Clipmarks | Christianity Clips

Yesterday Russia, today the world

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:45:31 GMT

Yet, although it is a book which is not comprehensible outside the context of 19th century Russia, its power to shock consists in the preternatural accuracy of its political prophecy, and its psychological analysis of terrorism. The central evil genius, Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky, is among other things a prophecy of Lenin. Nearly half a century before Lenin arrived, with such catastrophic results for humanity, at the Finland Station in St Petersburg, Verkhovensky sees the political usefulness not just of the political activists but of the "useful idiots" in a society which has lost hold of Christianity.

"The schoolboys who kill a peasant for the thrill of it are ours… The prosecutor in the courtroom who trembles in fear that he is not sufficiently liberal, is ours, ours. Administrators, men of letters, oh, there are many of our people, a tremendous number, and they themselves don't know it."

Tags: dostoevsky, terrorism, the devils, the possessed

Medical report confirms India nun’s rape by anti-Christian mob

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:12:06 GMT

clipped by: Efrain Alvarado

Clip Source: www.catholicnewsagency.com

Bhubneshwar, Oct 5, 2008 / 02:52 pm (CNA).- A recently publicized medical report supports the claim of a Catholic nun who said she was raped and then paraded naked in an anti-Christian attack by a Hindu mob in August in eastern India.

The nun said in her police complaint that she was raped when a large Hindu mob attacked a prayer hall in Orissa state’s Kandhamal district, where she worked.

She told the police she was paraded naked after the rape, Rao said.

Clashes between Hindu extremists and Christians in Kandhamal began August 24 following the killing of a Hindu religious leader. Police blamed Maoist rebels, but some Hindu groups blamed Christians and set fire to a Christian orphanage.

Relations between the religions are normally peaceful, but hard-line Hindu groups claim Christian missionaries are forcing or bribing people to convert to Christianity. Christian leaders deny the charges.

Tags: persecution, martyrdom, religion, christianity

Alchemy Laboratories

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:41:03 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: "Thus have I been wishing to reveal to you in this treatise, as far as may be lawful to me, the Stone of the Ancients, that you, too, might possess the knowledge of this highest of earthly treasures for your health and comfort in this valley of sorrow.

I write about it, not for my own good, but for that of posterity, and though my words be few and simple, that which they import is of immeasurable magnitude. Ponder them well, that you also may find the Rock which is the foundation Stone of truth, the temporal blessing, and the eternal reward."

Clip Source: bibliodyssey.blogspot.com

Alchemist's Laboratory IN: 'Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae' by Heinrich Khunrath, 1595.

a strange combination of Christianity and magic

An emblem that came to be known as the 'Twelfth Key of Basil Valentine'

the lion transforms the serpent into its own flesh when he devours it, so the philosopher's stone has the power to transmute or transform all imperfect metals into gold

'The second Booke of Distillations, containing Sundrie
excellent Secret remedies of Distilled Waters'

'The Practise of the New and Old Phisicke' by Conrad Gesner, 1599. [source]

Key to the figures (click picture for larger version):

1. An iron hook to clear the grate with

10, a melting furnace

12, a plain glass bell for making spirit of sulphur

Key to the figures (click picture for larger version):

'The Alchemist' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1558
[source or alternative version]

'L'Alchimiste'

by David Teniers (before 1690)

satirical view of an alchemist

(Collection of diverse caricatures)

Satirical broadside on folly

news

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:24:48 GMT

clipped by: DW29JW
clipper's remarks: WHY??

Clip Source: ztruth.typepad.com

Amanda Carpenter at Townhall wrote an interesting article yesterday about a man named Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour who helped Barack Obama get into Harvard Law School and also helped raise money for him. One major problem, as Carpenter pointed out, there are numerous videos of a Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour blasting Christians and Jews, including one video predicting the death of Christianity.

“He is the principle adviser to one of the world's richest men.He told me about Obama"

Our new Messiah!

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:40:01 GMT

clipped by: jesterbme
clipper's remarks: Just doin' the Lord's work!

Clip Source: obamamessiah.blogspot.com

But he’ll do even more. He won’t just heal our city-states and souls. He won’t just bring the Heavenly Kingdom — dreamt of in both Platonism and Christianity — to earth. He will heal the earth itself.

Many even see in Obama a messiah-like figure, a great soul, and some affectionately call him Mahatma Obama.

Like the Mahatma [Gandhi], Obama is becoming a global symbol of the 'hopes and dreams' of millions around the world.

"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve.

Wicked Sufferings of Hell

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:02 GMT

clipped by: vinitjain
clipper's remarks: Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. Hell is almost always depicted as underground. Hell is tra

Clip Source: theunexplainedmysteries.com

Wicked Sufferings of Hell

Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. Hell is almost always depicted as underground. Hell is traditionally depicted as fiery within Christianity and Islam. Some other traditions, however, portray hell as cold and gloomy.

Tags: hell, hells, hell and heaven, hell hole, hell gate, heaven or hell, hell fire, go to hell, heaven hell

Of bulbs and bubbles

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:38:00 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: During the European Renaissance, it was, nevertheless, financial measures almost exactly like those used by banks and financial institutions today which freed up the flow of wealth to produce economic growth, and thence the great flowering of art and culture, creating the accumulation of glorious artistic treasures now housed in museums and galleries worldwide.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The tulip craze gives us an object lesson

Students of today's financial crisis would do well to look back at the bubbles and the economic innovation of the past, writes Lisa Jardine.

As banks topple and stock markets plunge, it is hardly surprising that voices are raised blaming the current financial troubles on the evils of borrowing and lending.

In an article in the Spectator, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, expressed the view that the current credit crisis had exposed the "basic unreality" of the long-standing global trade in debts, in which "almost unimaginable wealth has been generated by equally unimaginable levels of fiction, paper transactions with no concrete outcome beyond profit for traders".

Those who make millions out of the financial misfortunes of others have, he said, to recognise and take moral responsibility for what they are doing.

Christianity, like many other religions, has always frowned upon usury - lending money with interest

Tags: greed

We Missed You: A Book For Those Who Skipped Church Last Sunday

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:28:30 GMT

clipped by: readmore

Clip Source: tominthebox.blogspot.com

A Book Review-- Okay. So you missed church last Sunday? Now you’d like to return and worship the Lord, but you know you are going to have to explain to at least 3-9 folks why you were not in church last week. You pull into the parking lot. You park. You take a deep breath. You open the car door.

There she is… Mrs. Arnder. She approaches you and says “We missed you last Sunday.” Of course, you can tell by the inflection and questioning in her voice that she really is saying, “I noticed you were not here last Sunday” and simultaneously asking, “Where were you?” Regardless, you nod. What can you do?

If you are a sincere Christian who wants to do the right thing, We Missed You: A Book For Those Who Skipped Church Last Sunday encourages you to always assume those asking the questions are Christians. The book encourages you to consider that the questioner maybe sincerely concerned.

Tags: christianity, church, life, faith

Islam and the West

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:47:43 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.starbulletin.com

The relationship between Islam and the West has been depicted as one of confrontation and indifference, but there is more to Islam and its relation with the West than violence and confrontation.

Historical and theological facts easily repudiate the claim that Islam is intolerant of Christianity and Judaism. Muhammad signed treaties of peace with the Christians and Jews. In the year 631, he received a delegation of 60 Christians from Najran, about 450 miles south of Medina in present-day Saudi Arabia, who were received in the prophet's mosque, and they were allowed to pray in the mosque.

The Islamic civilization has in the past proved capable of, for the times, astonishing feats of tolerance and acceptance. Under the Muslims, medieval Spain became a haven for diverse religions and sects. Following the Christian re-conquest, the Inquisition eliminated all dissent.

Tags: islam, tolerance

Mayor 'just curious' if Obama is antichrist

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:10:09 GMT

clipped by: keeth
clipper's remarks: Um...., the Book of Revelation was written at least 500 years before Islam was founded. Oops.

Clip Source: www.charlotteobserver.com

Mayor 'just curious' if Obama is antichrist

By STUART WATSON / NewsChannel 36
SWatson@WCNC.com

Posted: Sunday, Sep. 28, 2008

FORT MILL, S.C. -- Fort Mill Mayor Danny Funderburk says he was �just curious� when he forwarded a chain e-mail suggesting Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is the biblical antichrist. �I was just curious if there was any validity to it,� Funderburk said in a telephone interview. �I was trying to get documentation if there was any scripture to back it up.�

The e-mail, which has circulated in the last six months since Obama secured the Democratic nomination, claims the biblical book of Revelation says the antichrist will be in his 40s and of Muslim ancestry.

There is no such scripture. And Obama is not a Muslim. But that hasn�t stopped the e-mail.

The urban legend Web site Snopes.com first exploded the myth in March. Funderburk forwarded the e-mail this month.

Tags: obama anti-christ christianity islam book revelati

The Truth About Mercy Ministries of America

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:37:16 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Go to the site for more on this shocking story.

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

Mercy Ministries bills itself as a Christian-based rehabilitation home for “young women who are seeking freedom from life-controlling problems.” It was founded by Nancy Alcorn in 1983.

There is a riveting untold story about the ministry in the Nashville Scene, focusing on Jennifer Wynne, one of the girls admitted into the house.

How bad was the place?

Entrusting their recovery to untrained counselors barely out of Bible college, the Mercy girls said that exorcisms and speaking in tongues took the place of treatment, that expulsion was the punishment for peeing without permission, and that DVDs featuring the testimony of former gays were peddled as a cure for lesbianism.

Instead of the psychiatric treatment that was needed, Mercy offered prayer.

The girls suffered as a result.

For Mercy, there is no nuance between bulimia, depression, self-mutilation, and unplanned pregnancies. It is all just symptomatic of the Devil’s work.

abuse women on a regular basis in the name of Christianity.

Oregon Students Need "Diversity Training"

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:47:26 GMT

clipped by: spirithiker
clipper's remarks: I had hopes that white America was getting past this kind of abomination.

For 'Christian' students to do this sullies Christianity and themselves.

Clip Source: www.newser.com

A small Christian school in Oregon has suspended four students who confessed to hanging a cardboard Barack Obama effigy from a tree on campus, ABC News reports. Few students saw the cutout, which was hastily removed after a faculty member found it last week. It was an "abhorrent act" that does not reflect the institution, the president of George Fox University said.

Robin Baker also wrote an apology to Obama, whose campaign says they have otherwise had “a very positive response” in the state. A dean says the incident highlights the need for “diversity training.” The effigy was found with a sign reading “Act Six Reject,” a reference to a scholarship awarded to 17 students, mostly minorities, on the predominantly white campus in northwestern Newberg.

Tags: bigotry

Religious freedom: Christians forbidden to pray to Allah

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:31:23 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: The Malaysian government is trying to stop Christians from praying to Allah, and insists that the name should be reserved for exclusive use by Muslims. Yet Christians have been praying to Allah since before Islam existed.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

A Malaysian church has sued the government for banning the import of Christian books containing the word "Allah," alleging it was unconstitutional and against freedom of religion, a lawyer said Thursday.

The Sabah Evangelical Church of Borneo is also challenging the government for declaring that the word "Allah" — which means God in the Malay language — can only be used exclusively by Muslims, said the church's lawyer Lim Heng Seng.

Dusing said Christians in Sabah on Borneo island have used the word "Allah" for generations when they worship in the Malay language, and the word appears in their Malay Bible.

"The Christian usage of Allah predates Islam. Allah is the name of God in the old Arabic Bible as well as in the modern Arabic Bible," he said, adding Allah was widely used by Christians in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Indonesia and other parts of the world without problem.

Tags: religions freedom, god, allah, name of god, islam, christianity, interfaith relations

Misusing religion in the presidential campaign

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:48:39 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: Apparently, this false vision of America sells. According to the State of the First Amendment survey released by the First Amendment Center last week, an astounding 55% of the American people agree that the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation.

Of course, the text of the Constitution does no such thing: It nowhere mentions God or Christ; it bars any religious test for public office; and it prohibits any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”

Clip Source: www.firstamendmentcenter.org

In the long history of religion in presidential campaigns, the 2008 race may well be remembered as the sleaziest and most disturbing example of misusing religion to win votes and demonize the opposition.

In this theology-saturated climate, both Obama and McCain have felt compelled to emphasize their Christian bona fides in the race for the White House — as though the nation is electing a Christian in chief rather than a commander in chief.

McCain has sought to reassure evangelicals in the Republican base that he’s on their side. His selection of Sarah Palin is widely seen as having done just that. But now the blogosphere is ablaze with ridicule and disparagement of Palin as a “religious freak.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s campaign continues to be plagued by the lie that Obama is a Muslim. Apparently, the only time a religion other than Christianity gets mentioned in presidential politics is when it’s used as a slur.

The Constitution, after all, starts off “We the People” — not “We the Christians.”

Tags: religion and politics, religion, politics, christianity, us constitution

Earliest reference describes Christ as 'magician'

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:42:56 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Earliest reference describes Christ as 'magician'

Bowl dated between late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D.

A bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., is engraved with what may be the world's first known reference to Christ. The engraving reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted to mean either, "by Christ the magician" or, "the magician by Christ."

A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found a bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that is engraved with what they believe could be the world's first known reference to Christ.

If the word "Christ" refers to the Biblical Jesus Christ, as is speculated, then the discovery may provide evidence that Christianity and paganism at times intertwined in the ancient world.

Tags: christ, magic, magician, archealogy, bowl, jesus, chrstou o goistais