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The following articles are compiled by:

Leo Wong

Leo@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

 

 

NEWSWEEK poll shows that 91% of American adults surveyed believe in God

Source: MSNBC.com

 

April 2, 2007 - A belief in God and identification with an organized religion are widespread throughout the country, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Nine in 10 (91 percent) of American adults say they believe in God and almost as many (87 percent) say they identify with a specific religion. Christians far outnumber members of any other faith in the country, with 82 percent of the poll’s respondents identifying themselves as such.

 

Another 5 percent say they follow a non-Christian faith, such as Judaism or Islam. Nearly half (48 percent) of the public rejects the scientific theory of evolution; one-third (34 percent) of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact. Seventy-three percent of Evangelical Protestants say they believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years; 39 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants and 41 percent of Catholics agree with that view.

 

Comments:  James 2:[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils (i.e. demons) also believe, and tremble. If 91% of Americans refer to themselves as ‘Christian’, then how come debauchery and immorality rule America these days.  Why all the violent crimes such as rape, murders (including abortion), extortion and kidnapping?  How about cheating, lying, homosexuality, fornication and adultery?  Would real believers in Jesus Christ sin like this?  The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of so called Christians aren’t really saved.  They’re professors.  They may belong to a religious organization and assume that their name being on the church’s roll equates to going in Heaven after they die.  Are they ever in for a shock!  No, the Devil is a sly fox in that he pulls the wool over the eyes of the unsaved deluding them with religion.  Their rotten fruits are evidence that they’re not the Lord’s.  Such is the spiritual deception that percolates throughout North America and much of the Western world.  The Rapture event will separate the wheat (believers) from the chaff (the eternally dammed).  91%?  More like 10% (30 million) of Americans are true born again believers in Jesus Christ.

 

A belief in God or a belief there is a God doesn’t save anybody.  As the above verse says, demons also believe there’s one God, but their destiny is the Lake of Fire.  Religious TV shows that only refer to placing one’s faith in God and never mention Jesus are tools of the Devil to lead souls to eternal damnation.

 

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California Roman Catholic diocese offers $95M settlement

Source: Associated Press

 

April 2, 2007 -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is offering $95 million to settle more than 140 claims of sexual abuse by priests, according to financial documents.

 

The diocese would offer 143 individuals anywhere from $10,000 to $800,000, depending on the degree of abuse and other factors, according to documents filed Wednesday in the church's bankruptcy proceedings.

 

The diocese abruptly filed for bankruptcy protection Feb. 27, just hours before the first civil trial was to begin in San Diego Superior Court and after a last-ditch round of negotiations with plaintiffs' attorneys.

 

Under the proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan, a $3 million fund would also be created to settle any additional abuse claims that have not yet been formally made.

 

The plan has to go through steps including the approval of a creditors' panel containing some of the claimants and a hearing before a bankruptcy judge.

 

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs said they thought the offer was too low. They have estimated a fair settlement to be around $200 million - which would be a record amount for such a case - based on payouts made in other dioceses, including the $100 million by the Diocese of Orange County, Calif., to 87 accusers in 2005.

 

Comments:  It just amazes me that despite the millions upon millions of dollars being dished out to settle claims of past sexual abuse by priests that Roman Catholic members aren’t outraged with the Vatican.  After all, where is all this money coming from except from church members’ pocketbooks?  Why the deafening silence?  Shouldn’t the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide be clamoring for an independent comprehensive investigation into the matter?  The tragedy is that there are probably many more cases that haven’t made it to the public eye.  The root cause is directed at the Vatican forbidding priests to marry.  But man, being what God created him to be, has natural sexual urges that, if it can’t be channeled through natural relationship with a wife, will seek out the easiest outlet and sadly, that involved the sexual abuse of altar and choir boys.  Being celibate means not only not to marry but refrain from fornication, but if a man can’t control himself, it’s best that he marries rather than burn (from lust).  The false religion that is the Roman Catholic Church enslaves souls in many ways, one of which is the unscriptural dogma of celibacy of the priesthood.  1 Timothy 4:[3] Forbidding to marry… 1 Corinthians 7:[9] But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

 

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Mormon head says he's still healthy

Source: Associated Press

 

April 2, 2007 --The 96-year-old leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Sunday he is still in good health despite "rumors to the contrary."

 

"Skillful doctors and nurses keep me on track and some of you may go before I do," Gordon B. Hinckley said, drawing laughter from the audience during the biannual conference of the Mormon church.

 

Hinckley is the 15th president of the church and has served in its top leadership circle for 49 years. He ascended to the presidency in 1995.

 

Repeating a favorite line, he said that at his age "the wind is blowing and I feel like the last leaf on the tree."

 

A conference last April was marked by speculation about Hinckley's health, as he was recovering from colon cancer surgery.

 

Comments:  Yes, healthy from a physical standpoint, but perilously close to eternal spiritual death.  Try as man might, there’s no cure for death.  Gordon B. Hinckley is living on borrowed time; that’s an understatement.  God is ever so gracious to extend this man’s days on earth, but He will take away Hinckley’s life just like He did with unbelievers like George Burns and George Harrison and many many others.  God allows us a small window of opportunity to believe on His Son as our personal Savior.  If we reject Jesus, we’re on unstable ground.  Mormons aren’t Christian as much as they protest that they are.  Their name “the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” has fooled countless millions of darkened souls.  They believe they can attain godhood all by themselves and that Jesus isn’t God, but rather their brother.  That’s a soul damming doctrine of the Devil!  Hinckley needs to be saved.  His unwillingness to denounce Mormonism proves that he’s still on the broad way that leads to destruction.  Matthew 7:[13] Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.

 

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Germany’s Angela Merkel: EU supports Mideast peace talks

Source: Associated Press

 

April 2, 2007 -- In her first Mideast trip as EU president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Europe's help in bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, trying to build on a new burst of international efforts to restart peace talks.

 

Merkel, who was meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders Sunday, said the Europeans are ready to offer support, but ultimately the sides must resolve their differences themselves.

 

"The Europeans must not assume that they could force a solution. We can't and I don't want to do it," she said in her speech. "Within my abilities, I would like to support the sides to walk the path toward peace."

 

Comments:  We’ve said it a long time now that the U.S. will decrease while the EU will increase.  President Bush gives the appearance that he wants to settle the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate before he leaves the White House on January 20, 2009, but he isn’t exactly devoting as much time and effort as required to make it happen.  Perhaps it’s the Jewish lobbyists’ efforts in the U.S. Congress that have placed roadblocks in his Quartet’s Roadmap.  The Europeans, meanwhile, are frustrated with the Americans’ lack of success and there’s a growing voice among European leaders to step in and take over the mediation process.  After all, who stands more to gain (both politically and economically) than the EU if Israelis and Arabs end their almost 6 decades of hostility. Power and money still wield a big stick these days.  The stage is now being set for the Revived Roman Empire to forge Middle East peace just as Daniel 9:27 predicted.   Bible prophecy may be delayed thanks to God’s grace, but it will come to past nevertheless.

 

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Israeli PM Ehud Olmert seeks regional peace conference

Source: Associated Press

 

April 2, 2007 -- In a dramatic response to an Arab peace initiative, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday invited Arab leaders to a regional peace conference to discuss their ideas for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.

 

Olmert's surprise call came amid a flurry of new international peace efforts. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has repeatedly traveled to Israel to try to spur negotiations, and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently president of the EU, was here Sunday to buttress those efforts.

 

Speaking at a joint news conference with Merkel, Olmert said, "I would take advantage of this important opportunity of being here in Jerusalem with the president of the European Union to invite to a meeting all Arab heads of state, including, of course, the king of Saudi Arabia, whom I regard as an important leader, in order to engage in dialogue." He said each side would bring its own demands, and neither would try to dictate terms.

 

Almost every Israeli prime minister has called for peace talks with moderate Arab leaders over the years, but the only multinational forum was the 1991 Madrid conference, which was followed by secret Israeli-Palestinian contacts and a series of interim peace accords. Olmert's invitation Sunday was the first time Israel has called on Saudi Arabia - which maintains a state of war with Israel, but has also pushed recently for a peace deal - to take the lead.

 

Comments:  Stunning, stupendous, shocking, out of this world, etc.  Words cannot describe this dramatic Israeli turnaround.  Former Israeli PMs must be choking on their bagel and Kosher salt upon hearing Ehud Olmert opening the henhouse gate and welcoming the foxes to dine to their hearts’ delight.  If a nurse would whisper this amazing announcement into the ear of comatose Ariel Sharon, perhaps he will wake up or maybe that will induce a fatal heart attack.

 

A regional peace conference where EVERYTHING will be on the table for discussions and agreement is exactly what the Saudis and other ‘moderate’ Arabs want.  Instead of fixating solely on the Palestinian issue (the Palestinians are merely pawns in the Arab League game plan), let’s discuss the Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Saudi and North African Arabs concerns.  Why order a single burrito when you can have the entire enchilada?  Why settle for a double when you can swing for the fences and get a grand slam?!  The U.S., the EU, and the rest of the Quartet, the Saudis and their minions have hopped onto the regional peace conference bandwagon and with Israel asking to hitch a ride also, could this be the final spoke in the Daniel 9:27 Middle East peace wheel?  It sends shivers down my cynical spine, but I won’t be holding my breath looking for the wagon master, the Antichrist, to ride onto the scene on his white horse carrying an arrowless bow.  Revelation 6:[2] And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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