Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word (Video)

By Jefferson Bethke – “A poem I wrote to highlight the difference between Jesus and false religion. In the scriptures Jesus received the most opposition from the most religious people of his day. At it’s core Jesus’ gospel and the good news of the Cross is in pure opposition to self-righteousness/self-justification. Religion is man centered, Jesus is God-centered. This poem highlights my journey to discover this truth. Religion either ends in pride or despair. Pride because you make a list and can do it and act better than everyone, or despair because you can’t do your own list of rules and feel ‘not good enough’ for God. With Jesus though you have humble confident joy because He represents you, you don’t represent yourself and His sacrifice is perfect putting us in perfect standing with God!”

Indonesia: 25 Volcanoes Now Under Alert or Watch Status for Showing Abnormal Activity

Padang, West Sumatra – “Twenty-five volcanoes in Indonesia are now showing abnormal activity or have been put on alert or watch status, presidential special aide Andi Arief said here on Saturday.

‘According to official data, 25 volcanoes are now under alert or watch status and they must be given priority with regard to disaster mitigation planning at district or city levels,’ he said at a workshop on journalists’ role in disaster management.

He said in West Sumatra there were two volcanoes that need to be closely watched, namely Mount Marapi and Mount Talang, as they are still under alert status.

Mount Marapi is located in Agam and Tanahdatar districts and rises 2891 meters above sea level, and Mount Talang (2597 meters above sea level) in Solok district was located around 40 kilometers from the provincial capital Padang.

Apart from the two volcanoes, the government and regional disaster management agencies were also giving priority attention to Mount Papandayan in West Java, Mount Karangetan and Lokon in North Sulawesi, Mount Ijen in East Java, Mount Gamalama in North Maluku, Mount Krakatau in Banten and Lampung and Mount Lewoloto in East Nusa Tenggara.” Read more.

Tunisia: Crowd Chants ‘Killing the Jews is a Duty’ While Attending Speech by Hamas PM Ismail Haniya (Video)

Glorification of death and genocide has become a serious rallying cry lately, and not just from the Ayatollahs in Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.  Over the past year alone we’ve been hearing loud and clear from the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, to the Palestinian Authority and Fatah in the West Bank, to the clerics of Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian people as a whole, and even from Islamists living as far away as America and Europe. With one mind they speak loud and clear to the ends of the earth of their thirst and yearning for the death of all Jews.  And now this same sentiment is being reflected by the “liberated” people of Tunisia …

A Taste of Islam: An Interview with Bill Warner

By Mark Tapson – “In the years after the 9/11 attacks, more non-Muslims than ever before have studied Islam to understand the religious motives of those who had declared war on us. And yet non-believers who are alarmed at what they have found in the foundational texts of Islam are always told by apologists that we don’t understand the true Koran, that we labor under misconceptions about the Religion of Peace, that we don’t understand the complexities of sharia, that our objections and criticisms stem from racism (even though Islam is not a race) and an irrational fear of Islam and its adherents. The problem always seems to lie with us. What is the truth and how can we get to it behind the contradictions and the mystification?

Bill Warner has the answer. The founder and director of the Center for the Study of Political Islam (CSPI), he holds a PhD in physics and math. He has been a university professor, a businessman, and an applied physicist. But Dr. Warner has also had a lifelong interest in religion and its impact on history, and so the day after 9/11 he decided to make the source texts of Islam available for the average person who wants to know more.

As part of that effort, Mr. Warner has produced a dozen books, including a Koran, a biography of Mohammed and a summary of the political traditions of Mohammed. He writes articles and produces news bulletins that record the suffering of the victims of political Islam. And he has spoken nationally and internationally about Islamic political doctrine.

This Tuesday in Los Angeles, Mr. Warner will present ‘A Taste of Islam.’ See here for information about attending.

Mark Tapson: Mr. Warner, your background is in physics and mathematics. How did you come to devote yourself to the study of religion and to feel compelled to share your insights on political Islam? How did the field of statistics shape your perspective on Islam?

Bill Warner: I was raised in a very religious family and read the Bible a great deal. I studied physics and math, but my interest in religion expanded to the effects of religion on history. After graduate school I was attracted to mysticism and Eastern religions. So, forty years ago, I looked into Sufism, mystical Islam. I went to Sufi dances, learned zikr (a Sufi devotional practice), met Sufi masters and read Sufi literature. But, there was always this jarring background noise of the history of Islam. So, I left my study of Sufism.

Twenty years later as a professor I had Muslims in my classes and they sparked my interest in the Koran. It was a tough read, but I read it cover to cover. The text was literally a puzzle, but I set it aside until 9/11.

On 9/11 as soon as the second plane hit the second tower, I

Russia: African Swine Fever Marches Across Country, Forces Farm to Kill All 30,736 of its Pigs

“Russia has been dealing with African swine fever (ASF) in its swine herd since 2007 and the virus keeps marching across the country. This has prompted serious concerns about the prospect of the virus spreading into other Eastern European countries.

Now, a southern Russian farm had to slaughter all 30,736 of its pigs because of ASF, reports Bloomberg News. The pigs belonged to the Plemzavod Industrialny farm, located in the southern Russian Krasnodar region.

These hogs generally went to supply pork to local markets in the region, according to Alexei Alekseenko, a spokesman for Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s food-safety agency.

This marks the country’s largest outbreak of the virus, and consequent culling. The animal carcasses are typically burned and buried.

ASF was reported in a major agricultural breeding plant located a few kilometers out of Timashevsk city earlier this week. In that complex 98 pigs deaths had been registered.

According to the region’s veterinary services officials, pig deaths also were registered in several nearby private farms, and there is suspicion that the animals also died from ASF.” Read more.

India: ‘Totally Drug-Resistant’ Tuberculosis Strain Worries Doctors

“(CBS/AP) Totally drug-resistant tuberculosis? That’s what doctors are calling the long-feared and virtually untreatable form of the killer lung disease that’s striking people in India.

It’s not the first time highly resistant cases like this have been seen. Since 2003, patients have been documented in Italy and Iran. It has mostly been limited to impoverished areas, and has not spread widely. But experts believe there could be many undocumented cases.

The airborne disease is mainly transmitted through close personal contact and isn’t nearly as contagious as the flu. Most cases of this ‘drug-resistant’ TB have not been from person-to-person infection but mutations that have occurred in poorly treated patients. No one expects the Indian TB strains to rapidly spread elsewhere.

Is this particular disease actually drug-resistant? There is still debate within the public health community – the World Health Organization hasn’t accepted the term, calling the cases ‘extensively drug-resistant TB,’ or XDR. But Dr. Paul Nunn, a coordinator at the WHO’s Stop TB Department in Geneva, said there is ample proof that these virtually untreatable cases do exist.

‘It is concerning,’ said Dr. Kenneth Castro, director of the CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. ‘Anytime we see something like this, we better get on top of it before it becomes a more widespread problem.'” Read more.

India: New, Deadlier Form of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Strikes Mumbai and Ratnagiri – “The TB menace in India is likely to grow worse with the new, deadlier form of virus detected in Mumbai. 12 tuberculosis patients at Hinduja Hospital in Mahim, Mumbai have been found to have a virus which has been termed Totally Drug Resistant (TDR) – TB. The viruses were isolated in the fluid samples of the patients. This virus has the latest and most severe form of drug resistance in TB viruses after the Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR-TB), and Extremely Drug-Resistant (EDR-TB) varieties diagnosed a while back.” Read more.

Australia: Researcher Baffled as 53 Dead Seals Wash Ashore Along Southern Australian Beaches

“More than 50 New Zealand fur seals have washed up dead on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula and will be examined at Adelaide University to determine how they died.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said the bodies of 51 juveniles and two young adults were found near Port Lincoln and at Wanna Beach in the Lincoln National Park.

Dr Lucy Woolford from Adelaide University says three seals have been collected for post-mortem examinations, which will be conducted on Tuesday morning.

‘These seals appear to have died a few days ago, so they’re in a state of decomposition so we’re trying to see how much information we can gain from those,’ she said.

‘[We have found] no immediate signs of injury from the seals we’ve looked at so far.’

The South Australian Museum’s mammal researcher, zoologist Dr Catherine Kemper, says she has never heard of so many deaths in one instance before.” Read more.

Iran and the Strait of Hormuz – Where in Bible Prophecy?

By Jack Smith

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow channel of water (thirty-four miles wide at its narrowest point) that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and from there to the oceans of the world.  The Strait is bordered by Iran to its north and the United Arab Emirates to its south. It is the only means of water tanker-shipping for Persian Gulf petroleum to the oil-thirsty nations of the world. On a typical day, 15.5 million barrels of oil are shipped through the Strait.

In recent days, Iran has threatened to close the Strait, by force, since the Obama administration has implemented expanded economic sanctions that will reduce Iran’s oil exports and oil revenues.  The United States Naval Fifth Fleet responded publicly by stating it will defend the Strait against any attempts by Iran to close it. On Thursday, 1/12/2012, the LA Times reported that the U.S. had recently increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf to include additional troops and warships (in Kuwait). The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, traveled to Israel on Saturday, 1/14/2012, to meet with Israel’s military leadership.  Further, Russia recently announced its opposition to additional economic sanctions against Iran, even if Tehran presses ahead with uranium enrichment. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitri Rogozin, stated that Iran is its neighbor; and, any military action against Iran would be considered a direct threat against Russia.  This post discusses whether Iran or the Strait of Hormuz, or both, have a significant role in end-times Bible prophecies.