The following articles are compiled by:

Leo Wong

Leo@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

Focus on Family Founder James Dobson snubs Thompson, praises Gingrich

Source: www.usnews.com

 

March 30, 2007 -- Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday.

 

"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.

 

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Thompson, took issue with Dobson's characterization of the former Tennessee senator. "Thompson is indeed a Christian," he said. "He was baptized into the Church of Christ."

 

In a follow-up phone conversation, Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger stood by Dobson's claim. He said that, while Dobson didn't believe Thompson to be a member of a non-Christian faith, Dobson nevertheless "has never known Thompson to be a committed Christian—someone who talks openly about his faith."

 

"We use that word—Christian—to refer to people who are evangelical Christians," Schneeberger added. "Dr. Dobson wasn't expressing a personal opinion about his reaction to a Thompson candidacy; he was trying to 'read the tea leaves' about such a possibility."

 

Gingrich recently appeared on Dobson's daily Focus on the Family radio program, carried by upward of 2,000 American radio stations, where he made headlines by discussing an extramarital affair he was having even as he pursued impeachment against President Bill Clinton for his handling of the investigation into the Monica Lewinsky affair.

 

Dobson recently sat down with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at Focus on the Family's Colorado Springs headquarters, marking his only meeting to date with a top-tier Republican presidential candidate. While Dobson would not comment directly on the Romney meeting, he stood by comments he made late last year that many evangelicals would find it difficult to support Romney because of his Mormonism.

 

Comments:  Dr. James Dobson is treading dangerously here.  Although it appeared that Fred Thompson was solely relying on water baptism as the basis of his Christian faith which is a falsehood (because all you have is a sinner and a wet one at that!), Mr. Dobson isn’t God so he doesn’t really know if Fred Thompson is really saved or not.  Perhaps Mr. Thompson is really the Lord’s although he, like many believers today, aren’t of the “openly” evangelical type (the late former President Gerald Ford was a closet believer also).  Having said that, it’s possible for a person to extol conservative values and still be an unbeliever.  Many unsaved people (e.g. atheists) admire the virtues of the Bible.  God’s precepts make logical sense and to follow them would ensure law and order and respect for mankind in this topsy turvy world.

 

I take issues with Mr. Dobson’s support of Newt Gingrich for president.  Mr. Gingrich’s commission of adultery while he was attempting to remove President Clinton from the Oval House smacks of hypocrisy.  If Clinton was deemed unfit to lead the country so is Mr. Gingrich.  As for meeting with a Mormon named Mitt Romney, that was curious thing.  What was Mr. Dobson hoping to accomplish by conferring with a Mormon?  Convert him to Jesus Christ?  If yes, then the trip was well worth it.  If just to see what kind of platform Mitt Romney was running on, then the very idea of supporting a Mormon (an unbeliever who thinks we can all become little gods) to lead a nation that contain some 30 million Christians is being irresponsible. Looking down the list of prospective candidates from both the Republican and Democrat parties, we see a dearth of godly men and women living godly lives. This doesn’t bode well for a country that is being flushed down the toilet bowl through humanistic liberalism.  America’s decline is attributable to its immoral leaders.  Isaiah 9:[16] For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

 

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Chocolate Jesus stirs bitter controversy

Source: CNN.com/Reuters

 

March 30, 2007 --  A life-size sculpture of a naked Jesus made out of chocolate has angered a Roman Catholic organization and forced a Manhattan art gallery to reconsider exhibiting it during Easter week.

 

The sculpture "My Sweet Lord" by Cosimo Cavallaro was to be exhibited for two hours each day next week in a street-level window of the Roger Smith Lab Gallery in Midtown Manhattan.

 

It was set to open Monday, days before Good Friday when Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus.

 

"We're considering our options," Matthew Semler, the gallery's artistic director, said on Friday. "We're still assessing the situation."

 

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called for a boycott of the accompanying Roger Smith Hotel, writing to 500 religious and secular organizations.

 

"This is an assault on Christians during Holy Week," said Kiera McCaffrey, director of communications for the league, which describes itself the largest U.S. Catholic civil rights group.

 

"They would never dare do something similar with a chocolate statue of the prophet Mohammad naked with his genitals exposed during Ramadan," she said.

 

She was further irked by an unconfirmed report that Cavallaro invited the public to come take a bite out of the sculpture.

 

Semler said that was only a joke by the artist.

 

Comments:  The attacks on the personage of the Lord Jesus Christ are relentless.  Fueled by Satan himself, godless Christ rejecters are heaping derision and scorn on Jesus.  Their hatred of the Son of God manifests itself through blasphemous public portrayals.  God’s eternal judgment upon them will be greater than for an ordinary unbeliever.

 

Of course, if the prophet Mohammed was depicted this way, all of Islam would rail down hard on the irreverent perpetrators of the act.  But, it appears to be OK if Jesus was vilified this way.  The Roman Catholic Church (RCC), the greatest promoter (i.e. idolaters) of statutes of Mary and Jesus, is naturally offended.  The RCC, if it said nothing, could stand a chance of losing some of its members.  Its stance against the naked statute is commendable for all Christians ought to be outraged at this spectacle.  My Sweet Lord indeed!  Not for this rogue named Cosimo Cavallaro. Galatians 6:[7] Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

 

LATEST DEVELOPMENT:          Due to the growing protest, the chocolate Jesus sculpture has been canceled.  Thanks be to God!

 

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Javier Solana: Stage is being set for 'comprehensive Middle East peace'

Source: Jerusalem Post

 

March 31, 2007 -- Developments in the Middle East are pointing toward a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Arab world for the first time in decades, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Saturday.

 

"The Arab League for the first time in many years has assumed the responsibility to be more active in the peace process," Javier Solana said.

 

"If you put that together with the reaction of (Israeli) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the two things ... are beginning to construct the dynamic that could lead to the settlement of a crisis that has been with us for many years."

 

Comments:  Like a track and field meet, there are false starts and so it is with Middle East peace prospects.  Quite a few times in the past, e.g. the 1993 Oslo Accords and the Summer of 2000 Camp David II Summit, we thought Middle East peace was finally going to dawn in that region, but alas, the runners were ordered back to the starting line.  The Palestinians and their Arab brethren nixed the deals both times.

 

This time around, being that the Saudis have proposed a made in Arabia peace plan, the probability of success is higher.  That and the enormous pressure being brought down on Israel by the U.S. and the EU’s Javier Solana to divide the land of Israel, it’s only a matter of mere months perhaps that peace will be declared.  Also, we’re not only referring to the Palestinian situation, but to Arab nations such as Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc., i.e. the entire Arab League (Iran excluded).  Senor Solana and others have prepared the groundwork and now, they’re ready to pass the baton to the awaiting Antichrist to consummate the peace deals.  Can the Rapture event be far away?!  Isaiah 28:[15] Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: [18] And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

 

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Mystery nun speaks out on Pope John Paul's 'miracle'

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

 

March 31, 2007 -- A nun who claims prayers to the late Pope John Paul II cured her of Parkinson's disease spoke for the first time about the professed miracle today.

 

Her testimony could play a vital part in the campaign to beatify John Paul II.

 

Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, a 46-year-old French nun, told reporters in Aix-en-Provence she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, in June 2001. She said her life had totally changed since her recovery in 2005, exactly two months after the death of the John Paul. "For me, it is a bit like a second birth," she said.

 

She stopped short of declaring her recovery a miracle, saying it was for the church to decide but doctors have been mystified by her apparent recovery.

 

Aix's archbishop, Monsignor Claude Feidt, opened an investigation into the purported miracle that concluded last week. For the cure to be recognised as a miracle, the Vatican requires evidence to determine there was no medical explanation.

 

The nun underwent psychiatric evaluation and had her handwriting analysed, as a change in handwriting is a symptom of Parkinson's disease, according to Monsignor Slawomir Oder, a Rome-based cleric who is spearheading her cause.

 

Fervent Roman Catholics have been calling for John Paul II to be made a saint since his death in 2005, when chants of "Santo subito!" ("Sainthood now!") rang out in the streets of Rome after his funeral.

 

Comments:  This nun gave the credit to the wrong person, a dead man at that.  A deceased person (either in Heaven or in Hell) cannot heal.  Jesus is the Great Physician.  He speaks the words and a person is healed of his or her physical infirmities.  John Paul II may have been saved on his death bed at the 11^th hour.  (He was reading the Bible just before his last breath expired and he may have finally seen the Light and accepted Jesus as his Savior.)  If that was the case, he would have been made a saint by Jesus.  No need to die physically and then require a miracle for his successor to canonized him a saint.  Two fallacies of the Roman Catholic Church are that sainthood can only be bestowed by the Vatican and one cannot be certain of salvation in this life and after death.  John 3:[36] He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.  Ephesians 2:[19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

 

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Turkey targets 2013 for EU legal compliance

Source: EUObserver.com

 

April 1, 2007 -- Turkey resumed EU accession talks on Thursday (29 March) with the German presidency aiming to open three more negotiating chapters with Ankara by late June.

 

The enterprise and industry chapter became the second out of 35 areas covered by EU legislation that the candidate country has opened as part of its membership talks, kicked off in October 2005.

 

The move comes after the EU partially suspended the negotiations last December, freezing the formal progress on eight chapters directly connected with the bloc's customs union as Turkey had failed to follow its rules and open its ports and airspace to Greek Cypriots.

 

Speaking to journalists after a short meeting to formally mark the opening of another chapter, Turkey's chief negotiator Ali Babacan said Ankara is not prepared to change its position on Cyprus before the EU fulfills its commitment to ease the isolation of Turkish Cypriots in the north of the divided island.

 

He was referring to a political pledge made by the EU after Turkish Cypriots supported a UN plan on the unification of the island in 2004 while Greek Cypriots rejected it.

 

According to Mr Babacan, the EU is currently trying to draw up a protocol on trade with Northern Cyprus but Ankara is still waiting for the details and hopes to be consulted, as "the judgement over whether the isolation is over is upon us," he added.

 

The current Turkish government is planning to unveil a detailed agenda for adopting most of EU laws by 2013 - even in the areas blocked by the EU - with Mr Babacan suggesting, "80 to 90 percent of what we need to do will immediately help us."

 

Comments:  There’s that Year 2013 once again mentioned when pertaining to the EU.  As has been reported here, the new EU budget runs for 7 years from January 1, 2007 until 2013 with a mid-term review in 2010.  Turkey has applied for full EU membership, but has faced hurdles that threaten to derail its ascendancy into the Revived Roman Empire.  This promise by Turkey to adopt most of EU laws by 2013 may be just the thing that would convince the EU leaders in Brussels to fast track Turkey’s membership which presently has a fading probability of success.  If the Rapture event were to occur sometime in 2007, Turkey will have to deal with the Antichrist who will demand Turkey`s full compliance with his laws.  Barring that, Turkey will be excluded from all the benefits that membership entails.  Turkey will most likely defy the AC and join other rebels such as Russia, Iran, Libya and a host of Muslim countries as listed in Ezekiel 38.  Revelation 16:[12] And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates (Turkey currently controls a large dam on this river); and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

 

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Home sweet church: St. Matthew's Anglican may combine worship with low-cost housing

Source: Winnipeg Free Press Online

 

April 1, 2007 -- After more than century of ministry in the West End, St. Matthew's Anglican Church is inviting the neighbourhood to move right in. The congregation is investigating the possibility of converting their 1,200-seat sanctuary into 20 low-cost housing units while retaining a small worship space.

 

"The sense from the congregation was we had to seriously and creatively explore options for our future so we can remain operable and vital," says Rev. Cathy Campbell, rector of St. Matthew's since 2003. "Business as usual or simply muddling along was not an option."

 

With a worshipping congregation of fewer than 100, the large sanctuary is no longer necessary, says Campbell. The church has already replaced the side aisle pews with tables and chairs and now retains seating for only 300.

 

The cost of the housing project is estimated at $5.5 million, and the congregation is now preparing funding proposals for government agencies, says Campbell. So far, $15,000 in grants from Canada Mortgage and Housing and the City of Winnipeg is being used for a market analysis and business plan. West Central Winnipeg needs more affordable housing, specifically units with rents tied to income levels, says Don Miedema, housing co-ordinator for the Spence Neighbourhood Association.

 

Comments:  Here’s another prime example of a liberal mainline Protestant denomination placing a major emphasis on the social gospel more than being concerned about the fate of immortal souls.  Is that true love?  King David said in Psalm 142:[4] I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.  In today’s society, liberal humanistic ministers care not whether a person is saved or not, but rather whether they have affordable housing or have three square meals a day.  They don’t realize that “there is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3).  Well housed and well fed souls could be ushered into a lost eternity at any moment in time.  James 4:[14] Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

 

When the Lord Jesus was here on Earth, his mission was to fulfil His Father’s will and that was to go to the cross of Calvary where He died for our sins.  He commanded his disciples (including you, me, ministers, pastors and all believers) to go out into the world and preach the Good News and to make disciples.  Jesus said the poor we’ll always have with us (Matthew 26:11).  It’s the government’s responsibilities to take care of its citizens’ temporal needs.  As Christians, our prime directive is to lead souls to Christ yet ministers aren’t heeding God’s Word and are settling down in this world trying to transform this world into a better society, a world that will be judged shortly by a wrathful God.

 

 

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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