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The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy was truly the end of an era. He had been extolled as the "lion of the Senate." Understandably, given the impact of his life, the news media were filled with stories about Kennedy, his family, his trials and tribulations and his contributions. I was most surprised to read that a month before his death Senator Kennedy had written a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, which was delivered to him by President Obama. As a practicing Catholic, I took great interest in Kennedy's thoughts about his Catholicism at the end of his life.

Followers of Emanuel can be saved by grace through an investment in obedience which determines the willingness and desire to live back within the presence of God. In 2 Nephi 25:23 it states: “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” This commonly referenced scripture was the basis for Brad Wilcox’s Tuesday lecture, “After All We Can Do,“ from the series “Using the Atonement to Turn Weakness into Strengths.” “This is a source of discouragement if not understood,” said Wilcox, an associate professor of teacher education at BYU. Wilcox focused on...

James Vs. Paul: Salvation by Grace or by Works? James Walker Is salvation by faith in Christ alone or in faith plus works? This is one of the most important questions that must be answered when Christians witness to those in the cults. Almost uniformly, cults teach that salvation is obtained through a combination of a person's faith plus works. In other words, the cults will almost always teach that eternal life is based at least in part on doing a certain list of good deeds or serving the organization with time or money. The challenge for the Christian, is...

A US F-16 fighter used an air-to-air missile to destroy a sounding rocket in its boost phase for the first time this week in a test of a new missile defense concept, US spokesmen said Tuesday. The system -- named the Net-Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCDE) -- breaks new ground in that it would arm fighter aircraft or drones with missiles fast enough to intercept a ballistic missile as it lifts into space. The aircraft would have to get to within a 100 miles of the launch site to catch the ascending missile in the first two to three minutes...

  Grace, Faith, and Works    Real Audio Lessons on this Topic Justification by Faith Alone? IJustification by Faith Alone? IIJustification by Faith Alone? IIIJustification by Faith Alone? IVWhat it means to be born againAre you saved? The Catholic position on salvation can be summed up thus: We are saved by Christ's grace alone, through faith and works done in charity inspired by the Holy Spirit.Sola gratia! Grace alone -- but a grace we have to co-operate with. Thinking that all one has to do is pray the "Sinner's Prayer" once to be saved is wrong. Thinking that all...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, told the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees today that the surge in Iraq is showing progress, and that he believes troop reductions to pre-surge levels could begin by summer 2008 without jeopardizing gains made. Petraeus joined U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker during the first of two days of hearings on the status of the war and political developments in Iraq. The general told committee members that he recommended a drawdown of surge forces in Iraq to President Bush and defense...

James 2:14-26 and Romans 3:27-4:5 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I...

Introduction I have learned much since my first writing on this subject. I still believe that the content herein, while certainly not inspired, captures the truth closely. However, I reserve the right to change my view based upon further enlightenment. I made an effort to lend a hand to those arguments that are used in disagreement. After all, the goal is to uncover the Truth, and not to invest oneself in a particular position or idea. I would like to elaborate further on the “Thief on the Cross” argument often used to dispel the notion of baptism as requisite for...

Over the past few years, pastors and members of the Reformed/Calvinist tradition have become alarmed at a new movement called the “Federal Vision.” I first became aware of what became the “Federal Vision” when I was a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). I watched this storm form and take shape during the years that I attended Westminster Theological Seminary in the debates that were stirring up around the writings of N.T. Wright, E.P. Sanders, along with the growing discontent with Meredith Kline’s “merit model.”From Where did the Federal Vision Arise?For those Catholic readers that are likely...

It’s one of life’s ironies - I guess one of the great parenting dilemmas. Do we want our children to be comfortable or to have character? The short answer may be both, but I’m not sure how that shakes out. If we must choose one, it would have to be character and that comes from facing challenges. So much for comfort. Author Rick Warren says God is more interested in our character than our comfort. That may be a shock to us because we often view God as one who spends his time removing obstacles from our paths and making...

<p>The assurance of salvation is the most important thing in life. It should be the number one concern of every human being. Sadly, too often it is not. The good news is, the Bible teaches that you can know for sure that you are going to heaven. I John 5:13 says: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE..." Notice that this verse doesn't say, "that ye may HOPE that you can GET eternal life." It says that you can know that you have it, as a present possession. How do you get it? Acts 16:31 says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." Notice again that it doesn't say, "Believe and you will someday be saved." It rather says, "Believe...and BE saved." Of course, the word "saved" makes a lot of people nervous. A man told me once, "We don't speak in those terms at our church." But that's a shame, because the Bible uses this word over and over again. John Newton used it hundreds of years ago when he wrote that most beloved of all Christian hymns, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that SAVED a wretch like me." You've probably even sung that song! Well, it was written by a man who was saved, and you can be saved too. Ephesians 2:8,9 says: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” “Not of works, lest any man should boast." Here we see that people are saved "by grace," and "through faith." By God's grace. Through your faith. Faith and believing are the same thing. If you believe something, it means you have faith in it. Notice also the contrast to "works." Works are things that we can DO. Most people think that they can be saved by the things that they do. If they don't do bad things, if they instead do good things, they think that they will be saved. The problem with this system is that you can never be SURE that you've done enough good things, and avoided enough bad things, to be saved. That's why the people who believe this are generally not sure they are saved. But Romans 4:16 says, "Therefore it is OF FAITH, that it might be BY GRACE, to the end THE PROMISE MIGHT BE SURE..." The only way you can be sure of salvation is by faith. If you had to do as little as lift your finger to be saved, you could never be sure that you had done it right. But by faith we can believe that the Lord Jesus Christ did it right. We can be sure that He lived a sinless life. He never did anything wrong, He did everything right. A person like that didn't deserve to die. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But He was no sinner. Why did He have to die? Ah, He died OUR death. He died our death so that we could have His righteousness and be saved. II Corinthians 5:21 says: "For God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Two thousand years ago, God laid all of our sins on Christ as He hung on Calvary. But that doesn't mean that everyone is saved! Two thousand years later, WHEN YOU BELIEVE that Christ paid for all of your sins, God then takes Christ's righteousness and puts it on you, completing the transaction that must be completed for the redemption of your soul. I like to explain it this way. God says to us in the Bible that Christ paid for all of your sins. The only question is, Do you BELIEVE God when He says that all of your sins are paid for? Do you TRUST Him when He says that? If you do, the Bible says that you are SAVED. If you don't, well, you just have to go on trying to pay for your sins in your own way. By being good. By not being bad. But these are things the Bible says you can't do well enough to be saved. Romans 4:5 says: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Titus 3:5 says: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." That big word "regeneration" is just a big word that means to be "born again," as the Lord talked about in John 3. But in both of these verses, you can see that salvation is by faith alone, and has nothing to do with your conduct. Most people think that we are all born GOOD, and on our way to heaven, and that we have to do something REALLY BAD to blow it and go to hell. But the Bible teaches the opposite. The Bible teaches that we are all born bad, and have to get saved by faith to go to heaven. Sometimes when we explain this, people then ask, "Why then should I be good?" The answer to this question is, we should be good out of gratitude for God for saving us. Earlier I quoted Ephesians 2:8,9 to show that we are saved "by grace" and "through faith." But the NEXT verse in Ephesians 2 tells us where "being good" comes in: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). When we are saved, we are made "new creatures" in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). But Ephesians 2:10 here says that we were "created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works." That is, we were saved by faith, but we were saved FOR A PURPOSE, for a reason. God saved us and made us new creatures in Christ so that we would THEN do good works. Most people get the cart before the horse, as the saying goes. Most people think you do good works, then God saves you. The Bible teaches that instead we are saved by believing, then we SHOULD do good works. Right after Titus 3:5 says we are saved "not by works of righteousness," three verses later it says, "...these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful TO MAINTAIN GOOD WORKS. These things are good and profitable unto men." Do you see it? We are not saved by good works, but after we are saved by faith, we are told we should do good works to please the One who saved us. Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Here there is a contrast drawn between "wages" and a "gift." Wages are something that we EARN. We go to work, and work all week, and the boss pays us. If we want to be polite, we can say "thank you" when he hands us the check, but we don't have to. He OWES us that money, we EARNED it. But a gift is something altogether different. You can't earn a gift. If you did, it wouldn't be a gift. That's why the verses BEFORE Romans 4:5 says, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." You can't earn a gift, you can only receive it. And the way you receive the gift of salvation is by faith, by believing God when He says your sins are paid for. Suppose you were a gambler, and racked up a debt of a million dollars to the Mafia. They threatened to kill you unless you paid up. A wealthy friend learns of your plight and comes to you and says, "Don't worry, I've paid your debt." Now in this case, you must REALLY BELIEVE that your friend paid your debt. You must really TRUST your friend when he says that. That's why the other word that the Bible uses besides "believe" is "trust." Ephesians 1:12 talks about people... "...who first TRUSTED in Christ "In whom ye also TRUSTED, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). If you DON'T trust that your friend paid your gambling debt, then you will most likely continue to make payments to your bookie or loan shark. But if you DO trust your friend when he says that your debt has been paid, then you will rest comfortably in that knowledge, knowing that you've been "saved" from an awful fate, and you will be forever grateful to the one who saved you. That's how salvation works too. In John 5:24, the Lord said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and SHALL NOT COME INTO CONDEMNATION, but IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE." Here we see that the Bible teaches that not only are you saved if you believe on the Lord, you already possess eternal life, and it is NOT POSSIBLE for you to ever be condemned for your sins, for you are ALREADY passed "from death unto [eternal] life." Remember, Acts 16:31 says, "believe...and...be saved." It DOESN'T say, "Believe and be good." It doesn't even say, "Believe and be religious." It just says believe and be saved. If you believe that Christ died to pay for all of your sins, and that you don't have to pay for any of them, the Bible says you are saved. In I Corinthians 15:1-4, the Apostle Paul identifies “the gospel” that he preached to the Corinthians, by which they were “saved”: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; “And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” You too can be among those who are “saved,” if you will simply put your faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25).</p>

Confusion over the gospel abounds. I hear it from people all over the country and around the world. They don’t know what to believe. They aren’t sure what God requires. Is it turning from sins or commitment of life? Inviting Jesus into their hearts? Obeying the Golden Rule? Confessing their sins? Being baptized? There is only one true gospel. The key is to discover and believe it. However, that isn’t necessarily easy to do, because many different gospels are being preached and it is hard to determine which one is correct. Most forms of the gospel being preached today are...

Opposition Democrats expressed outrage at a campaign by President George W. Bush's administration portraying critics of the Iraq war as defeatists reminiscent of those who tried to appease Nazis before World War II. Bush's top aides, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, delivered strident speeches last week describing the conflict in Iraq as a crucial part of the "war on terror," invoking World War II and the Cold War. "Can we truly afford to believe somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?" Rumsfeld asked in his address. Democratic lawmakers said the White House was trying...

Law vs. Grace For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. (Romans 6:14) Law vs. grace is one of the most important contrasts a Christian must grasp. The Bible lays a tremendous emphasis upon it. For example, the gospels are full of the conflict between the Pharisees and our Lord -- showing the conflict between the law and God's grace. Paul devotes at least three of his epistles to the subject alone: Romans, Galatians, and Colossians. Plus we find it cropping up in one form or another in every other...

There are many who press that we are saved by “faith alone,” yet it is surprising that most of them will not defend such teaching in an open forum. When we look at the Bible’s teaching on salvation, it should be evident that we agree on at least two principles. First, we must accept only what the Bible says on the subject. Second, we must accept all that the Bible says on the subject. It is clear that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8)....

LONDON - The U.S. publishing company Ignatius Press has refused to sell any works by Welsh singer Charlotte Church after she called German-born Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi and mocked the Catholic Church. The directors of Ignatius Press said they were offended when the Welsh singer mocked the Catholic Church in the pilot of a proposed eight-part television chat show. Church, dubbed the "Voice of an Angel" before she turned her talents to popular music, also dressed up as a nun and pretended to hallucinate while eating "communion" wafers imprinted with smiling faces signifying the drug Ecstasy. She smashed open...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., July 13, 2006 – Time hasn't completely healed Betty Jean Pulliam's wounds, and talking about her son can still bring a tear to her eye. New Jersey State Police troopers escort Betty Jean Pulliam of Wichita, Kan., to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial July 9. The American Gold Star Mothers Inc., held a ceremony there to honor all children lost in service to the United States. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Lance Cpl. Dale Alan Pulliam was 21 years, two months and one day old when he was...

Come out, come out wherever you are,,,,time for SAVAGE!

SIERRA VISTA — This is no ordinary green thumb project. The Sierra Vista Garden Club has an ambitious goal of transforming the Southern Arizona Veterans’ Cemetery with drought-tolerant plants and trees — not only to improve the look, but honor veterans. The club wants to keep the state-run 147-acre burial ground as a place of dignity and honor, said Terri Nuti, the cemetery administrator. “Everybody is very enthusiastic about this,” said Janet Brady, club president. “This has sort of become my baby.” Nuti said the cemetery is so grateful to the garden club, because it frees up the small staff...

USA Citizens Day - July 1st Immigration Control Rally Nationwide Rally on Saturday, July 1st, at noon, at your City HallMay 1st - Million of Illegal Aliens Marched in our StreetsTwelve million illegal aliens demonstrated their political power, and declared May 1st to be A Day Without Undocumented Workers ( illegal aliens ). They boycotted the USA, all US businesses and institutions. Millions of them marched in our streets, carried Mexican flags, shouted "Si se puede!", and demanded new laws from our Congress. July 1st - U.S. Citizens Nationwide Rally for Immigration ControlRally to stop our continuous invasion by...

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 – Every day, officials at the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency track the status of efforts to find 20 Americans believed to still be alive but "isolated" outside the United States. In personnel recovery terminology, isolated personnel are U.S. servicemembers, Defense Department civilians, or contractors separated from their unit who are or may be in a situation where they must survive, evade, resist or escape, a specialist in these "SERE" techniques said here yesterday. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shawn E. Cross, a SERE specialist at the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va., described his unit's...

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany, May 3, 2006 – Family tradition may be what inspired Air Force Tech. Sgt. Tom Landenberg to join the military, but 20 years later, he said it's pride that keeps him serving. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Tom Landenberg said pride inspired him to join the Air Force and keeps him serving as he helps prepare young airmen for combat duty. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Larry Chambers, USCG  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Pine Mount, Ga., native followed in the footsteps of his father, a 22-year veteran of the Army and Coast...

The Al Jwahiri High School in Saab al Bour, Iraq, held its grand opening, as part of a continuing effort to improve the community. The high school and the Taha Hussen Primary School, also in Saab al Bour, have undergone $790,000 worth of refurbishing. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Dave Olson Joint Effort Works to Improve Saab al Bour Saab al Bour is getting an extreme makeover from the Iraqi army, locals and Multinational Division–Baghdad soldiers. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt 1st Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division CAMP TAJI, Iraq, May 2, 2006 — Iraqi...

BURBANK – Chris James needed help moving a piano and three dozen boxes of records from his music studio, but instead of corralling some buddies he rented a truck and hired day laborers outside the local Home Depot. The two Guatemalan men finished the job in an hour and a half, hauling a piano and wedging a sofa into his condo, then stacking the boxes in a back room, for less than $40. It was first time James hired day laborers but it won't be his last. “Absolutely satisfied,” said James, 31. The No. 1 employers of day laborers, many...

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 – The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, sparked a fire in Carolyn Blashek to do something to show servicemembers in harm's way that somebody cares. She tried to join the military, but the Army Reserve wouldn't accept her. "I was too old," she said. Soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq pose together for a picture to say thank you to Operation Gratitude for care packages the organization sent to them. Courtesy photo   About a year and a half after Sept. 11, a conversation with a despondent soldier rekindled the desire of the...

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2006 – The United States now has a rudimentary missile defense system in place, a senior defense official told the Senate's strategic forces subcommittee here April 4. "The United States today has all the pieces in place needed to intercept an incoming long-range ballistic missile: ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California; a network of ground-, sea- and space-based sensors; a command-and-control network; and, most importantly, trained servicemen and women ready to operate the system, Peter C.W. Flory, assistant defense secretary for international security policy, said in prepared testimony. The system is still aimed primarily at development and...

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class John Fralish’s rank insignia is pinned to a letter to his family from Army 1st Sgt. David Schneider, who served with Fralish in eastern Afghanistan. Fralish, a corpsman from New Kingstown, Pa., gave his rank insignia to the family of an Afghan girl who required urgent medical care so that the girl and her family could receive safe passage to a coalition medical facility. After he was killed in a firefight Feb. 6, the insignia was returned. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Joe Lindsay Navy Corpsman’s Good Works Live On U.S. Navy...

FORT BELVOIR, Va., April 3, 2006 – The United States is aggressively pursuing ways to lessen the threat from weapons of mass destruction, the director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency said here last week. "Our goal is to combat weapons of mass destruction and protect Americans and U.S. forces, military infrastructure, bases and facilities against their use," Dr. James A. Tegnelia told American Forces Press Service March 31. "The United States has, in my view, a very aggressive program to secure fissile and WMD material." The threat reduction agency's mission is to safeguard America and its allies from all...

WASHINGTON - The Senate moved Wednesday to approve the first major change in lobbying and ethics rules in more than a decade, the latest effort by Congress to restore its plummeting reputation with voters before the fall elections. Under the bill expected to pass by a wide margin, senators would no longer be able to accept gifts or meals from lobbyists and lobbyists would be required to reveal more information about their contacts with lawmakers. But the bill, to the chagrin of many pushing for more fundamental change, does not ban privately funded travel. Nor would it establish a new...

Massachusetts' attorney general is demanding that contractors refund $108 million for poor work on Boston's "Big Dig," which is the biggest public works project in U.S. history and has been plagued by leaks and delays. Attorney General Tom Reilly's office plans to sue Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and other companies if the two sides do not reach an agreement over some 200 complaints of shoddy work in putting a major highway running through downtown Boston underground... Costs for building the 7.8 mile underground roadway through Boston ballooned from under $3 billion to the current $14.6 billion.

Construction at Kandahar Airfield looks to futureBoardwalk, runway extensions in the works at growing base By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Monday, March 6, 2006 KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — So what if the nearest ocean is hundreds of miles away? That doesn’t mean coalition troops and civilians stationed at the largest military base in southern Afghanistan can’t enjoy a (sometimes bouncy) walk on the boardwalk, and grab some American fast food while they’re at it. The wooden structure, located near the geographic center of the base, was a pet project of Lt. Col. Jim Hardy, the recently departed...

Mosul, Iraq– Albanian Army units are helping Coalition Forces fight terrorism in Iraq from a small contingency headquartered on Logistical Support Area Diamondback. The Kommandos, 1 st Battalion, 6 th Albanian Contingent, controls the battle space east of LSA Diamondback as well as guard towers on the north end of the installation.“We have 120 Soldiers here, but in my country all the people support our guys, and my people like freedom,” said Besnik Sokoli, commander, 6 th Albanian Contingent. “In my country, we were not struck by terrorism, but the government and people support Albanian Soldiers fighting terrorism.” Kommando units...

Counterprotests in works for Sheehan's Germany protests By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Sunday, February 26, 2006 RAMSTEIN, Germany — Efforts are under way to stage a counterprotest to Cindy Sheehan’s planned March 11 demonstration outside Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and Ramstein Air Base. Sheehan, who is the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq and who protested the war last summer outside President Bush’s Texas ranch, is scheduled to participate in a daylong war protest. Stefan Prystawik, a German writer in Bonn, is working to stage a counterprotest. On his Web site, at www.stefan-prystawik.de, Prystawik characterizes Sheehan...

What Is Faith? "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1, New International Version). Do you see much faith in the world around you? We live in a secular-oriented society that is virtually devoid of faith. Since most people don't read the Bible, they don't know much about God.Many are not even sure there is a God. Others, although they believe in Him, don't know what kind of God He is. This situation shouldn't surprise us. After all, it's impossible for people to have living faith in a...

AL BASRA OIL TERMINAL, Persian Gulf (NNS) -- Mobile Security Detachment (MSD) 31 relieved the Norfolk, Va.,-based MSD 25 on the Al Basra (ABOT) and Khwar Al Amaya (KAAOT) oil terminals in the Persian Gulf in early November, continuing the U.S. and coalition commitment to ensuring security and stability in the region by working with Iraqi marines on the oil terminals. In an interview Nov. 20, the Officer in Charge of MSD 31, Lt. Garth Kaliczak, said his most important mission during his unit’s tour is the security of Iraq’s two oil terminals in the Persian Gulf. "Without these platforms,...

Enviro-Elitist Poses As Gas-Pump Populist By Jeffrey, Terence P Sen. Biliary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) sometimes talks as if she wants oil and gas to be cheap and abundant, but she never stops working to make them expensive and scarce. But there's a key to predicting when she will start gushing about America's need for inexpensive fossil fuels. Call it Hillary's hurricane rule: When a storm interrupts oil and gas supplies from the Gulf Coast, she becomes an instant gas-pump populist. Flash back to Sept. 28, 2004. A headline in that day's New York Times read: "Oil Nears $50 As Gulf Storms...

NAVAL AIR STATION JOINT RESERVE BASE NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit (FDPMU) East, currently deployed here in support of Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina, is assisting the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Louisiana Department of Public Health to eliminate vector-borne disease and other insect-related problems associated with Louisiana’s mosquito population. Diseases like West Nile Virus can be transmitted by mosquitoes, which thrive in wet ecological terrain like that inherent to Louisiana. “[FDPMU East] has been a great help to us,” said Janet McAllister, CDC Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. “They have been here on...

Does anyone know the plants that Protandom are derived from? I remember cumin and green tea, but do not know the other two. Would be very appreciative if someone could e-mail me at sherjohnson7@aol.com with the answer. Gratefully, Nancin

Folks, in view of our recent national tragedy, I want to reproduce for you the Catholic Encyclopedia's article on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and remind all of us that this teaching has never, ever has gone out of style. It remains a divine mandate that we pursue these works of mercy every way we can: Mercy as it is here contemplated is said to be a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune. It is the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that although mercy is as it were the...

Famous DJ Cronauer now works to bring POWs home By EARL WATT Southwest Daily Times In 1979, Adrian Cronauer had an idea. "MASH" was the No. 1 television sitcom, and "WKRP" was extremely popular as well. Cronauer, an Armed Forces disc jockey during the Vietnam conflict, thought that combining the MASH and WKRP formats, and centering them around Vietnam, would be entertaining. "The problem was, in 1979, no one thought you could do a comedy about Vietnam," Cronauer said while visiting Liberal for the USO show, Command Performance," at the Mid-America Air Museum slated to begin at 7 tonight. His...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - His voice hoarse, his arms waving, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a cheering crowd that Brazil's "elites" would not break him, that he had learned from his poor, illiterate parents not to lie or to steal. "With a lot of sacrifice, I earned the right to hold my head up high," he told an applauding oil workers union. Silva, a former union boss elected in a landslide with pledges to make Brazil a "decent country," is back on the campaign trail. But this time it's to save his presidency from corruption charges,...

Are Christians saved by faith alone, or through obedience to laws?The short answer, of course, is that faith saves us. It is a gift from God. We can do nothing on our own to earn salvation from our sins, restore fellowship with God, or gain eternal life. Jesus Christ paid for this gift once and for all on the cross some 2000 years ago. The message of salvation is simple: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by...

Since our falling-out with a “prophetic church”, my wife and I have begun visiting other churches in search of a place to call home. This past Sunday we attended a start-up church that meets in the theater of the city’s community center. The atmosphere was pleasant; the people seemed pleasant; the worship was good; the young pastor (young compared to us!) seemed like a decent chap – he seemed earnest and full of zeal and energy. But the sermon was more of the same, more of what we’ve come to realize is the typical message found in the typical contemporary...

Link: The Works of Arminius

SOURCES: NY GOV PATAKI WORKS BEHIND SCENES TO BE CONSIDERED HOMELAND SECURITY SEC ... DEVELOPING...

I can worship the correct God, correctly, but it will not save me. I can pray reverently, contritiously, with a tremor in my voice to Beautful, Almighty, Triune Jehovah, before and after meals but it will not save me. I can keep the Lord's day holy by restricting my activties to worship and good works, but it will not save me. I can hold my mother and father in the highest esteem in all circumstances but it will not save me. I can restrain my tounge when a brother insults me with a blatant eye, but it will not save...

Thursday, August 5, 2004 MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH Trooper kicks pro-lifer out of state Abortion images on truck barred, detainee called 'Jesus freak' Posted: August 5, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Two pro-life advocates have filed a federal lawsuit claiming one was berated as a "Jesus freak" and "extremist" and the other kicked out of Connecticut by state troopers because of their provocative anti-abortion signs. After five days in Boston to demonstrate at the Democratic convention, Michael Marcavage and Dennis Green were driving a truck with panels that display large photographs of aborted children when they were...

The Life of St. Morgan of Wales AKA Pelagius   Early Life and Education St. Morgan of Wales is more commonly known by his Latin name Pelagius Britto -- indicating his association with the sea and Celtic British origins. He was born around 360 A.D. in South Wales in Bangor-is-y-coed or Caerlleon-ar-wsyg near the Severn estuary. He came from a Christian romanized Celtic background, the son of a decurion. Morgan received a Latin education and was taught Holy Scriptures, inheriting the Celtic tradition which had links with the Church of Gaul and the Eastern Church. An emphasis was placed on...

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." – Revelation 3:15-16 KJV Most Americans call themselves Christians. Twice they chose as their supreme leader Bill Clinton – a sexual predator and pathological liar who regarded the "religious right" as enemies and radical homosexuals as friends, and who by any meaningful and historical measure was a traitor. After that, millions of Christians came within a hair's breadth of electing Clinton's partner in...

UNITED NATIONS - The Security Council threw its weight behind talks aimed at halting a year-old conflict in western Sudan, calling on the government and opposition groups to halt fighting for humanitarian reasons and to settle their dispute politically. The conflict in the Darfur region has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in a campaign one U.N. official said was "ethnic cleansing." "Every effort has to be made to find a settlement to the conflict, " Germany's Ambassador Gunter Pleuger, the current council president, told journalists after the council unanimously passed the statement Friday The conflict is...