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Dear Ron,
This newsletter is available online by
clicking here. The archived newsletter are also available by
clicking here.
The News In Review newsletter is a service
provided
by Understand The Times that
is a compilation of the news articles
previously posted
on our site . Understand The Times does not
endorse these events but rather is
showing the church the current events.
The
purpose of posting these articles is to warn the church of deception from a
Biblical perspective.
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July 17 - Coming in 2012: Genetically modified front lawns and the mass spraying of neighborhoods and playgrounds with RoundUp
Article:Cloning And Genetic Engneering
Thanks to a recent admission by the USDA
that it does not have the regulatory framework to even regulate GMOs,
the world of biotech is set to
unleash a tidal wave of genetically modified seeds upon the United
States. This is the upshot of Scotts Miracle-Gro
challenging the USDA over its GMO grass seeds,
to which the USDA threw in the towel and
essentially announced it can't technically regulate many GMOs at
all.
Welcome to the new world
order of GMO self regulation, where the companies that
produce the GMO seeds now get to regulate their own
behavior!
Scotts Miracle-Gro is now moving full speed ahead on its GMO yard
grass product, which could theoretically be introduced into the
marketplace as early as 2012. This is a home
consumer yard grass seed which, of course, resists glyphosate (RoundUp),
and its introduction into the marketplace would almost certainly
result in millions of homeowners across America planting these seeds
in their yard and then
spraying RoundUp across their entire lawn as a "treatment" for
eliminating weeds.
RoundUp, in other words, may be coming soon to a neighborhood near
you. And it's not just the lawns, either: This
combination of Scotts GMO grass and RoundUp chemicals could be
used on playgrounds, schoolyards, community centers and
parks. Once this goes into production, there will be virtually no
place your family can go in America that isn't contaminated with
genetically modified grass seeds and toxic glyphosate chemicals.
The
upshot of all this is not merely the
astonishing lack of regulation now being admitted by the USDA
(which always sided with the biotech industry anyway, so what's
new?), but the cause-and-effect results we may soon see.
We could be looking at a wave of superweeds
spreading across America.
These superweeds will be the baddest, toughest and most
chemically-resistant weeds our world has ever seen. They develop as
mutant derivatives of the mass spraying of RoundUp chemicals across
lawns. In much the same way that superbugs develop in the presence
of widespread antibiotics abuse,
superweeds, develop in the presence of widespread glyphosate abuse
Read Full Article ....
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July 17 - God No Longer 'Father' for United Church of Christ
Article: Unbiblical Christianity
The left-leaning United Church of Christ
now wants to be even more politically correct, and
to do so its deliberative body has replaced the reference to "Heavenly
Father" with the gender neutral term, "triune God," in the denomination's
constitution.
"In the process of revamping its decades-old
constitution, the Protestant denomination's General Synod endorsed an
eye-catching change: It deleted the term
'Heavenly Father,' replacing it with 'triune God,'"
Courier Journal reported Saturday.
Though a largely liberal denomination, the
United Church of Christ has conservative sections which have objected to the
amendment. "Rejecting God as Father in an age of
fatherlessness is unthinkable," David Runnion-Bareford, executive
director of Biblical Witness Fellowship, an evangelical renewal movement
within the denomination, told the Journal.
"Inclusive
language has been a long-term project in the UCC for at least three
decades," the Journal quoted the Rev. Greg Bain, pastor
of Grace-Immanuel United Church of Christ in Louisville, as saying.
It was a decision to use "a broader
definition" of God, said Bain, who was part of the
denomination's national executive council until recently.
The UCC, considered
more liberal than most other Christian denominations,
also allow ceremonies to sanctify same-sex unions.
The General Synod in 2005 passed a resolution
making the United Church of Christ the first
major Christian legislative body in America to support "equal marriage
rights for all people, regardless of gender." However,
some congregations did not support the resolution.
"The General Synod, through sound biblical
and theological reflection over many years,
has affirmed the full dignity, humanity, and worth of
all persons regardless of sexual orientation, an affirmation grounded in our
creation in the image of God," read the Synod's
statement. "We have called for the removal
of one's sexual orientation as a barrier to ordination and to all other
forms of service in the church. We understand baptism to be the foundation
of one's incorporation into the body of Christ, affirming the primacy of
grace over every other category of human accomplishment or failure or human
status, including sexual orientation," it added.
Read Full Article....
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July 16 - [Ex-CIA officer: Israel likely to attack Iran in September
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Israel will probably attack Iran in September,
a former CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East, including in
Lebanon and Syria, has told a Los Angeles radio show. While Robert Baer
didn't reveal the sources behind his prediction,
he referred to former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's warnings of an Israeli
attack on Iran as "no bluff."
Baer told the KPFK Radio
on Tuesday recent comments made by Dagan that
an Israeli attack on Iran could lead to a regional
war, "tell us with near certainty that [Prime Minister Binyamin]
Netanyahu is planning an attack, and in as much as I can guess when it's
going to be, it's probably going to be in September, before a [UN
General Assembly] vote on the Palestinian state."
Netanyahu is "also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict -
and in fact, there's a warning order inside the Pentagon to prepare for
conflict with Iran," Baer said.
The retired senior CIA officer predicted that
Israel would attack the Natanz nuclear facility, as well as "a couple of
others to degrade their capabilities."
Baer, however, said a regional war was unlikely.
"What we're facing here is an escalation, not a
planned all-out war," he said.
Read Full Article ....
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July 14 - Virgin Mary Aids In Miraculous Conceptions, Priest Says
Artcle:Signs And Wonders
One local priest said
that an iconic image of the Virgin Mary
in his parish has helped dozens of families conceive in Albuquerque.
Inside Our Lady of
Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church, Father Christopher Zugger said
dozens of couples who were told they couldn't
conceive children did because of the Virgin Mary.
"I
better believe in miracles. We see them every day," Zugger said.
Zugger bought the 200-year-old iconic image of the Virgin Mary back in
1998. "Since them, we've had all kinds of miracles
with all kinds of couples," Zugger said.
According to Zugger, it
started with one woman in the church who'd had five miscarriages. "She
said, 'Holy Mother of God, save this baby. I can't lose another baby,'"
Zugger said. "(She) put the icon on her
stomach and she says, 'I'm not leaving until the baby kicks me six
times.'" That baby
is now a teenager.
"Every single couple that has come, there's been at least one child,"
Zugger said.
As for skeptics, Zugger
said they don't have to take his word for it
because they can just talk to any of the couples who've been helped.
Read Full Article ....
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July 18 - Rupert Murdoch Phone Hacking Scandal
Article: Miscellaneous
Comment from Understand the Times:
The Rupert Murdoch PHONE HACKING SCANDAL has now blown open world-wide. There have been a number of resignations by Murdoch's staff and even those who have been put in jail. So far, Murdoch has not admitted that he himself was behind the wiretapping. If he did, he would be in jail as well.
For those who do not know, Mr. Rupert Murdoch also owns Zondervan, a Christian Publishing Company that publishes the book Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren. Mr. Murdoch is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations that many believe sets the agenda for the governments of the world. This would make sense if you were pushing for a P.E.A.C.E. Plan involving leaders from all religions plus governments and businesses. Rick Warren calls this the "Three-legged-stool" Plan.
Phone hacking is very illegal in England and also around the world. While this may be a surprise to some, it is not a surprise to those who are in the know. This is often done by "people who love power." It is a means of getting more power and control over others.
This is really tragic, isn't it?
There are instances of this very same thing happening in America. So far, scandals have been prevented by clever cover-ups. However, God knows all things and it is only a matter of time when these dark things will be exposed by the light.
I am presently watching the British Government legal authorities interviewing Rupert Murdoch and his son James live on CNN.The time is approximately 8:55 PST.
WOW what an eye opener.
Just as I was writing the previous paragraph the broadcast was shut off as Murdoch was accosted at the inquiry by someone with "shaving foam,". At this time, we do not know more.
During the interview it was apparent that the wiretapping that occurred by Murdoch's newspaper was not an exception - it was the rule. Why the Murdoch's pretended that they were sorry this had occurred they insisted they were not guilty of any wrong doing and knew nothing about what was happening..
This is fascinating. People of power use lowly members of their corporation to do their dirty work and throw them under the bus when things get tough. When they are caught, they insist they knew nothing about the wrongdoing.
I know for a fact this happens at large churches in North America that turn from churches to corporations that become more concerned about power and property than they are about people.
I believe what we are seeing here is a case where the emperor is discovered without any clothes when all along he did not have any clothes. Some times emperors with power, lose their power, when God reveals the truth. The future will be very interesting for many powerful leaders and pastors. The Bible states that judgment begins in the "house of the Lord."
Google Searche Links ....
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July 7 - Diocese of Orange may make bid for Crystal Cathedral
Article: News Alert - Miscellaneous
Comment from Understand the Times:
The demise of
the Peter Drucker mega church program may be underway. Crystal
Cathedral may be the first example of what will happen as the Roman
Catholic Church may buy these bankrupt businesses that were once
called churches.
Anther
possibility would be for Muslims to buy the Crystal Cathedral and
erect a mosque, or Rick Warren to make the property into a Purpose
Driven P.E.A.C.E. Plan center. This is of course just speculation.
A friend of
mine had a dream that one popular mega church in Orange County
folded unexpectedly. He saw weeds growing in the parking lot because
the mega church had collapsed. This occurred because things that had
been covered up for years were finally revealed.
Whatever the
case, these corporate collapses are opportunities for the Roman
Catholic Church to expand and get more property for only pennies on
the dollar. The counter-reformation still continues, doesn't it?
A new and intriguing prospect
for the Crystal Cathedral emerged Wednesday when
the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange said it
was considering buying the bankrupt church in Garden Grove and
converting it to a Catholic cathedral.
The announcement by Orange
Bishop Tod Brown came one day after Chapman University made a
$46-million bid for the 40-acre site. The Crystal Cathedral had
earlier reached a tentative agreement for a sale and lease-back deal
with a real estate developer, subject to approval by U.S. Bankruptcy
Court Judge Robert Kwan.
A
sale to the Catholic Church would solve a longstanding problem for
the Orange Diocese, which has no central cathedral for its
1.2-million parishioners. It has been planning for more than
a decade to build a new, 2,500-seat cathedral in Santa Ana, but has
gotten only as far as hiring an architect.
The Crystal
Cathedral filed for bankruptcy in October citing more than $50
million in debt. Documents related to the case have revealed
generous payouts and tax allowances for church insiders and Schuller
family members.
A sale to the diocese
would be rich with symbolism. Schuller built the Crystal Cathedral
as the physical expression of a Space Age
ministry that eschewed orthodoxy in favor of a casual worship style
and the self-help spirit of "possibility thinking." It stood in
sharp contrast to the sort of dogma and ritual practiced by the
Catholic Church.
Brown said his diocese is
merely exploring the possibility of a deal and has not decided
whether to make a bid. The bishop asked a law firm and lay advisors
to look into the matter. "While we continue to develop plans for a
cathedral in Santa Ana, it is
prudent to evaluate the opportunity to engage in the pending auction
of this property and to mitigate the chance that it cease to
function as a place of worship, if acquired by others,"
Brown said.
Numerous groups have been
sending out feelers about buying the Crystal Cathedral property,
according to the ministry's bankruptcy lawyer, Marc Winthrop.
Regarding the Catholic diocese, he would only say:
"We might be interested.... If something
formal is presented, the church will respond."
Read Full Aritcle ....
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July 19 - Power to Change the World - BY GREG LAURIE
Article: Unbiblical Christianity
Comment from Understand the Times:
This article
provides interesting insight. Greg Laurie makes a statement in the
article below that is almost word for word to what Rick Warren wrote
in his book Purpose Driven Life. Rick stated that when
Jesus was asked by his disciples what the signs would be that would
indicate his return, Jesus supposedly said: "It is none of your
business."
Anyone who
has read Matthew 24 knows that Jesus DID NOT say that - therefore
Rick Warren has misquoted the Bible on purpose.
While Greg
Laurie states that he does believe in Bible prophecy, he seems to
indicate in his article that when Jesus emphasized spiritual
deception as a sign of the apostasy that would take place in the
last days that it is not important in comparison to witnessing.
It is also
interesting that many leaders in Calvary Chapel and other churches
who once emphasized Bible prophecy are not interested in exposing
apostasy in the days in which we are living. Is this because they
don't see apostasy as a problem that needs to be dealt with? If so,
why?
While it is
important to be given the power to witness, it is even more
important that we be a witness and tell the whole truth. If we are
not going to warn those who are being deceived that they are
deceived, then we are being used as tools of the devil. The Bible
warns about a coming One World Religion for the cause of Peace - the
6-6-6 Peace Plan.
But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my
witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
- Acts 1:8
There are
people today who are always studying Bible prophecy, trying to
figure out the date of Christ's return or claiming to have
discovered some special Bible codes, hidden codes that no one
has ever seen before.
While I am a student
of Bible prophecy and believe that we have seen signs of the
times and have seen Bible prophesies fulfilled before our very
eyes, Jesus said, "No one knows the day or hour when these
things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son
himself. Only the Father knows" (Matthew 24:36).
So rather than focusing on when Jesus is coming back, we
should focus on what we are to be doing as we await His return.
Prior to His ascension, Jesus gave His marching orders to the
church:
"Therefore, go and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new
disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure
of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
(Matthew 28:19-20)
The apostles were in
no way ready for such a task. How could they "make disciples of
all the nations"? They would do
it with a power they had never known before, a power to change
the world.
Jesus told them, "But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And
you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in
Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth" (Acts 1:8). That same
power is available to us today: Power to share your faith. Power
to do what God has called you to do. Power to change your world.
Read Full Aritcle ....
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July 19 - Campus Crusade for Christ drops 'Christ'
Article: Miscellaneous
Comment from Understand the Times:
The name
Campus Crusade for Christ is being modified to make the organization
more acceptable to our generation as we are told by the CCCI
website. All three words are apparently unacceptable to the
postmodern generation. Campus is too limiting, Crusade also has
negative connotations and Christ is far too specific if you are
trying to reach pagans.
Of course
Campus Crusade can do whatever they want. For years our experience
has shown the organization to be very ecumenical.
I am reminded
of a Bible School I once taught at that also changed their name.
They took our Bible and School and just called the institution a
college. How sad.
What will Cru
end up becoming? Time will tell.
Why did Campus Crusade
for Christ change its name?
Our name presented obstacles to our mission.
The word "campus" does not adequately
represent all our ministries in the United States and confuses our
constituency as well as potential partners. The word "crusade"-while
common and acceptable in 1951 when we were founded-now carries negative
associations. It acts as a barrier to the very people that we want to
connect with. It's also a hindrance to many Christians who would like to
partner with us but find the word Crusade offensive.
Our surveys show that, in the
U.S., twenty percent of the people
willing to consider the gospel are less interested in talking with us
after they hear the name. We are changing the name for the sake of more
effective ministry.
Campus Crusade for
Christ has inherent meaning. Cru has no apparent meaning. How do you
explain that?
Campus Crusade for Christ is a very descriptive name. It also took on
additional meaning in the lives of people as it was filled with
experiences and memories.
Since Cru began as a nickname at the local level in the mid-90's it has
taken on much of the positive equity of the organization without any of
the negatives. Like, Google, Starbucks and other abstract names we
expect to fill Cru with meaning as it embodies all that we are as we go
to the world with the gospel.
Why did we take the
name "Christ" out of our name?
We
were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name. We were
looking for a name that would most effectively serve our mission and
help us take the gospel to the world. Our mission has not changed. Cru
enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might
initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name. We believe
that our interaction and our communication with the world will be what
ultimately honors and glorifies Christ.
Why is the logo in all
lowercase letters? Will it be lowercase even as the first word in a
sentence?
Lowercase letters are used in the logo to avoid
confusion as an acronym or abbreviation. In
sentences, the letter "C" will be capitalized.
Will Cru be used for
all ministries around the world?
Cru will become the name of our U.S. Ministry.
Around the world, many national ministries also go
by a name other than Campus Crusade. They will continue using their
current names.
Read Full Aritcle ....
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July 22 - Archaeologists Uncover Ruins of Biblical City Shekem in War-Torn Palestine
Article - Biblical Archeology
Archaeologists in tumultuous
Palestine are digging up the ruins of Shekem,
where Abraham once stopped, Jacob once camped -- and today
litter is strewn. The biblical ruin lies inside a Palestinian city in the West
Bank, where modern researchers are writing the latest chapter in a 100-year-old
excavation that has been interrupted by two world wars and numerous rounds of
Mideast upheaval.
Working on an urban lot that long served residents of Nablus as an unofficial
dump for garbage and old car parts, Dutch and Palestinian archaeologists
are learning more about the ancient city of Shekhem -- and preparing to open the
site to the public as an archaeological park next year.
"The local population has started very well to understand the value of the site,
not only the historical value, but also the value for their own identity,"
said Gerrit van der Kooij of Leiden University in the Netherlands, who
co-directs the dig team.
The city also appears
often in the biblical narrative. The patriarch Abraham, for example, was passing
near Shekhem when God promised to give the land of Canaan to his descendants in
the Book of Genesis. Later, Abraham's grandson Jacob was camped outside the
walls when a local Canaanite prince raped his daughter, Dinah. Jacob's sons
sacked the city in vengeance. The body of Jacob's son Joseph was brought from
Egypt hundreds of years later by the fleeing Israelites and buried at Shekhem.
Two millennia ago, the Romans abandoned the original site and built a new city
to the west, calling it Flavius Neapolis. The Greek name Neapolis, or "new
city," later became enshrined in Arabic as Nablus. In Hebrew, the city is still
called Shekhem.
The
identity of the city's ancient residents at the time remains unclear. One theory
posits that they were Hyksos, people who came from northern Syria and were later
expelled from Egypt. According to the Bible's
account, the city was later Canaanite and still later ruled by Israelites,
but archaeology has not corroborated that so far, van der Kooij said.
Read Full Aritcle ....
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July 16 - Pastors: Homosexuality not a sin
Article - Perilous Times
A group of Omaha pastors has
issued a proclamation that states homosexuality is not
a sin.
More than 100 ordained Christian ministers have signed the proclamation,
including leaders from Lutheran, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ,
United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.
David Bydalek is executive director of Family First, the
family policy council for the state of Nebraska. He deems this effort
troubling for many Nebraskans and contends
the ministers involved are from liberal denominations that do not respect
the orthodox biblical teaching on homosexuality.
"When they come out with this sort
of statement, I think they really do not reflect the mainstream
feeling in the state of Nebraska," Bydalek suggests.
"When we passed our marriage amendment years ago, we
had about 70 percent of those in Nebraska who opposed 'gay
marriage.'"
But when Christians take a stand to
support traditional biblical teaching on the issue, the Family First
executive director laments that they are often perceived as "bigots" or
"homophobes." He suggests, however, that the loving
response to those trapped in homosexuality teaches that the lifestyle is
indeed sinful, but that freedom can be found through Christ.
"It's going to be more difficult, the more
these activists gain inroads into our culture and the more common it becomes,"
Bydalek warns. "So we have a very difficult
task ahead of us as those who stand for truth."
Read Full Aritcle ....
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Roger Oakland
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