Archive for June 26th, 2007

New Bible Story Mural Available

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Mr. Doug Westbrook, the artist and creator of Bible Story Murals, has released another mural to his line of available murals.
Daniel in the Lion’s Den is now available for purchase.
Look for further additions to the Bible Story Mural collection coming soon.

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.”

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel 6:19-23 (New International Version)

“What a wonderful example of God’s faithfulness. Daniel was faithful in honoring and praying to his God and God was faithful to deliver him from the Lions’den.”
-Doug Westbrook, Artist of “Daniel in the Lion’s Den - A Bible Story Mural”

See Mr. Westbrook’s Bible Story Murals here.
Bible Story Murals
If your church is looking for a unique way to bring the Word of God to it’s children and young people, take a look at Doug Westbrook’s Bible Story Murals. Each wall sized mural is based on the hand painted originals Mr. Westbrook created at Central Baptist Church in Houston, Texas and represents a different well known Bible story.
They are available on durable vinyl wallpaper for easy installation.

Israel Braces for July War With Up to Five Enemies

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

Christians, if you are not looking up, now is the time.

JERUSALEM — Israel is preparing for an imminent war with Iran, Syria and/or their non-state clients.

Israeli military intelligence has projected that a major attack could come from any of five adversaries in the Middle East. Officials said such a strike could spark a war as early as July 2007.

On Sunday, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that the Jewish state faces five adversaries in what could result in an imminent confrontation. Yadlin cited Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas and Al Qaida.

“Each of these adversaries is capable of sparking a war in the summer,” Yadlin was quoted as saying.

[On Monday, Al Qaida’s No. 2 Ayman Zawahiri endorsed the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported. The Al Qaida statement came after Zawahiri repeatedly criticized Hamas for tolerating Palestinian Authority cooperation with the United States.]

Yadlin said Hamas could be planning a major attack to divert attention away from efforts by the Palestinian Authority to isolate the Gaza Strip. He said Syria might be promoting such an attack.

Officials said Iran has direct influence over Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas. He said Al Qaida has increasingly come under Iranian influence and was being used by Iran and Syria in such countries as Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

Already, military intelligence has assessed that Hamas acquired more than 50 missiles with a range of 22 kilometers. Officials said this would allow Palestinian missile strikes on any part of Ashkelon, the largest city in southeastern Israel and which contains strategic sites.

Hamas has also deployed at least 20 SA-7 anti-aircraft systems, officials said. They said the missiles threaten Israeli combat helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that conduct missions over the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, Palestinian gunners continued missile fire into Israel. Hours earlier, the Israel Air Force struck an Islamic Jihad squad said to have been driving toward the northern Gaza Strip to launch missiles toward Israel. One Jihad operative was killed and two others were injured.

Israeli military intelligence has assessed that Hamas was being quietly supported by neighboring Egypt. Officials said that despite Egypt’s announced ban, Cairo has continued to allow Hamas leaders to enter the Sinai Peninsula from the Gaza Strip.

Over the weekend, officials said, a Hamas delegation led by former PA Interior Minister Said Siyyam entered Sinai. They said the 15-member delegation was escorted by Egyptian security forces to Cairo for a flight to Damascus, where they were scheduled to meet Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Masha’al.

On Monday, Egypt was scheduled to host a regional summit meant to support PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israel, Jordan and Abbas were expected to attend the meeting in the Sinai resort town of Sharm e-Sheik.

Original Link.

People Born Homosexual, Say Local School Officials

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

Well there you have it. School officials at the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland have been able to accomplish what some of the most brilliant genetic scientist in the word have not been able to prove, people are born homosexual.
I’m looking forward to seeing their publications on this matter, what test where used, what part of the human genome the homosexual gene appears in and other scientific details.
Oh wait…they don’t have any of that information. Actually they know that some people are born homosexual because…well, because they (the school officials) say so.

The Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland has accomplished what science and medicine have been unable to confirm, simply declaring in its newly approved school curriculum for children that some babies are born homosexual.

Activists are appealing the decision and former homosexuals are claiming discrimination due to the decision by the school board to pilot a controversial new sex education curriculum – against the advice of hundreds of practicing physicians in the county.

Developed by its own staff, the educational materials were given a test run in six schools in the county district at the 8th and 10th grade levels. Now they are supposed to be implemented in all schools soon.

But since its decision on Jan. 9, 2007, the school board has garnered a barrage of criticism.

A strong opponent of the curriculum is Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, a non-profit Maryland-based group formed in response to the board’s decision. According to its website, the group believes in the parental right to have “ultimate authority to guide the moral direction of their children without interference by an increasingly activist public school system.”

Another organization leading the charge against the curriculum, “Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays,” recently released a statement that, “According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological cause for homosexuality. But now the Montgomery County Board of Education has done what science and medicine could not do by declaring in its newly approved curriculum that homosexuality is ‘innate’ or inborn.”

Unit 8:2 of the new 8th grade textbook includes a definition of innate from the 2006 edition of the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as meaning “determined by factors present in an individual from birth.” The curriculum then instructs teachers to “Say to students, ‘Sexual orientation is innate and a complex part of one’s personality.”

But the same text contradicts itself later when asking, “What causes sexual orientation? Almost certainly there is no single reason why some people are homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual. According to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation results from an interaction of cognitive, environmental, and biological factors.”

Parents and doctors object to the text as inaccurate, unscientific, and discriminatory. The board received an objection to the material signed by more than 270 practicing physicians in Montgomery County, stating that the information in the curriculum was inaccurate and possibly dangerous to students on the grounds that it did not disclose health risks associated with minority sexual behavior.

The board did not return a WND message requesting comment.

PFOX lodged its complaints on the basis that the newly approved curriculum discriminates against ex-gays and, according to PFOX representative Peter Sprigg, it “fails to tell the students that specific sexual acts can be far more harmful to them than other sexual acts…. it fails to tell students that some individuals experience a change in sexual orientation in the course of their lives.”

Legal issues are also involved. According to PFOX Executive Director Regina Griggs, “The board’s own policy states that citizen advisory committees are required by Maryland law in order ‘to ensure that local school boards will be informed by a variety of opinions from citizens.’ The school board placed a PFOX representative on the committee in order to receive viewpoints from all segments of the community, yet our input to the board is continually blocked by gay activist groups and others who serve on this committee and deny equality for ex-gays,” said Griggs. “The committee has failed to serve its purpose.”

WND has documented a number of earlier cases in which educators have been shown to be promoting a homosexual lifestyle to children.

Just a week earlier, WND reported that California Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, under whose supervision hundreds of thousands of children are being educated, has used his state position and taxpayer-funded stationery to praise a “gay” pride event that has been used in the past to expose children to sexually explicit activities.

That drew vehement objections from several, including Priscilla Schreiber, the president of the Grossmont Unified High School District governing board. “I am outraged that a person in this high-ranking elected position would advocate an event where diversity is not just being celebrated, but where pornography and indecent exposure is being perpetrated on the young and innocent children of our communities,” she said.

WND also covered the issue when officials in Boulder, Colo., held a seminar for students where they were told to “have sex,” including same-sex experiences, and “take drugs.”

And another school event promoted homosexuality to students while banning parents and at still another, WND reported school officials ordered their 14-year-old freshman class into a “gay” indoctrination seminar after having them sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their parents.

Original Link.

Hate Crimes Law: A Real Threat to Your Religious Freedom

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

Another alert from AFA on the “Hate Crimes Law”, pending in the senate and house, that will elevate homosexuals to the same protected status as race.
If you have not contacted your legislature member to oppose these bills, time is running out. You must do so now.

As we reported last week, Congress is considering a “hate crimes” law that would authorize enhanced punishments for crimes committed because of various reasons, including sexual orientation. If the law passes in the near future the federal government will be empowered to investigate and punish politically incorrect speech and thoughts.

Think it can’t happen here? Consider what has happened in Oakland, California, where the following words disseminated through the government’s open email system and employee bulletin board have been deemed inflammatory and perhaps even a hate crime: “Marriage is the foundation of the natural family and sustains family values.”

Please take a few minutes to read the insightful commentary about the Oakland case by columnist George Will titled, “When marriage became a ‘hate crime.’”

The federal “hate crimes” legislation - H.R. 1592 and S. 1105 - appears on a fast track to passage unless you act today. It is a threat to your freedom of speech and your freedom of religion.
Take Action

We are looking for one million Americans willing to take a stand and not allow a small group of homosexual activists to take away our freedoms. Can we count on you? Click on the link below to sign our Petition to Congress in Defense of Religious Freedom.

Please forward this to others, especially your pastor, and ask them to get involved in protecting our freedoms of speech and religion. This threat to our religious freedoms is real!

Sign their online petition here.

Olmert: “We’ve Turned Fatah’s Downfall into Opportunity for Peace”, Agrees to Release Prisoners

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

He just doesn’t tell us how. Especially when he returned from the Sharm el-Sheik summit without any “tangible agreements” or mo solutions “to combat the increasing Hamas-driven terrorism in Gaza.”
He is also going to release terrorist prisoners. Sure Olmert, now that Hamas has captured all the weapons you gave to Fatah, what better way to grow an army of people set on killing all Israelis, than releasing their prisoners.
Does this guy even live on the same planet as the rest of us?? I don’t think so.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH – After delivering a speech laden with messages of peace and regional cooperation, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was satisfied on his way back from the from the Sharm el-Sheik summit.

“Within eight days Olmert has managed to turn the downfall of Fatah in the Gaza Strip into an opportunity for peace. He’s got the backing of the United States, the Quartet and now the moderate Arab states as well,” said a senior aide to the prime minister after the summit.

Despite the declarations of satisfaction however, it should be noted that no tangible agreements emerged from the summit, no solution to combat the increasing Hamas-driven terrorism in Gaza.

Olmert came to the summit armed with several surprise gestures for Abbas to take home as dowry on the heels of one of the most trying times for the Palestinian Authority. Besides the release of 250 Fatah prisoners Olmert also pledged Israel would provide equipment to Fatah forces and open roadblocks in the West Bank to ease restrictions on the Palestinian public.

This in addition to the gestures reported by Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, that Israel would grant immunity to wanted Fatah men in the West Bank and retreat its forces to the September 2000 lines in the region.

“The prime minister proved that his intentions to promote peace talks with Abbas are serious,” said an Israeli State official, “however in private talks Olmert demanded that Abbas also prove his sincerity to combat terror and lead the Palestinian Authority towards a peace process with Israel.”

Original Link.

Seven Who Could Stop Amnesty

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

The senate is going to try to shove the amnesty bill down our throats again today. You need to contact your senator and voice your opposition to this bill.
Michelle Malkin list seven senators who could bring this whole mess to an end. If one of them is your senator, please contact them immediately and tell them to oppose this bill.

Stopping amnesty is entirely within the power of senators who oppose it. Later today, the Senate will vote on whether to proceed on the bill. To revive the once-stalled bill will require 60 votes, which means that if the senators who vote no and the senators who don’t vote add up to 41, the bill is dead. The best vote count now has 33 no votes plus the non-vote of the ill Sen. Tim Johnson. Assuming this count is accurate, only seven more are needed to stop amnesty.

Those votes are available from a bipartisan group of senators who say they oppose the amnesty bill. They are Sens. Kit Bond, Sam Brownback, Richard Burr, Thad Cochran, Norm Coleman, John Ensign, and Jim Webb. If any of these senators votes to revive the bill, his professions of opposition to amnesty should no longer be taken seriously. He will have done his crucial bit, when the amnesty bill was most vulnerable, to help shepherd it to passage. We know how senators who claim to oppose amnesty will try to explain away a vote to revive the bill. They will rely on procedural obfuscation: They didn’t want to obstruct the process, they wanted to get a vote on an amendment, etc. But amnesty is staying in the bill — no amendment to strike the bill’s central features has any chance of passage — and it deserves to be obstructed.

Original Link.


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