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One of the marks of our modern time is the fact that many are guilty of merely "nibbling" at the truth of the Christian gospel. If the cross of Jesus Christ means what it should to us and we know that we must carry it and die on it and then rise and live above it, we will have a constant desire to advance and gain spiritual ground! The nervous people who want to put on the brakes, who feel the necessity for restraint in matters of spiritual desire and yearning for perfection, often use the expression, "Let's not get...

Translated by Alouette: Nihad Afroun, a six-year-old little angel, was violently beaten by her teacher at the school Sidi Ahmed El Bekkal, in Tétouan. A board of inquiry was formed, Tuesday April 25, to bring this obscure history to light. A scandal in Tétouan has shaken the local public opinion and the teaching profession. Nihad Afroun, a six-year-old little angel, was the victim, last week, of physical violence, by her teacher at the school Sidi Ahmed El Bekkal, located with the district Jbel Darssa. In addition to the psychological effects, this violence had serious physical consequences on the small girl....

Good intentions are not enough in the uproar over cartoons of Muhammad: The mainstream Islamic mindset has proved inscrutable February 22, 2006 By Andrew Steven Harris The through-the-looking glass controversy over Danish editorial cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad is, of course, about much more than cartoons or Muhammad: It's a cultural Sept. 11-style strike against the values and institutions of the West. Just as the 2001 attacks represented more than 19 criminals hijacking four airliners, this latest clash between democratic values and religious fundamentalism is an orchestrated ambush on an unsuspecting target unaware of the scope of the attack until...

It didn't take long for me to get an answer to the question I posed in a recent column concerning whether it is possible to be both a Muslim and an American citizen. According to "Document 44" published and distributed by the Saudi Arabian embassy: "It is forbidden to be a Muslim and to become a citizen of a country governed by infidels." (That's us!) I read a report entitled "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques." There are of course millions of Muslims. And each practices his or her religion in the best way they can given their...

Summary: Their attempt to practice religion consistently explains the terrorists' actions. Body: The continued attacks by Islamic terrorists against the West--most recently, the horrific suicide bombings in London--have led many to ask, what is the motivation of the terrorists? Commentators are eager to offer a bevy of pseudo-explanations--poverty, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, etc.--while ignoring the motivation the terrorists themselves openly proclaim: Islam. The near silence about the true role of Islam in motivating Islamic terrorists has two main causes: multiculturalism and religion. Multiculturalism asserts that all cultures are equal and therefore none may criticize another; intellectuals and politicians are therefore reluctant...

An analysis of fanaticism among evangelical Christians NOTE: Several weeks ago, I published an essay on IM on the subject of religious fanaticism. Since that time, I've continued to think about the subject and find more relevant--and troubling--points that need to be mentioned. If you didn't read the previous essay, "An Appetite For Fanaticism," you should probably read it first, as I am picking up my own thoughts from there. "It is a fundamental principle with us that to renounce reason is to renounce religion, that religion and reason go hand in hand, that all irrational religion is false religion."...

In a now familiar commercial, a "reception tester" from one of the natioanl cell phone companies wanders about the country, searching for "dead reception" areas, asking of his cell phone, "Can you hear me now? Good...". At the conclusion of World War One, the Ottoman Empire, which had chosen poorly and allied itself with the defeated Germans, was broken up into spoils for the victors. Under the Sikes-Picot agreement, France obtained dominion over TransSyria, while Great Britain won Iraq, Palestine.etc. In 1923, the eventual king of Saudia Arabia, and founder of the House of Saud, was faced with a dilemna....

President Bush will make remarks on the death of Terri Schindler (Schiavo) at 11:40 am EST.

The Forbidden Side of ScientologyBy the Reverend Murray Luther, Feb 9, 2005Kook Appeal        L. Ron Hubbard was never shy about discussing his version of the history of Earth-a scenario that falls somewhere between Star Wars and Star Trek. In a lecture he gave in November of 1959, Hubbard gave an out-of-this-world account of ancient Egypt, stating that at that time, Earth was under attack between two forces. One was the Space Command and one was the Martian Command. Although most Scientologists would avoid admitting it, they believe this completely and without reservation. Well trained Scientologists not only believe this, but...

The Forbidden Side of ScientologyBy the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 28, 2005Religious Hard-Sell        A while back, I received a mailer from the Church of Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights. The mailer offered, "You are invited to a CONFIDENTIAL closed-door Briefing and Dinner." I've been a Scientologist long enough to know that what they were really saying. Essentially, the message was "Come to our dinner and give us the opportunity to brow-beat you into giving us thousands of dollars."        L. Ron Hubbard describes this approach as "come-on promotion." The words confidential and closed-door are meant to induce, allure and attract...

The Forbidden Side of ScientologyBy the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 24, 05Totalitarian Religion        In 2001, following the September 11 attacks, Church of Scientology Chairman of the Board David Miscavige promptly issued Inspector General Network Bulletin No. 44, titled "Wake-up Call." The Church's official position, although not exactly a denial of the facts, completely avoided one issue worth noting. Miscavige made absolutely no mention of the terrorists' radical religious extremism. I suspect that for most Scientologists, extremism is a concept that probably hits too uncomfortably close to home. Your average dedicated Scientologist, while able to perhaps recognize the dangers of suicide...

The Forbidden Side of Scientology By the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 18, 2005 Unauthorized Correspondent for The Church of ScientologyIndoctrinated Tyranny    One of the first things a new Scientologist encounters when studying Dianetics and Scientology is the absolute authority of L. Ron Hubbard. There's a gradual indoctrination process that takes place in which the Scientologist eventually comes to the realization that everything Hubbard says is absolutely true and completely correct. Sooner or later every Scientologist arrives at a point where Hubbard's word becomes law, not to be questioned.     Every course begins with the same Hubbard Policy Letter, Keeping Scientology...

The Forbidden Side of Scientology By the Reverend Murray Luther, Jan 13, 2005 An Ex-Fanatic Speaks Out     This is the first entry in a series of reports and commentary on the ever controversial Church of Scientology. I've been a member for roughly thirty years, and as of this writing I still remain in good standing. I've received hundreds of hours of Scientology counseling, and have attained some of the highest spiritual levels that it offers. I've also done significant amounts of training in the delivery of Scientology counseling, as well as courses in the administration of Church management policies....

Out of curiousity, as to what all the fuss about, I decided to follow the link in Ifilm to watch the film clip which got Vincent Van Gogh's great-grand-nephew Theo brutally murdered by a Dutch immigrant Moslem. I had heard Van Gogh's "Sumission" variously described in the News as provocative, inciting, and even pornographic--after all it got whole communities of "moderate" Moslems saying the film-maker "deserved it" after he was shot, stabbed and had his throat cut--with a note stabbed into his body. However in spite of such reactions, at risk to my eyes, I decided to see the film...

Arab Progressive: The Arabs are Still Slaves to a Medieval Mentality In a recent opinion piece, the progressive author and journalist Dr. Shaker Al-Nabulsi condemned the growing support for terrorism and extremism in the Arab world, and the rejection of moderation and reason. The following are excerpts from the article:(1) 'We have become the Most Terrorist Nation and the Greatest Spillers of Blood in the World'"... If the Arabs had today a well-burnished mirror in which they can see themselves, and if they had the requisite courage to look in it, they would be stricken by fear and panic...

The Candidate With No Name By Andrew L. Jaffee, July 29, 2004 Home   Search   Forum   Terms ”Defeat Bush – VOTE In 2004!” I’ve seen more bumper-stickers with this platitude than I’ve seen ones that simply state, “Kerry/Edwards 2004.” While my liberal friends rarely mention Kerry and Edwards, they constantly remind me of how much they hate President Bush. This year, the politics of hate rule. The Left doesn’t even have a candidate. They are galvanized mainly by visceral hatred -- a hatred which stands on shaky assumptions, like the lies that Michael Moore sells as truths. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore insinuates that...

Dutch Center-Right Coalition Stands up to Islamism By Andrew L. Jaffee, July 22, 2004 Home   Search   Forum   Terms Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and his center-right coalition are standing up to Islamism, the true enemy of all civilized nations in the 21st century. Balkenende said Muslim groups “were sowing hatred, and [he] promised new anti-terror measures” in a speech to the European Parliament yesterday. On February 18 of this year, Dutch lawmakers promised to expel approximately 26,000 asylum seekers after digesting a parliamentary report which concluded … that the country's 30-year experiment in tolerant multiculturalism had been a failure, and has...

Up Against Fanaticism By Phil Lucas, Executive Editor, Panama City New Herald If straight talk of savagery offends you, if you believe in ethnic and gender diversity but not diversity of thought or if you think there is an acceptable gray area between good and evil, then turn to the funny pages, and take the children, too. This piece is not for you. We published pictures Thursday of burnt American corpses hanging from an Iraqi bridge behind a mob of grinning Muslims. Some readers didn't like it. Mothers said it frightened their children. A woman who works with Muslim physicians...

NEW YORK (Talon News) -- A pilot asked passengers on an American Airlines flight to raise their hands if they were Christians, telling them they were "crazy" if they weren't, some of the passengers said Monday. Passenger Jen Dorsey told CNN, "We were just at the beginning of our flight. The pilot came on to greet everyone and give his comments for the morning, and he said he'd recently been on a mission trip, and he'd like all the Christians to please raise their hands." Also speaking on CNN, passenger Karla Austin said the pilot commented, "'If you are a...

“Peace in the Middle East!” It is the cry of statesmen and politicians all over the world. It is the consuming issue of our troubled times as world leaders scramble to find the workable road map. But is real peace possible? And more to the point, is a Palestinian State a realizable goal? In the establishment of political theocracies in Arab societies, peace and friendly co-existence with infidels has never been part of their purpose for being. The Arabs have made this abundantly clear, repeatedly issuing fatwas against Israel and inciting the Arab population to violence. If we study the...