On December 22, 2007, Michael Link will give the sermon, titled, “Liars Beware!”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

(Español: Navidad – ¿Secular o cristiana?)

Recently, a minister of one of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God organizations was quoted in the press as saying that Christmas was a “secular holiday.”  Subsequently, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported that, according to the Pope, Christmas was “a Christian feast.” To explain its “Christian nature,” the Pope stated that Christmas “symbols, especially the Nativity scene and the tree hung with gifts, are important references to the great mystery of the Incarnation and the Birth of Jesus.” He added that the “ancient fir” or Christmas tree “is an important symbol of Christ’s Nativity because with its evergreen leaves it recalls the life that does not die.”

So who is right–newscasters and commentators who refer to Christmas as a “secular” or “national holiday,” or religious leaders who emphasize the “Christian nature” of Christmas? Surprising to many, perhaps, the answer is, neither is correct.

Christmas is not a secular holiday. It is clearly religious–even though in our modern civilized Western world, commercialism and other mundane secular activities may have, in many cases, covered or hidden the religious nature and character of Christmas. But to say that the second-most important feast of orthodox Christianity (Easter being regarded as the most important feast) is merely a secular observance, misunderstands the roots and origins of Christmas–and plays into the hands of advocates who want to keep Christmas celebrations alive even amongst those who object to them on religious grounds.

Christmas is not a Christian Holy Day either–at least not in the way in which the Bible defines true Christianity. A true Christian is one in whom Christ’s Spirit dwells (Romans 8:9)–a true Christian obeys Christ (John 15:14), believes and abides in His Word and follows His lead (John 8:31; 1 Peter 2:21). And Christ–the spoken and written Word of God (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1-3; Revelation 19:1-3)–commanded His followers NOT to keep Christmas. The reasons for this prohibition are many, as fully explained in our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

Christmas is a religious holiday, all right–but it is pagan to the core. It did not originate with Christ’s birth. Gentiles already observed it in honor of their pagan gods long before Christ’s First Coming. The ancient Christmas tree was used in those pagan celebrations for the purpose of worshipping pagan gods. In fact, pagans believed that their particular god changed into a tree–that he was living in that tree–hence the decoration of the fir tree with gifts in honor of that pagan god (who was known in different cultures under different names, such as Mythra, Attis, Dionysus, Marduk, Baal and Nimrod). These are FACTS–if one cares to know. And the Bible condemns and ridicules the Gentile custom of cutting a tree and decorating it with gold and silver (compare Jeremiah 10:1-5).

The truth is the truth–and no label, pro or con, changes the facts. Christmas is not a secular or national holiday, but it is a religious festival; however, it is pagan, not truly Christian. To use pagan practices, in honor of pagan gods, and apply them to the worship of Christ is in direct violation of Christ’s explicit commands (compare Deuteronomy 12:29-32). Christ said that we worship Him in vain, if we do this (compare Mark 7:6-9).

Here is your challenge: Whom do you want to believe–a man and man-made traditions… or the Jesus Christ of your Bible? For a true Christian, the answer should be obvious.

The Climate Conference On Bali–“A Disaster”

The German paper, Die Tageszeitung, wrote on December 17: “The Bali climate conference will enter the history books — as a disaster.”

What has happened? Didn’t the world celebrate Bali as a success? Maybe at first–but not anymore.

What has come out of Bali is simply this: America is perceived to have failed in any leadership role, and Germany and Europe are becoming the leaders which the USA has refused to provide.

Success On Bali?–No Way!

On December 15, the press enthusiastically reported about a breakthrough at Bali’s climate change conference. But the reports were premature, and satisfaction was short-lived.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 15:

“There were tears, boos and, at the end, even hugs: After a long struggle, the delegates at the UN climate conference on Bali finally managed to agree on a roadmap for fighting climate change. Despite the lack of concrete targets, most considered the deal a success… The last-minute deal came on Saturday after the US delegation made a U-turn in a final negotiating session…

“Paula Dobriansky, leader of the US delegation, and her colleague James Connaughton found themselves the targets of naked animosity. When Dobriansky announced that the US would not sign up for the Bali roadmap, boos echoed through the room. The Americans were sharply attacked by several delegations. ‘If you’re not willing to lead, please get out of the way,’ said a US environmental activist representing Papua New Guinea.

“Other opponents of binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as Japan or Russia, failed to come to the US delegation’s defense. Left isolated, the American delegation gave in and agreed to the roadmap. ‘We will go forward and join consensus,’ said Dobriansky. This time the delegation was rewarded with a standing ovation from some participants.

“German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters he was on the verge of sending a mobile phone text message to Chancellor Angela Merkel, asking her to intervene with the White House, when the US delegation reversed their position.”

Is It Up to Germany and Europe to Save the World?…

However, only two days later, international enthusiasm was replaced with frustration and anger towards the United States.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 17:

“It took just hours for the White House to begin back-pedalling on the Bali climate negotiations breakthrough. One minute, US head of delegation Paula Dobriansky was agreeing to a blueprint for a new international accord to replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol. The next minute, the White House press secretary released a statement indicating that Washington has ‘serious concerns’ about the agreement reached on the Indonesian island of Bali.”

In addition to the isolation of the United States, the eyes of the world focus now on GERMANY and EUROPE to lead. Der Spiegel Online continued:

“German media commentators say Washington is increasingly isolated in one of the most pressing problems facing humanity, and that it’s up to the Europeans to save the world… Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… The most important driving force behind protection remains a credible pioneer. Only if a group of industrial nations forges ahead and shows that climate-friendly technology can be profitable will others follow. Germany and Europe have taken on this pioneering role once and for all. That is good news from the climate conference.'”

… Or, Will America Still Be Able to Lead in the Future?

On December 17, The New York Times acknowledged the lack of American leadership in Bali, but was hopeful that the USA will provide leadership in the future. The article stated:

“In Bali, where delegates from 187 countries met to begin framing a new global warming treaty, America’s negotiators were in full foot-dragging mode, acting as spoilers rather than providing the leadership the world needs… Despite pleas from their European allies, the Americans flatly rejected the idea of setting even provisional targets for reductions in greenhouse gases. And they refused to give what the rest of the world wanted most: an unambiguous commitment to reducing America’s own emissions. Without that, there is little hope that other large emitters, including China, will change their ways…

“The decision to maintain the tax breaks was particularly shameful. Blessed by $90-a-barrel oil, the companies are rolling in profits, and there is no evidence to support the claim that they need these breaks to be able to explore for new resources. Yet the White House had the gall to argue that the breaks are necessary to protect consumers at the pump, and the Senate was craven enough to go along.

“This Senate will have another chance to provide the American leadership the world needs on climate change. An ambitious bipartisan bill aimed at cutting America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by midcentury has been approved by a Senate committee and may come to the floor next year. Though the bill is far from perfect and will provoke intense debate, it could offer a measure of redemption for the administration’s embarrassing failure in Bali.”

European Sanctions Against the USA Because of Climate Change?

The International Herald Tribune reported on December 18:

“The Social Democrats are calling for sanctions on energy-intensive U.S. export products if the Bush administration continues to obstruct international agreements on climate protection, the party’s leading environmental expert said Tuesday. The move, after the United Nations climate conference last week in Bali, Indonesia, has won strong support from the Greens and other leftist groupings in the European Parliament. Those factions will renew their bid to impose such levies when the Parliament reconvenes next month. It also signals a big effort by the Social Democrats to take the initiative on the environment and perhaps reshape it as a foreign policy issue that could affect relations between Berlin and Washington…

“‘Merkel has made climate change a big issue and has tried to bring the Bush administration on board, so far without success,’ said Ulrich Kelber, deputy parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats and an environmental expert… ‘We cannot let the U.S. continue to block multilateral agreements, as it tried with Kyoto, or weaken them, as it did in Bali,’ he said… ‘The U.S. is a major part of the problem. Levying special taxes or sanctions on energy-intensive U.S. products, such as steel and aluminum, which are exported to Europe, could be the first step,’ Kelber said.”

Scientists Disagree on “Man-Made Global Warming”

On December 20, the Drudge Report published the following article, which appeared on the Website of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (epw.senate.gov):

“Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore. The new report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s office of the GOP Ranking Member details the views of the scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom spoke out in 2007. 

“Even some in the establishment media now appear to be taking notice of the growing number of skeptical scientists. In October, the Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin conceded the obvious, writing that climate skeptics ‘appear to be expanding rather than shrinking.’ Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears ‘bites the dust.’

“This blockbuster Senate report lists the scientists by name, country of residence, and academic/institutional affiliation.  It also features their own words, biographies, and weblinks to their peer reviewed studies and original source materials as gathered from public statements, various news outlets, and websites in 2007. This new ‘consensus busters’ report is poised to redefine the debate.

  “Many of the scientists featured in this report consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution. Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nathan Paldor, Professor of Dynamical Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, author of almost 70 peer-reviewed studies, explains how many of his fellow scientists have been intimidated. ‘Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media,’ Paldor wrote…

“This new report details how teams of international scientists are dissenting from the UN IPCC’s view of climate science. In such nations as Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia, New Zealand and France, scientists banded together in 2007 to oppose climate alarmism. In addition, over 100 prominent international scientists sent an open letter in December 2007 to the UN stating attempts to control climate were ‘futile.'”

Is US Economy Headed Towards Full-Blown Recession?

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote on December 16:

“The chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley’s Asian arm, Stephen Roach, says the United States economy is headed towards recession and the rest of the world should be concerned… ‘What is interesting, and potentially disturbing, is that the rest of the world doesn’t seem to think this is a big deal any more,’ he said… Mr Roach said the US was the world’s biggest consumer economy at US $9.5 trillion, compared to China at $1 trillion and India at $650 billion… He said growth in Asia was vigorous but was export-led, and the end game of the Asian growth machine was directed at US consumers. The new consumers in China and India would not be able to offset falls in US consumption.”

In addition, The Associated Press reported on December 18:

“Housing construction [in the USA] fell in November and single-family activity dropped to the lowest level in more than 16 years as a severe housing slump showed no signs of a turnaround… Construction of single-family homes fell by 5.5 percent to an annual rate of 829,000 units, the lowest level since April 1991…

“In a bad sign for future activity, the government reported that applications for building permits fell for a sixth straight month, dropping by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million units, the slowest pace for building permits since June 1993…

“The slump has raised concerns that the economy could be pushed into a full-blown recession. Starting this summer, some of the nation’s largest banks and investment firms have declared multibillion-dollar losses stemming from a surge of defaults on subprime mortgages, loans offered to borrowers with weak credit histories… The concern is that the rising number of mortgage defaults will dump even more homes on an already glutted market.”

Vaccinations–Pro…

On December 15, 2007, The Courier-Post reported the following:

“Despite vocal protests from several statewide parents’ organizations, New Jersey became the first state in the country Friday to require annual flu shots for preschoolers. Along with the flu vaccine, State Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred Jacobs signed off on adding three other required vaccinations. Preschoolers will be required to receive immunizations for pneumonia and the flu, while sixth-graders will get shots for meningitis and a booster for tetanus and whooping cough…

“Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination, said that by mandating the vaccines, the state thinks ‘the government knows New Jersey’s children better than their parents do. Parents no longer seem to have a say what medical procedures their children get’…

“Children in the state already are required to receive vaccinations for nine diseases by the age of 2, and some of those require multiple doses. Exemptions can only be given for medical reasons or religious objections. In addition, some parents protested the flu shots because some brands still contain the mercury-based preservative thimersol…”

… And Con…

Time Magazine wrote on December 13:

“Merck announced that it is voluntarily recalling 1 million doses of two common childhood vaccines, routinely given to children under 5… Merck is pulling… a vaccine that protects against infection with haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections. The COMVAX vaccine protects against haemophilius B and hepatitis B, a virus that can cause liver disease… During a routine inspection of their manufacturing process, Merck officials found that some equipment was contaminated with a bacteria…”

The magazine’s further comments are quite revealing and contradict New Jersey’s official state policy, as referred to in the previous article:

“If children can’t get immunized, is there a danger that we will see more meningitis outbreaks? Probably not. Immunization rates are so high in the U.S. — 94% of toddlers are up to date on their Hib vaccinations — that it would take some time for a widespread infection to take hold.”

Soon to Come–Major Earthquake in Israel

AFP wrote on December 17:

“As if political instability and rampant insecurity in the Middle East are not worrying enough, Israeli experts are warning that a major earthquake could strike the region at any time. Three minor quakes over the past month have served as a reminder that Israel and the West Bank sit atop one of the most sensitive fault lines in the world, where earthquakes have a history of causing havoc…

“Under that assessment, Israel and the Palestinian territories should brace for a major earthquake soon, as the last one happened 80 years ago, on July 11, 1927, in British mandate Palestine when 300 people were killed in Jerusalem and Jericho. A similar quake measuring seven on the Richter scale and with an epicentre in the Hula Valley, today in northern Israel up from the Sea of Galilee, devastated the town of Safed and killed some 4,000 people in 1837…

“The Lod institute estimates that if a magnitude seven earthquake strikes the northern Jordan Valley or the Dead Sea, between 8,200 and 9,500 people could be killed, more than 20,000 injured and more than 20,000 left homeless… Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who saw Jerusalem fall to the invading Romans in 70 AD, also wrote that around 30,000 people perished in an earthquake whose epicentre was in the region of the Dead Sea in 31 BC.”

The Bible predicts that in the not-too-distant future, a major earthquake will destroy parts of the city of Jerusalem and kill 7,000 people (compare Revelation 11:13).

How China Poisons Its People

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 18:

“Chinese journalist Zhou Qing, a critic of the regime, unearthed political dynamite in his two-year investigation of China’s food industry. He interviewed grocers, restaurant owners, farmers and food factory managers for an exposé for which he won a prize as part of the German ‘Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage’ in 2006.

“His book is a dark account of a ruthless food mafia that stops at nothing to maximize its profits, for example by using contraceptives to accelerate the growth of fish stocks, lengthening the shelf-life of cucumbers with highly toxic pesticide DDT, using hormones and poisoned salt in food production and putting absurd amounts of antibiotics in meat…

“Zhou said uncontrolled greed had caused a food disaster of unimaginable proportions. ‘I can only warn you never to go in a restaurant.’ The danger of food producers being taken to task for their actions is slight. Everything disappears in China’s endless bureaucracy, he said.

“Zhou’s claims may sound exaggerated, but they’re borne out by recent developments. In early December the Shanghai city council slapped an export ban on products made by the Shanghai Mellin Food Company after cancer-causing substances were found in its pork products. In July the former director of the state food and drug supervisory authority… was executed after being convicted of taking bribes to award licences for forged drugs, some of which had lethal side effects…

“The children are the biggest sufferers, said Zhou. Poisoned baby food has led to severe diseases and physical deformities. Zhou writes that 200,000 to 400,000 people fall victim to poisoned food each year. A third of cancer cases, which are increasing at double-digit rates, can be attributed to food, he writes.”

Food In Short Supply

The International Herald Tribune reported on December 17:

“In an ‘unforeseen and unprecedented’ shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday. The changes created ‘a very serious risk that fewer people will be able to get food,’ particularly in the developing world, said Jacques Diouf, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization…
 
“World wheat stores declined 11 percent this year, to the lowest level since 1980. That corresponds to 12 weeks of the world’s total consumption – much less than the average of 18 weeks consumption in storage during the period 2000-2005. There are only 8 weeks of corn left, down from 11 weeks in the earlier period. Prices of wheat and oilseeds are at record highs, Diouf said Monday. Wheat prices have risen by $130 per ton, or 52 percent, since a year ago. U.S. wheat futures broke $10 a bushel for the first time Monday, the agricultural equivalent of $100 a barrel oil… To make matters worse, high oil prices have doubled shipping costs in the past year, putting enormous stress on poor nations that need to import food as well as the humanitarian agencies that provide it…

“Part of the current problem is an outgrowth of prosperity. More people in the world now eat meat, diverting grain from humans to livestock. A more complicated issue is the use of crops to make biofuels, which are often heavily subsidized. A major factor in rising corn prices globally is that many farmers in the United States are now selling their corn to make subsidized ethanol.”

Over 12 Million New Cancer Cases in 2007

AFP reported on December 17:

“More than 12 million new cases of cancer will have been diagnosed around the world in 2007 and 20,000 people a day, or 7.6 million people, will have died from the disease… According to Monday’s report ‘Global Cancer Facts and Figures,’ some 5.4 million cancer cases and 2.9 million deaths will occur in industrialized countries… Some 6.7 million cancer cases and 4.7 million deaths will take place in developing nations, with lung, stomach and liver cancer being most prevalent in men, and women suffering most from breast, uterine and stomach cancer… ‘This cancer burden is also increasing as people in the developing countries adopt western lifestyles such as cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturated fat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity,’ said [the report]…

“The report also contains a special focus on smoking called ‘The Tobacco Epidemic’ which predicts that more than a billion people will die from smoking-related diseases in the 21st century — most in developing countries. This compares to about 100 million deaths from smoking around the world in the 20th century.

“About five million people died around the world from tobacco use in 2000, of which 30 percent [1.42 million] contracted cancer, of whom 850,000 had lung cancer… If the trend continues, there will be about two billion smokers around the world by 2030 of which half will die from smoking-related illnesses if they don’t quit.”

First Joint Military Exercise Between China and India

The Times of India wrote on December 19:

“India and China are getting ready for a unique game, where observers and the audience will count for more than the actual players. The two nations are set to hold their first joint military exercise from December 21 ending a year of both distrust and intense parleys to build friendship. Just about 80 soldiers from each side will participate in the five-day anti-terrorism drill scheduled to take place in the picturesque mountain ranges of Yunnan close to the provincial capital of Kunming. They will be led by a company commander, usually an officer of the rank of Major, from each side.

“The key to the exercise is not the actual players in the drill but senior military officers observing the game from the sidelines. These observers will use the opportunity to [gauge] the operational methods and capabilities of the armed forces. A crucial input would be the capability to handle surprises, which is the main tool in the hands of terrorists. ‘The purpose is to feel each other [out] and see if we can work together in [the] future. The key word is inter-operability. We would be in better equipped just in case the military of the two countries need to fight terrorists in future,’ a senior defense ministry official told TNN over phone from Delhi.”

Hungary First to Ratify New EU Treaty

The EUObserver reported on December 18:

“Hungary on Monday… became the first of the 27 member states to ratify the bloc’s new treaty, making the move just days after the document was formally signed off by EU leaders… Reacting to the vote, Hungary’s prime minister praised the ‘historic achievement’ of his country. In taking the ratification step so quickly, Budapest has stolen the crown from Poland and France, both of whom had indicated they were aiming to be the first…

“The new EU treaty takes on most of the features of the rejected European constitution, including a foreign policy chief, a long-term president of the EU, a binding citizens rights charter as well as cutting down on the areas where member states have a right to veto. The new institutional rules, six years in the making, were signed off in a formal ceremony on Thursday (13 December) in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon…

“Each member state has to ratify the treaty for it to come into force, with governments aiming to get it in place by early 2009. Ireland is the only country to have a referendum on the document, while the British government is undergoing strong pressure from opposition conservatives to hold a popular vote. Mr Sarkozy has sidestepped the awkward question of why French voters will not be having a second say on the treaty by suggesting that if France had a referendum then the British government would be forced to follow suit, resulting in a probable rejection of the document.”

Russia Delivers Nuclear Fuel to Iranian Power Plant

The New York Times reported on December 18:

“The United States lost a long battle when Russia, as it announced on Monday, delivered nuclear fuel to an Iranian power plant that is at the center of an international dispute over its nuclear program… from the American standpoint, the timing could not have been worse, coming just two weeks after the release of a United States intelligence estimate that concluded that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003…

“Russia’s decision to deliver fuel to Bushehr further encourages Iran, several administration officials and European diplomats said privately… Iran said it had no intention of suspending its uranium enrichment just because it had received the fuel shipment for Bushehr, and it even confirmed that it intended to enrich uranium for another new nuclear power plant in the south of the country…”

Putin Will Stay in Power

As if there was any doubt regarding the intentions of power-hungry Vladimir Putin, he has now confirmed what everybody suspected; that is, he WILL stay in power. The only question remains, exactly HOW will he do it?

The EUObserver wrote on December 18:

“Russian president Vladimir Putin seems set to retain power even after his second presidential term expires next year, as he has accepted an offer to serve as prime minister. ‘If citizens show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him president, I will be ready to head the government without changing the institutional powers of the president and government”, Mr Putin said on Monday… The power-sharing deal ends speculation on whether the current Russian leader would resort to changing the constitution, which currently bars him from seeking a third presidential term.

“It remains unclear, however, what role Mr Putin will play on the country’s political scene… According to Leonid Gozman from the opposition Union of Right Forces party, the deal will see a strengthening of the prime minister’s role at the expense of the president’s. ‘It means either there will be a transfer of functions from the president to the premier or Putin will think of something else, for example, either becoming general secretary of United Russia or changing the constitution to create the position of spiritual leader of the nation’, Mr Gozman was cited as saying by AP.

“Analysts also took a critical tone, with Konstantin Remuchukov from the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta saying ‘It means one thing: Putin’s team will remain in power’. ‘This is not an election but the distribution of roles within a single team. There has never before been such a situation in Russia’, he added.”

Nativity Scenes Nothing But Human Legends

The Telegraph reported on December 20 about the well-known fact that the “nativity scenes,” as prominently pictured at Christmas time, are nothing but human legends. The article stated:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a ‘legend’. Dr Rowan Williams has claimed… there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them [the Magis] or that they were kings. He said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew’s gospel and the details were very vague.

“Dr Williams said: ‘Matthew’s gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that’s all we’re really told. It works quite well as legend.’ The Archbishop went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable.

“He argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, flanked by shepherds and wise men, were misleading. As for the scenes that depicted snow falling in Bethlehem, the Archbishop said the chance of this was ‘very unlikely’. In a final blow to the traditional nativity story, Dr Williams concluded that Jesus was probably not born in December at all. He said: ‘Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival.'”

Of course, Dr. Williams is right, as any true scholar of the Christmas legend will have to admit. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

“Why Don’t We Just Call Off Christmas?”

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on December 18:

“My best Christmas as an adult was one I spent in the hospital. That was where our first child was born, on Dec. 21. As his mother recuperated, our new little family observed the holidays in her room, cut off from the frenzied world outside, enjoying one another’s company, and only occasionally being reminded of what we were missing by muted sounds of revelry down at the nurses’ station. Being in the hospital gave us an impeccable excuse not to ‘celebrate.’ We had no parties to attend, no cards to mail, no last-minute gifts to buy, no crowds to brave. It was wonderful.

“That experience left me wondering about the current state of year-end holidays. Whose needs are they meeting? A majority of us? Anything like a majority? If Christmas were put to a vote this year, would it pass? That vote would have to be secret, of course… But I keep wondering: If given the opportunity to vote Christmas up or down, anonymously, in a private booth – would a majority check the Yes box?

“Stress is as common as chimney stockings during the modern Yuletide. ‘How to Survive the Holidays’ workshops are more common than roving carolers. Magazine articles on ‘Coping With Holiday Anxiety’ and ‘How to Conquer Holiday Blues’ are a year-end staple. As Dec. 25 approaches, the police warn us to be on the lookout for drivers drunk from reveling, firefighters issue cautions about miswired lights, and hospitals plead for blood because their usual donors are distracted by the duties of the season.

“You’d think we’d learn. You’d think I would. I’d love to reclaim the many hours my wife and I have spent making up gift lists, then scurrying about frantically after work and on weekends hoping against hope to find the ‘right’ present for people we love, or at least get them something. On two different occasions I’ve had to sort through the effects of my late grandmother and my aunt. Both had drawers filled with Christmas presents in original boxes, many still half-wrapped, all with labels intact. These gifts had been opened, examined, and set aside. Some of them were from me…

“As if it weren’t bad enough that our Christmas rituals are obsolete, they’re also obligatory. You simply cannot avoid the occasion. Oh, you can. You could join a year’s end tour of Papua New Guinea. Or take to your bed for a week. One woman I know tries to schedule medical procedures for late December so she has a good excuse for avoiding Christmas festivities. Most of us aren’t that resourceful, however. We just muddle through. And keep smiling. And pray that it will soon be over. So why don’t we just call it off?…”

Good questions! And the answers might surprise you. In fact, we SHOULD call it off! For more information, please read our free booklet, mentioned above, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

No Christmas Presents

The Wall Street Journal wrote on December 20:

“People work hard for their money, and then they throw it away like this. And it adds up. In total, holiday spending this year will add up to about $475 billion… Our national savings rate is pitiful. Most people, including many high earners, are woefully unprepared for any kind of retirement. Or even for putting their kids through college… ‘I’m at the point where in my family none of the adults exchange presents anymore,’ says Jan Geiger, a financial planner in Atlanta, Georgia, and author of Get Your Assets In Gear. ‘We’ve all basically decided that most of what you get is a waste of money.'”

More Evolutionary Nonsense

Der Spiegel Online “reported” on December 20 about more aspects of the evolutionary fairy tale. If one is gullible enough to believe it, the latest “findings” of “scientists” “prove” the evolutionary claim that mammals and whales had a common ancestor. Here are experts from the “news” article:

“A new paper by a team of US evolutionary biologists in the journal Nature claims that whales and land mammals share a common ancestor — a miniature deer that sprung into the water to escape being eaten 50 million years ago. Based on an extensive fossil record, biologists agree that whales evolved from land mammals. But the exact evolutionary link between the two was never clear.

“Now a paper in the journal Nature has provided possible answers: Researchers in the US believe that the ur-whale was actually a raccoon-sized deer. In the report published Thursday, anatomy professor Hans Thewissen from the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine argues that the whale’s land-based origins are anatomically evident in the fossils of a prehistoric animal called an Indohyus. The raccoon-sized animal lived some 48 million years ago in what is now Kashmir, between India and Pakistan.”

At least, Der Spiegel Online was willing to admit that this new “finding” was met with skepticism from some other scientists. The article continued to “explain”:

“Naturally, not everyone is convinced. A professor of functional anatomy and evolution at Johns Hopkins University, Kenneth Rose, told the Associated Press that Thewissen and his colleagues had not provided enough evidence to merit the conclusions drawn about Indohyus…”

This whole scenario is complete and utter nonsense. We might call it an assault on intelligence and the truth. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

Be Thankful That You Live in the USA

We might complain about our Western “free” societies, and there is indeed much to complain about. But just imagine, for a moment, you would live in a more restricted environment, such as Saudi Arabia, for example–especially, if you are a woman. The following article, which was published by AFP on December 17, might just give us an idea how thankful we should be to live in countries such as the United States:

“King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia pardoned a teenage girl sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes after being gang raped in a decision swiftly welcomed by Washington on Monday… The girl, who was 18 at the time she was raped, was attacked at knifepoint by seven men after she was found in a car with a male companion who was not a relative, in breach of strict Saudi law. The king also pardoned the male companion, the justice minister announced…

“In October 2006, a judge sentenced her to 90 lashes for being with the man — a taboo in the conservative Muslim kingdom which imposes segregation of the sexes. She appealed against the sentence but despite her ordeal the court ruled that her punishment should be increased to 200 lashes and a six-month jail term. The judges decided to punish the girl further for ‘her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media’…

“The rapists were initially sentenced to one to five years in jail, but those terms were also toughened in November to between two and nine years. A rape conviction carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, but the court did not impose it due to the ‘lack of witnesses’ and the ‘absence of confessions,’ the justice ministry said last month. The girl’s husband praised the king for granting the pardon…

“Women in oil-rich Saudi Arabia live under restrictions imposed by a rigid interpretation of Islam and stringent tradition. They must be covered from head to toe in public and are not permitted to drive. Furthermore, they need a ‘mahram’ or a guardian — a husband or close male relative if they are widowed or single — in order to apply for and obtain a passport. Political constraints also mean that Saudi women are totally absent from the Shura (consultative) Council, whose members are appointed by the king, and were barred from landmark municipal elections in 2005.”

They should not.

New Year’s Day celebrations are linked to pagan customs and even demonic activities. Professor Philippe Walter’s book, “Christianity—the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” copyright 2003, 2006, makes several startling statements about the real origins of New Year’s Day, as well as its customs.

Walter explains the pagan belief that by the end of December and on “New Year’s Day” (January 1), “fairies… enter the homes of those who worship them… One must take pains to prepare the meal that should be offered to them in a clean and isolated room…”

A German magazine, PM, wrote the following about New Year’s Day, and the customs associated with New Year’s Day, in an article, titled, “What is special about New Year’s?”:

“There is no objective reason, why January 1 is a better day for the New Year than any other day. The Macedonians began the new year in the autumn, and the ancient Greeks in the middle of the summer, at a new moon.

“January 1 as the beginning of the New Year goes back to Roman arbitrariness. Consul Fulvius Nobilor was prevented in 153 B.C., because of a war, to begin his rulership on March 15, which had been the day of the New Year up until then. Therefore, the Consul transferred the day of the New Year to January 1, which was more convenient to him.

“This date was accepted by Julius Caesar and has endured, thanks to the Julian calendar, as it was favorable towards new beginnings. After all, the double-faced Roman God Janus was the protector of the month of January. Pope Gregory XIII, who corrected the Julian Calendar for us, maintained January 1 as New Year’s Day. But the Chinese and the Arabs still determine New Year’s today by using the moon-calendar. And according to the Jews, New Year’s – Rosh Ha-Shanah – is in September/October. The civil celebrations of New Year’s took place for a long time on January 6, the [perceived] day of the [so-called] holy three kings.”

The Bible makes it clear that a new year begins in the spring–not in the midst of winter or in the autumn (compare Exodus 12:1-2). For instance, in 2007, the New Year began on March 21, according to the Hebrew calendar, and in 2008, it will begin on April 6. But the Bible does not command us to celebrate the New Year according to the Hebrew calendar.

The article in the P.M. continued:

“In 1742, a decree of the Pope transferred church celebrations of the New Year to January 1; at the same time, this day was declared to be a fast day, in order to counteract the ‘unchristian’ actions between the two years. For between Christmas and January 6, the ghosts became active. When winter storms howled around the houses of the Germanic tribes, Wotan’s [Wodan’s] wild hunt was present—a frightening train of gods, demons and ghosts of the dead… These ghosts were driven away with big fires and cracks of whips. The ancient placed sacrificial offerings and gifts for the demons in front of their doors… Christianity could not eradicate those pagan customs. Quite to the contrary… The cracks of whips changed with the invention of black powder to fireworks….”

“Why do we still have to drive away – symbolically – ghosts with mortar shots and rockets? Why do we still maintain those New Year’s rites? Psychologists explain this with…the power of tradition, with superstition…This word reminds us of what is ‘standing above,’ what is ‘still there’, what has endured from the pagan past and from the ancient fears of man.”

The article also explained that in Munich, Germany, “Christian” celebrations are held on New Year’s Day with choirs and trumpets to “awake the new sun.”

Another source from the Internet tells us that rituals on New Year’s Day included purgations, purifications, exorcisms, extinguishing and rekindling fires and masked processions. Often exorcisms and purgations were performed with much noise as if to scare away the evil spirits. In China, Ying, the forces of light, fought Yang, the forces of darkness, with cymbals, noisemakers, and firecrackers.

It should be easily seen WHY it is wrong for TRUE Christians to participate in New Year’s Day’s customs.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video, and You Tube. It is titled, “What Is the True Gospel?” In the program, Norbert Link is asking the audience: Did you know that the true gospel was suppressed and that the apostle Paul explained that some had already begun at his time to proclaim another gospel and another Jesus? But Paul placed a curse on those who did. Today, almost nobody knows what the true gospel is. Do you know? Don’t be too sure!

This weekend, Rene and Delia Messier will be visiting our brethren in Oregon. Please pray for safe travel. 

On December 15, 2007, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “The Glory of God.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

The vast majority who read our Update seem to appreciate all of the information and the considerable amount of work that goes into producing this publication on a weekly basis. We know that there are a few who also read our Update looking to try to find fault.   Any difference in understanding, however minute, can be seized upon as justification of a personal stance as this information is circulated to their own audience.   And as often happens, it can be slanted to suit a particular position.   The outcome is often that of division and can be used as self justification.   A little more study of God’s Word and a little less of personal opinions would do the world of good.   The people of God should know better, but the lessons of history never seem to be learned.

Unfortunately, some very basic Biblical admonitions and instructions are completely ignored in this process.   The Bereans (compare Acts 17:10-11) adopted the position of trying to find out “whether these things were so,” indicating a positive approach.   It is the negative approach that is always looking for fault.   The Scriptural approach is set out in many places, and one of the wise sayings of Solomon, found in Proverbs 10:12, is helpful in this regard: “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.”   This should be the way that one should react–to soften, to cushion, to heal–not to try and broadcast any real or imagined differences which may inflate, in one’s eyes, his own ego, importance or position, but which does precisely nothing to enhance unity in the Body of Christ.   Paul writes: “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).   This instruction by Paul is well known to Church of God members but can just as easily be either forgotten or ignored.   We are told to live in peace (2 Corinthians 13:11), but that cannot be achieved when someone is always looking for faults.  Christ told the accusers of the woman caught in adultery that “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7).

Scripture clearly reveals that “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12) and that “the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service” (John 16:2).   So we shouldn’t be surprised at the attitudes of those who are always looking for fault which is probably a precursor for much worse to come.

Next time you see negative criticism emanating from a Church of God member, website or church organization–ask yourself why this is being done and whether it is something that is pleasing in the sight of God.   The answer should be inescapable; otherwise, our knowledge of God’s Word is deficient.   Rather than following the negative example of those who criticize, let us take the right approach and try, at all times, to be a thoroughly positive influence.   God will surely be pleased with that–and with us.

Church Killings in Colorado

The Associated Press reported on December 10:

“Five people, including a gunman, died in the attacks Sunday at a megachurch in Colorado Springs and at the Youth With a Mission missionary center in the Denver suburb of Arvada. Five others were wounded… Police in Arvada said they believed the shootings–which occurred 12 hours and about 65 miles apart–were probably linked…

“The violence began about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, when a man opened fire at the Youth With a Mission office after he had been denied a request to spend the night there. Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap, who had a handgun. More than 12 hours later, at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, a gunman with a high-powered rifle entered the church’s main foyer and opened fire…

“The gunman was killed by a member of the church’s armed security staff before police arrived… New Life, with about 10,000 members, was founded by… Ted Haggard, who was dismissed last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with him…”

Armed Security of Churches and Problematic Texas Law

The Associated Press reported on December 11 about church members serving as armed security guards. Even though many–and even some within the Church of God communities–will undoubtedly support such measures, what does the LAW OF GOD say about it? You might want to read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”

The article of the AP also pointed out another troubling development–that “Under a new Texas law, all nonprofits must use licensed security guards.”

Here are some additional excerpts from the above-mentioned article:

“When a black-clad gunman walked into New Life Church on Sunday and started shooting, he was met with the church’s first line of defense: a congregant with a concealed-weapons permit and a law enforcement background. The armed volunteer… shot the gunman … Some of the nation’s estimated 1,200 megachurches–places where more than 2,000 worshippers gather each week–have been quietly beefing up security in recent years, even using armed guards to protect the faithful…

“The security plan at New Life Church may seem extraordinary. The church’s volunteer security force is stocked with people with military or law enforcement experience, they carry radios and weapons… At a news conference Monday, [the security guard at New Life Church] said that she prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide her, and that her hands never shook…”

Terrible Weather Conditions in America

The Associated Press reported on December 13:

“A deadly winter storm brought snow and sleet to the Northeast on Thursday, while crews in the Plains and Midwest worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people left in the dark in its ice-coated wake… Schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced closures…”

AccuWeather.com added on December 13:

“… nearly 500,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma were still without power, while more than 200,000 were still in the dark from Nebraska to Illinois. Utility officials stated it could be as much as 10 days before power is fully restored.”

It also stated:

“A potent winter storm moving through the Northeast today will be followed this weekend by a powerful nor’easter that will bring wind-whipped rain and snow to much of the Northeast… The second storm that will slam the Northeast this weekend will blossom tonight and Friday over the Four Corners. According to the Southwest Regional News story,  the system will be fueled by moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. The developing storm will bring snow to Colorado, northern New Mexico and western Kansas and a mix of rain and snow across parts of Oklahoma and Texas.”

Iran–How Could the U.S. Intelligence Have Been So Wrong?

WorldNetDaily reported on December 9:

“Israel has ‘incriminating’ information Iran has continued its nuclear weapons program, a senior Israeli security official told WND, directly contradicting last week’s U.S. intelligence report stating Tehran suspended its ambition in 2003.

“‘The Iranians continue their push for nuclear weapons in specific ways, including the acquisition and development of missiles,’ said a senior Israeli security official who has access to classified Israeli defense material and intelligence reports on Iran.

“‘Iran hides its nuclear weapons program but it continues nonetheless,’ he told WND, indicating the U.S. estimate may have been ‘politically motivated.’…

“Numerous news reports in recent days have attempted to punch holes in the NIE [National Intelligence Estimate] report.

“London’s Sunday Telegraph quoted a senior British official stating the UK believes Iran deliberately fed misinformation to the U.S. about its nuclear program… Editorials in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times also questioned the NIE report… Meanwhile, at today’s Knesset session, lawmakers here blasted the report and questioned America’s commitment to Israel and its front against Iran.

“‘It cannot be that Bush is committed to peace as was declared at Annapolis, and then the Americans propagate such an intelligence report which contradicts the information we have proving Iran intends to obtain nuclear weapons,’ stated Minister Yitzhak Cohen, a member of the Shas party, a key coalition partner in Olmert’s government. Cohen compared the NIE report to what he said were faulty reports released by the U.S. during the Holocaust that Jews were not being killed in spite of information possessed by American intelligence of the existence of concentration camps.

“‘In the middle of the previous century the Americans received intelligence reports from Auschwitz on the packed trains going to the extermination camps. They claimed then that the railways were industrial. Their attitude today to the information coming out of Iran on the Iranians’ intention to produce a nuclear bomb reminds one of their attitude during the Holocaust,’ stated Cohen.”

Reuters reported on December 11:

“An Iranian exile group accused Tehran on Tuesday of pursuing efforts to develop nuclear weapons, dismissing as incomplete a U.S. intelligence report that Iran’s nuclear arms program was frozen in 2003… The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which first exposed Iran’s nuclear fuel program in 2002, said it published information three years ago alleging that Tehran had restarted weapons-related work after a short break. NCRI officials said they checked back with sources inside Iran after the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was released, and those informants reported that work on nuclear weapons was still being pursued at three sites…

“NCRI agreed with the NIE assessment that activities were suspended in 2003, and specified that in March 2003 Iran closed down a weaponization site in Lavisan, northeast Tehran, fearing it might be detected. But it transferred the weapons activities to a new site in Lavisan and later to two additional sites, information the NCRI had made public from November 2004 onwards, he said.”

No More Iranian Oil Transactions in U.S. Dollars

AFP reported on December 10:

“Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labeling the greenback an ‘unreliable’ currency. ‘At the moment selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies,’ Nozari was quoted as saying…

“The world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, Iran has massively reduced its dependence on the dollar over the past year in the face of U.S. pressures on its financial system… Iran has reduced its assets in dollars held in foreign banks and urged OPEC to take collective action to price oil in other currencies such as the euro, instead of the U.S. currency which is used across the world at present.

“The decline of the dollar, which has weakened considerably against the euro and other currencies in the past 12 months, has affected the revenues of OPEC members because most of them price and sell their oil exports in the U.S. currency.”

New European Treaty Signed

On December 13, AFP reported as follows:

“Leaders of the 27-nation European Union signed a landmark treaty Thursday to revitalise EU decision-making, but the new unity was marred by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s absence from the ceremony.

“‘History will remember this day as a day when new paths of hope were opened to the European ideal,’ Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said at the elaborate ceremony in a historic Lisbon monastery. However the British leader’s failure to sign the treaty with the other leaders — a week after boycotting an EU-Africa summit — led to new accusations that Britain is too lukewarm toward Europe.

“Brown, who attended a British parliamentary committee hearing in the morning, eventually arrived at the official lunch venue after most of the other leaders had left. He signed the 250-page text, which has been widely criticised in Britain as handing more powers over to Brussels, and was whisked away without commenting to reporters…

“The treaty must still be ratified in each member state before it can come into effect, as planned, in 2009. Ireland is to hold a national referendum and polls indicate that Irish voters have mixed feelings about the treaty. ‘Maximum political commitment on all sides is now necessary,’ said European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering. ‘Through your signing of the treaty today, we are all committing ourselves to its early ratification. We would like this treaty to come into force by 1 January 2009 at the latest,’ he added.

“Like the rejected constitution, the treaty proposes a European foreign policy supremo and a permanent president to replace the cumbersome six-month rotating presidency system. It cuts the size of the European Parliament and the number of EU decisions which require unanimous support, hence reducing national vetoes. It also includes a European charter of fundamental human and legal rights, which Britain and Poland have refused to make binding.

“However it drops all references to an EU flag or anthem, which had fanned eurosceptic fears of another step towards a federal Europe. ‘For the first time, the countries that were once divided by a totalitarian curtain, are now united in support of a common Treaty that they had themselves negotiated,’ said EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in a speech.”

Der Spiegel Online added on December 13:

“The new treaty, the details of which were agreed in October, replaces the system of rotating six-month presidencies with a president who will serve a two-year term. There will also be a stronger foreign policy chief… British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been sharply criticized for not holding a referendum in the United Kingdom. The country is one of the most Euro-skeptic in the bloc and would be unlikely to approve anything that smacks of a loss of sovereignty. In what has been derided as a somewhat empty gesture, Brown has refused to attend today’s ceremony and will sign the treaty later at a private lunch instead.”

CNN stated the following on December 13:

“The lack of referenda in other member nations [than Ireland] has caused controversy, mostly in Euro-skeptic countries like Britain, where vocal critics have been demanding a public vote. The headline in Thursday’s edition of The Sun tabloid in Britain read, ‘Never have so few decided so much for so many’… The UK campaign group ‘I Want a Referendum’ says that for Britain, the treaty would weaken the country’s ability to veto EU laws and give Britain less control over matters including foreign policy, defense, and immigration.”

Is Israel Willing to Abandon Parts of Jerusalem?

On December 9, WorldNetDaily reported the following:

“A top member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government today [Vice Premier Haim Ramon] announced Israel ‘must’ give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem ‘to whatever they want.’… Positions held by Ramon… are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy… Ramon’s statements follow last month’s U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at completing negotiations by next year to create a Palestinian state, with Israel expected to evacuate swaths of Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank.”

Surprise Surprise–How Putin Wants to Stay in Power

 AFP reported on December 11:

“Months of uncertainty over Russia’s future power structure ended Tuesday when President Vladimir’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, said Putin should become prime minister on quitting the Kremlin. Medvedev, the soft-spoken technocrat endorsed by Putin to succeed him as Russian president, said Putin, 55, should switch to become head of the government after stepping down.

“‘I consider it of utmost importance for our country to keep Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in the highest post of executive power, the post of head of government of the Russian Federation,’ Medvedev said in an address on national television. The stunning statement meant that Russia in the space of 24 hours appeared to have resolved the two biggest questions facing the country: who will win the March 2 presidential election to replace Putin, and what Putin will do on leaving office.

“Putin’s endorsement on Monday makes Medvedev, a 42-year-old trained lawyer and first deputy premier, all but certain to win an election in which there are no other heavyweight candidates. Medvedev’s call means Putin — who has long said he wanted to retain an important role after leaving the Kremlin — will likely from next year become a powerful premier.”

As Der Spiegel Online reported on December 11, much of the German press criticized Putin and Medvedev:

“… The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘… it would be completely wrong to take his election as signaling a change in direction. Medvedev may hold a few more liberal views than those in the cadre of the soviet-schooled intelligence service. But he is a long way from being a liberal who wants to steer Russia back toward reforms and introduce a new Perestroika based on purely democratic principles…’

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

“‘… for Putin the control freak, there remains an insecurity that should not be underestimated. Within a brief period, Medvedev will need to go from being an unknown to a highly celebrated candidate so that he can succeed in getting the majority he needs at the beginning of March and doesn’t hand Putin an embarrassing defeat….The larger and less controllable danger for Putin, though, is this: Once he is president, a compliant Medvedev might just learn to like ruling and exercising power. >From today’s point of view, that might be hard to imagine. But Putin himself is the best example of how the position (of president) can change its occupant. Back in 2000, when Putin became a first deputy prime minister, he too was just a bland apparatchik. Today he is a hard-nosed power politician who doesn’t take nonsense from anyone, especially not from his successor.’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:

“‘It was apparently more important for Putin to position himself than for his successor to be appointed. But his position is still unclear. Will he be a super-president? Will he be a “national leader?” Nobody knows. The root of the English word successor is success, and it means somebody who is handed success from somebody else. But as a triumphant successor, Dmitry Medvedev is surely miscast…'”

How Putin Crushes the Opposition

AFP reported on December 12, 2007:

“The Russian opposition leader and chess legend Garry Kasparov told journalists on Wednesday he was abandoning his presidential election campaign… ‘In all Moscow we have not been able to find a hall where our supporters could meet,’ he said… Kasparov has accused Putin of crushing democratic opposition through the Kremlin’s dominance of the media, election laws that sideline smaller parties and heavy-handed police tactics in dispersing demonstrations… ‘We pay and the people agree. There are no problems. And then they call us to say they are refusing, can’t give us the hall any more,’ Kasparov said on the sidelines of a gathering of Russian reformist parties and non-governmental organisations. ‘They refuse to give us the hall for technical reasons.’…

“Election law requires that a candidate who is not nominated by a political party with seats in parliament must get the support of an ‘initiative group’ meeting of at least 500 people… Touring around Russia, Kasparov has frequently been refused venues to speak and has blamed this on interference by the security services. He earlier described a December 2 parliamentary election ahead of next year’s polls as a ‘farce,’ citing allegations of vote-rigging and unequal access to the media. He spent five days in jail last month after a court found him guilty of public order offences at a rally.”

Argentina’s Sovereignty Over Falkland Islands “Non-Negotiable”

AFP reported on December 10:

“The first woman to be elected president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, 54, was sworn in on Monday, receiving the sash of office from her husband, the outgoing head of state… In her first speech as president, Kirchner vowed to wage war on poverty… She again received thunderous applause as she insisted Argentina’s ‘sovereignty’ over the Malvinas — the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands — is non-negotiable.”

Sarkozy Invites Kadhafi… and Is Strongly Criticized

AFP reported on December 11:

“French opposition lawmakers Tuesday boycotted a meeting with Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on day two of a visit marked by harsh criticism of his rights record and multi-billion dollar trade deals. Kadhafi was received at the National Assembly by parliamentary speaker Bernard Accoyer, but deputies of the Socialist Party and some members of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement refused to attend in protest over Libya’s human rights record…

“On Monday, Kadhafi was welcomed by Sarkozy at the Elysee presidential palace, where he initialed trade deals worth more than 10 billion euros (14.7 billion dollars), including contracts for Airbus airliners, a nuclear-powered water desalination plant and construction projects. In an important breakthrough for French arms manufacturers, Libya also undertook to negotiate exclusively with France on a range of planned military purchases, including Rafale jets, helicopters, armoured vehicles and patrol-boats…

“Sarkozy’s invitation to the former international pariah continued to come under attack from rights groups and the political left, who accuse the president of betraying France’s commitment to defend human rights. The government’s own human rights minister Rama Yade has added her voice to the attacks, denouncing the use of torture and arbitrary arrest in Libya and saying France should not be a ‘doormat on which a leader — terrorist or otherwise — can wipe off the blood of his crimes.'”

Sarkozy’s unilateral invitation of Kadhafi incurred the wrath of the European press as well. Germany’s mass tabloid BILD wrote the following on December 11, under the headline, “Looser”: “Torture, censorship and people who simply disappear–Libya is far from being a democracy. Regardless, Sarkozy spreads a red carpet for his guest Kadhafi, invited him to Paris for five days, and wants to sell him a nuclear facility. Even his own human rights minister objects. Bild thinks: We can only shake our heads over this President.”

Germany’s Fight Against Unpopular Organizations

Germany’s fight against politically incorrect organizations and unpopular churches becomes more and more disturbing. As the German press reported on December 7, 2007, Germany’s interior ministers of all German states are unanimous in their opinion that Scientology is to be prohibited because it is allegedly incompatible with the German Constitution.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 7:

“Germany’s interior ministers announced on Friday that they considered Scientology to be unconstitutional and said they would seek to ban the organization.

“Berlin Interior Minister Ehrhart Körting told reporters that the interior ministers of Germany’s 16 federal states and the federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble ‘consider Scientology to be an organization that is not compatible with the constitution.’ The ministers, who are meeting for a two-day conference in Berlin, now plan to charge the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, with preparing a dossier to pave the way for a possible ban next year.

“The agency has had the organization under observation for over a decade. Germany does not consider Scientology to be a religion but a money-making cult. Scientologists counter that the state surveillance is an abuse of their right to freedom of religion. The group, which opened a six-story headquarters in the heart of Berlin in January, has intensified its efforts to attract members in Germany in recent years.”

Most certainly, one can have different opinions about Scientology, but declaring it unconstitutional seems to be really pushing the envelope, as the next article explains.

Not Enough Evidence to Ban Scientology in Germany

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“A plan by Germany’s state interior ministers to attempt to ban Scientology appears to have little chance of success. According to an assessment made by officials at the country’s state and federal intelligence agencies, the Offices for the Protection of the Constitution, there isn’t enough evidence at the moment to ban the controversial organization.

“Reacting to a request made by the state of Hamburg to ban the organization, German Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and his counterparts at the state level ordered domestic intelligence agencies on Friday to start collecting material that could be used in efforts to ban the organization, which is considered a religion in the United States but a business in Germany. Domestic intelligence agencies were set up in post-war Germany to protect the country from the threat of neo-Nazis, dangerous right- and left-wing radicals and other threats to a free democratic order.

“In an interview published in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Schäuble described Scientology as an ‘unconstitutional organization.’ ‘Fundamental basic and human rights like the dignity of man or the right to equal treatment are restricted or abrogated. It rejects the democratic system,’ Schäuble told the paper… In the run-up to Friday’s meeting, domestic intelligence agencies determined that the organization does indeed operate in ways that are hostile to the country’s constitution. The dangers presented by the group they found, however, were limited because Scientology has had little success ‘infiltrating’ German society. The group’s membership numbers have also stagnated.

“Domestic intelligence agencies at the state level are advocating against trying to seek sanctions against Scientology for violating a provision of the country’s right of association law that excludes groups that break the law or seek to undermine democratic order. Some politicians have also expressed skepticism that the ban effort will succeed. ‘I doubt they will be able to find sufficient evidence to ban Scientology,’ Sebastian Edathy, the Social Democratic Party chief of the German parliament’s domestic affairs committee, told the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel. He described Scientology as problematic, but said it was ‘not really applying the axe to democratic order.’

“Back in 2002, several researchers commissioned by the state of Bavaria completed a comprehensive report that concluded that Scientology’s structure stood ‘in contradiction to central principles of (Germany’s) legal order,’ but researchers spoke only of ‘indications’ that the organization might violate the German right of association law. State and federal interior ministries now say they will conduct more intensive surveillance of the organization through autumn of 2008 and see how Scientology develops before deciding whether to take further steps against it.”

If the current German law is applied correctly, then an attempt to ban Scientology because of alleged unconstitutional activities appears to be doomed to failure. But the fact that Germany’s state interior ministers and Germany’s federal interior minister are prepared to consider such a ban is a frightening development. With enough political pressure, the powers to be might actually be ultimately successful in banning Scientology and other unpopular organizations. This is especially regrettable for a country which should have learned from its Nazi past.

For more information as to what the Bible says regarding upcoming events in Germany and other European nations, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Christmas Trees for China

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 10:

“A combination of rising Chinese demand and the biofuel boom is pushing up Christmas tree prices in Germany. Producers say they just can’t keep up with demand from Asia’s economic giant… The Nordmann fir is proving particularly popular with the export market. The airline Lufthansa is already flying trees to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, while freshly felled trees are being transported in refrigerated containers to China. A Christmas tree decked out in the American style has become a status symbol in China, and many retail stores there are adopting the tradition. ‘We don’t have enough goods to keep up with Chinese demand,’ says Christian von Burgsdorff, who runs a Christmas tree company in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. Around 28 million Christmas trees were sold last year in Germany, the highest figure on record.”

Interesting–isn’t it? Christmas trees are being exported to China–a country with a totally different religion than that of Christianity. Why would Chinese want to celebrate Christmas? Is there, perhaps, an unrealized connection between Christmas and Christmas trees and non-Christian religions? Is Christmas and its symbols “Christian” after all? The answers might surprise you. Please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

… And Now–The Pope Enters the Global Warming Debate

The Daily Mail reported on December 12:

“Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology. The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.

“The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement… The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind… His remarks reveal that while the Pope acknowledges that problems may be associated with unbridled development and climate change, he believes the case against global warming to be over-hyped.

“A broad consensus is developing among the world’s scientific community over the evils of climate change. But there is also an intransigent body of scientific opinion which continues to insist that industrial emissions are not to blame for the phenomenon.”

Europe Threatens USA on Climate Change Talks

The Associated Press reported on December 13:

“European nations threatened Thursday to boycott U.S.-sponsored climate talks next month unless the Bush administration compromises and agrees to a ‘road map’ for reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming… The United States, Japan, Russia and several other governments refused to accept language in a draft document suggesting rich nations consider cutting emissions 25 percent to 40 percent by 2020, saying specific targets would limit the scope of future talks… All sides agree it is impossible to deal with climate change unless the United States is involved. It is the world’s leading emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and the only major industrial country that did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

“President Bush views his own climate talks as the main vehicle for determining action by the U.S. — and, he hopes, by others. The Jan. 30-31 session in Honolulu is a continuation of September talks at the White House called the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change. The U.S. has invited 16 major economies, including European countries, Japan, China and India, to discuss a program of what are expected to be nationally determined, voluntary cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions. But the EU warned it would stay away unless Washington drops its opposition to mandatory cuts.”

Religious Confusion Galore–Evangelical Christians, Mormonism…

The Associated Press reported on December 5 about the religious beliefs of Mormonism and Evangelicals–and where they agree and disagree. The article stated:

“The fundamental issue: the nature of God… Mormons… disavow belief in the Trinity–that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one–instead believing the three to be individuals united in a single purpose.

“Many non-Mormons dispute claims that the faith’s central text, the Book of Mormon, is a valid account of Jesus’ dealings with ancient Americans. Mormons believe the book was translated through revelation by founder Joseph Smith from a set of buried golden plates. It’s one of three texts from Smith, who also drafted his own version of the Bible, altering many of its passages in light of what he said were errors that had crept into modern translations…

“Culturally, socially and politically, Mormons and evangelical Christians should have no trouble finding common ground. Mormon culture centers on faith and family, with church activities and callings–from teaching Sunday School to leading Boy Scout troops–filling the calendar. A patriarchal society, Mormons hold up the traditional family as the ideal, with women encouraged to raise children instead of work outside the home. Healthy lifestyles are promoted through the faith’s ‘Word of Wisdom,’ which warns against the use of alcohol, tobacco and ‘hot drinks,’ including coffee and tea. Mormons tithe 10 percent of their incomes to their church and are encouraged to serve proselytizing missions. Mormons oppose gay marriage and denounce gambling. They’ve largely supported the war in Iraq and twice voted overwhelmingly for President Bush. The church opposes abortion, except when the health of the mother is at risk…

“Aside from continuing revelation, there are a host of Mormon beliefs that evangelicals find hard to swallow. Mormons, for example, believe in a Heavenly Mother–God’s female partner–a pre-existence in heaven before birth, a hereafter that includes a three-level heavenly kingdom. They wear religious undergarments that some say possess protective powers; they bar non-Mormons from entering their temples; practice posthumous baptism and believe that man can progress to a God-like state in Heaven.”

… and Catholicism

Religious confusion and thoroughly unbiblical teachings are not limited to Evangelical Christians or Mormons. Please notice the following report about the Catholic faith, as published on December 5 by the Catholic news agency, VIS:

“According to a decree made public today and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti… [Pope] Benedict XVI will grant the faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes. [The decree referred to the] ‘forthcoming 150th anniversary of the day in which Mary Most Holy, revealing herself as the Immaculate Conception to Bernadette Soubirous, wished a shrine to be erected and venerated in the place known as ‘Massabielle’ in the town of Lourdes…’

“[The decree stated:] ‘Indeed the succession, over time, of marvelous events … enables us to glimpse the joint operation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church: in the year 1854 the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was defined,’ and ‘in the year 1858 Mary Most Holy showed herself to … Bernadette Soubirous using the words of the dogmatic definition: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.’

“‘In order to draw increased fruits of renewed sanctity from this holy anniversary,’ the decree adds, ‘the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI has decided to concede the gift of Plenary Indulgence’ to the faithful under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Holy Father), in the following way:

“… ‘If between December 8, 2007 and December 8, 2008 they visit, preferably in the order suggested: (1) the parish baptistery used for the Baptism of Bernadette, (2) the Soubirous family home, known as the ‘cachot,’ (3) the Grotto of Massabielle, (4) the chapel of the hospice where Bernadette received First Communion, and on each occasion they pause for an appropriate length of time in prayer and with pious meditations, concluding with the recital of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith, … and the jubilee prayer or other Marian invocation.’

“… ‘If between February 2, 2008 … and February 11, 2008, Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes and 150th anniversary of the apparition, they visit, in any church, grotto or decorous place, the blessed image of that same Virgin of Lourdes, solemnly exposed for public veneration, and before the image participate in a pious exercise of Marian devotion, or at least pause for an appropriate space of time in prayer and with pious meditations, concluding with the recital of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith, … and the invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.’

“The decree concludes by recalling that faithful who ‘through sickness, old age or other legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain the Plenary Indulgence … if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, on the days February 2 to 11, 2008, in their hearts they spiritually visit the above-mentioned places and recite those prayers, trustingly offering to God, through Mary, the sickness and discomforts of their lives.'”

For more information on the true Nature of God and the unbiblical worship of Mary, please read our free booklets, “Is God a Trinity?” and “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.”

The answer to this question depends on many different circumstances.

As a general statement, God makes it very clear that His tithing laws are still in force and effect today, and that He commands us to tithe to Him. For a full explanation and discussion of this vital question, please read our free booklet, “Tithing-Today?”

In our booklet, we also discuss how to calculate God’s tithe. We state the following, which sets forth the teaching of the Church of God for many years:

“MONEY—a sensitive subject for many people. Those who have money, don’t want to part with it. Those who don’t have it, long for it. Yet from the time of man’s creation on this earth, God has given instructions on tithing—paying ten percent of our income to God who gave it in the first place…

“The question has been asked many times whether we are to pay tithe from the gross (before taxes are deducted from our paychecks) or from the net (after deduction of taxes). It has been the long-standing policy of the Church to advise that there is no duty to tithe on the gross, as this would be impossible in certain countries, where taxes are so high. At the same time, the Church has always emphasized that it is up to the individual whether he or she wants to tithe from the gross or the net. Many tithe from the gross, following the principle as expressed in Luke 17:10, but this is a personal decision, based on personal circumstances. God looks at the heart of a person. If one chooses to tithe from the net, he would then be obligated, of course, to pay tithe on any tax refunds he might receive in the next year…

“God requires that we pay tithe from our increase. This would include everything that we have acquired through our own labor or our own money (such as salaries and profits from our business, as well as profits from capital investments, interest from savings accounts, or money from renting out property). We are permitted to deduct from our [tithable] income the amount we need to use in order to achieve the increase. For instance, if we own a business, we are permitted to deduct all the costs we spend to run the business. We are only required to pay tithe from the actual increase or profit…

“God requires that we tithe from our increase—what we ourselves produce through our efforts or investment. Gifts or inheritances are not acquired through our own labor and don’t have to be tithed on. The same is true for money given to us in the form of unemployment benefits, pensions or social security. However, it would be advisable, at least in some of those cases, to consider whether a generous special offering would be appropriate. If in doubt, it is always better to err on the side of generosity, again, showing God where our heart is.”

The general guidelines are clearly revealed: We are to tithe from our profit–which is Biblically defined as the increase from our labor and investments. To determine the amount of increase, we are allowed to deduct our expenses. Increase from our labor or our money does not include gifts and inheritances. Therefore, if a person inherits real estate, such as a house or a condominium, or if they are received as gifts, there is no obligation to tithe on them. If a person sells his own house or condominium and uses the proceeds to buy another house or condominium of equal or higher value, there is no tithable increase, either.

Generally speaking, houses or condominiums are paid for over a long period of time. Also, for many, these homes are paid for out of money that was tithed on–if the person has known of this Godly command and has practiced it. Due to increasing values over the years, most homes are sold for more than their original purchase price, and it is this increase that involves tithing considerations.

If a person is selling his house without buying another one–because, for example, the person may own more than one house–then, generally, the person is obligated to tithe from the increase, while being allowed to deduct the amount for any existing mortgage; expenses which were incurred over the years for the upkeep of the house; as well as any loss or decrease in value incurred due to inflation or depreciation. If someone buys a house for $200,000.00, and sells it ten years later for $500,000.00, then the increase would be $300,000.00, minus deductible expenses, as described above. If the calculated final increase turns out to be $200.000.00, then the amount to be paid as tithe would be $20,000.00.

As mentioned, these are very general guidelines, but the principle of paying tithe is clear. God warns all of us not to rob Him by refusing to pay tithes and offerings. He says in Malachi 3:8-9:

“‘Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, “In what way have we robbed You?” In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me…'”

Surely, no one–and especially no true Christian–would want to be called a cursed robber–and not only an ordinary thief, but one who robs from God and is guilty of defrauding Him.

If in doubt, a Church member should counsel with a minister of God about this matter, before assuming that a tithing obligation exists –or that no such obligation exists–regarding the sale of a house or condominium, or any other matter related to tithing.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was placed on StandingWatch and on Google Video, titled, “Christmas and Worldwide Peace.” In the program, Norbert Link discusses the paradox that Christmas tells us that Jesus Christ came two thousand years ago to bring peace to this world. If so, why don’t we have peace today amongst all nations? And why did Jesus say that He did not come to bring peace, but the sword? Did He want His disciples to fight others in war? What WAS the purpose of Christ’s First Coming, and what did He really teach and promise mankind?

We have begun to post our StandingWatch programs on You Tube. So far, 25 programs have been posted, including the recent programs on the Law of God, the Origins of Britain and America, Halloween, the Mystery of Revelation, Ghosts, Alcoholism, Christmas, Sunday-keeping, World Conditions, and others. In addition to Google Video, You Tube provides us with a diverse international audience, specifically in Europe.

Our Internet advertisement campaign in the USA has, so far, produced 51 requests for our booklet, “Human Suffering…Why, and How Much Longer?”, and 15 requests for our booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.” Most requested additional booklets, which we are offering with the Christmas booklet, i.e., “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery,” “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

by Robb Harris

When the first two people walked the earth, God gave them the ability of choice.  He made it clear what the consequences of their choices would be, based upon the simple act of eating or not eating a fruit.

When I fill up my car with gas, I have to select the grade from the many different ones available, and I have to decide on a station of the few which are usually clustered next to each other.

On a recent supermarket trip I had vanilla extract on my list.  When staring at the spice aisle, I was confronted with many brands of the same item, and lingered for a minute or two, figuring out which one I really needed.

Although these are mundane tasks, they are indicative of the many choices that confront us on a daily basis.  The effect of having all these choices can turn into time-consuming irritation and confusion, because this is a world entangled in Satan’s many diverse beliefs and ideologies.

The simple choice of right or wrong that Adam and Eve were given so many years ago, is still applicable today.  Satan has given us a world of grays with no easy answers.  The more time we spend in the avalanche of mundane choices, the less time we spend in the simplicity God has given us.

On December 8, 2007, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Sex and Marriage, Part 4.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Fort Collins, Colorado, has recently been in the forefront of the news with its debate on how to handle decorating the city and government buildings for the upcoming Xmas season.  The initial feeling was that the city should only put up white lights so that they would not offend those that kept Hanukkah (Jews) or Kwanzaa (African-American).  Well… one man, the local Sheriff, had had enough and decided that he was going to put his foot down and put up a Xmas tree and decorate it.  He was going to defend what he thought was right no matter what… and he did!  And many showed up to help him decorate the tree in spite of the contrary opinion.

Of course, the problem is that while he thought he was standing up for what was right, he was not.  Putting up a tree for Xmas is not something God wants us to do.  Note what Jeremiah 10:2-4 says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not learn the way of the Gentiles….For one cuts a tree from the forest….They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple.'”  It really does not get any more simple or straightforward than this.  God does not want us to take some day of our choice and its customs that are founded in paganism, and “make” it a day of honor towards Him.  God wants us to worship Him in truth (compare John 4:23-24), following His directives. He does not want us to worship Him pursuant to the creations of man (compare Matthew 15:9).

Hopefully, one day the Sheriff will be able to take his zeal and combine it with truth as God desires.  What a powerful combination this will be in the future!  But for those that have an ear to hear now, there is the opportunity, and even more importantly, the obligation to live His way of life with a  fervor and enthusiasm that is becoming of the Word of God.  We are admonished not to lose our first love (compare Revelation 2:4), lest we are found unprepared when Christ returns (compare Matthew 25:5).

Let us be ready to give an answer or a defense for what we believe (compare 1 Peter 3:15).  Now is the time to not take “standing up” sitting down!

New US Intelligence Report on Iran— Is Iran Now a Harmless Pussycat?

The Associated Press reported on December 5:

“President Bush, trying to keep pressure on Iran, called on Tehran Wednesday to ‘come clean’ about the scope of its nuclear activities or else face diplomatic isolation. Two days after a new intelligence report said that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago, Bush demanded that Tehran detail its previous program to develop nuclear weapons ‘which the Iranian regime has yet to acknowledge.’… The administration is worried that the new National Intelligence Estimate — representing a consensus of all U.S. spy agencies — weakens its leverage over Iran and its ability to build global pressure on Tehran to stop its uranium enrichment program.”

AFP wrote on December 5:

“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday boasted a US intelligence report on Iran’s nuclear programme was a ‘great victory’ for Tehran, vowing never to yield to Western pressure to halt the contested drive. The report by the US intelligence community said Iran halted a drive for atomic weapons in 2003 — despite years of statements by US President George W. Bush accusing Tehran of actively seeking a nuclear bomb. Russia and China argued the report diminished the need for a third set of UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran but Western powers pleaded for no let-up in the international pressure.”

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 5 on German reactions to the US intelligence report, as follows:

“Eckart von Klaeden, a foreign policy expert with the governing Christian Democrats (CDU), expressed support for keeping the pressure on Iran. In an interview with Berliner Zeitung, he said: ‘Iran is still building a missile delivery system, it still doesn’t fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and it supports international terror organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.’… For the most part, Germany’s largest papers seemed relieved but not relaxed. They are relieved that the drums of war that so recently echoed loudly from the White House have died down. But they seem to be unanimous in the feeling that while more carrots are good, it’s still too early to drop the stick:

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘In reality, America’s intelligence services had not been keen to publish their intelligence estimates once again… It’s obvious that they’re afraid of being used once again — as they were in the case of Iraq — as a tool in the government’s escalation strategy for which there is no factual support. That’s why they’re scrapping the intelligence estimate they made for Iran just two years ago. The fact that this 180-degree turn is publicized hints at the degree to which some part — and a tough and powerful part — of the Bush administration is fighting for an escalation. In this case, it appears to be Vice President Dick Chaney against the rest of the administration.’…

“The conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘… the US intelligence services are more defensive than their European counterparts, who aren’t yet completely convinced that Iran put a freeze on its atomic weapons program in 2003… The 16 American intelligence services apparently did not want to open themselves up to the accusation that they were being manipulated by the White House. But this distancing, though welcome, comes at a price because it will now be even more difficult for the international community to put pressure on Tehran. Iran claims that it will retain its options to obtain the bomb and will perfect the know-how that could be used for building a bomb. By sometime between 2010 and 2015, Iran might have enough material to make an atomic warhead. That’s really not that far from now, when you think about it and when you consider that it’s already been four years since Iran’s nuclear program was discovered. While the diplomatic efforts plod endlessly forward without accomplishing much, there’s no reason to sit back and relax now.’…

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

“‘The (US intelligence) report is no cause for sounding the all clear. A civil nuclear program can quickly be repurposed for military uses. The new finding that Iran already had a military nuclear program is more troubling than the finding that it halted it a few years ago, and all the more so because the program … was halted during the tenure of the more moderate President Mohammad Khatami. That really says very little about the intentions of his successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a well-known hardliner.

“‘Iran must be denied the possibility of making a nuclear bomb. Therefore, it shouldn’t be allowed to enrich uranium for either civil or military uses. The issue is nuclear conflict, and that is what the resolutions of the UN Security Council are aimed at. The intelligence report doesn’t change that at all… The US government is now going to have a tougher time getting the international community to toughen its sanctions in mid-December, especially Russia and China. Of course, they’ll demand fewer sticks for Iran, but the intelligence report would be the wrong argument for that.'”

Climate Change Conference–USA Left Increasingly Isolated

AFP wrote on December 3:

“A major United Nations climate change conference opened on Indonesia’s Bali on Monday, buoyed by the new Australian prime minister’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol… Kevin Rudd ratified the landmark UN treaty as his first official act after being sworn in as Australia’s leader following elections last month. The move by Rudd… leaves the United States — the only advanced economy yet to ratify the protocol — increasingly isolated as the world tries to hammer out a plan for when Kyoto expires in 2012.

“The 11-day conference, held under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and attended by more than 180 nations, comes as evidence mounts of the havoc rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns are set to wreak on world ecosystems and humankind. Under the new pact, industrialised countries will be pressed to massively reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases from the end of 2012… Environmental group WWF said Australia’s signing of Kyoto would send a strong message to the United States, currently the world’s biggest emitter of polluting greenhouse gas.”

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 3:

“In recent official statements, Washington has indicated it might be looking for a compromise during negotiations in Bali for a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. But sources say the White House is discreetly searching for partners in Beijing and Dehli to derail the prospects for any binding agreements to curb emissions of greenhouse gases… According to the source, Washington is hoping that the two greenhouse gas emitters will openly declare during the conference that they are unwilling to accept any binding limits on emissions of greenhouse gases — at least not as long as the US is unwilling to do more or if the Western industrial nations do not provide them with more financial aid for climate protection initiatives. If successful, the US could use the tactic to prevent itself from becoming an isolated scapegoat if negotiations in Bali end in a stalemate.”

The Associated Press reported on December 6:

“American climate negotiators refused to back down in their opposition to mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions Thursday, even as a U.S. Senate panel endorsed sharp reductions in pollution blamed for global warming…  the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a bill Wednesday to cut U.S. emissions by 70 percent by 2050 from electric power plants, manufacturing and transportation. The bill now goes to the full Senate. U.S. climate negotiator Harlan Watson, however, said that would not impact Washington’s position at the international gathering in Bali… It was the first bill calling for mandatory U.S. limit on greenhouse gases to be taken up in Congress since global warming emerged as an environmental issue more than two decades ago…

“The two-week conference, which opened Monday, is already in a tense standoff between two camps, with the majority supporting mandatory emissions cuts on one side, and opponents such as the United States on the other, delegates said… Washington’s isolation in Bali has increased following Australia’s announcement Monday that it has reversed its opposition to the Kyoto pact and started the ratification process — winning applause at the conference’s opening session. That left the U.S. as the only industrialized nation to oppose the agreement…

“Further momentum for serious greenhouse gas cuts, came from a petition released Thursday by a group of at least 215 climate scientists who urged the world to reduce emissions by half by 2050… The United States and ally Japan are proposing that the post-Kyoto agreement favor voluntary emission targets, arguing that mandatory cuts would threaten economic growth which generates money needed to fund technology to effectively fight global warming… U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns denied that Australia’s acceptance of the Kyoto accord would prompt Washington to do the same. ‘We do not see eye-to-eye with Australia or many other countries on the wisdom of signing the Kyoto regime, that’s obvious,’ Burns said in Sydney, Australia.”

Testing Political Candidates for Brain Dysfunctions?

The LA Times published a seemingly provocative editorial on December 5, which appears to be outrageous at first sight. The article was written by Daniel G. Amen, a neuropsychiatrist and director of the Amen Clinics, and the author of ‘Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.’ It was pointed out:

“What do Rudy Giuliani’s messy personal life, John McCain’s temper and Hillary Clinton’s inability to seem authentic have in common? Maybe nothing. They may be just overblown issues in the otherwise normal lives of candidates under the political microscope.

“Such symptoms, however, may mean a lot — such as evidence of underlying brain dysfunction. Sometimes people with messy personal lives have low prefrontal cortex activity associated with poor judgment; sometimes people with temper problems have brain damage and impulse control problems; sometimes people who struggle with authenticity have trouble really seeing things from someone else’s perspective.

“Is the brain health of a presidential candidate a fair topic in an election year? Certainly Dick Cheney’s heart condition wasn’t off-limits in 2000, nor have questions about McCain’s age been considered out of bounds. The White House issues a complete medical history of the president each year — detailing everything from his seasonal allergic rhinitis to his adenomatous colon polyps. Clearly we care about the health outlook for our elected leaders. Should we go so far as to do brain scans? Of candidates for the Oval Office? Some people might consider discussing brain health a ridiculous idea. Not me…

“Three of the last four presidents have shown clear brain pathology. President Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease was evident during his second term in office. Nonelected people were covering up his forgetfulness and directing the country’s business. Few people knew it, but we had a national crisis. Brain studies have been shown to predict Alzheimer’s five to nine years before people have their first symptoms.

“President Clinton’s moral lapses and problems with bad judgment and excitement-seeking behavior — indicative of problems in the prefrontal cortex — eventually led to his impeachment and a poisonous political divisiveness in the U.S. The prefrontal cortex houses the brain’s supervisor, involved with conscience, forethought, planning, attention span and judgment.

“One could argue that our current president’s struggles with language and emotional rigidity are symptoms of temporal lobe pathology. The temporal lobes, underneath your temples and behind your eyes, are involved with language, mood stability, reading social cues and emotional flexibility.

“A national leader with brain problems can potentially cost millions of people their lives. Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein give us recent historical examples. Both of Milosevic’s parents committed suicide, he had serious bouts of depression and reportedly drank heavily — all signs that point to brain problems. He was found to be unreasonable and unreliable in negotiations and heartless as a political leader. Hussein was described as paranoid and without empathy, also symptoms pointing to poor brain function. His mother suffered severe bouts of depression and attempted suicide while pregnant with him, which is known to affect a baby’s developing brain. He was physically and emotionally abused by his stepfather. All of these stresses must have been involved in shaping his paranoid brain into a mind that could torture dissenters, murder relatives and launch chemical attacks that killed thousands.

“Functional scans, such as Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, provide a window into the brain. Doctors can now see healthy or dysfunctional brain patterns, much as we can assess the strength of a heart or measure hormone levels, and recognize trouble. All doctors might not agree on the interpretation, but there is a growing body of scientific literature establishing what these scans mean, such as attention deficit disorder or a predisposition for Alzheimer’s… A president with brain problems could wreak havoc on the U.S. and the world at large.”

U.S. Senate Investigation of Christian Ministries–Legal or Unconstitutional?

The Associated Press reported on December 6:

“A second Christian ministry is refusing to meet a Thursday deadline for a Senate investigation into preachers’ salaries, perks and travel… Benny Hinn… said in a statement to the AP on Thursday that he will not respond to the inquiry until next year. A lawyer for preacher Creflo Dollar… in suburban Atlanta had said Wednesday that the investigation should be referred to the IRS or the Senate panel should get a subpoena for the documents.

“Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent lengthy questionnaires a month ago to six ministries so he could review whether pastors were complying with IRS rules that bar excessive personal gain through tax-exempt work. Only Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo., has provided the detailed financial and board oversight information sought by Grassley.

“Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a Wednesday conference call with reporters that he ‘can’t be impressed’ by the argument from some of the preachers that the IRS already monitors them, because his past inquiries have unearthed information that the IRS never knew. All the ministries preach a form of Word of Faith theology, known as prosperity gospel, which teaches that God wants believers to reap material rewards for their faith.

“… several religious liberty watchdogs have said the scope of the inquiry is too broad and warned that it could be unconstitutional… Refusals to turn over the information could lead to a court fight, giving a judge the authority to decide whether the committee is entitled to all the information it requested.”

Terrible Weather Conditions in Oregon and Washington

The Associated Press reported on December 5:

“The drenching rains and howling winds were gone but flooding concerns persisted Wednesday, as anxious residents waited for waters to recede so they could see what was left after this week’s fierce storm. The storm… battered the Pacific Northwest before moving on Tuesday, leaving behind flooded homes, fallen trees and washed-out roads, including the region’s largest highway… The interstate, which is the main north-south route between Portland, Ore., and Seattle, was expected to be closed at least through Thursday.”

We received the following additional information from one of our members, residing in Woodburn, Oregon:

“We have SURVIVED!  This storm was one of the worst we have seen since 1996.   It was absolutely awful with constant pouring down sheets of rain, wind gusts up to 54-56 mph here in the valley and wind gusts up to 129 mph on the northern coast of Oregon.  Our apartment building groaned and moaned and creaked from the strong winds. 

“Now the rivers and streams are flooding and peoples’ homes are being affected.  Our little creek has maxed out but thankfully, we are too high in the park for it to bother anyone here.  This began Saturday afternoon until early this morning (Tuesday, December 4)! Yesterday, literally all of the roads leading to the coast were closed due to fallen trees, flooding or land slides.  Tillamook, which is on the northern coast of Oregon, was basically cut off from all directions due to flooding of Hwy 101.”

Another member wrote on December 5 from Florence, Oregon:

“Weather reports said we had hurricane conditions here with gusts up to 100 mph. All is quiet now, with the only damage around town being downed trees and power outages. The river is high and pretty muddy from being so stirred up, plus lots of log debris floating in it. Really no hardship here…just inconvenience.”

The Associated Press reported on December 6:

“Floodwaters from a deadly wave of storms were receding in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, rescue and evacuation work ended and lights were coming back on in thousands of homes and businesses. Eight people were killed in the Pacific Northwest as a result of the storm and damages were likely to reach into the billions of dollars, but remained to be tallied. Interstate 5, closed since Monday about 30 miles south of the state capital in Olympia, could reopen as early as Thursday night with one lane of traffic in each direction…

“Gov. Chris Gregoire said flooding hit record levels on the Chehalis, Skokomish and Elwha rivers. Recalling scenes of blown-down trees, Gregoire said, ‘The visual is nothing like I’ve ever seen other than my recollection of Mount St. Helens’ after the volcano’s devastating 1980 eruption… State officials believed about 33,000 customers remained without electricity early Thursday, mostly in outlying areas of coastal Pacific and Grays Harbor counties…”

No Chavez Beyond 2013?

AFP wrote on December 3:

“Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez acknowledged Monday his first-ever defeat at the polls after voters rejected reforms in a weekend referendum that would have strengthened his grip on power and turned his oil-rich country into a socialist state… Chavez, a firebrand critic of the United States with ties to Iran and Cuba, had been counting on the referendum to continue his rule beyond January 2013, when he must step down under the current constitutional two-term limit. The 53-year-old former paratrooper had said he wanted the constitution overhauled so he could seek re-election ‘until 2050’ — when he would be 95. He had also wanted to gain even tighter control over the country by putting more of the military under his command, permitting media censorship in times of emergency and scrapping the central bank’s autonomy…

“Former defense minister Raul Baduel, who had referred to the reform proposal as a concealed coup attempt, urged supporters to remain vigilant in months ahead. ‘We need to remain conscious of the possibility that the president could attempt to reach the same results through the legislative process,’ Baduel said… Venezuela’s constitution prevents Chavez from re-presenting his constitutional reform under the current congress — though he could conceivably appoint a constituent assembly to draft an entirely new basic law for adoption.”

USA Soon Without Venezuela’s Oil?

The New York Times wrote the following in its report of December 3:

“The results of the referendum, which would have given new powers to President Hugo Chávez, were a stunning development in a country where Mr. Chávez controls nearly all of the levers of power… The defeat slows Mr. Chávez’s socialist-inspired transformation of the country. Venezuela, once a staunch ally of the United States, has become a leading opponent of the Bush administration’s policies in the developing world. It has also taken the most profound leftward turn of any large Latin American nation in decades…

“The United States remains the largest buyer of Venezuela’s oil, despite deteriorating political ties, but that long commercial relationship is starting to change as Mr. Chávez increases exports of oil to China and other countries while gradually selling off the oil refineries owned by Venezuela’s government in the United States… Mr. Chávez already has unprecedented discretionary control over Venezuela’s oil revenues, valued at more than $60 billion a year. “

Christians Worse Off in Iraq

The Eastern Star News Agency reported the following on December 2, republishing an article by CBS:

“An Anglican clergyman in Baghdad, who has seen his flock murdered and forced into exile by Muslim extremists, says Christians there are worse off now than under Saddam’s rule and are probably suffering more than [at] any time in history… ‘There’s no comparison between Iraq now and (under Saddam),’ says [Canon Andrew] White. ‘Things are the most difficult they have ever been for Christians – probably ever in history’…

“That’s because White estimates that 90 percent of Iraq’s Christians, once thought to number over a million, have either fled or have been murdered by Islamic extremists during the religious civil war. That includes his own church leaders and most of the men of his parish. ‘They are mainly killed. Some are kidnapped,’ says White. ‘Here in this church, all of my leadership were originally taken and killed.’ Their bodies were never recovered. ‘This is one of the problems. I regularly do funerals here, but it’s not easy to get the bodies’… It’s all happening because religion can go wrong, says White. ‘When religion goes wrong, it kills others. (Islam) has (gone wrong) and in the past, Christianity has gone wrong,’ he says.”

Preparations for the Third Temple Underway

The Daily Israel Report wrote on December 3:

“The Temple Institute in Jerusalem announces the completion of the Tzitz, the High Priest’s headplate… ready to be worn by the High Priest in the rebuilt Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The words ‘Holy for G-d’ are engraved on the headplate, in accordance with Exodus 28:36. Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute, explained to Arutz-7 that until it can actually be used, the [Tzitz] will be on view in the Institute’s permanent exhibition display, together with other vessels and priestly garments fashioned for use in the Holy Temple by the Institute…

“Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, Director of the Institute, explained some of the Halakhic [Jewish legal] aspects of the fashioning of the vessels for the Temple. ‘For one thing,’ he said, ‘they are made in impurity – for now we are impure, and will remain impure until we are able to have a Red Heifer whose ashes can be used in the Torah-prescribed purification ceremony.  If no Red Heifer is available, then the High Priest must even serve in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur in a state of impurity.’

“…’ to gain the actual status of hekdesh, we similarly make it clear that this does not happen until the vessel is actually brought in to the Temple Mount for use in the Temple’… Rabbi Richman noted that in less than two weeks from now… the famous Menorah (candelabrum) – suitable for use in the Holy Temple…- will be relocated to the landing of the wide staircase that leads down from the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall…

“Asked what project they’re working on at present, Rabbi Richman said, ‘We have begun work on 120 sets of garments for “regular” priests, not the High Priest.  This involves special thread from India, etc.  In addition, we have begun work on architectural blueprints for the Third Temple, including cost projection, modern supplies, electricity, plumbing, computers, etc.’…

“‘We are now approaching the holiday of Chanukah,’ Rabbi Richman continued, ‘which is the holiday that commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple. We’re not just building beautiful vessels; we’re interested in granting G-d the dwelling place that He wants in this world; the Temple is not merely a building, but a way of bringing G-d into our lives in a very real way. And that is what we aim to do.  This [Tzitz] is G-d’s Chanukah present to us, and our Chanukah gift to the Jewish People.'”

How To Implement the New EU Treaty?

The EUObserver wrote on November 28:

“Although the ink has barely dried on the EU’s new treaty, analysts are already scratching their heads as to how the document, with its unclear division of power between the EU’s top politicians, is going to work in practice.

“Come 2009, when the Reform Treaty is supposed to click into place, there will be three big jobs to be had in Brussels – the president of the European Commission; the president of the European Council and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“The three have overlapping job descriptions that are set to be defined only by the strength of the personalities involved, meaning that the treaty, agreed in October after years of wrangling, could be laying the ground for a political hornet’s nest… The questions run from pinning down the exact powers of the EU president; agreeing who the president will be… Experts believe the answers to these questions will shape whether the EU will be a bloc of 27 member states or run according to the wishes of the big countries…

“… the questions are so sensitive that they are being largely left unspoken until after the Irish vote on the new treaty, probably in May or June. Ireland is to be the only country that has a referendum on [the] document, which has to be approved by all member states before it can go into force.”

Europeans to Tighten Rules for Possession of Firearms

The EUObserver wrote on November 29:

“The 27-nation EU is set to tighten existing rules on the acquisition and possession of firearms, an issue that has come to the fore again in Europe after a recent shooting at a Finnish school… Under the EU deal, a firearm may be purchased and owned only by someone who is at least 18 years old and holds a permit. The only exception will be for hunters and sport shooters. They may possess a firearm, if under supervision of a licensed adult.

“In addition, all weapons as well as packages of ammunition will have to be marked by an alphanumeric symbol in order to facilitate their traceability. Each member state will be obliged to set up a computerised database of firearms, including information about their manufacturer, former and current owners, their trade or repair. The data must be kept by authorities for at least 20 years…”

New European Satellite Program

The EUObserver wrote on November 30:

“The 27-nation European Union has agreed how the Galileo satellite project, worth €3.4 billion, will be shared out among member states, with Spain on Friday abandoning its isolated position and finally giving its blessing to the deal. ‘Thanks to the combined efforts of the commission and the presidency, all the member states have eventually accepted to work on the basis of this mechanism’, EU transport commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a written statement. He added that ‘an agreement will allow Europe to have its own satellite navigation system by 2013’… [He] pointed out that once up and running, Galileo will ‘ensure the economic and strategic independence’ of the EU, as ‘special navigation is an indication of power’ on the world stage.”

Election Fraud in Authoritarian Russia?

AFP wrote on December 3:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Monday his party’s landslide election victory as a vote for stability, but foreign observers cried foul and the West urged the Kremlin to probe fraud allegations… With 98 percent of ballots counted from Sunday’s election, Putin’s United Russia party had secured 64.1 percent, giving it more than two thirds of seats in parliament — a majority sufficient to change the constitution. The Communists and other opposition parties denounced the ballot as the most dishonest in Russian history and foreign observers called the Kremlin’s backing for Putin’s party an ‘abuse of power’…

“The criticisms were taken up by Western governments, with the United States calling for a full investigation of reported violations and NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer voicing ‘concern’ over democratic freedoms in Russia.

“But Putin said that the result reflected a national desire for continuity. ‘It is clear that Russians will never let their country go down the destructive path of certain countries in the former Soviet space,’ Putin said, referring to pro-Western popular revolts in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.

“According to the Kremlin, French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke by telephone with Putin and offered ‘warm’ congratulations although France’s foreign ministry called on Russia to ‘shed full light’ on fraud allegations. Germany meanwhile said there was ‘no doubt’ that the elections were not free and fair, while Britain urged Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) to investigate ‘urgently’ the charges of electoral abuse. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi appealed to Russian authorities to ‘clarify’ the election results and there were also expressions of concern from Russia’s western neighbour Poland…

“The CEC in Moscow rejected the criticism, accusing European observers of bias and hinting at US interference… The vote was seen as setting the scene for the presidential election in March next year at which Putin is obliged to step down after serving a maximum of two consecutive terms in office… Putin has said that a parliamentary victory would give him a ‘moral’ mandate to retain a leading political role, and United Russia has said he should stay on as ‘national leader’.”

European Press Condemns Russian “Elections”

Much of the European Press condemned the elections in Russia as fundamentally undemocratic and unfair.

In its report of December 3, Der Spiegel Online quoted many of the European papers, as follows:

“The liberal Danish daily Politiken writes:

“‘As expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin garnered an overwhelming election victory… It was the most unfair election since the fall of communism. The state abused its power in the media. Opposition voices were suppressed. … If the West doesn’t strongly distance itself from this historic election manipulation, which one could at best describe as a swindle, it will muddy our own democracies. And we would also be abandoning Russians who haven’t yet buried their hopes for democracy in their country’…

“Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger writes:

“‘There is little doubt that the Russian president will interpret this result as a vote of confidence — and that it also justifies his desire to remain in power. If he is no longer able to remain president in spring, then another function will be found for him — be it prime minister, head of parliament or in the role of a ‘national leader’. But Putin’s victory is a false one. The allegations of manipulation brought by the opposition are a dark shadow hanging heavy over the election result… a government that has to gain a victory through undemocratic means, is not as firmly in the saddle as the election result might lead one to believe.’…

“The liberal Romanian daily Evenimentul Zilei writes:

“‘Elections and free-market economies are viewed as a symbol of recovery, and Vladimir Putin’s iron hand as a necessary phase during the transition from post-communist chaos to a liberal democracy. But Russia has destroyed a number of myths about democracy and confirmed the failure of the recipes and frameworks that the West has applied to transition countries. … Russia’s economic strength, which has in no way buttressed democratic transformation, has instead empowered Moscow’s oppressive regime. In Russia, the traditional authoritarian model has been restored using the tools of capitalism, and the Russians appear to be contented with that.'”

In fact, in an accompanying article of December 3, Der Spiegel Online pointed out HOW content many Russians are with their system–in spite of the totalitarian and suppressive measures employed by their government:

“Putin-appointed governors ordered their deputies to make sure the election results were to the liking of the Kremlin. In companies, universities and army barracks, bosses pressured their underlings to ‘vote correctly.’ As if that weren’t enough, opposition politician Garry Kasparov was arrested and imprisoned for five days shortly before Russians went to the polls… The overwhelming majority of Russians, one survey puts it at 69 percent, suspected even before the election that the results would be manipulated… At the same time the polls show that around a third of Russians think the Soviet system was better than Western democracy.”

Poland and the EU Condemn Russian “Elections”–With the Exception of Sarkozy

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 5:

“Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk, opened a new chapter in his nation’s relationship with the European Union on Tuesday with a visit to Brussels, but he also had critical words for Russia’s parliamentary elections which indicated an ongoing chill between the two Slavic nations. ‘Alongside others who have fought for the European Union,’ Tusk said in English, ‘I will stand up and defend the European interest.’… ‘It’s a real pleasure to receive my good friend Donald Tusk,’ EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday. ‘Poland is a very important partner, and the voice of Poland matters.’…

“… two days after widely criticized parliamentary elections in Russia — which saw President Vladimir Putin’s party double its power in the Duma, or lower house — Prime Minister Tusk was not in a conciliatory mood. ‘We should not in Europe be tolerant of a situation where certain democratic standards are being broken,’ he said, referring to Russia. Tusk went on to describe Russian opposition leader and former chess champion Garry Kasparov, who spoiled his ballot on Sunday in protest, as ‘my political friend.’

“The comments were in line with an EU statement released Tuesday which expressed ‘regrets’ about ‘many reports and allegations of media restrictions as well as harassment of opposition parties and NGOs’ during the Russian campaign season. But it stood out sharply against French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s reaction on Monday. Sarkozy made a personal phone call to Putin to congratulate him on Sunday’s landslide. Both human rights groups and members of the EU objected to the French president’s zeal. ‘Sarkozy’s reaction, which was totally isolated, is both incomprehensible and scandalous,’ said Patrick Baudouin, president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights, according to AFP.”

Even Some Russian Papers Question Russian “Elections”

AFP wrote on December 4:

“Russian newspapers questioned Tuesday whether weekend elections were really the resounding success the Kremlin had sought and said President Vladimir Putin’s government could face turbulent days ahead…

“The mass market Moskovsky Komsomolets said that despite United Russia’s electoral success, ‘the referendum on trust in Putin’s course failed’… The independent Nezavisimaya Gazeta echoed this and pointed to tensions in the Cabinet. It said that while a government shake-up was likely, there was little clarity about the country’s path ahead of a presidential poll in March…

“The director of the Western-funded vote monitoring body Golos… strongly criticised Sunday’s polls. ‘We believe these elections were not free or competitive. The elections took place under pressure,’ Liliya Shibanova told journalists. Another expert from Golos, Alexander Kynev, said numerous violations had taken place, including stuffing ballot boxes with extra voting papers, forcing people to vote and bribing them with vodka or money.'”

France and Algeria–A Volatile Union

AFP reported on December 2:

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy heads Monday to Algeria to put the seal on multi-billion-euro oil and gas contracts, amid a row over remarks by an Algerian minister about alleged ties to the ‘Jewish lobby’.

“Sarkozy, who dismissed calls to cancel his second trip to the former French colony since his election in May, has said he considers the matter closed following talks with the Algerian president. Abdelaziz Bouteflika firmly disowned comments by his veterans minister last week that Sarkozy owed his election to the ‘Jewish lobby’, citing in particular Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who is half-Jewish. Sarkozy’s maternal grandfather was Jewish.

“… the incident put a fresh strain on relations between Paris and its former colony, which have been tested by France’s refusal to recognise crimes it has been accused of committing under its 1830-1962 colonisation of Algeria…

“Sarkozy, whose insistence that France should no longer ‘repent’ for its colonial past has antagonised some in Algeria, said he wanted to give ‘a new breath of life, a new dynamic to our relations with the countries of the south Mediterranean.’ He repeated his calls for the creation of a Mediterranean union spanning southern Europe and north Africa, saying that oil- and gas-rich Algeria would be an ‘essential partner’… Sarkozy also said there were plans for a nuclear cooperation agreement, following a similar agreement signed with Morocco last month.”

Merkel Strongly Rejects Sarkozy’s Plan for a Mediterranean Union

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 6:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come out strongly against French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s vision of a Mediterranean Union. Merkel believes the proposed bloc poses a risk to the EU’s core and could release ‘explosive forces.’…

“Speaking at a conference in Berlin Wednesday, Merkel attacked Sarkozy’s vision for an association of Mediterranean nations as being ‘very dangerous.’ The German chancellor used unusually harsh language to warn the French president against splitting the very core of the European Union with his vision of a Paris-led alternative union — and one from which Germany would be excluded.

“Merkel said she was highly skeptical of Sarkozy’s plans and insisted that any cooperation with the EU’s neighbors must include all EU member states. Otherwise, she warned, Germany could, for example, form an Eastern European Union with Ukraine and other countries. These types of developments would threaten the cohesion and unity of the EU, she said. She warned that allowing a separate association with access to the EU coffers could lead to a ‘corrosion of the EU in its core area’ and release ‘explosive forces in the EU that I would not like to see. One thing has to be clear,’ she said. ‘Northern Europeans also share responsibility for the Mediterranean, just as the future of the borders with Russia and Ukraine is an issue that concerns those living on the Mediterranean.'”

Germany’s Fight Against Right-Wing Extremism Could Become Dangerous For Others

Germany’s fight against the neo-Nazi party–NPD– has entered a dangerous state. Even though methods to be employed against the NPD and other radical political parties seem justified in the eyes of most Germans, who is to stop the government in the future from using the same methods against nonpolitical organizations, which might be unpopular in Germany–for whatever reasons? 

Der Spiegel Online wrote the following on December 6:

“Germany’s interior ministers have faced frustrating setbacks fighting the far-right in court. A new tactic under consideration involves hitting organizations that support the party where it really hurts — in the wallet… ‘We have to publicly stigmatize people who fund the NPD and the associations that support it,’ Schleswig-Holstein Interior Minister Ralf Stegner (SPD) told the Süddeutsche Zeitung…

“There may… be ways around the legislative approach… some hope to fight the NPD and allied organizations with the time-tested tool of bureaucratic harassment. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, mayors and municipal councils in Rhineland-Palatinate are already making things difficult for the NPD by, for example, requiring a few more toilets in a NPD-related construction projects so as to raise building costs. The state has also put together brochures for municipalities on how to deal with NPD members who come to municipal council meetings.”

Democratic and Free Elections in Pakistan?

AFP wrote on December 3:

“Pakistani authorities Monday banned former premier Nawaz Sharif from standing in next month’s general election, further damaging the credibility of a vote that the opposition may yet boycott… Electoral officials upheld a challenge against Sharif’s candidacy on the grounds that he was convicted of criminal charges in the wake of his 1999 ouster by Pervez Musharraf, who is now president… The case involved Sharif’s attempt to stop a plane carrying Musharraf, who was then army chief, from landing in Pakistan in October 1999. Musharraf ousted Sharif as a result of that incident.”

AFP added on December 6:

“Riot police have blocked former premier Nawaz Sharif from meeting Pakistan’s deposed chief justice [Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry]…  Chaudhry was sacked as chief justice after refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to Musharraf under emergency legislation. He was among 37 judges who were forcibly retired by the government for the same reason this week.

“‘All judges are virtually under house arrest. They can only move in the judges’ enclave,’ said sacked Supreme Court judge Rana Bhagwandas, referring to the area which Sharif had tried to enter. ‘Chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is completely under solitary confinement. Neither is he allowed to move in and outside his house nor can he meet anyone,’ Bhagwandas told Dawn News television by phone.”

Christmas Coronary

The Associated Press reported on December 4:

“Heart attack season has arrived. December and January are the deadliest months for heart disease, and many of the things that make the season merry are culprits: Rich meals, more alcohol — and all that extra stress. But what may make the Christmas coronary more deadly than the same-size heart attack in, say, August, is a double dose of denial. It’s not uncommon for people to initially shrug off chest pain as indigestion. Research suggests they’re even more reluctant for a run to the emergency room when it means disrupting a holiday gathering, or if they’ve traveled to a strange city — meaning they arrive sicker… A 2004 study confirmed it was a nationwide phenomenon, with peaks in death coinciding around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.”

Christ’s statements are not inconsistent, but they complement each other. Please understand that Christ was addressing two different sets of circumstances.

In the passage in Mark 9:40, we read the following, beginning with verse 38: “Now John answered Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.’ (verse 39) But Jesus said, ‘Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. (verse 40) For he who is not against us is on our side.'” Compare, too, Luke 9:49-50.

On the other hand, in the passage in Luke 11:23, Christ responds to an accusation against Him to the effect that He was casting out demons by Satan the devil, the ruler of the demons. He states, beginning in verse 20: “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you… (verse 23) He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” Compare, too, Matthew 12:30.

(1) “He Who Is Not Against Us Is For Us”

In Mark 9:38-40, Christ addressed a person who was not opposing Christ or His disciples; rather, he performed miracles IN THE NAME OF JESUS and OPPOSED their common enemy–SATAN THE DEVIL.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible points out:

“Many copies read, ‘he that is not against you, is for you’; as this man; he was not against either Christ, or his disciples; he was doing the same work, promoting the same interest… he was opposing the same common enemy [Satan and his demons], and did nothing against them [Christ and His disciples], he ought to be reckoned as one for them, and on their side.”

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown adds:

“Two principles of immense importance are here laid down: ‘First, No one will readily speak evil of Me who has the faith to do a miracle in My name; and second, If such a person cannot be supposed to be against us, ye are to consider him for us.'”

The Nelson Study Bible adds the following timeless admonition that is very relevant for the churches of God today: “… this statement was meant to remind the disciples that God’s work was not necessarily restricted to their small group.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary includes further insightful remarks, when discussing Christ’s comments, as recorded in Luke 9:50:

“The disciples claim that the unnamed exorcist was not following with them (cf. Mark 9:38). That is to say, he was following Jesus but not as a part of their group. By casting out demons in the name of Jesus, he was exercising the prerogatives of discipleship without having what they considered to be valid credentials… The man whom the disciples had rebuked was ministering to broken lives in the name of Jesus… Jesus’ principle is contained in the words ‘he that is not against you is for you’… Through the centuries some Christian groups have turned this around to say: ‘He who is not following with us is against us.'”

Some Church of God organizations–or some members belonging to such organizations–claim today that only they comprise the true Church of God. They don’t seem to understand that the true Church of God is not limited to any human organization, but that it is a spiritual organism, consisting of all members in whom God’s Holy Spirit dwells. In their misguided zeal, they even go so far as to claim that unless someone belongs to their particular group, he will not enter the Kingdom of God–or, at the very least, God won’t protect him during times of trials, including the soon-coming Great Tribulation.

Those who believe, teach and proclaim such a false message–either by posting it on public or private websites, or by printing it in their literature or preaching it in their sermons–would be well advised to listen to Jesus Christ’s words in Mark 9:40 and Luke 9:50!

(2) “He Who Is Not With Me Is Against Me”

As we have seen, in the previous passages, in Mark 9:40 and Luke 9:50, Christ addressed those who wanted to be His followers. They were determined to live a Christian life–to do things in the name of Christ–that is, with His backing and approval.

On the other hand, Christ addressed quite a different situation in Luke 11:23. In that passage, self-righteous and envious enemies OPPOSED JESUS. They accused Him of casting out demons with the power of Satan; that is, He was accused of being a tool in Satan’s hands, a worshipper and follower of Satan himself.

Christ was not dealing here with people who wanted to follow Him; rather, He had to address people who opposed Him and who tried to convince others that He was a false prophet, a deceiving teacher, a son of Satan.

When it comes to deciding whether to follow Christ and His way of life, or to continue to follow Satan and the ways of this world, there can be no neutrality. We cannot follow God and the false prophet Balaam; we cannot serve the God of Israel and Baal; we cannot worship God and do things which bring us in contact with demons; we cannot walk in light and in darkness; we cannot serve God and mammon.

As the Nelson Study Bible states: “Jesus’ ministry forces everyone [who is being called to the Truth] to make a choice. Neutrality is not an option. Either Jesus comes from God or He does not. Not to align with Jesus [against Satan] is to be against Him.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary adds: “Jesus affirms that there can be no middle ground… Neutrality is as much an expression of unbelief as is open hostility.”

It states in its comments to the parallel passage of Matthew 12:30: “Before Jesus, man is called to decision. One may not remain neutral. One who is not positively with Jesus is against him. One who does not gather the flock… scatters it.”

In conclusion, Christ addressed two different situations in Mark 9:40 and in Luke 9:50. As long as members of God’s Church–the spiritual organism, the “Body of Christ”–are following and serving Christ, while OPPOSING SATAN and his ways, they are our friends and brethren–they are “on our side.” On the other hand, if someone OPPOSES the true JESUS CHRIST of the Bible and His followers, he is not “with Christ.” This would even include a person who is called to understand the Truth, but who prefers to stay “neutral”–neither supporting nor condemning Christ and His way of life. Such a person might not actively persecute Christ and His followers and speak evil of the Way of true Christianity. Still, he is not “with Christ”–he is not one of His disciples–when he fails to make a decision to leave and OPPOSE SATAN and fully and totally cleave to God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter has been written and posted on the Web. Hard copies will be sent out early next week. In the letter, Norbert Link contrasts Christmas celebrations and the “Christmas dream” of peace for all men with the gospel of the Kingdom of God, which alone can tell us HOW true and lasting peace will come to this earth.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch and on Google Video, titled, “The Law of God, Part 3.” In the program, Norbert Link asks the following questions:

Did Jesus Christ come to abolish the “Old Law” of the Ten Commandments, and to bring a “New Law,” which happens to include nine of the Big Ten, while omitting one? Are the Old Covenant and the Ten Commandments identical? What is a covenant? Did Christ abolish the Ten Commandments when He abolished the Old Covenant?