The following articles are compiled by:

Leo Wong

Leo@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

New ecumenical organization to meet

Source: Christian Science Monitor

 

February 9, 2007 -- In a time of deep religious division and tension, many American churches are joining in a fresh bid for greater Christian unity. After five years of discussion and prayer, church leaders are to meet Wednesday in Pasadena, Calif., in the official launch of an ecumenical body – Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT). Its mission: "to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world."

 

In its inclusiveness, CCT offers a striking contrast to religious dissension in the political arena. The group involves churches from all five Christian "families" – Catholics, Evangelicals and Pentecostals, Mainline Protestants, Orthodox, and racial or ethnic churches – and represents the broadest ecumenical fellowship ever formed in this country.

 

Comments:  First off, I want to say that I believe Christian Science is a cult. I have used this article (in part) to peek in to see what kind of agenda the Devil has out there to deceive the religious world.

 

Years ago, there was the formation of Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) and now the CCT.  What’s next on the religious unity horizon?  The One World Church (OWC)?  You can bet your storm warning that’s where we’re headed.  The snowball that’s called Ecumenism headed by the Roman Catholic Church is rolling down the ski slope and it will grow into a boulder size unholy monstrosity that will be headed by the False Prophet as spoken of in Revelation 17:[4] And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.  Headquartered in pagan Rome, the OWC will force Earth’s citizens to worship the image of the Beast Antichrist and not God.

 

All this talk about Christian unity is to gather together all faiths and religions into one, but leave Jesus out of the equation.  Unity without scripturally correct doctrines and Holy Spirit led obedience to God’s Word is abhorrent to God.  God implores us to be separate from those who preach erroneous doctrines of demons and who walk according to the lust of the flesh.  Revelation 18:[4] And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

 

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Evangelical bishop opposes display of early human fossils

Source: Star-Telegram.com

 

February 9, 2007 -- Deep in the dusty, unlit corridors of Kenya's national museum, locked away in a plain-looking cabinet, is one of mankind's oldest relics: Turkana Boy, as he is known, the most complete skeleton of a prehistoric human ever found.

 

But his first public display later this year is at the heart of a growing storm pitting scientists against Kenya's powerful and popular evangelical Christian movement. The evolution vs. creationism debate has arrived in a country known as the cradle of mankind.

 

"I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it," says Bishop Boniface Adoyo, head of Kenya's 35 evangelical denominations, which he says have 10 million followers. "These sorts of silly views are killing our faith."

 

He's calling on his flock to boycott the exhibition and has demanded that the museum relegate the fossil collection to a backroom, along with some kind of notice stating that evolution is not a fact but one of a number of theories.

 

Against him is one of the planet's best-known fossil hunters, Richard Leakey, whose team unearthed the bones at Nariokotome in West Turkana, in the desolate far northern reaches of Kenya, in 1984.

 

"Whether the bishop likes it or not, Turkana Boy is a distant relation of his," said Leakey, who founded the museum's prehistory department. "The bishop is descended from the apes, and these fossils tell how he evolved."

 

Among the 160,000 fossils due to go on display is an imprint of a lizard left in sedimentary rock dating back 200 million years, at a time when the Earth's continents were only beginning to separate.

 

Dinosaur fossils and a bone from an early human ancestor, dating back 7 million years, will also be on display along with the bones of short-necked giraffes and elephants whose tusks protrude from their lower jaws.

 

They provide the clearest record yet of evolution and the origins of man, scientists say.

 

Comments:  Bishop Boniface Adoyo is a wise man indeed.  He believes 100% in creation as extolled in the Book of Genesis.  There’s no wavering with the bishop.  God said it and he takes God at His Word.  Now, that’s solid faith!

 

Evolution is simply a theory and not a proven fact.  Its many proponents labor night and day trying to come up with proof to support the Devil’s doctrine which to declares that there’s no God, no punishment for sins, and no Lake of Fire.  All the so called dating mechanisms are dubious at best.  How does one know some fossil is 64 million years old rather than 140 million years?

 

Human history is about 6,007 years old.  The “gap” theory is just that, a theory that some Christians say explains what happened between the first and second verses of Genesis Chapter 1.  They believe that God destroyed animal life during that gap in time figured to be millions of years which would account for prehistoric dinosaurs.  The majority of Christians are opposed to that supposition saying that Adam and Eve were the first human sinners and as a consequence, animals had to die as a result.  Baby dinosaurs went into Noah’s ark.  They lived until the ice age and excessive hunting killed most of them.  They believe that a few dinosaurs have survived and may be roaming in some obscure jungles.

 

The bottom line is:  Given all these theories and fossils with indeterminate age, would you side with the scientists or place your faith in God’s Word.  I choose the latter.  To do otherwise will shake one’s faith and endanger one’s soul.  1 Timothy 6:[20] O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.

 

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Will Pope Benedict become a Mormon after he dies?

Source: YAHOO NEWS!

 

February 10, 2007 -- Pope Benedict was baptized at birth and will most likely be baptized again one year after his death, not by his Roman Catholic Church but by a Mormon he never met.

 

The Mormons, a U.S.-based denomination officially named the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), encourage members to baptize the dead by proxy in the belief they are helping the deceased attain full access to heaven.

 

Church members are told to focus on their ancestors, a rite understandable in a relatively new denomination founded in 1830. But so many now perform the rituals for celebrities, heroes and perfect strangers that the practice has spun out of control.

 

Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, King Herod, Al Capone and Mickey Mouse have all appeared for a short time in the International Genealogical Index for proxy baptisms, said Helen Radkey, a researcher specialized in the IGI.

 

So Benedict looks set to join his predecessor John Paul and a centuries-long list of popes Mormons have baptized -- despite the fact that he, back when he was the Vatican's top doctrinal authority, ruled that Mormon baptisms were not even Christian.

 

"There is no reason theologically why a former Pope or any other church leader shouldn't be offered the same opportunity given to the rest of mankind," Farah said.

 

Comments:  Baptism for the dead cannot save a soul nor increase the likelihood that the deceased will be headed for Heaven.  Nothing on this side of life other than the blood of Jesus Christ can wash our sins away (see 1 John 1:7).  A belief in any other doctrine is a guaranteed one way ticket to Hell.  The Vatican is right about Mormons not being Christian despite their protestations.  Just because a religious outfit has adopted the name of the Lord Jesus as part of their denomination doesn’t mean it’s of God.  Mormonism is a cult.  The irony is that here we have the kettle calling the teapot black when Roman Catholicism has been categorized as a cult as well by a few noted Christian writers.

 

Attention everyone!  How is it possible that the self proclaimed Vicar of Christ, the Pope, the spiritual leader of over 1.2 billion Catholics, is not even assured of Heaven?  Don’t you find that odd?  I do.  Even a good living, law abiding pope could die and end up in Hell.  Of course, being that he was the head honcho of the world’s No. 1 religious system, much prayers will be said for him and if per chance a miracle that occurred could be tied to him, he might be canonized as a saint just like Mother Theresa was.  With the RCC, no one is assured Heaven no matter what kind of life they’ve led.  Many have to spend their allotted time in purgatory.  Where in the Bible is all this found?  The answer is nowhere.  It’s all manmade and designed to make the RCC the world’s wealthiest institution dwarfing Bill Gates, the Bronfmans, ‘Sir’ Richard Branson, the Gettys, the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Buffets, and Gillettes together.

 

Satan is ever so clever.  He gets his own minions competing against each other thus duping those who aren’t in the know.  It’s akin to Canada’s Best Buy being located a few blocks from a Futrueshop and having both of them supposedly in direct competition.  Many consumers aren’t aware that Best Buy owns Futureshop.  Similarly, we have here Mormons and Roman Catholics jousting about who can get people to Heaven when if fact, neither is able with the doctrines (baptism for the dead and infant baptism) and belief systems they espouse.

 

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Survey finds 300 million China religious believers

Source: BBC NEWS 

 

February 10, 2007 -- The number of religious believers in China could be three times higher than official estimates, according to a survey reported by state media.

 

A poll of 4,500 people by Shanghai university professors found 31.4% of people above the age of 16 considered themselves as religious.

 

This suggests 300 million people nationwide could be religious, compared to the official figure of 100 million.

 

The survey found that Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity and Islam are the country's five major religions - China considers Catholicism as separate to Christianity, which covers Protestantism.

 

About 200 million believers "are Buddhists, Taoists or worshippers of legendary figures such as the Dragon King and God of Fortune", the China Daily reported.

 

The survey also found a significant rise in Christianity - accounting for 12% of all believers, or 40 million, compared with the official figure of 16 million in 2005.

 

Comments:  When you first read the title of this news article, it strikes you that there are 300 million Christians in China while upon carefully reading the body of the article, that only 40 million professing Christians were stated.  The rest of the “believers” don’t believe in the Way, the Truth and the Life that’s in Jesus solely.  Even among the 40 million, how many are indeed true believers in Jesus.  Please keep in mind that although Protestant denominations have a far greater percentage of believers than the Roman Catholic Church does, many Protestant denominations are of the liberal humanistic mainline type that does not preach the pure Gospel of God.

 

The Chinese got it right in not including Catholics in Christianity.  So how many real Christians are there in China?  Well if the figures are even remotely accurate, there would be only about 20 million and that’s not a lot for a country that has over 1 billion souls.  If the Rapture were to occur at this very minute, China would not feel a ripple effect whereas, the U.S. would be decimated being that there are many more real Christians there and quite a few hold prominent jobs in defence, finance, services, etc.  The Rapture event would not disrupt this world too much except perhaps in America.  The removal of a miniscule number of real Christians would cause all those remaining to shout from the rooftop with immense relief and joy.  Finally, we’re rid of these fundamentalists who spoiled our fun and were our conscience.  Now, we can whoop it up as much as we want.  Even among those religious masses that were Left Behind, they will exude utter euphoria having finally achieved religious unity.  The worship of self will be very liberating, but it will be short‑lived as the Antichrist is revealed and he demands and gets worship.

 

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Russia’s President Putin: U.S. force encouraging nuclear ambitions

Source: CNN.com/Associated Press

 

February 11, 2007 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the United States Saturday for the "almost uncontained" use of force in the world, and for encouraging other countries to acquire nuclear weapons.

 

He also criticized U.S. plans for missile defense systems and NATO's expansion.

 

Putin told a security forum attracting top officials that "we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations" and that "one state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way.

 

"This is very dangerous, nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law," Putin told the gathering.

 

Putin did not elaborate on specifics and did not mention the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

 

But he voiced concern about U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in eastern Europe -- likely in Poland and the Czech Republic -- and the expansion of NATO as possible challenges to Russia.

 

He also dismissed suggestions that the European Union and NATO had the right to intervene alone in crisis regions. "The legitimate use of force can only done by the United Nations, it cannot be replaced by EU or NATO," he said.

 

Putin's comments to a weekend forum attended by 250 officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the international community is determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

 

Merkel said Tehran needed to accept demands made by the U.N. and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

 

"There is no way around this," Merkel said. "What we are talking about here is a very, very sensitive technology, and for that reason we need a high degree of transparency, which Iran has failed to provide, and if Iran does not do so then the alternative for Iran is to slip further into isolation."

 

Merkel, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, emphasized the international community's support for Israel and said there was a unified resolve to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

 

"We are determined to prevent the threat posed by an Iranian military nuclear program," she said.

 

Comments:  Everybody in the intelligence business knows that it was Russia which has provided the scientific know how and materials for Iran’s ambitious nuclear program. In exchange, Iran has guaranteed that the former Muslim Soviet republics would not stir up trouble along the border with the Russian Federation and that Russia would be supplied with cheap Iranian oil.  We’re talking about billions of U.S. dollars here.  Iran and Russia both hate Israel with a passion and their co-operative efforts to manufacture nukes to strike at Israel is so evident.

 

Russia blames the U.S. for causing Middle East and Persian Gulf states to acquire nukes.  Russia points to the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq as examples of U.S. aggression.  The small nations need to counter the American threat and nukes are the only viable solution.  Now that Iran is set to strut its stuff, the entire Free World is determined to deep six the Iranian’s program before it gets to Condition Red.  Any takeout of Iran’s fortified underground bunkers protecting its nuclear facilities is a declaration of war not only against Iran, but Russia as well.  Russia, after all, has a mutual defence pact with the Persians.  Russia President Putin has been taking his country back to the bad old days of the U.S.S.R. and he has increased military spending by 40%.  Russia’s relegation to No. 2 doesn’t sit too well with the prideful nation.

 

Of late, a few Bible prophecy authors (e.g. Hal Lindsey) and speakers (e.g. Joseph Farah) have expressed the thought that the prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about to be fulfilled.  They’ve said that the Russian, Iranian and radical Muslims nations’ invasion of Israel will be precipitated by the U.S.’s destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities to occur in the Spring of 2007.  Iran will retaliate by launching an electric magnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the Continental USA from cargo ships deploying Scud launchers to propel nukes 600 to 800 metres into the atmosphere over the USA just off the Atlantic coastline that will cripple the entire nation’s electric power grid causing countrywide panic and disruptions to communications, business, transportation, defence, food distribution and basic daily survival. The U.S. would find itself propelled back to the 19th century days of the horse and buggy since so much is dependent on electricity.  It might take months or years for the power grid and a sense of normality to be restored.  The aftermath will see the invaders amass a humongous conventional military to finally exact retribution on Israel who will no longer have Big Brother America as her protectorate.  Who’s going to stop the angry hoard?  It will be God Himself!!

 

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Lead actor Ted Neeley claims Jesus Christ Superstar has 'brought more people to Christianity than any other concept'

Source: csindy.com

 

Ted Neeley, who plays Jesus in the international tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, claims the rock opera has "brought more people to Christianity than any other concept because it takes Jesus off the stained glass window and puts him on the street where people walk."

 

Audience members validate Neeley's theory. After each performance, fans by the dozen come backstage to meet the actor and share personal stories about how his performance brought them to Christianity. Many of Neeley's fans saw him play Jesus in the film version of the rock opera when it was released in 1973. "A lot of people then were preteens, and apparently it helped them to achieve an epiphany that has stuck with them through their entire lives." says Neeley.

 

The actor treats these interactions with discretion. Neeley doesn't share the stories people tell him. "It's kind of personal, you know. It's almost like they're confessing things to me. "You're the reason that I became a Christian. Seeing you in this movie changed my life, made me look at spirituality in a much deeper fashion.'"

 

According to Neeley, the visitors are changed by the focus on Christ's humanity, versus a church sermon that focuses on Christ's divinity. Neeley says that in church, a preacher will often tell the story along with his opinion and lose believers.

 

Comments:  Hebrews 12:[2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Ted Neeley (and James Caviezel who also played Jesus in “The Passion of The Christ”) may very well be a clean living godly man outside the stage, but he’s not the Lord Jesus Christ.  God’s Word nowhere exhorts us to look to a man, but to His Son Jesus who alone is the spotless, unblemished Lamb of God.  To do otherwise is idolatry which God abhors.  Mr. Neeley is taking away the glory that is only due to Jesus.  It’s great that some in his audience have turned to Christianity and we can praise the Lord for that.  However, the converted ought to heap adulation on their Savior and not only Mr. Neeley.  The danger is that in the future, they might be let down if Mr. Neeley is caught speedy while intoxicated or he lets out a stream of profanities.  Jesus alone did not sin, could not sin and in Him was no sin.  Could Mr. Neeley say that about himself.  He’s a false Christ: Mark 13:[22] For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

 

This same principle applies to placing a Christian (no matter how godly) on a pedestal.  He thus becomes an object of special consideration.  Man is fallible and still has that old carnal nature that loves to sin.  In a moment of weakness, the flesh will act out its lust and desires and a fall results.  All those who thought so highly of that individual will be flabbergasted.  Their faith in that person takes a serious hit.  It’s for that reason we shouldn’t look at our brothers and sisters in the Lord, but only at Jesus for the finishing line that’s ahead of us.  Jesus will complete what He has started in us. 2 Timothy 1:[12] For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

 

 

 

 

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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