On Saturday, March 14, 2009, Brian Gale will give the sermon, titled, “Only When It Suits Us…”

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.

Are there many truths? Is there an inexhaustible supply of explanations and ways of looking at things that all lead to the same conclusion?

In religion the statement is often made, or at least, inferred, that while there may be different ways of worshipping, in the end we all are worshipping the same God! However, a close examination of the Bible and specifically the teachings of Jesus Christ does not support such an idea. For example, in Matthew 7, verses 21 through 23, Jesus warns those who claim to follow Him but do not obey the Father and who actually “‘practice lawlessness.'”

When Jesus began to preach, He was confronted by the religion of the Jews who fiercely held to their own beliefs. They had the full text of the Old Testament plus the history of being one of the tribes of Israel. They practiced a kind of Sabbath observance that spelled out endless details of do’s and don’ts. The magnificent Temple stood as the center of Jewish life and worship.

However, with all of the trappings of religion that consumed the scribes and Pharisees and other sects of Judaism, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of true understanding and true teaching:

“‘Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men”‘” (Matthew 15:7-9).

And so it is today! Deceptive religious practices now stand as the most visible representation of so-called Christianity. But the real truth of God is not what this world embraces. The differences between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God are irreconcilable. They are not and never will be the same!

If we believe this, then we should also understand what the Word of God so clearly and so emphatically teaches–the wisdom of God is spiritually discerned (Compare 1 Corinthians 2:14).

The lack of spiritual discernment overturned the Jewish nation when they rejected Jesus, the True Messiah. The lack of spiritual discernment has led to the emergence of a totally false religion masquerading itself as Christian–which, like the various sects of Judaism in Christ’s time, has given rise to endless divisions. The lack of spiritual discernment has led to the scattering of the true Church of God as human reasoning and demonic influences supplanted the truth with lies.

We are warned to not be among those who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). We must be careful that none of us begin to “strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers” (2 Timothy 2:14). Rather, we are to be teachable and guidable by the True Shepherd of our salvation, Jesus Christ, Who is the living Head of the Church of God.

Violence has once again overtaken the news of the week. Such mindless acts as random mass murders in both the United States and Germany were added to the deliberate execution of two British military personnel in Northern Ireland.

Survivors were so stunned by the senselessness of the acts that few could offer anything but utter dismay at the sudden impact of their tragedies.

As the financial morass of the U.S. and the rest of the world only grew worse, plans for recovery and its mounting costs seem to be lost in an ever more distant future. The fact that the Dow Jones industrials shot up 240 points, bringing its gains over the past three days to 622 points, should not obscure the reality that–as USA Today put it on March 12–“No one is calling the end to the selling on Wall Street. The economic picture is too uncertain, and much of this week’s rally has been driven by technical factors.” In addition, German Chancellor Angela Merkel just described the present worldwide economic crisis as the worst since World War II.

Undoing what had been viewed as more middle ground in stem cell research approved under the Bush Administration, President Obama backed up by a chorus of determined supporters has now approved the destruction of human embryos in order to harvest embryonic stem cells!

And in the Middle East, Jerusalem and Israel continue to simmer as the focus of attention from the Pope, the EU and Iran’s military!

In our websites, listed below, we present biblical explanations that help explain WHY the people of our generation have entered into such a dark and seemingly hopeless period of troubles. There is good news, and it is revealed in the knowledge that God will soon send Jesus Christ back to bring His government and to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth—only then will true and lasting peace replace the violence that threatens even now to overwhelm us!

www.standingwatch.org; www.eternalgod.org; www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk;

www.churchofgodacf.ca; www.aufpostenstehen.de; www.eternalgod.org/french

Murders Upon Murders!

Illinois:

Another shocking murder took place this past Sunday in an Illinois church.

The AP reported about the incident on March 9, 2009:

“The gunman, identified by authorities only as a 27-year-old from Troy, strode toward the Rev. Fred Winters shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, exchanged words with him, then fired a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol until it jammed. Winters, 45, died of a single shot to the heart, the coroner said Monday.”

While others were wounded, had not this man’s gun jammed, many more of those in the church would have fallen victim to his murderous rampage.

Germany:

Deutsche Welle, March 12, 2009, reported on another school-related mass murder. Pointing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s televised address to the nation and her description of this horrific event “…as a day of sorrow for the entire country,” the article also gave this summary of the tragedy:

“A 17-year-old gunman entered a school in the town of Winnenden shortly after nine in the morning and opened fire, killing students and teachers. He then left the school, shooting dead more people as he fled. The assailant killed 15 people in total. He commandeered a vehicle and traveled to a town around 40 kilometres from Winnenden, where police cornered him. The gun battle that ensued left two police officers seriously injured and the attacker dead. Police say he turned his weapon on himself. The gunman is believed to have been a former student of the school.”

German commentators pointed out that no country seems to be safe from these horrendous acts. Early reports stated that the murderer targeted mainly young female students and that he suffered from depression. There has been no evidence so far that he was in any way connected to terrorists or neo-Nazis.

Alabama:

From Reuters, March 11, 2009:

“U.S. authorities trying to piece together why a man killed 10 people in the worst rampage in Alabama’s history focused on Wednesday on the grudges that he bore.”

USA, March 11, 2009, adds these details of the murderous crimes:

“Alabama authorities say the gunman who killed 10 people, including five members of this family, was armed with two assault rifles and a .38-caliber pistol. They say he fired more than 200 rounds in his crime spree Tuesday afternoon.

“According to authorities, the suspect, Michael McLendon, killed his mother in Kinston, Ala., then drove to the town of Samson and killed four more relatives and two others. Finally, he went on a general shooting spree in the town, the Associated Press reports. The victims included the wife and child of a local sheriff’s deputy. McLendon then killed himself.”

Northern Ireland Sees Return to Sectarian Violence!

From the Christian Science Monitor, March 8, 2009:

“Police believe dissident Irish nationalists attempting to smash the decade-old peace in Northern Ireland might have been behind the shooting deaths Saturday night of two British soldiers.

“The soldiers were killed in a drive-by shooting at Massereene Army base in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Four others, including two pizza delivery men, were injured when gunmen opened fire. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police are blaming dissident Irish republicans.”

Grim Financial News!

On March 8, 2009, a World Bank report was summarized in the Washington Post:

“Developing nations are facing a massive financing shortfall of up to $700 billion this year as private investment evaporates and global trade collapses, threatening to return many countries to the days of heavy reliance on foreign aid, the World Bank warned yesterday…

“The World Bank predicted that the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II, a prognosis more dire than that of almost any private investment house. Its report underscored what many are calling a mounting crisis within a crisis, as the downturn that started in the wealthy nations of the West washes over developing countries through a pullback in investment, trade and credit…

“Falling demand in the West is sparking the sharpest drop in world trade in 80 years, sending sales of the products and commodities of poorer nations spiraling down, the report said.”

Also reporting on the World Bank assessment, CNNMoney.com (March 9, 2009) stated:

“The world economy is on track to post its worst performance since the Great Depression, with developing countries bearing much of the economic pain, the World Bank said Monday.”

Bloomberg added on March 10:

“Billionaire Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. posted its worst results ever in 2008, said the economy ‘has fallen off a cliff’ and that efforts to stimulate recovery may lead to inflation higher than the 1970s.”

Mr. Obama to “Restore Scientific INTEGRITY”???

MSNBC on March 9, 2009, wrote the following in its coverage of President Obama’s signing of a Presidential executive order:

“Before an East Room audience of doctors, scientists, lawmakers and religious leaders President Obama signed an executive order Monday lifting the ban on federal funding for stem cell research, fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail.

“The order overturns the Bush policy that said no government money could be used for research on stem cell lines created after Aug. 9, 2001.”

While only those opposed to the new directive took strong ethical and moral positions decrying both the destruction of human life and the potential for more and more erosion in anything based on religious views, the President seems ready to justify much in the name of science. The article adds these comments:

“The president also signed a memorandum that directs the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy for restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making. Obama spoke frequently on the campaign trail of the need to make sure public policy was based on sound science.

“’It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda,’” Obama said, “’and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.’”

Reuters added on March 10:

“After Obama signed the order on Monday, the Vatican and U.S. Church leaders condemned the move… Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on pro-life activities, called Obama’s decision ‘a sad victory of politics over science and ethics… This action is morally wrong because it encourages the destruction of innocent human life, treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested,’ he added.

“The Catholic Church, other religious groups and pro-life advocates oppose such research — which scientists hope can lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s — because it involves the destruction of embryos. The Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research, which has made advances in recent years, because it does not involve the destruction of embryos.”

Jerusalem Stays Center Stage!

The Guardian reported on March 7:

“A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government of using settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies and the West Bank barrier as a way of ‘actively pursuing the illegal annexation’ of East Jerusalem.

“The document says Israel has accelerated its plans for East Jerusalem, and is undermining the Palestinian Authority’s credibility and weakening support for peace talks. ‘Israel’s actions in and around Jerusalem constitute one of the most acute challenges to Israeli-Palestinian peace-making,’ says the document, EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem.”

The Guardian article added this comment about the European Union’s view:

“The EU report goes further, saying that the demolitions are ‘illegal under international law, serve no obvious purpose, have severe humanitarian effects, and fuel bitterness and extremism.’ The EU raised its concern in a formal diplomatic representation on December 1, it says…

“However, the EU says the fourth Geneva convention prevents an occupying power extending its jurisdiction to occupied territory. Israel occupied the east of the city in the 1967 six day war and later annexed it. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.”

This report comes as the new American Administration has called for a two-state solution for the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Pope to Visit Israel

As reported in the Jerusalem Post on May 8, 2009, “Pope Benedict XVI will visit Israel between May 8 and 15, the leader of the Catholic church confirmed in Sunday’s mass at St. Peter’s in the Vatican.”

Israeli president Shimon Peres was quoted in the article:

“’I am delighted that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has responded positively and accepted my invitation to visit the Holy Land. The pope will be a most honored guest, welcomed and respected by people from all walks of life. His visit will be a moving and important event bringing the spirit of peace and hope. Welcome to Israel.’”

Beyond the historic significance of such a papal visit at this time of turmoil in the Middle East, the specific sites chosen for the Pope’s tour hold prophetic overtones, and the article states:

“The pope is expected to tour sites in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, and in the Center and North. Large numbers of police will be assigned to secure these areas. He will also visit sites in the Palestinian Authority.”

Iran’s Military Threat Grows!

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 8, 2009, about the successful test-firing of a new generation of long range missiles.

“Last Wednesday, a senior Teheran official announced that Iranian missiles can reach Israeli nuclear sites.

“’All the nuclear facilities in different parts of the land under the occupation of the Zionist regime are in the reach of Iran’s missile defenses,’ Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic republic’s Revolutionary Guards, was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying.”

Also reporting about this latest development, Fox News on March 8, stated:

“Iran’s Shahab-3 missiles have a range of up to 1,250 miles, putting Israel within striking distance.”

We do not consider the “Apostles’ Creed” as inspired–neither in the form used by the Roman Catholic Church, nor in its numerous variations used by Protestant churches. Some claim that the “Apostles’ Creed” is the oldest of all the Christian creeds. It is considered the basis of all other creeds in non-Catholic churches. As fairy tales would have it, some allege that each of the apostles supplied one article to the Creed. This claim is totally without merit. The apostles had nothing to do with formulating this Creed.

In “The Lost Books of the Bible,” the following is explained:

“Mr. Justice Bailey says [in Mr. Justice Bailey’s Common Prayers, 1813]: ‘It is not to be understood that this Creed was framed by the Apostles, or indeed that it existed as a Creed in their time,’ and after giving the Creed as it existed in the year 600… he says, ‘how long this form had existed before the year 600 is not exactly known…’ The most important ‘addition,’ since the year of Christ 600, is that which affirms, that Christ ‘descended into hell.’ This has been proved… to have been an invention… after the time of Eusebius.”

The Cambridge Encyclopedia, Volume 6, explains that the Apostles’ Creed is “a statement of Christian faith widely used in Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, and recognized by the Orthodox Churches. It stresses the trinitarian nature of God (as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)… In its present form, it dates from the 8th [century] but its origins go back to the 3rd [century].”

The encyclopedia continues:

“Many Lutheran sources label the Apostles’ Creed as ecumenical since the essential tenets of the creed are held in common by all Christians, though its practical use appears to be limited to Churches whose rituals are derived from the Latin rite (i.e. The Apostles’ Creed holds a special place in Roman Catholic tradition as the ‘ancient Baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome’)…

“Many hypotheses exist concerning the date and nature of the origin of the Apostles’ Creed. The earliest known concrete historical evidence of the creed’s existence as it is currently titled (Symbolum Apostolicum) is a letter of the Council of Milan (390) to Pope Siricius…”

In its present form, the Apostles’ Creed, as used by the Roman Catholic Church, reads as follows:

“I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit [or Holy Ghost],
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.”

As mentioned, this Creed, as used by the Catholic Church, is not substantially different from the versions of many of the Protestant churches. It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including Lutheranism, the Anglican Communion, and Western Orthodoxy. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists and many Baptists.

Most even use the term “catholic” in the phrase, “I believe in the… holy catholic Church,” with the exception of a few Lutheran churches, especially those in Germany, which have replaced the word “catholic” with “Christian.” Those who have maintained the word “catholic” in their version of the Creed claim that it just means “universal.”

The doctrinal problems with the “Apostles’ Creed” are numerous.

First of all, it clearly suggests the belief in the Trinity–a belief which is a human invention and which cannot be found in the Holy Scriptures. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Is God a Trinity?”

It also suggests that Christ went to “hell,” while He was dead and in the grave for three days and three nights, apparently, so it is said, to preach to demons. This concept is false–Christ had NO CONSCIOUSNESS while in the grave, and He did not go anywhere. For more information, please read pages 26-28 of our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

Another wrong or at least misleading concept is expressed in the term, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” Those who have died will not be resurrected with the same body they had. THAT body has long decayed. Those in the FIRST resurrection–who died “in Christ”–will be resurrected to immortal spirit life. Their physical body will not be resurrected at all. Those who died without having known and accepted the truth, will be resurrected in the SECOND resurrection to a physical life–but it will not be a resurrection of their physical bodies which they had when they died, and which since that time had long decayed. For more information, please read our Q&A on the resurrection of the body.

The statement that we believe in the resurrection of the body is not in accordance with Biblical teaching. For the exact nature of CHRIST’s resurrection, please read the above-mentioned Q&A on the resurrection.

Rather than following human attempts to create an “Apostolic Creed,” you might want to review our Statement of Beliefs, summarizing the essential doctrines of the Bible which Christians should believe in and adhere to.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter has been written reporting on the recent Church Conference held on the dates of February 25-March 3, 2009, in San Diego, California. This letter will be sent to those on our mailing list in the next few days.

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Greater Works.”

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.

How do you look at life? What do you expect from life? I’m not talking about life after death–I’m talking about the “here and now.”
 
Are you just drifting along–day after day? Or are you concentrating on making each day “special” in some way? This may be a difficult challenge in times of trials, but it is not impossible to do.
 
It’s really a matter of setting right priorities. We can work ourselves to death, without realizing perhaps, that “our riches may make themselves wings and fly away,” before we know it (Proverbs 23:5). Or, we can concentrate on being content and enjoying the good things in life (Ecclesiastes 2:22-24; 3:12-13, 22; 9:7).
 
When we are confronted with the death of a loved one, we may stop to think what all we could have done for him or her, when we had opportunity, but we were just “too busy” and “occupied” with seemingly more important matters. We just waited too long and missed opportunities to “give flowers to the living.”
 
A word of kindness, fitly spoken at the right time (Proverbs 25:11), or an act of love and mercy, expressing our appreciation and concern for another dear person, will not only brighten his or her days, but ours as well (Proverbs 11:17). If misunderstandings have severed friendly relationships, we ought to try to restore them now. Don’t wait too long–until it is too late (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10).
 
We can concentrate so much on comparatively smaller things, that we overlook and neglect the weightier and more important matters of God’s law (Matthew 23:2; Luke 11:42). Jesus emphasizes its greatness by stressing love for God and for our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). Paul encourages us to love one another by refraining from inflicting any harm on our neighbor (Romans 13:8-10). Husbands and wives are admonished to love each other (Ephesians 5:25; Titus 2:4).
 
When we really love someone, we will show him or her our appreciation. True love is much more than just saying, “I love you,” while neglecting to prove it through our conduct (1 John 3:18).
 
We must constantly manifest true Christian love to our fellow man–whenever the opportunity arises (Galatians 6:10). Never be too busy to do this–and don’t wait too long.

President Obama “revealed” his new budget proposal. It’s change, alright. But at what cost? Even an Obama-supporting newspaper like the USA Today cannot hide the fact that Mr. Obama’s new budget is a nightmare of added debts, higher taxes and incredibly small benefits for most Americans. For many, a $13.00 pay increase per salary check is proposed, but other news reports about contemplated rising energy, sales and income taxes… While the uninsured would receive health-care insurance benefits, some of the Medicare help (which is insufficiently bad enough) is supposed to be cut, according to some news reports. Also, it was reported that the permissible cap of charitable contributions for income tax purposes is supposed to be lowered. And employers would be called upon to provide even more mandatory benefits to their employees–which would undoubtedly force them to terminate MORE employees or cut their salaries.
 
In other news, Germany is being called upon–once again–to come to the financial rescue of other European nations, as it is recognized to be the MOST STABLE OF ALL European communities. But Germany is suffering too, and so it should come as no surprise that rightist extremists are dreaming of a return of the Hitler era and the establishment of the Fourth Reich.
 
While rocket attacks on Israel continue, coalition negotiations in Israel failed and it is therefore to be expected that a right-wing government will take over. What this may mean for peace in the Middle East can be seen, too, by the furor of Jewish leaders over the most recent pronouncements by Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton.
 
An analysis on the recent collision of two strategic nuclear submarines reveals the Satanically-inspired destructiveness of the human mind. It points out that these “are high-tech weapons with an archaic mission: to exact revenge. And they are built for the day the world comes to an end…The submarines… are designed to retaliate with such force that there can be no winners in a nuclear war…” For instance, the Russian strategic nuclear submarine “Donskoy could simultaneously destroy dozens of cities like New York, or level half of Afghanistan.”
 
Finally, in a typical piece of pro-Evolution-anti-Christian propaganda by the left-liberal magazine Der Spiegel, Christians and others are attacked by illusionary scientists who claim that Darwin’s theory of evolution has been proven to be accurate. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

“This Is Change!”

USA Today reported on February 27:
 
“This is change, whether you believe in it or not. And not just pocket change. Following through on many of his campaign promises, President Obama wants to spend about $3.6 trillion next year to pull the nation out of recession and begin major new initiatives in health care, energy and education. All that and more is contained in a 134-page budget request for 2010 and beyond that is unprecedented in size, breathtaking in scope and sure to have a major impact on millions of Americans — if he can get much of it through Congress.

“It’s a budget plan that would help the young by increasing their chances of getting a college education and the poor by providing funds for health insurance. It seeks to clean the air and reduce the USA’s dependence on foreign oil. It would cut taxes on low- and middle-income Americans while raising them, starting in 2011, on couples who make at least $250,000 a year.

“All this would come at a price to be paid by in the future: annual deficits of at least $500 billion, and a federal debt that would reach $23 trillion in a decade…

“In little more than five weeks, Obama has shown he intends to think big and act quickly. He’s already agreed to spend nearly $800 billion over two years to try to jump-start the economy. He’s not only pressed Congress for the second half of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, he’s reserving the option for another $750 billion on top of that…”

But USA Today has to admit the incredible “risks” involved with this proposed budget. It states:

“Even groups aligned with Obama express concern that tax increases at the end of this recession could trigger another one — a situation Franklin Roosevelt faced in the 1930s. ‘The Great Depression was really two big recessions with a recovery in the middle,’ says Bill Gale of the Brookings Institution. ‘There’s potential to do real damage.'”

Mr. Obama’s Proposed Budget–The Big Gamble

Reuters added on February 27:

“President Barack Obama forecast the biggest U.S. deficit since World War Two in a budget on Thursday that urges a costly overhaul of the healthcare system and would spend billions to arrest the economy’s freefall. An eye-popping $1.75 trillion deficit for the 2009 fiscal year underlined the heavy blow the deep recession has dealt to the country’s finances as Obama unveiled his first budget. That is the highest ever in dollar terms, and amounts to a 12.3 percent share of the economy — the largest since 1945. In 2010, the deficit would dip to a still-huge $1.17 trillion, Obama predicted.

“With that backdrop, his budget represents a gamble that Americans are ready for the sort of change they embraced by electing him in November… The cost of extra borrowing to pay for the record budget deficit pushed U.S. stocks and government debt prices down on Thursday. The budget’s healthcare plans delivered a hit to shares in health insurers and drugmakers

“… some analysts questioned whether Obama’s goals were realistic at a time when the economy is still in crisis and the surging deficits threaten to burden a future recovery… While Obama is still basking in high approval ratings from the U.S. public, his stimulus package and other efforts to revitalize the economy have done little to win over Wall Street. U.S. stocks prices hit 12-year lows this week.”

Mr. Obama’s Proposed Budget–“The Great Illusion”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on February 26:

“President Obama has laid out the most ambitious and expensive domestic agenda since LBJ, and now all he has to do is figure out how to pay for it. On Tuesday, he left the impression that we need merely end ‘tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans,’ and he promised that households earning less than $250,000 won’t see their taxes increased by ‘one single dime.’

“This is going to be some trick. Even the most basic inspection of the IRS income tax statistics shows that raising taxes on the salaries, dividends and capital gains of those making more than $250,000 can’t possibly raise enough revenue to fund Mr. Obama’s new spending ambitions…

“Mr. Obama is of course counting on an economic recovery. And he’s also assuming along with the new liberal economic consensus that taxes don’t matter to growth or job creation. The truth, though, is that they do. Small- and medium-sized businesses are the nation’s primary employers… The bottom line is that Mr. Obama is selling the country on a 2% illusion. Unwinding the U.S. commitment in Iraq and allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire can’t possibly pay for his agenda. Taxes on the not-so-rich will need to rise as well.

“On that point, by the way, it’s unclear why Mr. Obama thinks his climate-change scheme won’t hit all Americans with higher taxes. Selling the right to emit greenhouse gases amounts to a steep new tax on most types of energy and, therefore, on all Americans who use energy… Mr. Obama is very good at portraying his agenda as nothing more than center-left pragmatism. But pragmatists don’t ignore the data. And the reality is that the only way to pay for Mr. Obama’s ambitions is to reach ever deeper into the pockets of the American middle class.”

Germany to the Rescue

The EUObserver wrote on February 27:

“German chancellor Angela Merkel has given the strongest signal to date that her country may come to the rescue of embattled eurozone economies… Certain conditions are likely to be attached to any support plan offered by Berlin. While Ms Merkel refused to be drawn on the exact nature of financial support, she made it clear that action to tackle excessive budget deficits would be a stipulation for receiving aid.

“She indicated such action could be carried out under Article 100 of the Maastricht Treaty that allows financial assistance to be given to countries experiencing ‘difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control’… German officials hinted support for Ireland could be dependent on the country increasing its low corporate tax…

“Germany [is] seen as the safest EU economy by investors…”

German Neo-Nazi’s Dream of a Fourth Reich

The Daily Mail reported on February 26:

“Neo-Nazis are on the rise in Germany and are planning to exploit the economic crisis to build a Fourth Reich, a defector from their ranks warned yesterday. Uwe Luthardt painted a chilling picture of the far-Right trying to recruit the record number of young Germans facing a bleak future as the country’s economy contracts and unemployment mounts. Experts fear that the worsening conditions are worryingly similar to those of the late 1920s and early 1930s which propelled Hitler’s Nazi regime – the Third Reich – to power…

“German unemployment has climbed by 63,000 this month to 3,552,000, or 8.5 per cent. Its economy – the world’s third largest – is predicted to shrink by 5 per cent this year.

“A sign of resurgent extreme Right came earlier this month in Dresden where nearly 7,000 neo-Nazis turned up to ‘honour German patriots’ on the anniversary of the Allied bombing in 1945 which killed 25,000 residents. It was nearly double the turnout of last year…

“Mr Luthardt described an organisation that preys on the gullible and the weak who seek, as he did, to restore some mythical glory to Germany while finding scapegoats for the economic misery. He told of weapons stores, how members greet each other with Heil Hitler! salutes, sing the banned songs of the Third Reich, relish the idea of a new Holocaust against the Jews and plot to bring hard-core Nazism back with a vengeance.

“Luthardt was in the NPD for only four months, but quickly rose to become a member of the ruling board. He told Der Spiegel magazine that old Nazis living in South America donate to the party via shell companies. Other funds come from the staging of skinhead-music concerts. He went on: ‘The simple aim is the restoration of the Reich in which a new stormtrooper organisation takes revenge on anyone who disagrees with them… The basic concept the NPD talks about is, “Let’s kick out all the foreigners, then the Germans will have jobs again.”‘”

Israel Moves to the Right

Deutsche Welle reported on February 27:

“Last ditch talks to form a broad coalition government in Israel have failed after Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni from the Kadima party were unable to reach agreement. Netanyahu said a coalition with Foreign Minister Livni’s centrist Kadima party was impossible.

“This increases the possibility that Israel’s next government will be an alliance of hawks and hard-line religious parties opposed to substantial concessions for peace. After the talks in Tel Aviv, Livni said the meeting ended without agreements on some substantial issues, like support for the formation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Netanyahu opposes.”

More Attacks on Israel

Haaretz reported on March 1:

“A Qassam launched from the Gaza Strip exploded off the coast of Ashkelon on Sunday, just hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised a ‘painful, uncompromising response’ to Palestinian rocket fire… Olmert’s vow came a day after ten rockets were fired at Israel from the coastal territory, bringing the number of projectiles launched from Gaza since the truce to more than 60…  Olmert said that Israel would respond to rocket fire…”

Jewish Leaders “Furious” With Hillary Clinton

On February 27, wcbstv.com and CBS wrote the following:
 
“In a swift about face from her views as New York’s senator, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now hammering Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza… On Thursday… she [delivered] angry messages demanding Israel speed up aid to Gaza. Jewish leaders are furious…
 
“Clinton’s decision to hammer Israel comes as the Clintons and President Barack Obama are planning to give the Palestinians $900 million toward the rebuilding of Gaza in the wake of the Israeli offensive that was sparked by Hamas rocket fire…”

Nuclear War at Sea

On February 26, Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“The collision of two strategic nuclear submarines [owned by the French and the British] earlier this month shows that the Cold War is still being fought every day in the Atlantic — with the world’s most powerful weapons… It quickly became clear that a nuclear catastrophe had almost occurred out at sea — and that it could happen at any time…

“Vanguard and Le Triomphant aren’t ordinary attack submarines — they’re rare and extremely expensive ballistic missile submarines. The British have four, as do the French, the Americans have 14, the Russians 15, and the Chinese are believed to have three. The hull of the Vanguard, as tall as a four-story building and roughly 150 meters (492 feet) long, contains a nuclear reactor and 16 ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads with a combined power more than 300 times greater than that of the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima…

“Neither the British nor the French are willing to reveal when, where and exactly how it happened… Strategic submarines are high-tech weapons with an archaic mission: to exact revenge. And they are built for the day the world comes to an end…The submarines… are designed to retaliate with such force that there can be no winners in a nuclear war…

“That leaves the Russians. The 173-meter (567-foot) Dimitry Donskoy, for example, is the world’s largest strategic submarine… According to the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Donskoy could ‘simultaneously destroy dozens of cities like New York, or level half of Afghanistan.'”

Left-Liberal Propaganda for Darwin’s Evolution Theory

On February 25, Der Spiegel Online published the following “masterpiece” about brainwashed evolution-worshipping scientists (and other “intellectuals”):
 
“The US isn’t the only place with heated debates about Darwin’s theory of evolution: Europe has its own hardcore creationists and intelligent design backers, too… Fundamentalist Christians who believe in creationism — which holds that God created the world and humanity in the manner described in the Bible — reject the principle of evolution and are striking back. They are pushing for the use of school texts that vilify the theory of evolution as a mere ideology. They have sued to have the theory of intelligent design — a water-down version of creationism — taught in biology courses at the same time as evolution, as both an equally valid scientific theory and alternative to evolution.

“‘It would be like claiming a right to teach astrology in a physics course,’ said James Williams, a lecturer in science education at the University of Sussex…

“According to a survey conducted in 2006, the majority of British have their doubts about evolution, and 40 percent want creationism taught in biology classes.

“Scientists agree that the overwhelming mass of evidence supports the theory of evolution. ‘No serious scientist questions the theory of evolution,’ says Ralf Sommer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tübingen…

“The guerrilla tactics used against evolution continue to be the same: Evolution’s opponents try to discredit Darwin’s broader theory by looking for gaps and narrower scientific issues that remain answered… Scientists today also know that evolution is verifiable because you don’t have to wait millions of years to see it in action. ‘Evolution can sometimes happen very quickly,’ says Claus Wedekind, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Lausanne — so quickly, in fact, that scientists can sometimes observe it within the space of one human generation.

“Intelligent design and creationism, on the other hand, are not scientific theories because they aren’t falsifiable: They postulate the existence of a deity, a divine creation and guided evolution — all things that can never be empirically proved or disproved… This type of reasoning hasn’t stopped people from doubting the theory of evolution. In Germany, 20 percent of the population doesn’t believe in the theory; in the US, it’s closer to one-third…

“In June 2007, the Council of Europe’s Committee on Culture, Science and Education released a report entitled “The Dangers of Creationism in Education.” According to Anne Brasseur, a member of the council who collaborated on the report, its goal was to firmly anchor the theory of evolution in school curricula.

“The report was prompted by resistance to teaching Darwin’s theory in some European countries. ‘For example,’ Brasseur explains, ‘the former deputy education minister of Poland called the theory of evolution a lie.’

“She went on to list a number of other negative examples:

“In Russia, many parents are strongly opposed to the teaching of evolution in grade schools. In Italy in 2004, there was a proposed decree against the theory of evolution. In Switzerland, the ProGenesis group has a tentative project called ‘Genesis-Land’ that envisions a leisure park on the model of the Creation Museum in the US state of Kentucky… In Germany, the Ministry of Education for the state of Hesse saw no infringement of the curriculum when teachers at a number of schools were found to be teaching the Biblical theory of creation in biology class. The publishing house ‘Studiengemeinschaft Wort und Wissen’ is now publishing the sixth edition of a grade school textbook that includes the theory of intelligent design.

“The Catholic Church’s position on evolution is unclear. Pope Benedict XVI has stated that the theories of evolution and creation are not mutually exclusive and, in July 2007, that ‘there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution.’ Still, in April 2007, he wrote in a theological book published in Germany that the existence of evolution was ‘not ultimately provable.’ In 2005, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn published an opinion piece in the New York Times entitled ‘Finding Design in Evolution,’ in which he discussed a theory of creation that included the theory of a guided evolution — in short, intelligent design… At previous times in history, the Catholic Church has espoused different positions on evolution. John Paul II, for example, the predecessor of the current pope, apparently gave some recognition to Darwin’s theory when he said in 1996 that: ‘The theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis’…

“According to Brasseur, however, Pope Benedict XVI’s Vatican criticized the Council of Europe’s report — without success. The council ultimately approved the report’s recommendations, with 48 votes in favor and 25 against. As for Germany’s five representatives on the council, three voted against the report, one voted for it and one abstained.”

The “Epistle of Barnabas” is not inspired. It was clearly not written by the Apostle Barnabas. Mosheim states in his “Ecclesiastical History” that the author “must have been a very different person from the true Barnabas, who was St. Paul’s companion.”

The epistle contains numerous Scriptural errors and should therefore not be considered as inspired. It was never referred to by Jesus or any of the New Testament writers as Scripture, and it was not included in the New Testament by the apostles. As we explained in a prior Q&A, the apostles Paul, Peter and John canonized the New Testament Scriptures, but the Epistle of Barnabas was not one of those books.

The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that a reference in the Epistle of Barnabas (in chapter 4, verse 4) pertains to a command given by Adrian in A.D. 130 for the reconstruction, in honor of Jupiter, of the Temple at Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by Titus. Adrian had also forbidden the Jews to practice circumcision. The epistle must, consequently, have been written in A.D. 130-131–long after the canonization process of the New Testament writings was completed.

It is further explained that “the extremely allegorical character of the exegesis leads to the supposition that the author of the letter was an Alexandrian. His way of constantly placing himself and his readers in opposition to the Jews makes it impossible to believe that either he or the larger part of his readers were of Jewish origin. Besides, he is not always familiar with the Mosaic rites… The history of the epistle confirms its Alexandrine origin. Up to the fourth century only the Alexandrians were acquainted with it…”

Some Interesting Concepts

Even though the Epistle of Barnabas is clearly not inspired, it does contain some interesting concepts. For instance, the author speaks out against abortion. It says in chapter 19, verse 5 (We should note that some divide the epistle in different chapters than the ones given in this Q&A): “thou shalt not kill a child by abortion, neither shalt thou destroy it after it is born…”

Abortion is indeed wrong. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?,” pages 13-15.

In addition, the author seems to refer to the belief of a 7,000 year plan–the concept that God assigned six “days” of 1,000 years each to man to rule himself, followed by the Millennium or the seventh “day” of one-thousand years, which is referred to in the book of Hebrews as a “Sabbath” rest (compare Hebrews 4:1-10):

We read in chapter 15 in the Epistle of Barnabas:

“(15:3) He speaketh, too, of the sabbath in the beginning of the creation: And God made in six days the works of his hands, and finished them on the seventh day, and rested in it and sanctified it. (15:4) Consider, my children, what signify the words, He finished them in six days. They mean this: that in six thousand years the Lord will make an end of all things, for a day is with him as a thousand years. And he himself beareth witness unto me, saying: Behold this day a day shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, my children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, shall all things be brought to an end. (15:5) And the words, He rested on the seventh day, signify this: After that his Son hath come, and hath caused to cease the time of the wicked one, and hath judged the ungodly, and changed the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he rest well on the seventh day.”

For further information on the existence of a seven-thousand-year plan, see our Q&A.

Doctrinal Errors

However, the doctrinal errors contained in the Epistle of Barnabas are quite striking, showing that this book could not possibly be “inspired” by God. We are setting forth below some of its major errors:

Error #1:

The Epistle of Barnabas alleges that the Seventh-Day Sabbath has been replaced by the “eight day” Sunday, on which “Jesus rose from the dead.”

Quoting from the 1885 translation of the “Apostolic Fathers, Charles H. Hoole,” we read in chapter 15, verses 8 and 9:

“(15:8) And, further, he saith unto them, Your new moons and your sabbaths I cannot endure. See, now, what he meaneth. The sabbaths, that now are, are not acceptable unto me, but that which I have made is, even that in which, after that I have brought all things to an end, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, which thing is the beginning of another world. (15:9) Wherefore we keep the eighth day as a day of gladness, on which also Jesus rose from the dead, and after he had appeared ascended unto heaven.”

Nowhere does the Bible teach that the Sabbath was replaced by Sunday; nor, that Sunday is the “eighth day”; nor, that Christ rose from the dead on Sunday. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Jesus Christ–a Great Mystery,” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

Error #2:

The Epistle of Barnabas alleges that the dietary laws (as contained, for instance, in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14) were never meant to be understood literally and that they were never binding, in their literal application, on anyone, including Jews or Christians.

We read in chapter 10, verses 1-9:

“(10:1) But in that Moses said, Thou shalt not eat the swine, nor the eagle, nor the hawk, nor the crow, nor any fish that hath not scales in itself… The commandment of God is not, therefore, that they should not eat; but Moses spake in a spiritual sense. (10:3) He spake of the swine with this meaning: Thou shalt not cleave, he meaneth, unto men of this sort, who are like unto swine, for when they become wanton they forget their Lord, but when they are in want they think upon the Lord; even as the swine when it eateth knoweth not its lord, but when it is hungry it crieth, and when it hath received it is again silent. (10:4) Nor shalt thou eat of the eagle, nor of the hawk, nor of the kite, nor of the crow. Thou shalt not, he meaneth, cleave to, nor be like to men of this sort, who know not how to provide sustenance for themselves by labour and sweat, but in their iniquity seize the property of others, and, as though they walked in innocence, watch and observe whom they shall plunder, through their covetousness; even as these birds alone provide not sustenance for themselves by means of toil, but, sitting idle, seek out how they may eat the flesh of others, being destructive by reason of their wickedness.

“(10:5) And thou shalt not eat, he saith, of the lamprey, or the polypus, or the cuttle-fish. Thou shalt not, he meaneth, cleave to or become like unto men of this sort, who are impious unto the end, and have been already condemned to death, even as these accursed fish alone swim in the depth, not floating as the others do, but dwelling in the earth below the depth of the sea. (10:6) Thus, he saith, Thou shalt not eat the hare, meaning thou shalt not indulge in unnatural lusts; (10:7) nor shalt thou eat the hyaena, meaning thou shalt not be an adulterer; (10:8) nor shalt thou eat the weazel, meaning thou shalt not do uncleanness with thy mouth concerning food; (10:9) therefore Moses spake in the spirit these three doctrines. But they, according to the lusts of their flesh, received them as being about meat.”

This is utter nonsense and totally contradicted by Scripture. For more information, please read our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound.”

Error #3:

The Epistle of Barnabas alleges that the “Azazel” goat to be sent alive into the wilderness at the time of the annual Day of Atonement was a symbol of Christ, not of Satan. We read in chapter 7, beginning in verse 6:

“(7:6) How, then, did he give his commands? Attend ye. Take ye two goats, fair and like each other, and offer them up. And let the priest take one of them as a whole burnt offering for sin. (7:7) But what shall they do with the other? Let the other, he saith, be accursed. Now attend ye, how the type of Jesus is made manifest. (7:8) And do ye all spit upon it and pierce it, and put scarlet wool around its head, and so let it be cast out into the wilderness… One is brought to the altar, the other is accursed, and the accursed one is crowned, because they shall see him in that day, who had the scarlet robe about his flesh, and they shall say, Is not this he whom once we set at naught and crucified, and spat upon and pierced? Truly this was he who at that time said that he was the Son of God.”

The Azazel goat was NOT a symbol for Christ, but for SATAN. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Sacrificial System and the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.”

Error #4

The Epistle of Barnabas alleges that the Twelve Apostles were the most unrighteous of all people prior to their conversion. It says in chapter 5, verse 9:

“But when he chose out his own Apostles, who were about to preach his gospel, they were men unrighteous beyond all sin, that he might show that he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Nowhere do we read anything like this in Scripture. To state that the apostles Peter, John and James, for example, were more unrighteous men than others–in fact, “beyond sin”–is utterly ridiculous.

For all the foregoing reasons, we must in no way view the Epistle of Barnabas as inspired. It is a book which contains some truth and many errors, and should not be viewed as a manual for Christian living or doctrine.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “Too Embarrassed for God?”

In the program, Norbert Link asks the questions whether you are ashamed to uphold Christian values and seemingly unpopular teachings of the Bible? Are you too afraid to reject the theory of Evolution? Do you think that you need to apologize for the biblical truth that man can ONLY be saved through Jesus Christ?