On August 1, 2009, Robb Harris and Eric Rank will give split sermons, titled, respectively, “Partiality” and “Are You Convinced?”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

The Bible claims to be the instruction manual for life. True to this claim, it is overflowing with instructions on almost every aspect of life.

It tells us how to do basic things:

• What to eat, and what not to eat (Leviticus 11).
• What to wear and put on (1 Timothy 2:9; 1 Peter 3:3-4; Romans 13:14; Colossians 3:12-14), and what not to wear (Deuteronomy 22:5).
• When to work (Exodus 20:9), and when to stop working (Exodus 20:10), and why (Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:13-17).
• It even tells us what to do (Leviticus 23:3), and what not do (Isaiah 58:13), on days we stop working.
• It tells us how to treat people:
• How to treat our spouse (Ephesians 5:22-28, 33) and other people’s spouses (Deuteronomy 5:21; Matthew 5:27-28).
• How to treat our children (Proverbs 29:17; Colossians 3:21; Titus 2:4); our parents (Ephesians 6:1-3); and grandparents (1 Timothy 5:4).
• How to treat older people (Leviticus 19:32; 1 Timothy 5:1-2).
• How to treat our neighbors (Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 22:36-40); strangers (Exodus 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:17-19; Matthew 25:38, 40); our friends (Proverbs 27:6,10); and our enemies (Luke 6:27-36).
• How to treat people who have offended us (Matthew 18:15; Luke 17:3-4); or whom we have offended (Matthew 5:23-24).
• How to treat government officials (Ecclesiastes 10:20; Romans 13:1-5; Titus 3:1-2) and even tax collectors (Romans 13:6-7; Matthew 22:17-21).
• How to treat rich people (Leviticus 19:15) and poor people (James 2:1-7; Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Proverbs 19:17; 28:27; 31:9; Isaiah 58:6-7).
• How to treat bosses (Ephesians 6:5-7; Titus 2:9-10; Colossians 3:22) and employees (Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1). 
• How to treat ministers (1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:7, 17) and brethren (2 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Peter 5:1-3).
• It even tells us how to treat ourselves (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

The Bible contains instructions on subjects as diverse as building codes (Deuteronomy 22:8); weights and measures (Leviticus 19:35-36); animal husbandry (Leviticus 19:19); animal care (Proverbs 12:10); plant genetics (Leviticus 19:19); crop management (Leviticus 19:23-25); waste disposal (Deuteronomy 23:12-14); disease prevention and hygiene (Leviticus 11:24-25, 31-35); disease containment (Leviticus 13); personal finances (Proverbs 22:7, 9; Malachi 3:8-10); national finances (Leviticus 25:8-17; Deuteronomy 15:1-6; 28:10-14); going to court (1 Corinthians 6:1-11); going to war (Matthew 26:52); and even lost and found (Exodus 23:4-5).

And that is just a small sample.

We need to take the time to study these verses. Imagine if the world lived by them, then we would see a world without abortion, pornography, profanity, lying, stealing, murder, over-burdensome governments or lazy citizens, abandoned widows, abandoned children or abandoned marriages. Perhaps hundreds of millions of deaths could have been prevented over the centuries by following the Bible’s health laws alone. What other national and personal tragedies could be prevented if people followed all of these laws?

The Bible is the most amazing, comprehensive, and compelling instruction manual ever written. The question is, are we willing to follow the instructions?

The mysteries surrounding President Obama’s original birth certificate continue, and some statements by different players in this drama sound as though they had been lifted from a fictitious suspense novel. At times questionable actions by the left-liberal mass media and the White House seem to try to suppress the issue, rather than to clarify and solve it.

According to some observers, the new Health Care Plan is unfairly attacking especially small businesses, and the dollar continues its fall. While the Obama Administration tries to assure Israel that they are not naive about Iran, John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, questions America’s and Europe’s policy in regard to Iran.

Turning our attention to Europe, German politicians are upset about a European-US bank data deal; Tony Blair’s appointment as the first EU President is in doubt; and the German Financial Times feels that the “beast of capitalism” will ultimately resurface and prevail.

While The Telegraph describes the “insanity” of the Afghan war, German soldiers are drawn more and more into combat in that area, and especially young people from East Germany are joining the army because of the recession. Finally, Germany’s leading philosopher pleads for a European army and a core Europe. Our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy,” describes in detail the future role of the German military in world affairs.

The Mystery Surrounding President Obama’s Birth

Bill O’Reilly of Fox News and lawyers for John McCain’s presidential campaign claim that they investigated the issue of Barack Obama’s original birth certificate and are convinced that he is a natural-born U.S. citizen and therefore eligible to serve as American President. But WHAT, exactly, did O’Reilly and McCain lawyers investigate? WHAT did they examine?

WHY is the White House failing to convincingly put the issue to rest? Why are there so many misrepresentations and outright lies in regard to the matter? Why is CNN’s Lou Dobbs ordered to drop the matter, and why do some even call for his termination for simply addressing it? Those who ridicule the ever-growing number of Americans DEMANDING that President Obama release his original long-form birth certificate sound less and less convincing–and they appear to give more and more the impression, perhaps inadvertently, that something needs to be kept secret and hidden.

What IF Barack Obama was not a natural-born U.S. citizen, but born in Kenya, as some claim? The consequences would be unthinkable. Every piece of legislation which he signed would be invalid, and so would every appointment that he made. This would include his appointment of Joe Biden as Vice President. This would mean, until we have new elections, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, would be acting President.

The discussion was picked up by the European mainstream press. Der Spiegel Online published a German article on July 29, addressing the issue in its typically sarcastic way by making fun of conspiracy believers who question Mr. Obama’s claim that he was born in Hawaii. Nevertheless, until Mr. Obama releases his original long-form birth certificate, the debate is bound to continue.

Robert Gibbs’ Claims on President’s U.S. Citizenship

Politico 44 wrote on July 27:

“White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs once again dismissed conspiracy theories about the president’s citizenship in his daily briefing Monday, noting that proof of President Obama’s birthplace had been posted online and Obama’s citizenship had been demonstrated ‘ad nauseam.’ But Gibbs, sounding alternately bemused and exasperated, told White House reporters that conspiracy theories about the president’s birthplace would never go away…

“Attempting to put the issue to rest, once more, Gibbs assured reporters: ‘The president was born in Honolulu, in the 50th state of the greatest country on the face of the earth…There are 10,000 more important issues for people in this country to discuss, than whether or not the president is a citizen when it’s been proven ad nauseam.'”

But some contend that Gibbs’ comments are simply untrue.

WND wrote on July 27:

“President Obama has still not provided simple, incontrovertible proof of his exact birthplace. That information would be included on his long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate which Obama has steadfastly refused to release amid a flurry of conflicting reports. He has only proffered a ‘Certification of Live Birth’ to assert he was born in Hawaii, but many people remain unaware a child does not even have to be born in Hawaii to receive a COLB…

“WND has reported that at least two reports have cited Obama’s birth in Kenya. Wikipedia also was found to have been reporting on Obama’s birth in Kenya, before a series of scrubs placed his birth in Honolulu.

“That came on the heels of several online information sites changing the president’s supposed birthplace from one hospital in Hawaii to another… WND has yet to be able to identify any physician or medical attendant present at Kapi’olani in 1961 who can recall Ann Dunham, Obama’s mother, giving birth to Barack Obama at the hospital or who can identify the name of the attending physician…

“Some of the lawsuits question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama’s American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

“Other challenges have focused on Obama’s citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.”

Obama Born in Kenya?

Infowars.com wrote on July 14:

“Contained in an otherwise relatively mundane account of Obama’s recent visit to Ghana in the Daily Graphic news outlet is a sentence sure to raise eyebrows amongst people like journalist Jerome Corsi, who has been at the forefront of the Obama birth certificate scandal since well before the election. The full paragraph reads, ‘For Ghana, Obama’s visit will be a celebration of another milestone in African history as it hosts the first-ever African-American President on this presidential visit to the continent of his birth.’…

“In April a transcript from an interview with Obama’s step-grandmother was released in which she discussed being present at Obama’s birth in Mombasa, Kenya. ‘WND is in possession of an affidavit submitted by Rev. Kweli Shuhubia, an Anabaptist minister in Kenya, who is the official Swahili translator for the annual Anabaptist Conference in Kenya, and a second affidavit signed by Bishop Ron McRae, the presiding elder of the Anabaptists’ Continental Presbytery of Africa,’ reported Corsi. In his affidavit, Shuhubia asserts ‘it is common knowledge throughout the Christian and Muslim communities in Kenya that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was born in Mombasa, Kenya.’”

Proofs for Obama’s Birth in Hawaii?

Politicalwire.com reported on July 24:

“David Weigel talked with Trevor Potter and other lawyers for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign who said that they did look into the Obama citizenship rumors and found them without merit. Said Potter: ‘To the extent that we could, we looked into the substantive side of these allegations. We never saw any evidence that then-Senator Obama had been born outside of the United States. We saw rumors, but nothing that could be sourced to evidence.

“‘There were no statements and no documents that suggested he was born somewhere else. On the other side, there was proof that he was born in Hawaii. There was a certificate issued by the state’s Department of Health, and the responsible official in the state saying that he had personally seen the original certificate. There was a birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser, which would be very difficult to invent or plant 47 years in advance.'”

Was Original Long-Form Birth Certificate Destroyed…?

USA Today wrote on July 29:

“In an attempt to quash persistent rumors that President Obama was not born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961, Hawaii’s health director reiterated Monday afternoon that she has personally seen Obama’s birth certificate in the Health Department’s archives:

“‘I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago’…

“Despite Fukino’s statements, the issue has continued to resonate from Capitol Hill to the national airwaves. Last week, CNN’s Lou Dobbs demanded Obama’s original birth certificate. CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers of Lou Dobbs Tonight that the issue is a ‘dead’ story…

“In an e-mail, the Times reported, Klein wrote that CNN researchers determined that Obama’s 1961 birth certificate no longer exists because Hawaiian officials had discarded paper documents in 2001 — a claim denied Monday by Hawaiian health officials. In 2001, Hawaii’s paper documents were reproduced in electronic format, but ‘any paper data prior to that still exists,’ Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said. Okubo would not say where Obama’s original birth certificate is but said, ‘We have backups for all of our backups.’

“A congressional resolution introduced by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of island statehood was delayed Monday. The resolution includes a clause noting Obama’s Hawaiian birthplace. The line ‘Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961’ appeared to be construed by birthers as a thinly veiled attempt to get Congress to affirm Obama’s U.S. citizenship, said Dave Helfert, an Abercrombie spokesman. As the issue came to a vote Monday, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., rose to object, saying there was not a quorum present. The House later voted 378-0 to approve the resolution. Bachmann voted in favor of the resolution.”

Lou Dobbs Ordered to Stop…

WorldNetDaily reported on July 27:

“Directly contradicting CNN chief Jon Klein – who ordered host Lou Dobbs to quit discussing President Obama’s birth certificate – the Hawaii Department of Health affirmed that no paper birth certificates were destroyed when the department moved to electronic record-keeping…

“Klein wrote in an email that CNN researchers found Hawaiian records were discarded in 2001 when the state’s records system went electronic. Therefore, Klein said, Obama’s original long-form birth certificate no longer exists.

“A computer-generated-abbreviated version that has been promoted on the Internet is the official record, he said. ‘It seems to definitively answer the question,’ Klein wrote. ‘Since the show’s mission is for Lou to be the explainer and enlightener, he should be sure to cite this during your segment tonite. And then it seems this story is dead – because anyone who still is not convinced doesn’t really have a legitimate beef.'”

Obama Approval Rates in Decline

The Rasmussen Reports wrote on July 30:

“The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 28% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -12. That’s the lowest rating yet recorded for President Obama…

“Forty-nine percent (49%) now say that America’s best days have come and gone. Just 38% believe they are still to come. Thirty-four percent (34%) say the country is heading in the right direction. Seventy-five percent (75%) want the Federal Reserve to be audited.”

New Health Care Plan — Small Business Under Attack

USA Today wrote on July 27:

“Now, what about this so-called mandate requiring small business owners to provide health insurance or face a government fine?… Under the House measure, employers with payrolls of more than $400,000 a year will be required to provide health insurance or pay an 8% penalty. Businesses whose payroll falls between $250,000 and $400,000 a year would pay a lesser penalty. Businesses with fewer than $250,000 in payroll would be exempt. A Senate version would exempt employers with fewer than 25 employees, and the fine for bigger companies not complying would be $750 fine per employee per year.

“Those are some scary numbers, especially in a recession. The administration says that insuring more people and providing a public option will bring the costs of insuring employees way down, thus making the mandate far more doable than it might otherwise look. Would it work? It better, because insuring people at today’s costs verges on impossible and penalties are the last thing we need.”

Health Care Vote Delayed…

AFP reported on July 29:

“President Barack Obama said Wednesday there will be no vote on his proposed reforms of the US healthcare system before autumn, a setback that is costing him more political capital with each passing day. ‘This bill, even in the best-case scenario, will not be signed — we won’t even vote on it probably until the end of September or the middle of October,’ he said…

“Lawmakers are going through bills in both houses of Congress with fine tooth combs amid fierce opposition from Republicans and divisions within the Democratic majority and between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Obama has pressed lawmakers to vote on the initial bills before departing on their summer recess August 7, but acknowledged that is unlikely to happen. He was not clear whether he expected a final vote or only a first vote on the bill by the end of September or mid-October.”

Fall of the Dollar

Bloomberg wrote on July 28:

“The dollar fell to the lowest level this year against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners… The Australian dollar advanced to the highest level since September against the U.S. currency… The euro climbed to a seven-week high against the dollar after Deutsche Bank AG said second-quarter profit rose 68 percent, beating analysts’ estimates… The U.S. currency fell 0.5 percent to 94.73 yen, extending its drop this month to 1.7 percent…

“Adding to pressure on the dollar, China’s Assistant Finance Minister… [said] that his government remains ‘concerned’ about the value of its U.S. assets. [His] remarks come after repeated public assurances by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that the U.S. is committed to reining in a record budget deficit once an economic recovery is secured. China is the biggest foreign investor in U.S. government debt…”

Obama Administration “Not Naive” About Iran?

The Associated Press reported on July 27:

“Israel hardened its insistence Monday that it would do anything it felt necessary to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, just the ultimatum the United States hoped not to hear as it tried to nudge Iran to the bargaining table.

“U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reassured Israel that the new Obama administration was not naive about Iran’s intentions, and that Washington would press for new, tougher sanctions against the Iranians if they balk. He didn’t say what those might include.

“Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak used a brief news conference with Gates to insist three times that Israel would not rule out any response—an implied warning that it would consider a pre-emptive strike to thwart Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons…

“The question of how to deal with Iran’s rapid nuclear advancement has become a notable public difference between the new administrations in Jerusalem and Washington… Israel considers itself the prime target of any eventual Iranian bomb.”

“Crunch Time for Israel”

On July 28, John Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal:

“Defense Secretary Robert Gates[‘]… central objective was to dissuade Israel from carrying out military strikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities. Under the guise of counseling ‘patience,’ Mr. Gates again conveyed President Barack Obama’s emphatic thumbs down on military force…

“Iran’s progress with nuclear weapons and air defenses means Israel’s military option is declining over time. It will have to make a decision soon, and it will be no surprise if Israel strikes by year’s end. Israel’s choice could determine whether Iran obtains nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future.

“Mr. Obama’s approach to Tehran has been his ‘open hand,’ yet his gesture has not only been ignored by Iran but deemed irrelevant as the country looks inward to resolve the aftermath of its fraudulent election. The hardliner ‘winner’ of that election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was recently forced to fire a deputy who once said something vaguely soothing about Israel. Clearly, negotiations with the White House are not exactly topping the Iranian agenda.

“Beyond that, Mr. Obama’s negotiation strategy faces insuperable time pressure. French President Nicolas Sarkozy proclaimed that Iran must re-start negotiations with the West by September’s G-20 summit. But this means little when, with each passing day, Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile laboratories, production facilities and military bases are all churning. Israel is focused on these facts, not the illusion of ‘tough’ diplomacy…

“Worse, Mr. Obama has no new strategic thinking on Iran. He vaguely promises to offer the country the carrot of diplomacy—followed by an empty threat of sanctions down the road if Iran does not comply with the U.S.’s requests. This is precisely the European Union’s approach, which has failed for over six years…

“Relations between the U.S. and Israel are more strained now than at any time since the 1956 Suez Canal crisis. Mr. Gates’s message for Israel not to act on Iran, and the U.S. pressure he brought to bear, highlight the weight of Israel’s lonely burden.

“Striking Iran’s nuclear program will not be precipitous or poorly thought out. Israel’s attack, if it happens, will have followed enormously difficult deliberation over terrible imponderables, and years of patiently waiting on innumerable failed diplomatic efforts. Absent Israeli action, prepare for a nuclear Iran.”

“Politicians Criticise EU-US Bank Data Talks”

The Local reported on July 27:

“Plans to share confidential banking data between the European Union and the US for anti-terrorism purposes have united disparate parts of the German political spectrum in opposition.

“EU foreign ministers today gave the go-ahead to European Commission president José Manuel Barroso to negotiate a deal with the US to allow their intelligence agencies access to the Swift system, which helps clear international banking transactions. German politicians have cried foul over the move.

“’It is unreasonable and excessive that banking data can be inspected without any criminal suspicion,’ environmentalist Green Party deputy parliamentary floorleader Jürgen Trittin said… ‘The federal government should not agree under any circumstances to allow this attack on principle of personal data privacy…’

“On the opposite end of the political spectrum, the head of the conservative Christian Social Union, sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), also denounced the measure. ‘That such a wide-reaching intervention into the personal privacy rights of citizens by the bureaucracy is possible, without the involvement of the European or German parliaments, is a scandal,’ said CSU head Horst Seehofer at a speech in Munich on Monday.

“An agreement between the US and EU could be in place by autumn. In addition to being able to monitor financial transactions that cross borders, the US government could also have access to data about purely domestic transactions, warned the German government’s commissioner for data privacy, Peter Schaar.”

“Blair Faces Resistance as Candidate for EU President”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 27:

“Tony Blair is facing louder criticism than anticipated in his bid to become the EU’s first president. Support for the former British prime minister appears to be waning in Berlin and Paris as resistance builds elsewhere in Europe. Is Blair losing his chance to become the man to call in Brussels?

“London’s bid to promote Tony Blair as a candidate to become the first ever President of the European Union is being met with unexpectedly vocal opposition in a number of European capital cities. The person serving as EU president will effectively be the international face of the 27 member countries and would lead regular summits of state and government leaders. The creation of the post is contingent on the ratification of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty…

“The office of the EU president will replace the current tradition of the rotating presidency, which sees a different member state taking over summit organizing responsibilities every six months…

“Left-leaning leaders in some European countries dislike Blair for the allegiance he showed to the US during the Iraq war. And pro-European conservatives and business-friendly parties oppose the idea of having a top EU [representative] from a country that refuses to introduce the euro or join the Schengen agreement on border-free travel within Europe.

“Leaders of the EU’s most powerful players — France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Angela Merkel — once promised Blair the job because he managed to prevent a difficult British referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. But insiders in Paris and Berlin warn that enthusiasm for Blair as president has since waned.”

“The Beast of Capitalism”

In reporting about the worldwide financial crisis, The Financial Times wrote on July 27: “Animal spirits rarely stay down for long.”

The paper continued:

“The fall in output in the current recession has been sharp. In the US, for example, gross domestic product fell at an annual rate of just above 6 per cent in the two most recent quarters. In Japan, GDP is down by nearly 9 per cent on its 2008 first-quarter peak. The latest UK data suggest output is nearly 6 per cent lower than a year ago, the sharpest fall since 1931.

“The conventional wisdom is that the steepness of the fall means the recession will be long, and that the recovery when it happens will be anaemic. In the UK, for example, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research argued last week that GDP per head would take five years to get back to pre-recession levels… In the US, the consensus among forecasters is that growth at or near trend will not resume until the second half of 2010 and that the 2008 second-quarter peak level will not be regained until the first half of 2011.

“As late as the autumn of 2008, economic forecasters in general were far too optimistic about 2009. Are these same forecasters now too pessimistic about recovery?… the current circumstances are unusual. But so was the Great Depression. There is some evidence to suggest that, after recession has reached a certain size or duration, recovery is then harder and more sluggish. Keynes’ animal spirits become depressed. But it takes an awful lot to depress them for more than a couple of years. Capitalism seems a pretty resilient beast.”

The Insanity of the Afghan War

The Telegraph wrote on July 27:

“Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has signalled the end of Operation Panther’s Claw, the bloody offensive by British troops to drive back the Taliban in Afghanistan… Twenty British personnel have been killed this month alone in Afghanistan – with 189 having died since the start of operations eight years ago…

“Foreign Secretary David… Miliband said ‘moderate’ members of the Taliban insurgency killing British forces in Afghanistan could be given seats in the Afghan government. He said that some members of the broad coalition of Islamic militants, tribal groups and hired fighters could be drawn into the Afghan political process.”

Germany’s Secret War in Afghanistan

The Local wrote on July 27:

“Rules of engagement for German forces in Afghanistan are being eased to allow soldiers to use their weapons more often. They will also be allowed to shoot at fleeing attackers, the Defence Ministry announced Monday…

“Until now, German soldiers were not permitted to shoot if their attackers had turned around and were fleeing. The ministry did not clarify if the change in policy had to do with a recently-launched offensive around Kundus in northern Afghanistan that includes over 300 German troops, the first offensive forces have taken part in since World War II.

“Germany’s involvement in foreign military operations, especially in Afghanistan, is extremely controversial with the German public. After the death of three soldiers last month, Jung, who belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), refused to describe the fighting in Afghanistan as a war…

“’It’s incomprehensible why German soldiers in Afghanistan have, up until now, had less authority than a policeman in Germany,’ said Rainer Stinner with the pro-business Free Democratic Party. But he described Monday’s announcement as a change in policy that the government was not being completely open about…”

Germans Join Army Because of Recession

The Local wrote on July 27:

“Is economic adversity forcing eastern Germans to become ‘cannon fodder’ for the military?… Of the 6,391 soldiers on foreign missions, 3,143 are of eastern German background – about half, even though east Germans make up just one fifth of the population. Among the lower ranks, it is even worse: 62.5 percent are from the east. Yet easterners make up just 16.6 percent of officers. And none of the four generals on foreign deployments are from the east. The figures were made public shortly after three young German soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. The three soldiers came, respectively, from the eastern states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

“Rüdiger Göbel, a journalist with the leftist newspaper Junge Welt who recently earned a swift rebuke from the government for describing Ossis in the Bundeswehr as ‘cannon fodder,’ says the overrepresentation of eastern Germans in the military crystallises two pressing political issues in Germany: the unpopularity of Germany’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan and economic stagnation in the east. ‘We got a huge response after we wrote about this issue,’ he told The Local. ‘The fact is, the majority of people in Germany are against the war in Afghanistan but the majority in the Bundestag support it’…

“It is hardly surprising that people from economically depressed areas will be overrepresented in the armed forces. It’s a phenomenon seen around the world. Saxon Greens MP Peter Hettlich, who obtained the Bundeswehr figures via parliamentary inquiry, compared the situation with the high proportion of African-Americans and Hispanics in the US military. In the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, he went so far as to say eastern Germans were being ‘exploited’ because of their economic situation.”

Habermas on European Army and Core Europe

The Irish Times wrote on July 29:

“There is something refreshingly honest about Jürgen Habermas’s take on the European Union. A critical supporter of the Lisbon Treaty, Germany’s leading philosopher, political scientist and public intellectual believes that Europe can and must do better. His new collection of essays, Europe, The Faltering Project, brings together a series of previously published papers and speeches on a wide range of philosophical, political, economic and cultural themes.

“At first glance there may seem to be little connection between Habermas’s reflections on the relationship between contemporary philosophy, religion and politics on the one hand, and the fate of national media in the era of corporate globalisation on the other. However, whether explicitly or implicitly, what binds these disparate essays together is the author’s desire to find better ways to regulate the market in what he argues is a post-national era…

“Habermas outlines his concerns with the current state of the European project and offers his tentative proposals for its future. He identifies three challenges. Corporate-led globalisation has undermined the ability of the nation state to regulate the market in the best interests of society. The rise of the US as the world’s sole superpower has produced a ‘reckless, hegemonic power politics’. In turn a ‘split within the West’ has emerged on defence policy, between the EU and the US and within the US itself, exemplified by the Iraq war.

“The response to each of these three challenges, argues Habermas, is to be found in deeper European integration. Effective regulation of capital can only take place at the supra-national level, requiring EU harmonisation of social, economic and fiscal policy. An alternative to the Washington Consensus demands a single European foreign policy promoting reform of global economic and political institutions such as the IMF and the UN. Ending US military unilateralism requires an EU army that can earn respect for European principles.

“… he argues for an end to the ‘convoy model’ of EU integration, ‘in which the slowest vehicle determines the speed’ allowing instead for core Europe to press ahead. Addressing the democratic deficit will require an end to the idea that ‘it is the privilege of the governments to decide the future destiny of Europe behind closed doors’. And it is here that the compelling logic of Habermas’s argument exposes its Achilles heel, as his desire for supra-national social democratic reform clashes with the undemocratic and neo-liberal reality that is the European Union today.”

In our last Q&A, we discussed the fact that God is creating His holy and righteous character in man, as it is His purpose to reproduce Himself in man–to enlarge His God Family through man. The same cannot be said about angels.

There is no indication in Scripture that it is–or has ever been–God’s purpose to enlarge the Family of God–presently consisting of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ–through angels. Rather, angels are created beings; they are all “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).

God tells us that He “has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels” (Hebrews 2:5); rather, this potential is given to man (verses 6-9). And so, we read that Christ did not take on the nature of angels, but He took on the nature of man (Hebrews 2:16; compare Authorized Version and margin of New King James Bible), to be made like His brethren in everything (verse 17), so that His brethren could be made like Him in everything. As we point out in our booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus Christ–who was God since all eternity–became man, to make it possible for man to become God.

None of this can be said about angels. They are not to become God–in fact, we read that man–made immortal–will judge or rule over angels. A mighty and powerful angel had to tell John twice not to worship him, stating: “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the word of the book. Worship God” (Revelation 22:9; compare Revelation 19:10). But we also read that true Christians, made immortal, will be worshipped–and that with Christ’s approval–so they will be GOD at that time (Revelation 3:9).

And still, the Bible indicates character development in angels. Again, NOT for the purpose of becoming members of the God Family in a literal sense. But, we need to realize that God created angels with free moral agency–as men are free moral agents–and that every free moral agent has the power of choice. He has to DECIDE whether or not to accept and live by the truth. And the Bible tells us that about one-third of the angels whom God had created, DECIDED to SIN–while the remaining two-thirds of the angels DECIDED NOT to SIN (compare Revelation 12:4).

We discussed in a previous Q&A that the great archangel and cherub Lucifer sinned–and that his name was changed to Satan, which means, “adversary.” We also pointed out that the angels under his control likewise sinned and are known today as “demons.” We showed that Lucifer and his demons attempted a coup to throw God off His throne in heaven; but that they were defeated by God’s righteous angels and thrown back to this earth.

Herbert W. Armstrong, the late Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God, wrote the following in, “The Incredible Human Potential,” copyright 1978:

“Lucifer was a super being of awesome, majestic beauty, dazzling brightness, supreme knowledge, wisdom and power — perfect as God created him! But God of necessity created in him the power of choice and decision, or he could not have been a being of individuality and character…

“This superb spirit being filled up the sum total of wisdom, perfection and beauty. He was the supreme pinnacle, the masterpiece, of God’s creation, as an individually created being, the greatest one in the almighty power of God to create! The tragic thing is that he rebelled against his Maker!…

“He had complete knowledge, understanding and wisdom. But he also was given full powers of reasoning, thinking, making decisions, making his choice. And, with all this foreknowledge — even of results and consequences — this superb being, the highest that even God could create by fiat, turned to rebellion against his Maker — against the way that produces every good.”

We read that Lucifer was perfect when he was created–until iniquity, lawlessness or sin was found in him. God did not create him with iniquity–but because Lucifer was a free moral agent, he DECIDED to ALLOW sin to enter his life. Ezekiel 28:14-17 says about Lucifer: “You were the anointed cherub who covers… You were PERFECT in your ways from the day you were created, TILL iniquity was found IN YOU… You BECAME filled with violence within, And you SINNED… Your HEART WAS LIFTED UP because of your beauty; You CORRUPTED your wisdom for the sake of your splendor…”

As mentioned, the angels under Lucifer’s control followed his bad example and participated in his coup. 2 Peter 2:4 states: “For God did not spare the angels WHO SINNED, but cast them down to hell [tartaros in Greek; a state or condition of darkness, rather than a place] and delivered them into [spiritual] chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment…” Compare, too, Jude 6.

The question might be asked whether the “character development” in all created spirit beings is complete–and whether it was completed at the time when one-third of the angels decided to sin, and two-thirds decided to stay loyal to God. In other words, is it possible that some of the angels could still sin and some of the demons could still repent?

Please note the following excerpts from our booklet, Angels, Demons and the Spirit World:

“When reading about angelic warfare with demons, we might ask ourselves the question: ‘Why does God let these spiritual battles go on?’… We have already discussed the fact that a full one-third of God’s angels sinned in times past, thus becoming demons. God did not prevent them from sinning. He created them as free moral agents and He knew that they could sin…

“Angels were created as free moral agents. God wants them to make a final decision as to whether to sin or to live in righteousness. We know that the angels sinned when they followed Satan. What we don’t know is whether all of them committed the unpardonable sin; in other words, whether or not some of them can still repent. We also don’t know whether all of the angels who did not follow Satan thereby made the irrevocable decision to always stay loyal to God…

“We are told in 1 Peter 3:19–20: ‘… by which [the Spirit] also he [Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water’ (Authorized Version).

“The correct understanding of this passage is that Jesus Christ preached to the spirits in prison—the demons—at the time of Noah, when God was about to protect Noah from destruction. Christ used this example to show that the demons who had sinned ‘sometime’—before the creation of man—were still awaiting their judgment.

“Why did Christ preach to the demons? Was the only purpose to announce to them what they already knew, that they would be punished in the future? Or, was it done in order to bring some of them to repentance so that they could be spared from punishment?

“Proverbs 16:2 tells us that ‘the LORD weighs the spirits.’ If the fate of all spirit beings—good and bad—is sealed, why would God still weigh the spirits?

“We are also told, in 1 Corinthians 6:3, that we will judge angels. This judgment might include demons who are called ‘angels’ in Revelation 12:7. ‘Judgment’ can mean ‘condemnation.’ ‘Judgment’ can also refer to a process of judging, leading, guiding and directing, which requires time, until at the end of the process, the verdict is pronounced. Is the Bible telling us that we are to judge demons, not only in the sense of condemning them for what they did, but also for the purpose of trying to lead some of them to repentance?…

“The Bible sometimes refers to the angels who followed God as being ‘holy.’ This does not necessarily mean that they cannot sin. We who are called by God today are considered ‘holy’ (1 Peter 2:9). Still, we do sin from time to time. ONLY God CANNOT sin. The Bible does not say that the angels who did not follow Satan, could not sin anymore. Since God cannot sin, we have to become God, higher than the angels, to guarantee that we, too, will not sin anymore as born-again members of the God Family. This is why God is in the process of reproducing Himself, through man, not through angels…

“Paul makes this alarming comment in Galatians 1:8: ‘But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.’ Apparently, Paul felt it might be possible that an ‘angel from heaven’ could sin, by preaching a wrong gospel message…

“Does God allow spiritual battles between angels and demons to go on in order to allow character-building, either good or bad? Actions prove where one’s heart is. An angel who consistently and tenaciously fights for God, and against demons, will not be easily persuaded to deny God and to sin, while a demon who consistently and tenaciously fights against God will not easily repent and accept God and His way of life… Perhaps God is still testing His angels and the demons to see which of the angels might not yet have made a final commitment never to sin, and which of the demons might not yet have made a final commitment to never repent…

“God may not be done yet in determining the ultimate fate of all of His created spirit beings. As free moral agents, they too need to come to the point where their character has been formed and will not change. This has undoubtedly already occurred in many cases, but there might be other cases where God is still testing the spirits to see exactly where they stand.”

In conclusion, as free moral agents, both angels and men must choose to obey God. This requires time. While most created spirit beings have undoubtedly irrevocably decided never to sin or never to repent–so that they have acquired either good or bad character–there could still be those whose character development is not yet complete.

It is clear from Scripture that Satan and most demons are not interested in developing righteous character–they are not able to do so. It is also apparent that most holy angels are not interested in turning from God–in fact, they, too, might not be able to do so. Once spirit beings make an irrevocable decision never to sin or never to repent, they cannot change, as they are unwilling to change. Then, their character development–either for the good or the bad–will have been completed. For instance, as we pointed out in our last Q&A, God, who has always been perfect and righteous character, CANNOT sin, as His perfect WILL and His very nature are opposed to sinning. There was never a time when God’s character needed development–it was always perfect, righteous and good. But as we said, it is possible that some angels or demons may still have to reach the point of making their final irrevocable decision–their character development may still be ongoing towards a final resolution.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Since May 15, 2009, we sent out the following booklets in the USA in response to our Internet campaign: 155 copies of “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” and 140 copies of “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

Norbert Link’s sermonette, “Feast 2009 Update,” was posted on the Internet

Norbert Link’s new sermon, “How To Develop Character,” was posted on the Internet

A new German sermon was posted this week on the Internet. It discusses additional aspects of attributes of the Holy Spirit, such as love, faith and wisdom, and is titled, “Merkmale des Heiligen Geistes.”

by Shelly Bruno

As my son is fully enmeshed in a somewhat stubborn toddler phase, he’s started telling me he wants to “do it myself.” This could be in regard to climbing into the car, cutting with scissors, walking in a parking lot, or crossing the street. Some of these tasks (it is easy to see) would be much better carried out with the help of an authority figure, whether because of safety, experience, timeliness, or just plain common sense.

There is a saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Well, you only have to look to my son’s mother to see a fine example of wanting to do it myself. Tasks (it is easy to see) that would be much better carried out with the help of an authority figure.

I certainly like to be self-sufficient and do things for myself. Sometimes that has a positive result and other times, a negative outcome. Recently, after years of struggling with a problem, I finally handed the problem over to God. Not because I had great faith, or trust, or just knew that God would take care of it, but simply because I had run out of my own options: I just didn’t know what else I could do.

A strange thing happened–within a few hours of asking God for help, I saw a positive result. I was dumbfounded. A problem I had been trying to fix on my own, and had been so unsuccessful with for years, was immediately being addressed by God. After the sheer exhilaration of seeing results, I then became frustrated. Why had I struggled so long, not taking advantage of the ultimate power and authority of the universe? Was my problem so tremendous that God couldn’t handle it? Quite the contrary. The only thing that was tremendous was my stubbornness in not asking for help.

Since this experience I have been asking God for help with many different issues—even things I had previously thought too mundane or trivial for His attention. It’s very encouraging to see how God can and does assist in so many aspects of my life.

As I continue to work with my son during this toddler phase, I will teach him to ask for and accept help. It is reassuring to know that the phase will eventually pass. More importantly though, I hope my phase will pass, and I will learn to do what I should have all along—ask God for help.

On July 25, 2009, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “How to Develop Character.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

There is a reason for the prophecies of the Bible that tell of the end times!

God has inspired very specific details that will coincide with and begin to usher in the final days of human government under the stifling dominance of Satan. These prophetic warnings are something we must not ignore; furthermore, we need to understand our times and the events that lie just ahead.

Only the very few are destined to comprehend the truth God is revealing, and, sadly, even fewer yet will actively take it all to heart.

In a prophecy found in the Book of Daniel that directly speaks of the End Time, a contrast between the wicked and the wise is drawn: “‘…and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand'” (Daniel 12:10). This kind of understanding is coupled with action.

Jesus Christ compared the last generation alive before the Flood to the future generation who will experience the time of “great tribulation.” In Matthew 24:39, Jesus pointed to the fact that complacency will blind people of our time–just as it did those people of the ancient world.

Our particular challenge goes beyond just knowing the truth of prophecy. That, by itself, isn’t nearly enough!

If we are to follow the example of how Jesus Christ lived His life, then we must honestly admit that He put His knowledge to work! He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God; He willingly sacrificed His own desires–even to the point of yielding to His own death; He established the Church of God; and, He continues now as our living High Priest–intervening on our behalf before God the Father!

There is no statement nor is there any hint in God’s Word that Jesus was self-satisfied and unconcerned about what He understood. In fact, just the opposite is true!

Like Jesus Christ did, so must we, and that is to answer our calling. Let’s take it just as SERIOUSLY as He did, and that means, we must be doing it NOW!

A most serious rift is developing between the United States and Israel over Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem. Not only the USA, but also the international community, including Germany, France and the entire EU, seem united in their condemnation of Israel, and alarming signs of anti-Semitism are surfacing in Great Britain. At the same time, Muslims in Jerusalem have made it very clear that they will not allow the Jews to build a new Temple.

Another threat to peace, which many governmental leaders don’t seem to perceive as very real, is Iran’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons–a development with which Israel is bound to interfere. At the same time, many Iranians believe that the recent presidential elections were nothing but a thinly-veiled military coup by the Revolutionary Guard which answers to the Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And while America’s influence in the world is waning, even Iraq has begun to stand up to the USA.

Turning to many of America’s domestic problems, voices are getting louder demanding that Barack Obama prove his eligibility as President by producing his birth certificate. It is interesting how long the liberal mass media has ignored this challenging and potentially highly explosive and consequential issue–as it is still ignoring comments by a U.S. Supreme Court Judge, seemingly comparing abortion with eugenics. And while more U.S. banks fail and the insurance fund has reached its lowest level since 1993, Democrats advocate to provide free healthcare to 12 million illegal aliens.

Some concerned voices speak of the possibility of a nuclear attack against the USA; The Wall Street Journal laments that America is leaving itself behind in international business deals; and the potential for a huge Pacific Ocean tsunami on the West Coast of America, which would bring devastation and destruction to the area, may be greater than previously thought.

We conclude with articles about leaders such as the French President and the Dalai Lama advocating global authority in numerous areas of life, and with a post of the Telegraph reporting about scientific “consensus” and “counter-consensus” regarding the politically motivated hot debate as to how to interpret the world’s climate.

Most Serious Rift Between Israel and USA

Reuters reported on July 19:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would not take orders over Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, rejected on Sunday a U.S. demand to halt plans to build more homes for Jews in the disputed area. New friction with Washington over the project to build 20 apartments in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in a 1967 war could deepen the most serious rift in relations between the two allies in a decade…

“‘We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy (homes) anywhere in Jerusalem,’ Netanyahu said, calling the city Israel’s united capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally. ‘I can only imagine what would happen if someone would suggest Jews could not live in certain neighborhoods of New York, London, Paris or Rome. There would certainly be a great international outcry,’ he told reporters at the weekly cabinet meeting. ‘We cannot accept this edict in Jerusalem.’

“Netanyahu and President Barack Obama are already at loggerheads over the U.S. leader’s call for Israel to freeze Jewish settlement on occupied land Palestinians want for a state…”

The Associated Press wrote on July 19:

“Israel on Sunday rejected a U.S. demand to suspend a planned housing project in east Jerusalem, threatening to further complicate an unusually tense standoff with its strongest ally over settlement construction… On Sunday, Netanyahu told his Cabinet there would be no limits on Jewish construction anywhere in ‘unified Jerusalem.'”

WorldNetDaily added on July 19:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken by ‘surprise’ by a U.S. demand over the weekend to immediately halt a Jewish construction project in eastern Jerusalem. ‘I was surprised by the U.S. move,’ Netanyahu was quoted by his advisers as saying yesterday. ‘In my conversation with [U.S. President Barack] Obama in Washington, I told him that I could not accept any limitations on our sovereignty in Jerusalem. I told him Jerusalem is not a settlement, and it has nothing to do with discussions on a freeze.’…

“The Obama administration has called for a halt to Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank in line with Palestinian claims on eastern Jerusalem as a future capital, even though the city was never a part of any Palestinian entity. The construction project at the center of attention, financed by Miami Beach philanthropist Irving Moskowitz, is located just meters from Israel’s national police headquarters and other government ministries and is a few blocks from the country’s prestigious Hebrew University, underscoring the centrality of the Jewish real estate being condemned by the U.S…

“Netanyahu explained an open city does not discriminate against Jewish housing and that Israel would not accept a stance that counters that civil right. ‘Israeli Arabs are not forbidden from buying houses in west Jerusalem, and Jews must be granted the same right in the eastern part of the city,’ he added.

“WND has confirmed that over the weekend the State Department summoned Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to urge him to reject a permit granted to Moskowitz’s housing project. Moskowitz purchased an eastern Jerusalem hotel. He plans to tear it down and build housing units in its place. The Jerusalem municipality earlier this month granted approval to the project, allowing for the construction of 20 apartments plus a three-level underground parking lot.”

“Americans Should Honor Their Agreements With Israel”

The Associated Press reported on July 21:

“Israel’s deputy prime minister said Tuesday the Obama administration’s call to freeze West Bank settlement construction undermines past agreements between the U.S. and Israel and damages American credibility. The comments by Dan Meridor underscored the growing rift between Israel and the U.S. over construction in the settlements. Meridor, a respected veteran of Israeli politics, is considered a moderate voice in the new Israeli government…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would not build any new settlements, but that construction must be permitted inside existing settlements to accommodate what he calls ‘natural growth’ in their populations. Nearly 500,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as part of a future independent state.

“Israeli officials and former White House official Eliot Abrams have cited a series of written and oral understandings reached with the Bush administration that appear to permit limited settlement construction… ‘We never had an agreement with the previous administration. We had an agreement with America,’ [Dan Meridor] added. ‘The agreement we had with the Americans is binding on us and them … They should keep to the agreement.'”

The World Against Israel

Deutsche Welle reported on July 21:

“The presidency of the European Union – currently held by Sweden – released a statement on Tuesday urging Israel to refrain from ‘provocative actions in East Jerusalem,’ saying that ‘such actions are illegal under international law.’ The Middle East quartet – the EU, US, UN and Russia – called on Israel to halt West Bank settlements at a meeting in the Italian city of Trieste last month.

“The latest EU statement comes amid mounting international pressure on Israel over plans to build 20 apartments in East Jerusalem. The German government had on Monday already called on Israel to stop the project. ‘We see the continued settlement activities with great concern,’ said Jens Ploetner, foreign ministry spokesman in Berlin. He warned that the building of new settlements would hamper the peace process in the Middle East… France has summoned the Israeli ambassador in Paris to demand a halt to settlement building in East Jerusalem… Russia has also called on Israel to stop settlement activity…”

Anti-Semitism in Britain–“The Darkness Is Closing In”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on July 20:

“It has been a terrible month for Israel’s reputation in Great Britain. The government has announced a partial arms embargo in protest of Operation Cast Lead… The Guardian has featured commentaries promoting the apartheid analogy as well as accusing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of using Nazi language to defend settlement policy. The BBC and other media outlets have given massive coverage to the recent Breaking the Silence report slamming the IDF for committing ‘war crimes.’ Barely a day goes by without a new front being opened against the Jewish state… I for one have never seen a period like it. On Friday, the Guardian ran two anti-Israel opinion pieces on one and the same day…

“The Israel-haters smell blood, and they’re going in for the kill. It could be that we are on the threshold of a new era. But why now? The simplest explanation is that the relentless, unremitting stream of anti-Israeli invective that has been pumped into the public mind in Britain over the last decade or so was always going to reach critical mass at some point…

“The obvious question now is where next. With the partial arms embargo in mind, we should obviously be watching for an extension of formal sanctions. Outside the governmental sphere, it is a racing certainty that unions will renew efforts for trade and academic boycotts. Media hysteria will grow as each new assault on Israel’s integrity helps legitimize and validate the next. For the Jews of Britain, the prospect of increasing anti-Semitism against this backdrop is all too real. The darkness is closing in.”

Muslims Determined to Prevent Jews from Building a Temple

The “Daily Israel Report” wrote on July 20:

“The deputy chief of the Islamist movement in Israel Kimal Al-Khatib told thousands of children in a Saturday Islamist protest on the Temple Mount that the Jewish Temple will never be rebuilt. His speech was published in the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper Monday morning. ‘If the Jews think that their mourning will end and they will rejoice by destroying the Al-Aqsa mosque and building their Temple, we say to them that their dream will not be fulfilled and they will continue to mourn. Al-Aqsa is for Muslims only,’ he said.

“Al-Khatib was referring to the traditional period of mourning Jews commemorate every summer for the destruction of the Holy Temples on Tisha B’Av (The ninth of the Hebrew month of Av). The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans, while the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque were erected in 691 and 705 CE.”

Will Israel Attack Iran?

Bild On Line wrote on July 21:

“The ‘Stern’ recently reported German intelligence sources as saying: ‘If they [Iran] wanted to they could test a nuclear bomb within half a year.’

“What is Iranian dictator Mahumd Ahmadinejad planning? He often brags about the threat of the bomb… And he has also stated that Iran wants to form ‘a new world order’…

“George Bush’s former American ambassador to the UN John Bolton wrote in the ‘Washington Post’: ‘Israel’s decision of whether to use military force against Tehran’s nuclear weapons program is more urgent than ever. Those who oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons are left in the near term with only the option of targeted military force against its weapons facilities.’

“But how will Israel react…? Israeli pilots have been training in the last few months for attacks on bunkers and are on high alert. Israel has bought 1000 bunker-busting bombs from America, each weighing 113 kilograms… In the Pacific Ocean, the Americans are training the Israeli army how to use Arrow 2 missiles which shoot down incoming rockets. Two Israeli warships have recently left for the Persian Gulf… US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said… that the opportunity for negotiating with Iran ‘will not remain open indefinitely’ – words which do not sound like the nuclear crisis will end very peacefully.”

Elections in Iran Just a Thinly-Veiled Military Coup?

BBC News reported on July 21:

“Iranian riot police are reported to have arrested a number of pro-reform protesters in Tehran after demonstrations turned violent. Police clashed with hundreds of people marching despite a ban on public gatherings since the disputed election in June, Reuters news agency said… The renewed street protests come shortly after Mr Mousavi issued one of his strongest critiques of Iran’s ruling elite since the election result was declared…

“Since the announcement that Mr Ahmadinejad had won June’s presidential election, Mr Mousavi – a reformist former prime minister of Iran – has received backing from several senior figures within the Iranian establishment. Among them are two former presidents, Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami.

“On Monday Mr Khatami called for a referendum on the legitimacy of the government. Only the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, can organise a referendum, and he has already declared the election result valid…

“Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, which answers to the Supreme Leader, has described the election as a turning point. The head of the Guards’ political bureau said the election allowed the Guards to take power into their own hands. Our correspondent says many Iranians will see the Revolutionary Guards’ confidence as confirming their own fears that the outcome of the election was just a thinly-veiled military coup.”

“Thankful” Iraqis…

The Washington Post wrote on July 18:

“The Iraqi government has moved to sharply restrict the movement and activities of U.S. forces in a new reading of a six-month-old U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that has startled American commanders and raised concerns about the safety of their troops. In a curt missive issued by the Baghdad Operations Command on July 2 — the day after Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal of U.S. troops to bases outside city centers — Iraq’s top commanders told their U.S. counterparts to ‘stop all joint patrols’ in Baghdad. It said U.S. resupply convoys could travel only at night and ordered the Americans to ‘notify us immediately of any violations of the agreement.’

“The strict application of the agreement coincides with what U.S. military officials in Washington say has been an escalation of attacks against their forces by Iranian-backed Shiite extremist groups, to which they have been unable to fully respond… The new guidelines are a reflection of rising tensions between the two governments. Iraqi leaders increasingly see the agreement as an opportunity to show their citizens that they are now unequivocally in charge and that their dependence on the U.S. military is minimal and waning…”

Continuing Challenges to Barack Obama’s Eligibility as President

WorldNetDaily wrote on July 16:

“Radio talk shows television programming, newspapers – even a liberal talk show host in New York and talk format icon Lou Dobbs – have begun taking note of the story long reported by WorldNetDaily over the doubts about and challenges to President Obama’s eligibility to occupy the Oval office. Lynn Samuels, longtime New York radio talker, even accused Obama of lying about his birth certificate.

“WND has been reporting – many times in solo fashion – on the issues that have been raised by multiple lawsuits contending that Obama does not qualify under the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that the president be a ‘natural born’ citizen. But now word is spreading, prompted by the case brought this week by an Army major scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan.

“In that case, which was dismissed today by a judge in Georgia, a reserve officer explained he had a right to question his deployment orders and know that the commander-in-chief is legitimate, or he would be exposing himself and any soldiers under him to extreme danger in overseas combat situations. Maj. Stefan Cook’s case was dismissed by the judge who noted the Pentagon had revoked the officer’s deployment orders, apparently resolving the dispute. The officer’s civilian employer also reported being pressured by the government to fire the officer.

“The story was reported on Sean Hannity’s program on Fox News. Hannity said the challenge to the deployment orders came after Obama ordered a surge in troops to Afghanistan. A report on the same challenge also appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“And Orly Taitz, the attorney for Maj. Stefan Cook, was on the Lou Dobbs radio program, along with former U.S. Ambassador Alan Keyes, who was a presidential candidate on the ballot in 2008. Dobbs said he and his staff have ‘been working hard to figure out what’s going on.’ He said he’s found the Federal Election Commission does ‘nothing to validate … a candidate.’ Nor do the states, he said. Keyes said it rests upon judges and members of Congress, who have sworn an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, to do their duty and investigate questions or discrepancies.

“Dobbs suggested that many Americans believe simply being born to a mother who is a U.S. citizen automatically makes the newborn a citizen, but both Taitz and Keyes explained that under the immigration law in effect in the 1960s when Obama was born, an American woman married to a foreign national man had to have lived in the U.S. 10 years, at least five of which were after the age of 14, to pass along U.S. citizenship. Taitz pointed out Obama’s mother was too young to do that…

“WND has reported on dozens of legal challenges to Obama’s status as a ‘natural born citizen.’ The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, ‘No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.'”

“Chris Matthews Wrong on Obama Birth Certificate”

Newsmax wrote on July 22:

“MSNBC’s Chris Matthews got into a heated exchange with a congressman on his show Tuesday as he revisited the question of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate — or lack of one… Matthews seemingly undermined claims by some that Obama never has released his birth certificate, producing what Matthews said was a true copy of it. But Matthews made a false claim…

“The indisputable fact is that Obama has not released his birth certificate, which the state of Hawaii issues for all citizens born there. Instead, his campaign has released only his certification of live birth from the state of Hawaii, which is a document that offers a summarized version of the birth certificate.

“During the 2008 presidential campaign, GOP nominee Sen. John McCain quickly released his birth certificate when liberal bloggers raised questions about his eligibility to be president. McCain was born at a military hospital in Panama. Obama likewise could put the matter to rest by releasing his actual birth certificate, which would show, among other things, the place of his birth and the doctor who performed the birth procedure. This information is not provided on the certificate of live birth.

“As it stands, Obama is the only president in history whose birthplace is unknown to the public – a fact that would be stated on the actual birth certificate. Interestingly, his family has mentioned two different hospitals in Hawaii as the place of birth…”

More Banks Fail… Insurance Fund at Lowest Level Since 1993

The Associated Press reported on July 18:

“Regulators on Friday shut two banks in California and two smaller banks in Georgia and South Dakota, boosting to 57 the number of federally insured banks to fail this year… As the economy has soured — with unemployment rising, home prices tumbling and loan defaults soaring — bank failures have cascaded and sapped billions out of the deposit insurance fund. It now stands at its lowest level since 1993, $13 billion as of the first quarter…

“The number of banks on the FDIC’s list of problem institutions leaped to 305 in the first quarter — the highest number since 1994 during the savings and loan crisis — from 252 in the fourth quarter. The FDIC expects U.S. bank failures to cost the insurance fund around $70 billion through 2013.”

Free Healthcare for Illegal Aliens?

Newsmax wrote on July 19:

“On Friday, Democrats moved one step closer to giving free health insurance to the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal aliens when they successfully defeated a Republican-backed amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving government-subsidized health care under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Barack Obama…

“Republicans… point out that the Democrats, by refusing to accept the Heller amendment, would deny health agencies from conducting simple database checks to verify citizenship. Many states give illegals driver licenses, which will be sufficient to get free health care under the plan. Critics also contend that millions of illegals… already have counterfeit Social Security cards or other fraudulent documents. There is no enforcement mechanism in the legislation, experts say, to prevent illegals who use fake IDs to obtain jobs from also obtaining taxpayer-subsidized health insurance…”

Abortion and Eugenics–and the Mainstream Media Keeps Silent…

The Telegraph in the UK wrote on July 13:

“The mainstream media have been incredibly slow to pick up on a creepy comment by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a New York Times interview published today but flagged last week. In it, Ginsburg talks about Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalised abortion: ‘Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion.’

“What?… And the (pro-choice) media haven’t exactly jumped on the story. Bloggers are incredulous. This is what Creative Minority Report had to say yesterday:

“‘Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s comments about using abortion as population control raised a lot of eyebrows in the blogosphere… Huge sites too like Hot Air featured the story prominently. Even Drudge ran with the story yesterday. But as of this morning the mainstream media have completely ignored the story about one of the most powerful people in the country essentially endorsing eugenics on populations ‘we don’t want to have too many of.’

“‘What the heck is going on here? What are we to make of the media’s complete silence on this issue? They don’t see a little eugenics between friends as a big deal? They thought it was taken out of context?…’

“You might think the New York Times might want to trumpet its exclusive. But the mindset of that… publication is so overwhelmingly liberal that it didn’t even realise it had a story on its hands.”

“America Is Leaving Itself Behind…”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on July 20:

“On present trends, most of Europe will soon have lower income tax rates than most of America. And now the European Union is stealing another competitive march on Washington, this time on a free trade deal with the world’s 13th largest economy, fast-growing South Korea. Last week Brussels and Seoul finished the outline of a new trade agreement, and the two sides will now write up the technical language to codify it. As for the pending U.S.-Korea trade agreement, Congress has done . . . nothing…

“Korea’s progress with the EU shows how risky U.S. delays are. The European Commission says the EU-Korea deal will eliminate $2.2 billion in duties Korea currently imposes each year on European goods — and cut duties and eliminate nontariff barriers on imports of European cars. American companies could gain similar benefits if only Congress would approve the U.S.-Korea pact.

“Across the globe, countries are moving ahead with similar bilateral trade deals, often giving their own national companies an edge over U.S. competitors. In a perfect world, all countries would be able to benefit from multilateral trade opening under the Doha Round. But for now bilateral deals are better than nothing, and America is leaving itself behind.”

“USA At the Edge of Catastrophe”

Newsmax reported on July 21:

“Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the United States needs a dramatic increase in defense spending or it will risk a national catastrophe — from a nuclear or biological attack — that could kill several million Americans… ‘We are today running very big risks in the name of saving a few billion dollars that may end up killing several million Americans. The time to fix that is before the disaster happens,’ he said… ‘We are living at the edge of a catastrophe, and we need to understand that’s exactly where we are… What we are faced with is not simply a problem, it is potentially catastrophic’…

“The greatest threat to the United States is a nuclear weapon… being detonated in a major city, Gingrich said. The second is a successful electromagnetic pulse attack that could knock out the entire electric grid, including all appliances, telephones, vehicles, and generators. Other dangers Gingrich listed include biological weapons; cyberattacks; unprotected assets in outer space; and dangers unknown, all of which he said have the potential of being weapons of mass destruction or disruption.”

Will Huge Future Tsunami Threaten West Coast of America?

ScienceDaily wrote on July 20:

“The potential for a huge Pacific Ocean tsunami on the West Coast of America may be greater than previously thought… The new research suggests that future tsunamis could reach a scale far beyond that suffered in the tsunami generated by the great 1964 Alaskan earthquake… The 1964 Alaskan earthquake – the second biggest recorded in history with a magnitude of 9.2 – triggered a series of massive waves with run up heights of as much as 12.7 metres in the Alaskan Gulf region and 52 metres in the Shoup Bay submarine slide in Valdez Arm…

“Lead author, Professor Ian Shennan, from Durham University’s Geography Department said… ‘Earthquakes can hit at any time of the day or night, and that’s a big challenge for emergency planners. A tsunami in this region could cause damage and threaten life from Alaska to California and beyond; in 1964 the effects of the tsunami waves were felt as far away as southern California and were recorded on tide gages throughout the Pacific Ocean.'”

Sarkozy for Global Environmental Authority

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18:

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy made the call for a global environmental organization… Sarkozy didn’t give any indication of how he thought this new global organization should be laid out… The world already has a global environmental organization. It’s called the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), established in June 1972 as a result of the UN Conference on the Human Environment. 

“Part of the mandate of the UNEP is ‘to promote international co-operation in the field of the environment and to recommend, as appropriate, policies to this end.’ Almost every international agreement on the environment has come under the auspices of the UNEP, including the Kyoto Protocol. It is unclear how a new global environmental organization would really be different.”

The Dalai Lama for Financial Globalization…

Welt Online wrote on July 16:

“Buddhism, economics and management are all interconnected. The Dalai Lama believes the financial crisis is a moral crisis. He says he is a Marxist monk… [F]or the Tibetans [he is]  a divine king and [he has] many followers in the western world who idolize him…”

In an interview with the newspaper, the Dalai Lama stated:

“I am essentially a supporter of globalization… I still believe I am a Marxist monk… In the Marxist theory the focus lies on the just allocation of wealth. From a moral perspective this is a correct claim… The Chinese communists are communists without a communist ideology. But if you mean socialism, like it first existed in the Eastern Block and now in North Korea and Cuba, I believe it goes against human nature; it destroys creativity.”

Man-Made Global Warming–Yes or No?

The Telegraph wrote on July 11:

“Faced with a ‘consensus’ view which looks increasingly implausible, a fast-growing body of reputable scientists from many countries has been coming up with a ‘counter-consensus’, which holds that their fellow scientists have been looking in wholly the wrong direction to explain what is happening to the world’s climate. The two factors which most plausibly explain what temperatures are actually doing are fluctuations in the radiation of the sun and the related shifting of ocean currents.

“Two episodes highlight the establishment’s alarm at the growing influence of this ‘counter consensus’. In March, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has a key role in President Obama’s plans to curb CO2 emissions, asked one of its senior policy analysts, Alan Carlin, to report on the science used to justify its policy. His 90-page paper recommended that the EPA carry out an independent review of the science, because the CO2 theory was looking indefensible, while the ‘counter consensus’ view – solar radiation and ocean currents – seemed to fit the data much better. Provoking a considerable stir, Carlin’s report was stopped dead, on the grounds that it was too late to raise objections to what was now the EPA’s official policy.

“Meanwhile a remarkable drama has been unfolding in Australia, where the new Labor government has belatedly joined the ‘consensus’ bandwagon by introducing a bill for an emissions-curbing ‘cap and trade’ scheme, which would devastate Australia’s economy, it being 80 per cent dependent on coal. The bill still has to pass the Senate, which is so precisely divided that the decisive vote next month may be cast by an independent Senator, Stephen Fielding. So crucial is his vote that the climate change minister, Penny Wong, agreed to see him with his four advisers, all leading Australian scientists.

“Fielding put to the minister three questions. How, since temperatures have been dropping, can CO2 be blamed for them rising? What, if CO2 was the cause of recent warming, was the cause of temperatures rising higher in the past? Why, since the official computer models have been proved wrong, should we rely on them for future projections?

“The written answers produced by the minister’s own scientific advisers proved so woolly and full of elementary errors that Fielding’s team have now published a 50-page, fully-referenced ‘Due Diligence’ paper tearing them apart. In light of the inadequacy of the Government’s reply, the Senator has announced that he will be voting against the bill. The wider significance of this episode is that it is the first time a Western government has allowed itself to be drawn into debating the science behind the global warming scare with expert scientists representing the ‘counter consensus’ – and the ‘consensus’ lost hands down.”

Actually, the Bible has quite a bit to say about this topic.

(1) To give a good definition of righteous character, as we want to apply this term in this Q&A, we would like to quote from several of Herbert Armstrong’s writings, the late Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God.

In “What Science Cannot Discover About the Human Mind,” copyright 1978, he wrote about righteous character as “the ability in a single entity to come to comprehend and distinguish the true values from the false, the right way from the wrong, to choose the right and reject the wrong, and, with power of will, to do the right and resist the evil.”

In “Mystery of the Ages,” copyright 1985, he elaborated, as follows:

“Perfect, holy and righteous character is the ability in such separate entity to come to discern the true and right way from the false, to make voluntarily a full and unconditional surrender to God and his perfect way — to yield to be conquered by God — to determine even against temptation or self- desire, to live and to do the right. And even then such holy character is the gift of God. It comes by yielding to God to instill HIS LAW (God’s right way of life) within the entity who so decides and wills. Actually, this perfect character comes only from God, as instilled within the entity of his creation, upon voluntary acquiescence, even after severe trial and test…”

(2) What we have to keep in mind, then, is that godly character is a gift from God. It must also be noted that this gift must be acquired and developed over time.

In “What Science Cannot Discover About the Human Mind,” Herbert Armstrong wrote:

“God’s purpose in creating man is to reproduce Himself—with such perfect spiritual character as only God possesses—who will not and therefore cannot ever sin! (1 John 3:9). Such perfect spiritual and holy character cannot be created by fiat. It must be developed, and that requires time and experience… But if man is to become God, in the process of God reproducing Himself, then the character that is to be built in him must emanate from God—and the spirit life that is to be his also must emanate from God.”

We might pose the question why God could not create character by fiat. Is there anything that God cannot do? Absolutely. For instance, God cannot sin. The reason is, He has willed never to sin, and His Will is perfect. We are also told that we must reject sin, but due to temptations and weaknesses, we do still sin from time to time, even after we have received God’s Holy Spirit. This is not to say that it would be impossible for us to keep God’s Law. God would never command us to keep the Law if He knew that we could not do it. With the help of God’s Holy Spirit in us, we CAN keep the Law–both in the letter and even in the Spirit. Jesus Christ, when He lived in the flesh, never sinned. He overcame sin in the flesh. He lived a PERFECT life. He did it because He was ALWAYS close to God the Father. His Will never to sin was PERFECT.

The only difference is that God the Father gave Christ His Holy Spirit without measure from His inception. Today, when God’s disciples receive His Spirit, they initially receive only a small portion of it. But we are to grow in God’s Spirit. We are to become perfect. And with God’s help, we can. When we sin, it is because we are not as close to God as we should have been. And, perhaps, because our will never to sin has not yet reached perfection, either.

But that is what character development is all about. We need to learn the right, choose the right, and live the right. The more we do, the more we develop godly righteous perfect character in our lives.

When we say that God could not create perfect character by fiat, we need to go back to our definition of godly character, which requires that a free moral agent needs to choose the right and reject the wrong, and to actually do the right and refuse to do the wrong. With THAT definition, God could not have created such character by fiat. Of course, He could have created beings who would automatically do the right and refuse to do the wrong–but they would not have been free moral agents with the POWER to choose. That power and ability, leading to right character, if applied correctly, requires time; so, by necessity, it could not have been created ad hoc.

We need to understand that God is reproducing Himself through man. The purpose of man’s creation is to ultimately become God. And in order to become God, man must develop the character of God. He must become perfect, as God is perfect. (For more information on this vital subject, please read our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”).

Regarding the need of character development in man, Herbert Armstrong also wrote the following in “Mystery of the Ages”:

“But there was one super-important quality that even God’s creative powers could not create instantly by fiat — the same perfect, holy, righteous CHARACTER inherent in both God and the Word! This kind of character must be DEVELOPED, by the CHOICE and the INTENT of the one in whom it comes to exist… I repeat, such perfect character must be developed. It requires the free choice and decision of the separate entity in whom it is to be created. But, further, even then it must be instilled by and from the Holy God who, only, has such righteous character to endow.”

He went on to say:

“God is more than one single person — God is a family — God is the supreme divine family — he is the Creator of all that is, and he has an ultimate PURPOSE — the creation of perfect, holy, righteous and spiritual CHARACTER, in MAN made immortal, to become part of that God family… WHY did the Creator God put MAN on the earth? For God’s ultimate supreme purpose of reproducing himself — of recreating himself, as it were, by the supreme objective of creating the righteous divine character ultimately in millions unnumbered begotten and born children who shall become God beings, members of the God family…

“WHAT, then, is man? He is a living being made from the dust of the ground. He is CLAY, and GOD is the Master Potter, molding, shaping, forming our CHARACTER — if we respond when he calls and draws us to him. With our willingness he is infusing into us HIS VERY OWN SPIRITUAL HOLY, RIGHTEOUS and PERFECT character!”

Please also note the following comments made in our booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World“:

“God wants us to build holy, righteous, godly character. We must develop the will to never sin, as well as the ability to carry out that will to never sin. We are to prove to God that we mean business. That requires time, and it requires the help of God’s Holy Spirit in us. We have to learn to resist the downward pull of Satan and his demons. We must overcome temptations to sin, even in the face of satanic persecution. God wants to see that we will not give in to the ‘dark side.'”

(3) Does the Bible support the claim that we must develop godly righteous character in our Christian lives–that God is creating His character in His disciples?

Absolutely!

It is true, however, that we will not find the word “character” in the Authorized Version or the New King James Bible. But the concept of character development is clearly conveyed–even in annotations in the New King James Bible, as we will see. In reviewing other modern translations, we discover that they actually use the word “character” in numerous places. Although this might be more an interpretation than a literal rendering of the original, they are nevertheless correct in their understanding of the meaning of those Scriptures.

(a) In general, the need to have a good or noble character in our lives is emphasized in these passages:

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11, New International Version).

Boaz said the following about Ruth: “All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character” (Ruth 3:11, New International Version).

Beginning with Proverbs 31:10, a “virtuous woman” is described. The New International Version translated the introductory verse as follows: “…a wife of noble character who can find?”

In addition, the New King James Bible has the following headline to Psalm 15, where David answers the question who will be accepted by God: “The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the LORD.”

Regarding Ananias who was sent by God to Paul to baptize him, we read Paul’s testimony about Ananias in Acts 22:12, that he was “a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city” (“The New Testament in Modern Speech,” by Richard Francis Weymouth; the New King James Bible says, “having a good testimony with all the Jews”).

And notice 3 John 1:12: “The character of Demetrius has the approval of all men, and of the truth itself. We also express our approval of it, and you know that we only give our approval to that which is true” (Weymouth; the New King James Bible says, “has a good testimony from all”).

2 Peter 1:5 points out:

“But for this very reason–adding, on your part, all earnestness–along with your faith, manifest also a noble character: along with a noble character, knowledge…” (Weymouth; the New King James Bible says, “virtue.” As we have seen, the “virtuous woman” of Proverbs 31 is a woman of character.).

(b) The Bible also shows that godly righteous character must be DEVELOPED in man:

Luke 1:80 tells us the following about Jesus Christ, according to Weymouth: “And the child grew and became strong in character, and lived in the Desert till the time came for him to appear publicly to Israel.” The New King James Bible says that He became strong in spirit. This would include, becoming strong in character.

As Christ grew in godly character, so must we. Of course, Christ never sinned. But He had to continue throughout His human life to choose the right and reject the wrong, and to live the right and refuse to live the wrong (compare the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 7:14-16).

Describing Jesus Christ as He is now, Hebrews 1:3 refers to Him as “…being the brightness of His [God the Father’s] glory and the express image of His person…” The word “image” is translated from the Greek word “charakter,” which means “engraved,” “stamped” or “carved.” Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible renders the Greek expression as, “impressed character.” Moffat translates Hebrews 1:3 as, “He, reflecting God’s bright glory and stamped with God’s own character, sustains the universe with his word of power…”

Christ is the image, character, imprint, stamp or exact representation of the Father’s “person,” “nature,” “being,” “substance” or “essence.” And so, Christ’s disciples are to engrave the nature of who and what God is–His righteous and holy character–into themselves through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Weymouth translates Hebrews 12:10, as follows:

“It is true that they disciplined us for a few years according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order that we may become sharers in His own holy character.” The New King James Bible says here, “that we may be partakers of His holiness.” When we do, then we are partakers of His holy character. This is a remarkable rendering, as it shows the correct understanding that God wants to create His holy character in us.

A general description of one aspect of God’s righteous character (which we are to acquire), can be found in Hebrews 6:17: “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us” (Revised Standard Version).

Weymouth translates 2 Corinthians 13:11 as follows, showing that we need to grow in perfection regarding our righteous character:

“Finally, brethren, be joyful, secure perfection of character (the New King James Bible says here, “be complete”), take courage, be of one mind, live in peace. And then God who gives love and peace will be with you.”

Compare, too, Romans 5:3-4: “… we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope” (New International Version).

The Living Bible renders this phrase, as follows: “And patience develops strength of character in us…” The Revised Standard Version says: “… endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” The New American Bible states: “… affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope…” Lastly, the New Jerusalem Bible renders it in this way: “… perseverance DEVELOPS a tested character…”

Weymouth renders Romans 14:19 as follows: “Therefore let us aim at whatever makes for peace and mutual upbuilding of character.”

Similar Weymouth’s rendering of 1 Corinthians 14:26: “What then, brethren? Whenever you assemble, there is not one of you who is not ready either with a song of praise, a sermon, a revelation, a ‘tongue,’ or an interpretation. Let everything be done with a view to the building up of faith and character.”

Note, too, Colossians 4:12: “Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, sends greetings to you, always wrestling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand firm–Christians of ripe character and of clear conviction as to everything which is God’s will” (Weymouth).

Take also note of James 3:2: “For we often stumble and fall, all of us. If there is any one who never stumbles in speech, that man has reached maturity of character and is able to curb his whole nature” (Weymouth).

Notice also the following requirement for a minister of God:

“He [a minister, overseer, elder] must have a good report of them which are without. Have an established character which speaks well for the church among the unconverted” (1 Timothy 3:7, People’s New Testament).

1 Corinthians 15:33 warns us not to allow the hindrance of the development of our good character, by associating ourselves with those whose standards and life style are ungodly and detrimental to our spiritual growth: “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character'” (New International Version).

And 1 Corinthians 3:13 adds: “… the true character of each individual’s work will become manifest. For the day of Christ will disclose it, because that day is soon to come upon us clothed in fire, and as for the quality of every one’s work– the fire is the thing which will test it” (Weymouth).

As mentioned, even though the word “character” is not used by the Authorized Version or the New King James Bible in the above-quoted Scriptures, they do describe the different aspects of godly character in those passages.

In conclusion, the Bible teaches the concept that we must develop godly and righteous character in our lives–and that it is God who creates His character in His disciples–over time–and with their ascent and cooperation.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch and YouTube. It is titled, “The Bible — a Waste of Time?” In the program, Norbert Link points out that recently, a viewer wrote us about the Bible: “That Jew book has caused enough trouble in the world… You live in a… delusion, get… religion out of a secular world.” But is it fair to hold the Bible responsible for the pain and suffering brought about by people who claimed to believe in the Bible, but did not follow its injunctions? Rightly understood, you need the Bible to know why you exist, why there is evil in the world, how to live in peace and happiness, and what your future holds. Evolution can’t tell you. Only God does.

The German version of this StandingWatch program, titled, “Die Bibel–reine Zeitverschwendung?,” was also posted on YouTube and on our German website.

A new German sermon was posted this week on the Internet. It discusses the power of God’s Holy Spirit and is titled, “Das Wirken des Heiligen Geistes.”