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The Weekly
News In
Review newsletter is a service
provided by Understand The Times that is a
compilation of the news articles
posted on our site during the previous
week.
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October 17 - U.S.and EU to meet on financial crisis
Article: One World Government
Comment from
UTT:
The march
towards a one world currency
continues as the nations of the world begin
to lay out the ground
rules.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Consumer confidence and
new-home construction plummeted,
in further signs of deepening
world financial crisis
ahead of a meeting between
U.S. President George W. Bush
and European
leaders.
Bush said
government interventions to stop
the crisis needed time to take
effect, while even
calls by famed investor Warren
Buffett that it was time
to buy U.S. stocks went
unheeded by Wall Street.
Bush said he would
continue
"close consultations"
with Europe at a
meeting on Saturday with French
President Nicolas Sarkozy and
European Commission Pres
ident Jose Manuel
Barroso.
"Our
European partners are taking
bold steps. They show the
world that we're determined to
overcome this challenge
together. And they have the full
support of the United
States," Bush
said in a speech at the U.S.
Chamber of
Commerce.
But
he did not specifically
mention calls by European leaders
this week to reform the
financial system that the world
has been operating under
since 1944 and White
House spokeswoman Dana
Perino said the U.S. focus was on
the immediate
crisis.
Writing in the Washington
Post on Friday, British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown said
post-World War II financial
institutions were out of
date. "They have to be rebuilt
for a wholly new
era in which there is
global, not national,
competition and open, not closed,
economies," he
wrote.
Read More ....
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October 15 - Synod Hears Explanation of Lectio Divina
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Comment from
UTT:
Lectio divina is another method that
opens
the door to doctrines of
demons and the deception of many in the name of
Christ. While promoted
as a means of bringing about spiritual revival
by leaders in the Roman
Catholic Church, this extrabiblical practice is
rooted in eastern
mysticism.
VATICAN CITY,
OCT. 15, 2008 ( Zenit.org).- Observers
attest that the practice of lectio divina is a
recommendation
being made over and over by the synod fathers and
auditors at the
world Synod of Bishops.
The fourth step is
the reading, or rather, the proclamation, of the
Biblical text. Following the proclamation is a
moment of silence
so that each participant can personally reflect.
The participants
read the passage again,
marking it this time
with exclamation points beside those verses
that invite them to
actions or changes of attitudes.
Finally, time is
left for contemplation, aided by silence or
music. What is
important, the bishop said, is that "Jesus takes
hold
of me, looks at me
and I at him, an exchange of gazes."
Thus, the
participants move to the last stage,
"action," writing a word (for
example, dialogue or help) that
indicates to them
the path to follow and share.
These
community activities are carried out over a span of
three years,
Bishop Silva explained. It does not pretend to be a
Bible course, but
rather, an encounter with
Jesus in sacred
Scripture. In Chile, he affirmed,
the meetings have brought
"moments of great
communion."
The Sri Lankan
prelate arrived to this conclusion: "The Church in
the world today is
facing serious threats from various 'isms' and in
confronting this
challenge, lectio divina is
one way that is
proven to be effective. In the words of our Holy
Father: 'if lectio
divina is effectively promoted this practice will
bring to the
Church -- I am convinced of it -- a new
spiritual
springtime.'"
Read More ....
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October 15 - 'Third Jesus' Author to Discuss 'What Jesus Really Taught' in Web Series
Article: New Age
Comment from
UTT:
Chopra's Cosmic Christ
(the third Jesus) in
the name for another Jesus that will lead many
to be deceived in
the name of Christ.
The online radio series is set to begin
Wednesday
at 6 p.m. ET,
according to Paula Coppel, vice president of
Communications
at Unity School of Christianity in Unity Village, Mo.
Unity School of
Christianity and its affiliated organizations,
like author Deepak Chopra, have
been
criticized for their
belief that Jesus was only a man who attained a
higher mental
state, among other controversial ideas.
"We came up
with the
idea for this series
after Oprah Winfrey's successful webcasts last
spring with Eckhart
Tolle on his book 'A New Earth,'" said
Coppel in a
released statement, referring to another book that has
drawn criticism
from the conservative Christian community.
"The Web series contends that
Jesus was not
trying to start a new religion, nor was he aiming his
teachings at some
people and not others," Coppel added.
"He
was pointing the
way for all of us to experience the awakening that
he himself had
experienced."
According to Chopra,
there is not one Jesus, but three.
"First there is the historical Jesus,
the man
who lived more
than two thousand years ago and whose teachings
are
the foundation of
Christian theology and thought," he explains in
his book.
"Next there is Jesus, the Son of God, who has
come to
embody an
institutional religion with specific dogma, a
priesthood,
and devout
believers. Then there is the
"third
Jesus,"
says Chopra, "the
cosmic Christ, the
spiritual guide whose teaching embraces all
humanity, not just
the church built in his name."
"He speaks to the individual who
wants
to find God as a personal experience,
to
attain what some
might call grace, or God-consciousness, or
enlightenment," the author
contends. Craig-Purcell sees the
series as
especially appealing to those who consider
themselves
"spiritual
more than religious" as well as "Christians
with
questions."
Her organization, however, and the
several
other Unity groups
founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore have been
criticized for a number of teachings that
conflict with
orthodox Christianity, including the belief in
reincarnation and
the denial of heaven and hell's
existence.
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October 14 - A Monastic Kind of LifeHow Catholic religious communities are trying to attract young people again
Article: Emerging Church
Comment from UTT:
The following
article confirms emerging
church ideas and their connection with the
road to
Rome.
The
Catholic Church has always seen the
contemplative life as the "Air
Force" in its
spiritual struggle, as the Rev.
David Toups of the United States
Conference of Catholic
Bishops commented-a conduit of spiritual power.
Though the number of
young people entering monasteries, convents,
and the priesthood has
drastically dropped from the mid-20th
century, some new approaches to religious
vocations have inspired some
young people in America to embrace this
idea, replenishing several of
the older religious orders and filling new
ones. One such
community with a young population, nestled in the
Ozarks, is a place that could
symbolize Catholicism's true hope for
renewal in our time. Founded
in 1999, the Clear Creek Monastery has
grown from 13 to 30 monks
who are intent on
building a community that will
"last for a thousand years."
For a time,
the life of Catholic religious orders
became about social justice
issues, psychological issues, peace studies,
interreligious dialogue, the
ecology movement-everything and anything,
seemingly, except the central
proposition: that one can know a loving
God and be transformed.
Russell Hittinger, the Warren
professor of Catholic studies
at the University of Tulsa, admits that
many of those who entered
religious life before Vatican II simply did
not have a calling. Those who
truly have a call to
monasticism-or other forms of the religious
life-begin by falling in love
with the pursuit of holiness, as did the
monks of Clear Creek.
Indeed,
a return to traditional practices is a
common element among
those religious orders experiencing renewal. Many
young nuns, for example,
choose to wear a traditional habit even when
their older religious sisters
choose modest secular fashions.
The emergence of Clear Creek and other
growing monastic
communities suggests there
will
always be young people who
ask whether their devotion to God should take
precedence over their own
personal ambitions and even the natural desire
for a family. (The
A&E special
God or the Girl
was an insightful
documentary about this.) Today's young people,
who have grown up in a highly
commercialized and manipulated landscape,
are particularly eager to
connect with a more authentic way of living.
Far from being
pressured into pursuing religious vocations, they
find their families often protest,
feeling they are losing their
children to a life that's too
isolated.
Father Anderson says, "We were
only a
bunch of bums, but by becoming nothing, you can be
a part of something
great."
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October 19 - Leaders to rethink global finance
Article: One World Government
Comment from UTT:
Current events are
moving towards a new world
order with one world monetary system and a
one world currency that will
eventually bring about "the mark" that will
implement global system of
buying and selling.
President
George W
Bush has invited
world leaders to gather in the US by the end of the
year to discuss reform of the global
financial
system.
The summit
would be the
first of a series
announced after talks between Mr Bush, French
President Nicolas
Sarkozy and EU Commission chief Manuel Barroso.
Before he arrived
at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in the
state of Maryland,
the French leader warned
the world could not
"continue to run the economy of the 21st Century
with instruments of
the economy of the 20th Century".
After the meeting, Mr Bush said:
"It is essential that we work
together because
we are in this
crisis together." He went on to
invite world
leaders to an economic summit after the US election
in
November, to
discuss responses to the current financial crisis.
"Together we
will work to modernise and strengthen our nations'
financial systems
so we can help ensure this crisis doesn't happen
again,"
he added.
Mr Sarkozy said the crisis could
offer a "great
opportunity" to build the
capitalism of the
future and leave behind the "hateful
practices" of
the past. "We
cannot continue along the same lines because the
same
problems will
trigger the same disasters," he warned.
European Commission
President Manuel
Barroso, who also
took part in the talks, said:
"We need a
new global financial order."
That summit would seek to
"review
progress being made to address the current crisis
and to
seek agreement
on principles of reform needed to avoid a
repetition,"
the leaders said in their statement.
"Later summits
would be
designed to implement agreement on specific steps
to be
taken to meet
those principles," it added.
Other world leaders are to be
consulted over
the plan.
Read More ....
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October 19 - Ahmadinejad urges boost in Tehran-Rome ties
Article: Bridges To Rome
Comment from UTT:
A closer
relationship between Iran and
Rome should lead to an interesting
scenario - especially when
Iranian leaders have called for Israel to be
"wiped off the
map."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here on
Sunday
called for further expansion of Tehran-Rome
bilateral relations.
Receiving
credentials of the new Italian
Ambassador to Tehran, Alberto Braddnini,
the Iranian president said
Tehran and Rome share identical views
regarding many international
developments. Such identical views can
be used in line with promotion of
bilateral cooperation as well as global
peace and security.
Stressing
that the era of war, conflicts,
terrorism, and bloodshed is over,
President Ahmadinejad said
the world should enter a new era based
on friendship, justice and mutual
respect.
On Tehran-
Rome relations, he said
the existing cultural relations have
resulted in expansion of all-out ties
between the two nations.
As to
bilateral trade and economic
cooperation, Ahmadinejad expressed
hope that the two
countries would witness rise in mutual
ties in the near future.
For his part,
the Italian ambassador said
the two countries
can play a key role in global
culture and civilization. The Islamic
Republic of Iran can play a more
active role in promotion of security and
peace throughout the globe as well
as in settlement of tensions and combat
against terrorism, the new
Italian ambassador added. He vowed to
make great efforts
to help boost
Tehran-Rome relations in all fields.
Read More ....
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October 20 - Bin Laden's plan for 'global fireball' - Intel agents uncover plot for worldwide disaster
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Comment
from
UTT:
The world faces
a grave situation in
light of the potential devastation created by
those who believe
they are called by "god" to rule the world.
Surely
this article shows
that we are living in the last days and confusion
and chaos will
soon become the catalyst that calls for world peace
and a world
religion.
Read More ....
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October 19 - Beatles songs as likely to explain Christianity as the Bible, says bishop
Article: Emerging Church
Comment from
UTT:
This following
article defines apostasy
perfectly.
The Rt Rev
Nick Baines, Bishop
of Croydon, has urged churches to use
hits by b ands such as U2 and the Beatles
in their services.
In a book
backed by
the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan
Williams,
he argues that pop music writers can
convey deep theological
concepts in a way that is more accessible
to the younger
generation.
Hundreds of
evangelical churches
have already turned to guitar-based songs
instead of
traditional hymns, but the bishop
suggests that
clergy still need to
be more creative
in appealing to non-
churchgoers.
"For many
people
the language of the Bible has become
inaccessible and yet
pop song writers can make a connection
with people because
their language is fresh," he
said.
"They are able
to open our imagination
to a way of thinking about God that we've
become deaf to in
church language.
"Songs
get more into the soul than simply reading
an ancient book,"
he added. "I hope that they would be
awoken to God and it
would lead them to want to read some of
the stories in the
Bible."
The bishop
said that
churches should
offer "a menu to
people from different backgrounds "
and should not be afraid
of criticism.
In another
passage, the bishop
tells how the U2
song, I Still Haven't
Found What I'm Looking For, helped
define his faith.
"The
Bible tells a great story, but it is not as
accessible as it
used to be for a generation that hasn't
been brought up with
it."
Read More ....
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October 19 - Rosary Is Anchored in Holy Scripture
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Comment from
UTT:
The pope justifies
praying the rosary as means
of practicing contemplative prayer and
finding inner silence. This
same unbiblical idea (contemplative prayer)
is being promoted by the
emerging church as a means of getting closer to
Jesus. Such practices, rooted
in eastern mysticism, are very effective
in getting in contact with the
demonic realm. However, participants are
being deceived and do not
recognize the danger.
Read More ....
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Roger Oakland
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