Nigeria: Christians Pray, Fast for Divine Intervention Amidst Death Threats from Islamists

By Ivana Kvesic – “Christians throughout Nigeria are fasting to invoke divine intervention and protection from the Islamic cult, Boko Haram, that has threatened to attack Nigerian Christians on the anniversary of their founder’s death.

Churches and their followers all over the country have begun a 21-day period of fasting in the hope of divine intervention to avert the looming attack.

Due to heightened insecurity, church attendance has dropped significantly in recent weeks. Less than half of those that attended church regularly can be found in attendance due to safety concerns.

Bombs have been going off on a daily basis in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, while the Nigerian capital of Abuja faced a bomb attack on a car park last month.

The anniversary attack is expected to occur on July 30, the day Boko Haram was founded by former leader Mohammed Yusuf.

Yusuf died in police custody in 2009, and was allegedly killed while trying to escape from prison.

Boko Haram, which can be translated to figuratively mean, ‘Western or non-Islamic education is a sin,’ claims that it is fighting for the establishment of an Islamic state in Nigeria.” Read more.

July 9, 2011: Islamist Terror Group in Nigeria to Muslims: Stay Away from Christians … Because They Are Now Targets of Attacks – “The Boko Haram menace has taken a dramatic twist with its call on all Muslims in Nigeria to stay away from Christians, Security Agents, Government institutions and functions or face death. It maintained that since the present Federal Government is not Islamic, every employee is considered an infidel marked for elimination… The deadly group urged Muslims to stay away from Christians, their houses, businesses and churches because they are targets of attacks.” Read more.

Do You Speak Christian?

In the article below Episcopal theologian Marcus Borg is referring to a ‘pre-trib rapture’.  And he is correct.  It was never taught by the early church at all — and not until the mid 19th century — which is just one of the many reasons why I do not teach it.  But ‘the gathering’ (post-tribulational ‘rapture’ of the elect) is explicitly taught by not only Jesus and Paul, but even John …

By John Blake – “Can you speak Christian?

Have you told anyone ‘I’m born again?’ Have you ‘walked the aisle’ to ‘pray the prayer?’

Did you ever ‘name and claim’ something and, after getting it, announce, ‘I’m highly blessed and favored?’

Many Americans are bilingual. They speak a secular language of sports talk, celebrity gossip and current events. But mention religion and some become armchair preachers who pepper their conversations with popular Christian words and trendy theological phrases.

If this is you, some Christian pastors and scholars have some bad news: You may not know what you’re talking about. They say that many contemporary Christians have become pious parrots. They constantly repeat Christian phrases that they don’t understand or distort.

Marcus Borg, an Episcopal theologian, calls this practice ‘speaking Christian.’ He says he heard so many people misusing terms such as ‘born again’ and ‘salvation’ that he wrote a book about the practice.

People who speak Christian aren’t just mangling religious terminology, he says. They’re also inventing counterfeit Christian terms such as ‘the rapture’ as if they were a part of essential church teaching.

The rapture, a phrase used to describe the sudden transport of true Christians to heaven while the rest of humanity is left behind to suffer, actually contradicts historic Christian teaching, Borg says.

‘The rapture is a recent invention. Nobody had thought of what is now known as the rapture until about 1850,’ says Borg, canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon.” Read more.

Comet Races Toward Earth at Peak of God’s Holy Days

Coincidence, or a sign?

By Joe Kovacs – “In the summer of 1998, Americans raced into movie theaters for not one, but two major Hollywood productions featuring giant asteroids about to smash into Earth.

The films – ‘Deep Impact’ and ‘Armageddon’ – had plots so similar, many people confuse the two.

Now 13 years later, a newly discovered, real-life comet named Elenin is racing toward our home planet.

No, it’s not an asteroid, and no, it’s not on a crash course, but it is expected to be at its closest point to us – some 21 million miles – during the culmination of God’s annual holy days mentioned in the Bible.

This has sparked a wave of speculation that it could be some sort of miraculous sign possibly heralding the long-anticipated return of Jesus to Earth.

‘It’s coming!’ thunders Paul Begley, a preacher at Community Gospel Baptist Church in Knox, Ind., in a YouTube video. ‘It’s on its way and right in the middle of the Feast of the Trumpets, it is going to come through and get in between the Earth and the sun.'” Read more.

Conspiracy Theorists: Comet Elenin is Either an ‘Incoming Spacecraft’ or an ‘Intelligently Controlled Object’ – “Comet Elenin is an incoming spacecraft or intelligently controlled object according to a number of presenters at a recently completed conference hosted online by the popular whistleblower website – Project Camelot. Several presenters agreed that Elenin will approach its closest points near the Sun and Earth at a time of extraordinary planetary and societal changes coinciding with the end of the Mayan Calendar. A number of anonymous whistleblowers were cited in support of the view that Elenin was an artificially controlled object responsible for widespread planetary changes in the solar system.” Read more.

Somali Rebels Allege Famine Claim an Infidel Hoax

Revelation 6:8, “… They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague …”

“For Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked rebels, the drought devastating parts of the country is being exploited by external enemies, claiming that local Muslims were adequately addressing the crisis.

The Al-Shebab insurgents have expelled several foreign aid groups from regions under their control since 2009 and reiterated recently that the ban was still in force after the United Nations declared famine in two regions they rule.

Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage denied there was famine in the southern Somalia regions of Bakool and Lower Shabelle as declared by the UN, but admitted that there was drought.

In a speech to the rebel radio, Rage said local traders and other residents have been the main providers of help to the drought-hit population and that ‘God did not make them need an outside enemy or non-Muslims, the people in the country fed them very well.’

‘We need Muslim people to be aware that the external enemy especially non-Muslims have been thinking of a new strategy.

‘The new strategy is to transport them abroad, especially in Christian countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, so that their faith can be destroyed and that they could be staff and soldiers for the Christians,’ Rage charged.” Read more.

Somalia: Islamist Group Bans Samosas After Deciding They’re Too ‘Christian’ – “Somalia’s al-Shabaab group has banned samosas after ruling the popular snacks are ‘offensive’ and too Christian… Aid groups including the UN Food Programme say they were not given permission by militants to provide aid in the country, where it has been warned that 800,000 children could die from starvation. It is now thought islamist militants have taken offence at the three-sided samosa’s supposed resemblance to symbol of the Christian Holy Trinity.” Read more.

Toronto Sun: No Twisted Religion in Norway Tragedy

BY MICHAEL COREN – “Talk about exploitation of the innocents.

As soon as it was revealed Anders Behring Breivik was not a Muslim, and not part of some jihadist gang, the knives were out. Because, it was claimed, he was a fundamentalist Christian. Please!

The main photograph of the man used by the media showed him dressed as a freemason.

I know journalists are pretty dumb these days, but it doesn’t take a theologian to realize freemasonry is anathema to fundamentalist Christianity, as well as Roman Catholicism.

In his personal manifesto the killer wrote: ‘Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I’m not an excessively religious man. I am first and foremost a man of logic. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God.’

He also quoted various atheist philosophers when he posted on blogs, was supportive of the gay community, hadn’t attended church in 17 years, and seems to have had no connection to organized Christianity.

But that did not hold back the hysterical Christian-bashers out there.

The same happened, and still happens, with Timothy McVeigh. The Oklahoma killer was an atheist, who even in his final letter before execution screamed against God. No matter, he is still said to be a Christian.

Many of us assumed the Norway attack was the work of Islamic terrorists.

Actually, how could we not?” Read more.

24-Hour Shake Up: 6.8 in Papua, New Guinea – 6.2 in Vanuatu – 6.4 East of Honshu, Japan

“SYDNEY — The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea was jolted by a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake Monday, prompting a minor tsunami warning, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at a depth of 16 kilometres (10 miles), some 131 km (81 miles) east of Wewak and 706 kilometres north of the capital Port Moresby.” Read more.

“Another powerful earthquake has jolted a pacific island nation.

The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck near Vanuatu at 4:34 a.m. Hawaii time. There were no reports of damage and no tsunami alert was issued.

The USGS says the quake was about 226 miles east of the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila. It was at a depth of 12.1 miles. A 7.3-magnitude quake struck near Vanuatu on Dec. 26, causing a tsunami a few inches high but no damage.” Read more.

“A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday morning off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The earthquake was centered 27 miles (43.5 kilometers) beneath the surface about 114 miles (184 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, the agency said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.” Read more.

Israeli Arab Children Taught to Defend Muslim Dominance on Temple Mount, ‘This Generation Will Be the Generation of Victory’

By Maayana Miskin – “Thousands of Israeli Arab youth are being taught to defend Muslim dominance on the Temple Mount, under programs sponsored by the Islamic Movement, the Israel-based branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

‘This generation will be the generation of victory, the generation that defends the place from which the prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven,’ according to Dr. Hikmat Namna of the Organization to Develop Al-Aksa, which has played a part in the educational program.

An estimated 6,000 Israeli Muslim children from 33 Arab towns in Israel have taken part in the program, which includes a tour of the Temple Mount. Children are also given pamphlets with stories about Mohammed and the Al-Aksa mosque.” Read more.

UK: Residents Reject Islamists’ Calls for Sharia Law, ‘They Should Go to a Muslim Country If They Want to Live Under Those Laws’

As moderate Muslims they should also be protesting in the streets of so-called ‘Sharia controlled zones’ against these Islamists and make their voices heard loud and clear …

“Local residents are rejecting attempts by Islamic fundamentalists to implement Sharia law in east London.

Posters had appeared in the east London borough of Waltham Forest claiming that it is ‘a Sharia controlled zone’ where Islamic rules will be enforced.

The posters, which have also appeared in other parts of the city, bear images indicating that smoking, alcohol and music are banned.

The campaign is being orchestrated by Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), a fundamentalist campaign group who want to establish independent Muslim states within the UK.

However, local residents have distanced themselves from the calls for Sharia law in Waltham Forest.

Abdul Rehman, a 56-year-old Muslim originally from Pakistan, said: ‘They should go to a Muslim country if they want to live under those laws. It has no place in Britain.'” Read more.

Ohio: Church Web Sites Replaced by Muslim Hacker Pushing for Conversion to Islam

BY TYREL LINKHORN – “A computer hacker took control of more than a dozen church Web sites hosted by a Perrysburg designer this week, replacing their regular content with an appeal that Christians convert to Islam.

The Rev. Vinnie Dauer of Fallen Timbers Community Church in Waterville said he received a text message from a church member at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday telling him someone had posted ‘Muslim propaganda’ on the church’s Web site.

The cyber attack surprised church leaders there, who wondered why anyone would target their small congregation’s Web site.

‘It was unnerving, but I think also it was an indicator to me of the different world we live in,’ said Mr. Dauer, the assistant pastor at Fallen Timbers…

The hacker, who identified himself as a Muslim hacker and signed his work ‘Mr. HAiL,’ somehow gained access to Mr. Leisure’s entire portfolio of sites, though only the church sites were altered.

‘It seemed like he was clearly trying to convert people. I don’t see how he could actually be successful with this, but he was talking about Christians converting to Islam,’ Mr. Leisure said.” Read more.

Egypt: Tension Rises as Islamists Dominate Tahrir Square Chanting ‘The People Want to Implement Sharia’

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS – “As my colleague Anthony Shadid reports, tens of thousands of Egyptians poured into Tahrir Square on Friday for a day that had been billed as one of unified protest against the interim military government. But the turnout was lopsided, dominated by members of religious movements, ranging from the most conservative, the Salafists, to the relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood.

According to The Associated Press, instead of chanting ‘The people want to topple the regime,’ a slogan heard at protests across the Arab world this year, from Tahrir Square to Tunisia, demonstrators called out, ‘The people want to implement Sharia,’ a strict code of Islamic law.

This video, which was posted on YouTube on Friday, is said to show the Salafists, many of them wearing skullcaps and conservative attire, walking toward Tahrir Square. Men in T-shirts and baseball caps look on as they pass by.

Egypt has been showing increased signs of polarization, Mr. Shadid reports, and the rift between religious and secular factions was clearly in evidence on Friday as many secular Egyptians responded to the scene in Tahrir Square on social media sites.” Read more.

Home Depot Co-founder Langone: ‘This President is Beyond Help’, Obama’s ‘Unpresidential’ Behavior Destroying Economy, Country

By Forrest Jones – “The United States will work its way through the debt ceiling crisis and probably avoid a default but President Barack Obama’s “unpresidential” behavior during the process has fueled division and suspicion to the extent that the damage of his actions will endure, says Home Depot co-founder and former New York Stock Exchange director Ken Langone.

‘He’s not bringing us together. He’s willfully dividing us. He’s petulant,’ Langone told CNBC.

‘This guy worked like hell to be president … Behave like a president. Let me look to you as a model of how we should behave. So what does he say: fat cats, jet airplanes, what’s the purpose?’

That purpose, Langone says is to divide the nation by accusing others of not doing their fair share to contribute to the country’s finances, said Langone, now chairman and CEO of investment bank Invemed Associates.

‘Divide us and we all lose. And this has got to stop. And if he’s listening, or one of his people are listening, and you can quote me exactly for what I say, he is not acting presidential, he is behaving in a way designed in my opinion to divide us and make us look at each other with skepticism, with suspicion. That’s the end of America as we know it when that happens.'” Read more.

July 18, 2011: Democratic Las Vegas Business CEO Steve Wynn Blasts Obama’s Failed Business Policies – “I believe in Las Vegas. I think its best days are ahead of it. But I’m afraid to do anything in the current political environment in the United States. You watch television and see what’s going on on this debt ceiling issue. And what I consider to be a total lack of leadership from the President and nothing’s going to get fixed until the President himself steps up and wrangles both parties in Congress… And I’m saying it bluntly, that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime. And I can prove it and I could spend the next 3 hours giving you examples of all of us in this market place that are frightened to death about all the new regulations, our healthcare costs escalate, regulations coming from left and right…” Read more.

UK: Shocking Rise in Hate Crimes Against Jewish Community in Europe

Facts are facts, and Europe is being thrown back 70 years into the past …

By Paul Britton and Neal Keeling – “Anti-Jewish hate crime has rocketed by one third in Greater Manchester – with the region for the first time suffering more attacks than London.

Shocking new figures show there were 121 anti-Semitic incidents – including assaults, desecration, threats and abuse – in the first six months of the year.

That compares to 98 in Greater London – despite the capital having a Jewish population six times the size.

The news comes just days after taxi driver Taha Osman, from Blackley, escaped jail after hurling racist abuse outside Manchester’s King David School.

The 36-year-old screamed ‘all Jewish children must die’ in front of horrified onlookers. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order.

The new figures were published by the Community Security Trust, a charity working to protect Jewish communities from crime.

They revealed the number of anti-Semitic incidents across the region rose from 95 in the first six months of 2010 to 121 this year. The data included 29 assaults, 10 reports of damage or desecration, nine cases of threats being made, and 73 incidents of abuse – including hate mail and anti-Semitic graffiti.” Read more.

Anti-Semitism Among Muslim Immigrants in Europe – “It was a fairly unique conference in the German city of Cologne on May 29. A highly interesting topic was being discussed: ‘Dimensions of Anti-Semitism in a Society of Immigrants.’ The focus was largely on Muslim immigrants in Europe, notably in Germany, France and Britain. Within that Muslim immigrant community anti-Jewish sentiments are still fairly common. Anti-Semitism has been exported by these immigrants from their home countries to Europe. Anti-Semitism is deeply rooted in Muslim countries such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has recently been accused of being ‘a Jew’ by a number of his opponents…” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Muslims are the new Nazis of Europe’ – “Well, we already knew it, but now there’s confirmation: Muslims are the new Nazis of Europe. They are responsible for at least 50% (and probably far more) of the anti-Semitic hate crimes in Europe. Don’t be shocked if that number gets mirrored here (the FBI refuses to keep publicly-released statistics on the heritage of hate-crime perpetrators here–gee, I wonder why; might get in the way of their ‘outreach’ to extremist Muslims)…” Read more.

Flashback: Jews leave Swedish city after sharp rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes from Muslim immigrants – “When she first arrived in Sweden after her rescue from a Nazi concentration camp, Judith Popinski was treated with great kindness. She raised a family in the city of Malmo, and for the next six decades lived happily in her adopted homeland – until last year. In 2009, a chapel serving the city’s 700-strong Jewish community was set ablaze. Jewish cemeteries were repeatedly desecrated, worshippers were abused on their way home from prayer, and ‘Hitler’ was mockingly chanted in the streets by masked men. ‘I never thought I would see this hatred again in my lifetime, not in Sweden anyway,’ Mrs Popinski told The Sunday Telegraph. ‘This new hatred comes from Muslim immigrants. The Jewish people are afraid now.'” Read more.