, sin. Terrible sin. In Genesis 11 we have the world’s first dictator and the founding of Babylon. Here is a rough timeline from Answers in Genesis-

It roughly took only 1600 years for man to be created, fall and be wiped from the earth. It took only 100 years for man to revive from being wiped out to such rebellion that God changed man’s language and scattered them from Babel.

What a depraved creature fallen man is! As Christians with the Spirit in them grow fewer and fewer in the world, (though the church will never be overcome) it seems that the sin rising is beginning to appear to be piling up to heaven!

Ezra 9:6,
and prayed: “I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.

Jeremiah 51:9,
“‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’

Revelation 18:5, of Babylon,
for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

They are metaphors, of course, but the weight of sin upon the world is definitely heavy in these days. Witness two examples,

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is hosting a “Sex Week,” where students can learn “How to be a Gentleman and get laid,” negotiate threesomes, and [other things]. The event, sponsored by the University of New Mexico Women’s Resource Center and the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), is offering lectures on “How to be a Gentleman AND Get Laid,” “Reid’s Negotiating Successful Threesomes,” “[and other things]”.
“[F]or example, when you are having sex with more than one person it can be very challenging to make sure that everybody’s needs are being met and that everybody’s boundaries are being respected.”
According to local news station KOB4, “The events are designed to prevent sexual assault, but organizers have taken a new approach…Instead of teaching students how not to get hurt, they’re teaching them how to have safer and better sex.”

Other news articles on the event. Thankfully not all people are happy with this.

Sex Week at UNM has varied reaction among people on campus

Critics concerned about UNM’s first ‘Sex Week’

That is the world’s view of the act of sexual union. Here is God’s view-

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

What is sexual immorality, exactly, that we should be fleeing from?

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Hebrews 13:4)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4)

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:15-17)

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28 )

The sexual union between a man and a woman only is for the sanctified marriage bed only. Anything else is adultery, fornication, and sexual immorality. It dishonors God to do these things. Not only is it bad to do them in secret, but worse is that these things are now openly taught and heartily applauded. Adults are supposed to train up the youth in the way that they should go. Is the way that they should go? Into sexual perversity?

Romans 1:32 says, Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

A heavy judgment awaits those who put such dishonorable and perverse things in the way of children.

Here is a second piece of news. The Berean Times on Twitter tweeted,

“An episcopal church here in Tulsa will start teaching Harry Potter cause the leader said the Scriptures were too hard to teach…no joke.”

I investigated and indeed, it is no joke.

“…the children went into a candle-lit darkened room where a witch-like “sorting hat” was placed on their heads, and they were assigned to groups named Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Teachers and helpers dressed in black robes. Crystal balls, owls and jars of magic potions decorated the classrooms. “It was my idea,” said Paula Rule, director of youth ministries who developed the program. “This is one of the things that a lot of our kids have grown up with. They relate to it. They’ve read the books. “We’re exploring the same Christian themes that you find in the Bible — good versus evil, redemption, salvation, love.” The Rev. Kenneth Orsburn, curate at the church, teaches the adult portion of the Harry Potter program. He said Biblical literacy is on the decline, a symptom of a general decline in church attendance across America. “We’re getting folks in here who have been unchurched for 30 years,” he said. “They don’t know these stories. That’s a challenge for us and for the church. The Scripture is very daunting. Harry Potter is easier.

Oh! It’s easier. Well that explains it.

Some people in the congregation have questioned the wisdom of using books filled with witches, magic and sorcery to teach the Bible, she said.

Only ‘some’?

Lexi Medina, 12, who played the part of a mythical creature, also was happy with it. “I love Harry Potter, for real,” she said. “I think it’s pretty cool, as long as I get to act, like, creepy around people.”

As long as the kids like it, then I guess it’s OK. /sarcasm

It is such a shame that the priest/pastor person does not see that a “30-year unchurched person” is a lost person. They need the scriptures, not the culture! But of course that is exactly why they do not understand. Their minds are blinded to the truth. So the church dumbs down the Gospel, or in this case, excludes it completely and puts in its stead the exact things that God said He hates.

Here is what God says about sorcery, divination, and witchhraft-

“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” (Leviticus 20:27)

“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.” (Exodus 22:18)

Oh dear, that’s pretty harsh. Surely the ‘Lord of Love’ has softened His stance on the sorcerers, diviners, witches by the New Testament’s arrival. Jesus isn’t that harsh.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:20-21)

I guess Jesus is that harsh. His love doesn’t exclude His wrath upon the ungodly.

Isolated events like fornication, and wayward behavior in apostate churches have always been present on the earth. What I am seeing is that these behaviors are becoming systemetized by the power structures such as Universities and Churches, and presented as normal. They are codified: “to put (laws or rules) together as a code or system.”

No longer is it the one or two aberrant person, but a system of depravity or sinful behavior that is presented and applauded. Romans 1 says this would happen.

  • First they deny the truth (a truth God has made plain to them).
  • Then they refuse to honor Him.
  • Next, their thinking became darkened and futile.
  • Then they began to worship creeping things.
  • Now it goes faster. God gives them over, and their hearts full of impurities act out the perversions in it.
  • Last they live in a debased mind that not only lives in perversity but also all the other sins blossom, such as malice, envy, insolence, haughtiness, etc.
  • Finally, they turn to others and applaud their degenerate descent into dishonor. (Romans 1:18-32)

And that is where we are. Verse 32.

Do not be surprised when the world acts like the world. More and more people, cities, organizations, Universities, and churches are adopting sin wholesale and then promoting it heartily. This is very bad for the people individually, and in the cities, organizations, Universities, and churches but it is an opportunity to be the Light we are called to be. We always strengthen ourselves in prayer, staying in the word, and worshiping in spirit and in truth.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Paul said he learned to be content in whatever situation he finds himself, (and he was in jail at the time) because he knows God will strengthen Him. (Philippians 4:13). It is our Savior’s strength we need in these dark days, and the more we submit and rely on Him, the brighter our light will shine in these dark places. Until the Day…

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)