Krauthammer is again trying to get through the thick skulls of policy makers and citizens. His point is accurate. Again – what is involved in the Iran-Israel dynamic is ultimately a spiritual matter. Working solely from a secular POV is dangerous and wrong. His recent article shows half the spiritual component of the situation between these two countries. The other half of the formula is from the perspective of God and His prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.
Category: Religion
in the corner
Cutting through the US-Israeli debate over where to put “red lines” for Iran, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Monday night, Sept. 3 that Iran would hit US bases in the Middle East in response to any Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities, even if the Americans were not involved in the attack…Netanyahu called a special cabinet meeting for Tuesday, Sept. 4 with the participation of the heads of Israel’s clandestine services, Military Intelligence, the Mossad, the Shin Bet and the Foreign Office Research Division, to hear their annual report.
It is likely to go on all day with updates on the situation in Syria, Egypt and Jordan – all weighty topics. But the agenda will certainly be topped with a detailed rundown on the current state of Iran’s nuclear program.
After that rundown, the prime minister and defense minister will enter the final decision-making stage on war against Iran.
Nasrallah carried a triple message from Tehran to Washington and Jerusalem:
1. Iran believes an Israeli attack will take place before the US presidential election on Nov. 6;
2. Tehran is drawing on a powerful deterrent: Lest anyone expected a low-key Iranian response to an attack on its nuclear facilities, the Hizballah leader put them right when he said, “the response will be very great” and “America bears responsibility.”
3. By putting Nasrallah out front as a leading Iranian spokesman, Khamenei signaled that Hizballah would take an active role in the coming conflict.
DEBKAfile: The chatter about “red lines” in the last few days has therefore had the effect of stirring the Iranians into preempting them by a single sharp stroke.
2 cents:
Israel, specifically Netanyahu and the government has made the same mistake many other leaders in Israel’s history have made. A nation brought into existence by God’s calling out of Abram – they have looked solely at a fellow man as a protector for their people. Over the period of time since their recognition as a nation by world governments and the UN, they have again grown entangled in the devices of other governments and took their eyes off God. It ALWAYS has devastating repercussions. In the early days of the modern era of Israel, God delivered them repeatedly from their enemies. But as they have grown, become successful and more secularized they have sought leagues with other nations and allowed themselves to become pawns for other kings. In the current scenario that is unfolding, Netanyahu has placed too much trust and power into the CES’ hands. Now after many days have went passed which have allowed not only continual progress of nuclear technology to be realized in Iran, it has also allowed for strategy and resources to be determined and allocated for a swift and much heavier handed response to a military action in Iran. All because of Netanyahu placing his faith and country’s well-being in the last two administrations of the USA government. Israel is now backed into a corner and the corner man is the CES and he is not known for his ability to lead or make the right decision.
The spiritual dynamic to the Middle East conflicts are being overlooked because society on a whole is secularized. How ignorant of the human race!
‘Tumour’ of Israel will soon be destroyed
“The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour,” Ahmadinejad said.
“The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land…. A new Middle East will definitely be formed. With the grace of God and help of the nations, in the new Middle East there will be no trace of the Americans and Zionists,” he said.
2 cents:
Why Ahmadinejad hopes to incite a full war in the Middle East soon is a question I am not sure any sane mind can accurately answer. His level of hate and toxic words seems to mirror those of Hitler. I think that the today’s MSM commentators and analysts will omit an important dimension to what is brewing in Tehran which is the spiritual component. Of course such words on my point would make many if not a majority of people discount what I am writing and others would be screaming “slippery slope”, “diversity” or some other PC concept. Yet mention it I shall, Ahmadinejad’s hatred and rhetoric is… what would be the right word? Supernatural?
| — adj | |
| 1. | of or relating to things that cannot be explained according tonatural laws |
| 2. | characteristic of or caused by or as if by a god; miraculous |
| 3. | of, involving, or ascribed to occult beings |
| 4. | exceeding the ordinary; abnormal |
| — n | |
| 5. | the supernatural supernatural forces, occurrences, andbeings collectively or their realm |
supernatural. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved August 17, 2012, from Dictionary.com website:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/supernatural
Symptoms pointing to a diagnosis
Great article on the Amateur, the CES – our president.
2 cents: Hopefully many millions of USA citizens are wanting systemic change in our government on election day. Hopefully those many millions will be the majority. Still the greatest resource the incumbent has this election is the Republican party’s candidate. I’m sure many voters are also quite leery of Romney and his Mormon background. I also think this election is yet more proof that the average Christian is only actually Christian on Sunday, major holidays and when death seems near. That is an abysmal Christianity which points at one large reason our society and culture has degenerated so swiftly over the last hundred years. By definition according to the Bible’s definition of the word Christian (Acts 11:26) whom we label as Christians would not be called that. We would likely grouped with Demas (2Timothy 4:10) who Paul said had forsaken him because he loved this present world. The other reason why Mormonism is not being seriously discussed during this election is because it would divide the Romney vote which would seal the victory for the incumbent. Hence our predicament. I guess that the hope is that Romney’s religion will actually be in name only and not impact his worldview and decisions he makes, like many who call themselves Christians.
The big elephant in the room that no one is addressing in MSM is the teachings of Mormonism. It is joked only on when referring to holy underwear and by making it a joke it is easily disregarded. Below is some information in a succinct way from the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM)
So I and in reality – many – have a difficult choice on Election Day; which I am still mulling over how best to use my vote. Sad commentary on the state of each political party and our nation that these two gentlemen are the supposed cream of the crop.
These are Mormon beliefs
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known as the Mormons, teaches that God the father used to be a man on another planet, that he became a God by following the laws and ordinances of that God on that planet and came to this world with his wife (she became a goddess), and that they produce a spirit offspring in heaven. These spirit offspring, which includes Jesus, the devil, and you and me, are all brothers and sisters born in the preexistence. The preexistence spirits come down and inhabit babies at the time of birth and their memories of the preexistence are lost at the time. Furthermore, faithful Mormons, who pay a full 10% tithe of their income to the Mormon church through Mormon temples, have the potential of becoming gods of their own planets and are then able to start the procedure over again.
Is it Christian? No.
If you were to go to any Christian bookstore and look in the non-Christian cult section you will see numerous books on Mormonism that document Mormon beliefs as aberrant and un-Biblical. The Mormon Church is not considered a Christian church.
This is not simply an opinion that they are false; it is a fact that they teach abberant and unchristian theology. In fact, Jesus warned us about such groups when he said in Matthew 24:24 that in the last days many false Christs and false prophets will arise and deceive many. Mormonism is exactly that, a manifestation of a false prophet: Joseph Smith, who taught all these things.
The Bible does not teach that God came from another planet, or that he has a goddess wife, or that we can become gods. In fact, the Bible clearly and definitely contradicts those teachings. But, the Mormon Church responds by saying that the Bible is not really trustworthy, that the true faith was lost, and that its leader, Joseph Smith, restored the so-called “true” Christian faith: god from another world, becoming gods, goddess mother, etc. Of course, the Mormon Church’s claim is not true.
One question to ask the Mormon Church as a whole is why is it that it does not appoint a representative to publicly debate and answer the challenges of competent Christians who know not only the Bible, but what Mormonism teaches? Why is it that the Mormon Church refuses to have open dialogue and appoint a representative who would attempt to defend the LDS teachings from the Bible? Why does it refuse to do this? I believe it is because it doesn’t want to be made to look bad.
Mormon Beliefs documented
Please note that these teachings are documented from Mormon writers, not anti-Mormon writers:
- Book of Mormon
- The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 461.)
- Devil, the
- The Devil was born as a spirit after Jesus “in the morning of pre-existence,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 192.)
- Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and we were all born as siblings in heaven to them both, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163.)
- God
- God used to be a man on another planet (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321; Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, vol. 5, p. 613-614; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 345; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 333).
- “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as mans…” (D&C 130:22).
- God, becoming a god
- After you become a good Mormon, you have the potential of becoming a god (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-347, 354).
- “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them,” (DC 132:20).
- God, many gods
- There are many gods (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163).
- “And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light: and there was light,” (Book of Abraham 4:3).
- God, mother goddess
- There is a mother god (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 443).
- God is married to his goddess wife and has spirit children (Mormon Doctrine, p. 516).
- God, Trinity
- The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. “That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other, is demonstrated by the accepted records of divine dealings with man,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 35).
- Heaven
- There are three levels of heaven: telestial, terrestrial, and celestial (Mormon Doctrine, p. 348).
- Holy Ghost, the
- The Holy Ghost is a male personage (A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Le Grand Richards, Salt Lake City, 1956, p. 118; Journal of Discources, vol. 5, p. 179).
- Jesus
- “Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body . . . of flesh and bones,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 38).
- “The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood – was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115).
- “Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh …” (First Presidency and Council of the Twelve, 1916, God the Father, compiled by Gordon Allred, p. 150).
- Joseph Smith
- If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation. There is no salvation [the context is the full gospel including exaltation to Godhood] outside the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Doctrine, p. 670).
- Pre-existence
- We were first begotten as spirit children in heaven and then born naturally on earth (Journal of Discourse, vol. 4, p. 218).
- The first spirit to be born in heaven was Jesus (Mormon Doctrine, p. 129).
- The Devil was born as a spirit after Jesus “in the morning of pre-existence,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 192).
- Salvation
- “One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation,” (Miracle of Forgiveness, by Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206).
- A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus’ plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to “deny men their agency and to dethrone god,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 193; Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 8).
- Jesus’ sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, (murder and repeated adultery are exceptions), (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, 1856, p. 247).
- Good works are necessary for salvation (Articles of Faith, p. 92).
- There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 188).
- “The first effect [of the atonement] is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall, thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure remission of personal sins (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 78-79).
- “As these sins are the result of individual acts it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements — ‘obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel,'” (Articles of Faith, p. 79).
- “This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts,” (LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 697).
- “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” (2 Nephi 25:23).
- Trinity, the
- The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. “That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other, is demonstrated by the accepted records of divine dealings with man,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 35).
Creator or Liar?
information, ideas, thinking and the truth
I came across an interesting article this morning at the NYT titled The Elusive Big Idea. Some of the interesting, thought provoking quotes are:
“If our ideas seem smaller nowadays, it’s not because we are dumber than our forebears but because we just don’t care as much about ideas as they did. In effect, we are living in an increasingly post-idea world — a world in which big, thought-provoking ideas that can’t instantly be monetized are of so little intrinsic value that fewer people are generating them and fewer outlets are disseminating them, the Internet notwithstanding.”
“It is no secret, especially here in America, that we live in a post-Enlightenment age in which rationality, science, evidence, logical argument and debate have lost the battle in many sectors, and perhaps even in society generally, to superstition, faith, opinion and orthodoxy. While we continue to make giant technological advances, we may be the first generation to have turned back the epochal clock — to have gone backward intellectually from advanced modes of thinking into old modes of belief. But post-Enlightenment and post-idea, while related, are not exactly the same.
Post-Enlightenment refers to a style of thinking that no longer deploys the techniques of rational thought. Post-idea refers to thinking that is no longer done, regardless of the style.”
“The real cause may be information itself. It may seem counterintuitive that at a time when we know more than we have ever known, we think about it less.
We live in the much vaunted Age of Information. Courtesy of the Internet, we seem to have immediate access to anything that anyone could ever want to know. We are certainly the most informed generation in history, at least quantitatively. There are trillions upon trillions of bytes out there in the ether — so much to gather and to think about.”
“In effect, we are living within the nimbus of an informational Gresham’s law in which trivial information pushes out significant information, but it is also an ideational Gresham’s law in which information, trivial or not, pushes out ideas.
We prefer knowing to thinking because knowing has more immediate value. It keeps us in the loop, keeps us connected to our friends and our cohort. Ideas are too airy, too impractical, too much work for too little reward. Few talk ideas. Everyone talks information, usually personal information. Where are you going? What are you doing? Whom are you seeing? These are today’s big questions.”
“The implications of a society that no longer thinks big are enormous. Ideas aren’t just intellectual playthings. They have practical effects.”
“No doubt there will be those who say that the big ideas have migrated to the marketplace, but there is a vast difference between profit-making inventions and intellectually challenging thoughts. Entrepreneurs have plenty of ideas, and some, like Steven P. Jobs of Apple, have come up with some brilliant ideas in the “inventional” sense of the word.
Still, while these ideas may change the way we live, they rarely transform the way we think. They are material, not ideational. It is thinkers who are in short supply, and the situation probably isn’t going to change anytime soon.
We have become information narcissists, so uninterested in anything outside ourselves and our friendship circles or in any tidbit we cannot share with those friends that if a Marx or a Nietzsche were suddenly to appear, blasting his ideas, no one would pay the slightest attention, certainly not the general media, which have learned to service our narcissism.
What the future portends is more and more information — Everests of it. There won’t be anything we won’t know. But there will be no one thinking about it.
Think about that.”
2 cents: While reading this article, two Bible verses came to mind.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4 KJV)
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away….Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7 KJV)
In the above quotes I underlined a few words and phrases.
I find myself struggling with information overload and a lot if not most of it, is usually of no real value. The concept of studying about a subject, pouring over it to learn, grasp and be a master of a subject has given way to typing into what you think is the most powerful search engine so as to give you the information you wanted before and simply bookmark it so if you need you can get to it. My bookmarkers are like my bookshelves in that they are buy genre but unlike my books a lot of them I have not read. They are saved in the event. The goal to increase my exposure and reach to information and data, yet little processing has occurred. What has ended up happening is exposure not saturation. Surface level not depth. If one does not have saturation and depth, then how can one speak or think and develop ideas? The result – instead – is opinion. Let’s be honest, we know the analogy about opinions. What makes one’s opinion of real value is that it is based on knowledge, understanding and experience.
From an eternal perspective the verses point to the reality that though information increases, the people are further from the truth and understanding it. The majority of the human race that even believes in an afterlife and eternity has decided their opinion is what counts and if there is a supreme being then that being will have to take their opinion into account and that it will matter. But the truth is He will take it into account and its matter will be that it was incorrect and now the human being faces an eternity in a place that no person in their right mind would want to even spend a minute in it and yet they will now reside and endure life there forever.
John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 17:17: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
2Peter 2:2: And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Hope, Levity and Wonder 