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The Weekly News In
Review
Newsletter is a
compilation of the news articles that have appeared
on the Understand The Times website during the
previous week.
We have chosen the 15 most important articles
for 2006 in our "Year In Review 2006" . You can read
these by clicking on the link below:
http://www.understandthetimes.org/yir2006.shtml
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January 08, 2007 - Pope urges today's Wise Men to shape a world based on Christ
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
By
John Thavis
Catholic News
Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope
Benedict XVI said the age of globalization is
challenging political, scientific and
religious leaders to shape a
new world
order based on spiritual values.
This means an encounter with the
"light of Christ," which can reveal the
deepest values of all cultures, the
pope said.
"To all people of our time, I
want to repeat today: Do not be afraid of
the light of Christ!" he
said.
...The
Wise Men were mysterious but
important figures as the church
began its mission of bringing Christ to
the world, he said. Then he posed
the question, "Who are the Wise Men of
today?"
He
answered by identifying three classes of
leaders: political authorities,
people of intellect and science, and the
leaders of the world's faiths. All
three categories are important as the
church continues its task of
transforming the world, he said.
...The pope
noted that the Second Vatican
Council in its closing messages in 1965
made a point to address
politicians and
scientists, asking them not to
forget God in their work and not to forget
Christ as the great builder of
peace and order in the world.
Today, he said, it is
particularly important to add to
this list the leaders of the great non-
Christian religions, "inviting
them to confront themselves with the light
of Christ, which came not to
abolish but to bring to completion what the
hand of God has written in the
religious history of
civilizations."
Comment from
Understand The Times:
Rick Warren has been calling
for a "three-legged
stool" to establish a purpose
driven Kingdom of
God here on planet
earth for the future. It seems that Pope Benedict XVI
has a similar strategy. Is it
possible there is a possible common
inspiration for this plan - the three
legged stool of world politics,
world economy (intellect and
science) and a world spirituality? Time
will tell!
For
more on this same topic please
read:
Pope urges adjusting to new role for
West
Read More ...
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December 09, 2006 - World Religious Forum Opens in Kazakhstan's Capital Astana
Article: One World Religion
The
Second Congress of the Leaders of World
and Traditional Religions has
opened at the Palace of Peace and Accord
in Kazakhstan's capital city
Astana, the Lenta.Ru web site reported
Tuesday.
The second
congress will focus on freedom of
religion and respect for other
religions, and the role of religious
leaders in strengthening
international security.
Unlike the first such congress that
took place in September 2003 this
year's event is attended by
renowned state and political figures from
different countries as well as
special envoys from a number of
international organizations.
Observers have noted that the
Astana congress will be the first
large-scale event where
representatives of the religious circles of the
Arab Countries could meet their
Israeli counterparts for the first time
since the end of the Lebanon
conflict.
The congress has
brought together 30
representatives of world and traditional religions,
including from Islam, Buddhism,
Judaism, Daoism and Shintoism, and 13
guests of honor. The event is being attended by
representatives of international
religious organizations, among them the
World Conference on Religion and
Peace, the World Foundation for
Zarathustra Culture and the World
Council of Churches. Unlike the
previous congress, the current
one will be attended by politicians from
different countries, among them
former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohammad, former Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami and UNESCO head
Koichiro
Matsuura.
In the opinion of Alexander
Machkevitch, the President of the
Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the
congress will focus on religion and
society role in preserving
international security, which has
become its motto.
Read More ....
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January 12, 2007 - Navy dismisses chaplain who prayed 'in Jesus' name'
Article: One World Religion
By
Bob Unruh
A
U.S. Navy chaplain who prayed "in
Jesus' name" as his conscience
dictated is being ejected from the military
service "in retaliation" for his
victorious battle to change Navy policy
that required religious rites be "non-
sectarian."
"This fight cost me
everything. My career is over, my family is
now homeless, we've lost a
million dollar pension, but Congress agreed
with me and rescinded the Navy
policy, so chaplains are free again to pray in
Jesus' name," Chaplain Gordon
Klingenschmitt told WND. "My sacrifice
purchased their freedom. My
conscience is clear, the fight was worth it,
and I'd do it all again."
..."There's a Unitarian system
of religion that's aimed at Christians,"
John Whitehead, founder of the The
Rutherford Institute, told WND. "It
boils down to that. We're seeing it all
across the country, with council prayers,
kids wanting to mention Jesus.
What's going on here is it's generally
a move in our government and military to
set up a civic religion."
"I think the Supreme Court's going
to
have to look at the idea of can the
government in any of its forms tell
people how to pray, set up a basic religion
and say you can only do it this
way," he said.
Read More ....
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January 09, 2007 - Carter, Clinton Join to Reshape Baptist Image
Article: Apostasy
By
Lillian
Kwon
Former Presidents
Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are
part of an initiative to create a new
Baptist voice and improve the
negative image of Baptists in North
America.
...The
convocation, part of Carter's new Baptist
voice initiative, is expected to
draw more than 20,000 Baptist
participants from throughout the
United States and Canada in an effort
to counter the negative and
judgmental image of Baptists, according to
the Associated Baptist Press.
"North America desperately
needs a true Baptist witness," Bill
Underwood, president of Mercer
University in Atlanta, told Baptist
leaders at an April summit last
year.
Underwood said
the current image of Baptists is
largely painted by conservative leaders
who frequently appear on
television news shows or other media.
Such leaders represent some of the
most
conservative political views and
fundamentalist theology among Baptist
denominations.
...In a former
interview with Mother Jones,
Carter said there has been an evolution
within the SBC, the largest
Protestant denomination in the states,
"toward a more and more
rigid and strict creed that embodies the
fundamentalist principles"
that he mentioned in his book Our
Endangered Values: America's
Moral Crisis.
..."People tend to think of
Baptists as very narrow-minded, sometimes
mean-spirited and self-
righteous," said the Rev.
David Spencer, who changed his
church name from First Baptist Church to
Centerpoint Church in December.
"That's not who we are
at all," he added, according
to the Associated Press.
...In the meantime, Underwood
said Baptists need to be known for feeding
the hungry, healing the sick and
working for justice.
SBC's North American Mission
Board is one of the largest disaster relief
organizations in the nation and it
had provided sizable aid and
contributions to the relief and
recovery work in the Gulf Coast after
Hurricane Katrina
hit.
Read More ....
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January 12, 2007 - NCC Leader Touts Church Unity As Way to Fight Poverty Social Injustice
Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.
NCC is the National
Council of
Churches: The NCC's leadership
helps to link faith
groups throughout the country
and worldwide. In addition to working
closely with its member
communions, the NCC maintains working
relationships with the Roman
Catholic Church, Evangelical and
Pentecostal communities and
other Christian bodies, and has reached out
to numerous partners in ministry,
both on the local and regional level,
and in national alliances that help
get important objectives
accomplished.
The NCC also networks with the
many ecumenical and interfaith
organizations established at the
local, state and regional level, in the
U.S. and abroad. And it promotes
harmonious relations among Christians,
Jews, Muslims, Buddhists,
practitioners of traditional Native American
religion and many other faith
groups in a society that is increasingly
multireligious. The NCC has been
particularly focused on building
relationships between Christians
and Muslims in the aftermath of the
national crisis of September 2001.
2007-
01-12 -- d.asp">See earlier story)
But
Edgar, who was recently in Washington
defending his group against these
claims, is highlighting the fact that
the IRD report fails to mention any
of the NCC's major goals in pursuing
Christian unity, such as ending
poverty. "They said nothing about our
issues on justice, racism, and
nothing about the work that we're doing
to be stewards of the
planet," he observes.
The NCC leader is full of praise for
evangelical leaders like Rick
Warren of Saddleback Valley Community
Church in Orange County,
California. Edgar feels Saddleback's pastor is
to be commended for his large-
scale outreach efforts and his commitment
to social justice concerns such as
poverty and the global HIV-AIDS
crisis.
"We are delighted that people like
Rick Warren [author of The
Purpose Driven Life] has committed
himself to the poor and to working
with us on issues of AIDS throughout
the world," Edgar notes.
He says
the unity of progressives,
moderates, and evangelicals hinges on two
primary issues -- "ending
the poverty that kills" and "healing the
planet" -- as well as a third
essential area, which is
"peacemaking."
The head of the politically left-leaning
NCC, an organization consisting of
some 35 Protestant, Orthodox,
Anglican, African American, Living
Peace, and Evangelical denominations,
claims what he calls "radical
conservatives" in the Christian community
are largely ignoring global efforts
to fight poverty and threats to the
environment. He says two
evangelical Christian leaders in particular
stand out in his mind.
...And likewise,
the NCC general secretary
asserts, "there are plenty of evangelical
conservative Christians who have
read the Bible and see God calling us
to be stewards of the planet, not
supporters of Armageddon and the
destruction of the
planet." These believers,
the
Christian leader suggests,
recognize from their reading of scripture
that God cares about the
environment, just as He cares about the
poor.
Read More ....
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January 8, 2007 - W Fulfills His Dad's Dream Of A New World Order
Article: One World Government
News Alert
Commentary By Understand
The Times
The Bible foretells of a global political
governing system that will one day
rule the world. This system will initially
embrace a one world religion that
will be built upon the revival of pagan
religious beliefs that are
Babylonian in origin and antichristian.
This one world religion will
be ushered in by the Queen of Heaven, for
the cause of peace in the name of
Christ. This religion will be Babylonian and
antichristian.
Also, in the future, a leader will emerge who
will claim to be King of the
world. This man will be the head of a global
governing system. The religious
system set up by the Queen will provide the
way for him to come to power.
This man will be supported by
human beings who believe they are the
elite - chosen vessels to bring peace
and prosperity to planet earth - A New
World Order.
This plan to implement a global government
for the cause of peace has been
in the making for several centuries
and can be seen unfolding daily in the
news. Inspired by the god of this world,
powerful people who control the
world's finances are being manipulated to
bring this about.
"Secret Societies" play a
significant role in establishing the New World
Order. The influence of these craftsmen and
their esoteric knowledge comes
from the god of this world - who the Bible
describes as the one who deceives
the whole world -
Satan.
We are living at a time when
we see the final plans being implemented to
bring about this global
antichristian political, economic and religious
system. Political, economic
and religious leaders throughout the
world are being
groomed to construct a
"three-legged-stool" that will
implement the "plan".
The individual legs of the
"three-legged-stool" are:
1. Global political
governance put together by
man
2. Global economic governance
put together by man
3. Global spiritual harmony
put together by man
In the Bible, the number of
man is "6". Therefore, the
"three-legged-stool" can be represented
as 6-6-6.
Christians who see this "global social
gospel" plan unfolding based upon
knowledge that comes from the light
of the Bible and sound a warning will be
considered fundamentalists who are
dangerous and guilty of holding back
peace and prosperity. For such, there will
be persecution.
Understand The Times is
committed to providing a biblical
perspective of what is happening, why this
is happening and where this is headed
in the future as the God of the Bible
gives us wisdom, direction and
protection.
The link is to a video on YouTube
Watch Video ....
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
In Jesus,
Roger Oakland
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