Wednesday, February 24, 2016

24 February 2016




“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]


“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Scalia: Silence of the Lambs: Outrageous Days of Federal Infamy

[2] PCUSA’s Seattle Presbytery Orders Co-Pastors to Vacate Seattle First Presbyterian Property Worth US$20 Million

[3] Portglenone, Northern Ireland Man Accused of Stealing UK£22,000 from Churchtown Presbyterian Church in Tamlaght, between January 2007 and June 2013

[4]
News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

[5]
The Thinning Blue Line

[6]
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

[7] 
The Religion of Peace

---

[1] Scalia: Silence of the Lambs: Outrageous Days of Federal Infamy


“Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was the senior member of the U. S. Supreme Court and one of the 10 most important public servants in the country. For better or worse over the course of his 29 years on the Court, he was arguably the most influential person in America.” — Eric Mink, Huffington Post, 2/17/2016.

By John Rappaport

February 23, 2016

We start here—from the NY Post, “Scalia could have been poisoned: forensic pathologist”:

“Lethal poisoning could have left Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s body in virtually the same condition in which it was found, a top forensic pathologist told The Post on Wednesday.

“’It would look like he’s asleep. It [poisoning] doesn’t show anything on the body,’ said Dr. Michael Baden, who spent 25 years in the city’s chief Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Still, Baden stressed that natural causes was a plausible explanation.”

However, the official pronouncement of natural causes carries a burden with it. The burden of some semblance of proof. In this case, there was none.
And if you think “none” should be SOP in the case of a US Supreme Court Justice, you need to think again.

Judge Cinderela Guevara, miles away from Scalia’s body, sitting on the phone, rendered the judgment of natural causes after talking with marshals, none of whom had forensic training; and after talking with Scalia’s doctor, who was a few thousand miles from the Texas ranch where Scalia died.
Apparently, Scalia’s doctor told Judge Guevara that Scalia had a heart condition. Yes? And? This is proof a US Supreme Court Justice died of a heart attack?

Guevara, like a true bumbling amateur (or was something more ominous going on here?), decided no autopsy of the body was necessary. She decided she was too busy (doing what?) to climb in her car and drive to the ranch, to oversee the situation and talk to people at the scene.

So she said, on the phone, “Natural causes. No autopsy.”

For a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. In the biggest moment of her professional life.

And the Department of Justice, the FBI, the President, and all the members of US Congress immediately bought it.

No objections. No questions. No outrage.

Just the silence of the lambs.

In a city where blabbermouths never stop talking, suddenly—silence.
Paralysis.

And thereafter: no chain of custody for bodily evidence.

The body of a US Supreme Court Justice wasn’t put on a plane, from the mile-long airstrip at Cibolo Ranch, under supervision, and flown back immediately to Washington DC for analysis. No.

Instead, it was driven to the Sunset Funeral Home in El Paso, 230 miles from the Ranch. It could have been driven 65 miles to the Alpine Memorial Funeral Home in Alpine, but it wasn’t.

At the Sunset Funeral Home in El Paso, it was promptly embalmed—ruling out the possibility of a conventional autopsy. Even then, forensic pathologist Michael Baden states, toxicology tests could be done by sophisticated analysis. According to Wayne Madsen, reporting for Infowars, no bodily fluids were collected at the funeral home for later analysis.

Roughly 10 hours after the embalming, Scalia’s body was loaded on a plane and flown to Virginia, where Scalia’s family lives.

But “most people think Scalia died of natural causes.” That argument, for impaired minds, carries the day. Nothing more to see, nothing more to know.
“Old man, in ill-health, heart condition. He dies. What else could it possibly be? Natural causes.”

As reported by Eric Mink at the Huffington Post (2/17), in an excellent piece titled “17 Questions About Scalia’s Death,” there were 35-40 guests at the Cibolo Ranch on the weekend Scalia died. Who were they? Was this merely a quail-hunting outing? Or was it another kind of get-together?

No word. Silence. Why haven’t any of those guests spoken to the press? Do they know something that would shed a different light on the official story? Are they afraid? Did someone at the federal level throw a blanket over them?

Judge Cinderela Guevara spoke to a lawyer representing the Scalia family. He said the family didn’t want an autopsy. Who is he? Why hasn’t his name surfaced? Since when is a client’s lawyer’s name a secret?

Scalia traveled to the ranch with a friend. No one is saying who the friend is. That’s also a state secret?

Does the Cibolo Ranch have medical personnel on staff? If so, were any of them called when Scalia was discovered dead in his room?

The official narrative is: old man, long-time public servant, dies peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. This is the thin gloss that prevents any Washington politician with clout from demanding an investigation? This quiets and paralyzes the entire federal establishment, including eight Justices of the Supreme Court?

Cowards and lambs.

Not an ounce of conscience among them.

Neutered.

In the wake of this titanic silence, the narrative is quickly and expertly shifted to the question of who will replace Scalia on the bench. That’s the certified subject of chatter. Should Obama appoint a nominee, or should nomination wait for the next President? What is the rule? The Republicans cross swords with the Democrats. Precedents are cited. The man isn’t in his grave, and the hangars-on and petty power players are arguing over his successor. It’s a B movie. Pundits prepare talking points, clean their suits, see their hair stylists, and sidle into their minutes of face time on news shows. The shows deliver filler between commercials.

This is the wet concrete that sets over the death of a US Supreme Court Justice.

The man who could have swept aside all objections, and ordered an investigation, visits the flag-covered casket in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court, stands before it for 30 seconds, moves to a painted portrait of the deceased Justice, lingers there for one minute, and then goes home to vet nominees, a herculean task that will unfortunately prevent him from attending the funeral.

Omerta.

Jon Rappoport’s blog is available at https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com, and his website is available at http://www.nomorefakenews.com/. John Rappaport is the author of The Matrix Revealed, Power Outside the Matrix, and Exit from the Matrix.


+ Jon Rappoport, qjrpress@gmail.com


[2] PCUSA’s Seattle Presbytery Orders Co-Pastors to Vacate Seattle First Presbyterian Property Worth US$20 Million

An 18 February 2016 Seattle Times article by Nina Shapiro titled “Presbyterian Governing Body Orders Pastors to Vacate Downtown Seattle Church” reports that the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Presbytery of Seattle has ordered the Revs. Jeff and Ellen Schulz, co-pastors of Seattle First Presbyterian to vacate the church property, worth U.S. $20 million, because of alleged unauthorized payments made to the Schulzes, the use of church money for the married pastors’ home, and tampering with the church’s books.

In an email to the Seattle Times in response to the allegations, the Schulzes characterize the allegations as “false, inflammatory and disturbing,” and characterized the presbytery’s actions as an attempted “hostile takeover.”

The church congregation, without going through the presbytery’s official separation process, in November 2015 voted to leave the PCUSA because of theological differences with the PCUSA and disagreement with the Seattle Presbytery’s bureaucratic structure that hamstrung the church’s efforts to redevelop the church property.

Seattle First Presbyterian claims the church property is owned by the church, and the presbytery maintains that the church holds the property in trust for the denomination.

In defiance of the Seattle Presbytery’s actions, prior to the Sunday 21 February 2016 service, the church session sent an email to its members saying “this Sunday’s service will be held, as always, at 10:30 a.m. and will be led, as usual, by our Pastors, Jeff and Ellen Schulz.”


+ The Seattle Times, Post Office Box 70, Seattle, Washington 98111, 206-464-2121, jmackie@seattletimes.com

+ Presbytery of Seattle, 1544 South Snoqualmie Street, Seattle, Washington 98108, 206-762-1991, office@seapres.org

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228
, Fax: 502-569-8005


[3] Portglenone, Northern Ireland Man Accused of Stealing UK£22,000 from Churchtown Presbyterian Church in Tamlaght, between January 2007 and June 2013

An 18 February 2016
Belfast Telegraph article by Deborah McAleese titled “Man Accused Of Stealing £22,000 from Presbyterian Church over Six Years” reports that Derek Carson of Portglenone, Northern Ireland, who formerly provided financial support service to Churchtown Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) in Tamlaght, Northern Ireland, appeared in court 17 February 2016 charged with theft and fraud for stealing UK£22,000 in church funds between January 2007 and June 2013.

Carson was released on his own bail of UK£500 to appear before Londonderry Crown Court in March 2016 for arraignment.


+ Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, 028-9026-4000, writeback@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org


[4]
News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

-- Pope Francis entered Blue Mosque in Istanbul, took off his shoes, bowed toward Mecca in prayer, standing next to Istanbul’s Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran

-- Pope Francis to Followers: “Koran and Holy Bible Are the Same”

-- Babies Abandoned in Toilets: Not as Uncommon as You Think

-- Lands’ End Stores Donating Proceeds to Abortion Activist Gloria Steinem’s Organization

-- Gates Foundation Gives Tulane University Millions to Curb African Population

-- Seattle, Washington Man Strips in Front of Girls in Locker Room, Says Transgender Law Allows It

-- Atheist Richard DawkinsHas a Stroke, Recovers, Then Twitters More Blasphemy against God

-- George Soros Says He Feels No Remorse for Collaborating with Nazis during WWII to Send His Fellow Jews to the Death Camps, Steal Their Property


+ Jews News, Contact Page

+ World News Politics, Contact Page

+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal,
Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com

+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org

+ It Makes Sense Blog


[5]
The Thinning Blue Line

-- Albuquerque, New Mexico Cops Raid Wrong House and Kill an Innocent Young Man – Steal Witness’s Phone for Filming It


+
The D.C. Clothesline, dean.garrison.99@gmail.com


[6]
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

-- Obamacare Provision: “Forced” Home Inspections

-- Washington DC Silent as Russia’s Leader Putin Masses Troops in Armenia on Border of Turkey

-- Pope Calls on World to Ban Death Penalty

-- Obamacare Causes 7.5 Million Taxpayers To Be Penalized

-- Billionaire George Soros Spent US$33 Million Bankrolling Ferguson Demonstrators to Create 'Echo Chamber' and Drive National Protests

-- Pope Francis the Politician Delivers Blistering Attack on Donald Trump and the Wall of Mexico


+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris,
Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page

+
Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+ Premier Christian News, 22 Chapter Street, London SW1P 4NP, England, Contact Page

+ Washington Star News

+ The Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, England, 020-7938-6000, news@dailymail.co.uk


[7] 
The Religion of Peace

-- U.S. Muslim Planned To Massacre Christians in Detroit, Michigan Church

-- US Gynecologists Urge “Compromise” on Female Genital Mutilation

-- How Academia Whitewashes Muslim Honor Killings

-- Nigeria Churches Unite For First Time to Address Muslim Boka Haram Violence in North

-- Muslims Masquerading as Teenagers in Swedish Asylum Centre Repeatedly Rape Twelve-Year-Old Boy and Film the Assault

-- Scotland: Man arrested for “Islamophobic” Facebook Comments About Syrian Refugees

-- Palestinian Mufti Gives Instruction on Proper Islamic Way to Beat Your Wife

-- What America’s Founders Thought about Islam

-- Hijabi Muslimas Casing Florida Synagogues

-- ISIS: The Latest Phase of the Jihad

-- ACLU Sues “Muslim Free” Gun Range on Behalf of Terrorist Group

-- Obama Refuses Pentagon Request to Strike ISIS’s Capital in Libya

-- Obama Quotes Muhammad’s Speech Endorsing the Caliphate and Beheading


+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page

+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com

+ Middle East Forum, 1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1050, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, info@meforum.org

+ World Watch Monitor, Contact Page

+ Refugee Resettlement Watch

+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org

+ Bearing Arms, Contact Page

+ Jamie Glazov Productions, Contact Page



Thursday, February 18, 2016

18 February 2016





“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]


“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]


Jonathan Edwards Online

Many regard Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) as the most important American theologian to date. His writings are included in four of the Foundation's study lists.

Mr. Ernest L. Gardner III, a Presbyterian minister and one of the Foundation's ministerial study seminar leaders, has been kind to share with me that Jonathan Edwards's writings are available online.

First (1), here is a link to a page of links to each of the seventy-three volumes of The Works of Jonathan Edwards published by Yale University Press:

http://edwards.yale.edu/research/browse

As you click through to each volume, you will be taken to another page of links serving as a table of contents for each volume. As you click through on those links, you will be taken to the texts. See, for example:

Religious Affections

Second (2), here is another link to a page of links making up an index, by names of the books of the Bible, of Edwards's published sermons in the same collection:

http://edwards.yale.edu/research/sermon-index/canonical

Again, as you click through each of these links, you will be taken to another page of links for the chapters of the books, and, from there, links to the individual sermons that are available.

Third (3), if you want to see high-resolution scans of Edwards's original manuscripts, go to this page:

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/

Scroll down to "Research Tools" on the left, scroll down below that and click on "Digital Collections," enter "Jonathan Edwards Collection" (without the quotation marks), and then click on the magnifying glass.

That should take you to the first of 106 pages of search results for these manuscripts. Once there, follow these instructions:

Viewing Sermons

In the box at the top that reads "Jonathan Edwards Collection," enter the name of the manuscript, or the text of sermon, in double quotes. For example, to call up the scans of a sermon, type in "Deut. 32:35", and the results will appear on screen.

Click on the title (in blue) of the desired manuscript, and the image of the first page, along with a horizontal scroll, will appear on the left of the screen, and metadata on the right.

Click on "Image View" for a static image, or "Zoom View" to magnify.
Scroll through the images until you reach the desired page, and click on it. The page image will automatically appear in the viewer above.

Viewing Other Manuscripts


To access a non-sermonic text, using the manuscript inventory, enter the name of the item. For example, if you wish to view Edwards' "Catalogue" of
Reading, enter "Catalogue" (again, in double quotes), and click on the item from the results.

Fourth (4) and finally, here are some other links to websites about Jonathan Edwards, in case they might be of interest and help:

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University

Jonathan Edwards Society

Jonathan Edwards Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Christian Classics Ethereal Library, page on Jonathan Edwards

For more about Jonathan Edwards, see this reading list:

Topic 14. Jonathan Edwards: Religious Affections


+ Foundation for Reformed Theology, 4103 Monument Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23230, 804-678 – 8352, goodloe@foundationrt.org

+ The Jonathan Edwards Center Yale University, 409 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, 203-432-5340, Contact Page



[2] St. Andrews, Scotland to Celebrate 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017

A 17 February 2016 FifeToday article by Fiona Pringle titled “Reformation 500th Anniversary Programme Revealed for St. Andrews” reports that St. Andrews, Scotland in 2017 will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral that began the Protestant Reformation.

The Community of Protestant Churches in Europe has named St. Andrews as one of the European Cities of Reformation because John Knox was educated at St. Andrews and preached a 1559 sermon in Holy Trinity Church that sparked a riot amongst the congregation.

Bishop Dr Michael Bünker, general secretary of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe commented:

“The Royal Burgh, these days most widely renowned for its tradition-steeped university, is undoubtedly a Reformation town of European stature.

“The University of St Andrews, the Church of Scotland and the town’s local churches have worked together as an ecumenical team to compile an impressive programme to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, including a series of events to rejuvenate various aspects of the European-wide effect of Martin Luther’s Reformation and the role St Andrews played during the Reformation era.

“We understand that the programme will culminate in an ecumenical service of worship in the Holy Trinity Church on October 31, 2017.

“All in all, this constitutes a marvellous effort to raise the public awareness of the history and contemporary significance of the Reformation in St Andrews in joint celebration of the quincentenary in 2017.”


+ FifeToday, 23 Kirk Wynd, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY1 1EP, Scotland, 01592-645700, ffpnews@fifetoday.co.uk

+ Community of Protestant Churches in Europe - Leuenberg Church Fellowship, Severin-Schreiber-Gasse 3, 1180 Vienna, Austria, 4791523-900, Fax: 4791523-110, office@leuenberg.eu


[3] Kirk Moderator Addresses Church of England General Synod 16 February 2016 for First Time in History

A 16 February 2016 Christian Today article titled “Scottish Moderator to Address Synod for First Time in History” reports that on 16 February 2016, for the first time in history the moderator of the Church of Scotland addressed the Church of England (CoE) General Synod meeting in London, England.


The CoE General Synod will be asked to accept the proposed Columba Declaration that would commit both groups to “"grow together in communion and to strengthen our partnership in mission.”

A 17 February 2016 CoE press release announced the synod vote to accept the Colombia Declaration:

An historic agreement recognising the longstanding ecumenical partnership between the Church of Scotland and the Church of England and paving the way for future joint working between the two churches has been backed today by the General Synod.

Members voted to approve the Columba Declaration and welcome Growth in Communion, Partnership in Mission, a report by the Joint Study Group of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, as a 'significant development' in the relationship between the two churches.

The General Synod also called on the Council for Christian Unity to oversee the implementation of the commitments in the Declaration and to set up a Contact Group to coordinate future work between the two churches.

The motion backed by the General Synod also notes the Church of England's valued relationship with the Scottish Episcopal Church within the Anglican Communion and requests that the Council for Christian Unity ensures that the Scottish Episcopal Church is invited to appoint a representative to attend meetings of the Contact Group.

Moving the motion, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester, co-chair of the Joint Study Group, said: "The dialogue and partnership between the Church of England and the Church of Scotland is shaped by our shared calling as 'national' churches, which have a parish structure covering the nation, and a recognition by the State and wider society.

"As our country has become more secular, we find ourselves drawn together as we face common problems, and opportunities.

"For all the ways in which our recognition and calling as national Churches has had very different histories and legal structures, we have found that we have more in common, in our common tasks in mission, than we might have been led to suppose."

Commending the report and Declaration, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Dr Angus Morrison, told the General Synod: "The strengthening of the bonds which already exist between us can only serve the 'advance of the Gospel' which is our united desire and aim."

The report will now go to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May for approval.

The Columba Declaration is set out in the fifteen-page Joint Study Group report and commits the two Churches to grow together in communion and strengthen their partnership in mission.


+ Christian Today, 200 Great Dover Street, London SE1 4YB, England, 020-7378-5705

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

+ Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AZ, England, 44-0-20-7898-1000


[4]
News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

-- Former Planned Parenthood Abortionist Flees to Thailand as More Women Accuse Him of Sex Abuse

-- Purdue Staffer Who Threatened to Rape Pro-Lifers Resigns

-- New California Law Forces Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Advertise Abortions

-- Oregon Assisted Suicide Deaths Rose another Twenty-Six Percent in 2015

-- Hillary Clinton Defends Partial-Birth Abortions, Happy Bill Clinton Vetoed Bill to Ban Them

-- Babies Planned Parenthood Aborted Were Shipped in Thirty-One-Gallon Medical Waste Containers Every Week

-- In Mexico, Pope Francis Goes into a Trance While Bowing Before Image of the ‘Virgin Mary’

-- Oklahoma Judge Upholds Law Requiring Abortionists to Have Hospital Admitting Privileges

-- Canada’s Euthanasia Lobby Pushes Death for People Who Can’t Consent

-- Chelsea Clinton: I Left the Church When I Was Six Because It Opposed Abortion


+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com

+ The Daily Signal, Contact Page

+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+
The D.C. Clothesline, dean.garrison.99@gmail.com


[5]
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

-- Activist Arrested for Making Facebook Post Criticizing Michigan Governor Snyder over Flint Water Crisis

-- Wisconsin State Supreme Court Rules Cops No Longer Need a Warrant to Enter Homes and Seize Evidence

-- Parents Now Being Thrown in Jail in America for Homeschooling Their Children

-- U.S. Marshals Arresting People for Not Paying Their Federal Student Loans

-- Hillary Clinton Using Super-Delegates to Steal the Nomination from Bernie Sanders

-- People Who Grow Their Own Food Labeled ‘Extremist’ by U.S. Department of Defense

-- After 1000-year Split, Pope and Russian Patriarch Embrace in Cuba

-- On Sabbath Day after Super Bowl Win, Denver Broncos Quarterback Peyton Manning Gives Shout Out to Budweiser Beer and “The Man Upstairs”

-- Pastor Who Helped Ex-Lesbian Flee Country with Daughter Ordered to Prison


+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+ The Free Thought Project, contact@thefreethoughtproject.com

+ The Daily Sheeple, Contact Page

+ AgainstCronyCapitalism.org, Contact Page

+ REALfarmacy.com

+ Assyrian International News Agency (Nineveh Software Corporation, 2317 West Farwell, Chicago, Illinois 60645, 773-575-5863, Fax: 773-761-8534)

+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org


[6] 
The Religion of Peace

-- Saudis Announce Plans to Invade Syria as Russia Warns of World War

-- Jihadist Attempts Beheading In Washington State

-- U.K. Cops Arrest Man for “Offensive” Comment about Muslim Migrants

-- Ohio: Muslim Machete Attacker Screamed “ALLAHU AKBAR” While Hacking Up Restaurant Patrons

-- World Hijab Day Debuts in American Schools

-- Girls Carry out Suicide Bombing; Kill at Least Fifty-Eight in Nigeria

-- Islamic State Stones Four Rape Victims to Death for “Committing Adultery”

-- World War III Starts In The Middle East?

-- Washington State: Muslim Prisoner Screaming “Allahu Akbar” Hits Guard on Head Repeatedly with Metal Stool

-- Muslim Baggage Handler at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Boasted of Being Able to Take Down Plane


+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+ Zionica

+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch

+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com

+ Clarion Project, Inc., 255 West 36th Street #800, New York, New York 10018, 646-308-1230, info@ClarionProject.org

+ John McTernan’s Insights, Contact Page


Wednesday, February 10, 2016

10 February 2016




“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]


“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]


Presbyterians Week Headlines










---


Dr. Calvin L. Troup has been chosen by the Board of Trustees as Geneva College’s twentieth president since it began in 1848.

After graduating from Geneva in 1983, Dr. Troup worked as a trend analyst for The Naisbitt Group (owned by John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends), congressional staff aide to Rep. Duncan Hunter, and an executive for the National Association of Life Underwriters in Washington, D.C.

In 1989 Dr. Troup returned to academia, earning a master’s degree (1991) and a Ph.D. (1994) in Speech Communication from the Pennsylvania State University. He served on the faculties of Penn State, University Park, Pennsylvania and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana before moving to the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he directs the university’s nationally ranked Rhetoric Ph.D. program.

Dr. Troup’s scholarly interest is the rhetoric and philosophy of St. Augustine, and the rhetoric of technology. His books include Temporality, Eternity, and Wisdom: The Rhetoric of Augustine’s Confessions (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1999) and Augustine for the Philosophers: The Rhetor of Hippo, the Confessions (Baylor University Press, 2014). Dr. Troup has edited the Journal of Communication and Religion and is a past President of the Religious Communication Association. He is the editor-elect of Explorations in Media Ecology, the international journal of the Media Ecology Association.

Since returning to the Pittsburgh area, Dr. Troup has served on the Geneva College Board of Corporators and Board of Trustees, leading a number of college and board committees. He has been the Chair of the Board of Trustees’ Education Committee for many years.

Dr. Troup and his wife Amy have four daughters, two sons-in-law, and two granddaughters. They are members of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church, Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, where Dr. Troup serves as an elder.


+ Geneva College, 3200 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 15010, 724-846-5100, Fax: 724.847.6696, pr@geneva.edu

+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861



By the Rev. Dr. Chuck Wilson, ARPTalk Editor

The last issue of ARPTalk, “Kooistra’s ‘Hail, Mary,’” must have hit a nerve in Due West. Instead of presenting the case for an Erskine football program and asking the board’s approval (as was anticipated), President Kooistra pulled back. In uncertainty, he said he just wanted to talk about football. Was he indicating that football was not a “Hail, Mary,” but just a forward pass?

Football Faceplant Well, the definition of a “Hail, Mary” is a forward pass. With a few notable exceptions, a “Hail, Mary” is an INCOMPLETE FOWARD PASS.” It seems that Kooistra’s forward pass at the board meeting was an incomplete forward pass. He overthrew the receivers. With just a tick or two left on the clock, the vote on football was put off until May. Time was called to come up with a new play.

Were the board members nervous about such a risky financial proposal? Board members asked for alternatives. What is Erskine about? Is the reason for Erskine College’s existence to provide an outstanding Christian Liberal Arts education or an athletic camp? With no background in college administration before Erskine, does Kooistra think a football program is why a Christian college exists? What kind of leadership is this? It is an incomplete forward pass.

This is not the first time that football has been presented to the board as a panacea for recruitment and financial woes. In 2007, the administration brought a football proposal to the board. At that time, the costs were estimated at 7 or 8 million dollars. According to the Athletic Director, the program was to be done “first class.” Never mind that the school was (and still is) underwater in debt! Well, wiser heads prevailed, and the proposal failed.

This time the plan is to build a program on the cheap at $200,000 — money that Erskine still does not have apart from the endowment or more layoffs or by sacrificing more academic programs. To this proposal, all I can say is that locoweed must grow wild and in abundance around Belk Hall!

The nature of this program is like the Arab proverb about the camel and tent. Once the nose of the football camel is in the Erskine tent, the camel owns Erskine College, and, academically, Erskine disappears into non-relevance. Erskine College might as well become a football “juco” in order to have some football significance.

Today, when one walks across the campus and asks a student, “Why did you choose Erskine College?”, the answer is probably, “I came to Erskine to play XXXX sport.” Once upon a time, the answer would have been, “I chose Erskine because I wanted a quality Christian Liberal Arts education that integrated faith and learning.” What kind of academic leadership is this from Kooistra, Christie, and Haselden? It is an incomplete forward pass.

The justifications for a football program are down right brain-numbing. For example, it was argued that (1) in an effort to have a student body of 700, a football program that brings in 130 football players will actually decrease the percentage of athletes; (2) the excitement created by a football program will attract more students to Erskine College; (3) the program will bring in over 2.5 million dollars in revenue annually because each student-athlete will pay at least $20,000 in order to play football on the Dixie High School Football Field (and the recruiters will discipline themselves of the temptation to discount tuition at a 70% rate); and (4) the strengthening of the athletic program with football will raise the academic level at Erskine.

Let me assure you, the Editor of ARPTalk is not making up this nonsense, nor is he drinking-while-writing. From a previous ARPTalk: do you remember the former Erskine professor who said that in the last 8 to 10 years he/she saw his/her students go, academically, from “plant life to rocks and minerals”? In the face of an average SAT that is falling like a rock, these folks are advocating football as the panacea for Erskine’s financial and academic woes!!?? In the face of a Freshmen class of 200-plus, there are about 50 students who were accepted “provisionally” (and these students are probably not being shown a mercy, for they will leave Erskine without a degree and deeply in debt). Now, these folks in the administration are once again advocating football as the elixir of all that ails Erskine!?? Are they daft? What kind of leadership is Kooistra showing? It is an incomplete forward pass.

Well, as noted, the vote on a football program has been put off until the next meeting of the board in May. In the meanwhile, the board directed the administrators to come up with alternative plans. Well, I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but may I give my prediction? Do not expect something other than football. Kooistra and his staff are too emotionally invested in football (and the people who would have opposed football have left or been purged). Furthermore, the administration is having to come up with alternatives to football while going through the rigors of an ATS audit at the seminary (that, if the audit does not go well, could spill over to the college and trigger another SACS audit)!! Once again, do not look for much! Expect an incomplete forward pass.

This is not the first time a magic potion was advocated. When I was on the board, we were sold the fiction that if we upgraded the dorms and other facilities that students would flock to Erskine. Well, we approved the spending of millions of dollars — most of which is still owed. Predictably, students did not come for the dorms. The Art Center, the Science Center, and a music program were launched in order to attract students. They did not come. Somehow the words of former-Academic Dean Don Weatherman were ignored: “Embrace the mission! Embrace the mission!”

Since Kooistra and his staff are busy, may I suggest an alternative? Why not heed Weatherman’s words: “Embrace the Mission!”? Why not go back to the mission as set by the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (http://arpchurch.org/philosophy-of-christian-higher-education/)? The mission is education to the glory of God. The mission is for Erskine to be a Christian Liberal Arts college. The mission combines learning and morals. Of course, this means retrenching, for Erskine College has strayed far from her mission and reason for existence. Everything that does not promote the mission needs to be eliminated. This will mean that Erskine College gets smaller instead of larger. It means rebuilding in order to go forward. It means that leaders must put away personal kingdom building for service to the Kingdom of Christ in education.

This means doing the hard work of regaining the confidence and full and unalloyed support of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. There were only three Associate Reformed Presbyterians in this year’s Freshman Class.

This means doing the hard work of regaining the confidence of evangelical alums and getting rid of the fiction of the Erskine Alumni Association which is nothing more than the administration’s toady to pander to the secular alums. There are over 11,000 alums. Only about 1,500 alums give anything to Erskine, and alumni in general are not sending their children to Erskine College. Not so long ago, it was almost impossible to walk across the campus and not run into a “legacy” student. There are only 4 “legacy” students in this year’s Freshman Class.

Sadly, in my opinion, the leadership team of Kooistra, Christie, and Haselden cannot do this — nor can they conceive it! It is simply not in them. Kooistra cannot throw the ball far enough and Christie and Haselden cannot run fast enough to catch the ball of “EMBRACE THE MISSION.”

During the Carson-era, I was on the board (1998-2004). In a rather long conversation with Carson, the following was envisioned: returning Erskine to her historic Christian mission by recruiting students from Christian High Schools/Academies and homeschoolers. I warned that, if evangelical Christian students were recruited under the guise that Erskine was a decidedly Christian college, it would cause disruption. They would think that they were victims to a “bait-and-switch” tactic. Indeed, the results were (1) a midnight revolution on campus in 2009 when students decorated the sidewalks with their complaints, (2) a room full of students at the 2009 meeting of General Synod expressing their grievances, and (3) the March 2010 “Snow” Synod. Since then, the Erskine administration has not been wont to recruit decidedly evangelical students. Immediately, athletes were sought. Athletes do not ask hard questions. It is easier to deal with behavior issues than to deal with smart, Biblically-informed, evangelical students who call the administration to task for failing to “embrace the mission.” By the way, those students left speaking ill of Erskine’s product, and that is the worst publicity a college can have.

The discussions in the Student Services Committee of the board and in the board meeting itself were tense. However, football was not the only passionate topic. Erskine Seminary was also on the agenda.

The Seminary Committee’s meeting was not a time of good feelings. Everyone seemed to be dyspeptic.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room was ARPTalk(122). Scuttlebutt is that folks were saying the Editor of ARPTalk made-up the article. At this time, no one has called asking about the authenticity of the article. Indeed, inquiries are invited.

Kooistra wanted to know why no one on the Seminary Committee (and, of course, that includes the seminary’s faculty and staff) had not come up with a plan for the seminary. As of this date, Kooistra has not appointed a new VP for the seminary. An ATS audit of the seminary is scheduled for March. What is Kooistra’s plan? The plan he has suggested is to cut more seminary professors. Now, all this is very interesting. This looks like another decimation of the seminary. Is the final decimation of Erskine Seminary the closing of the doors? Will Kooistra’s legacy be “Kooistra the Decimator of Erskine Seminary”?

The seminary’s staff has been gutted and leadership staff has left under siege. The seminary’s faculty members are teaching 190 college students in Due West plus the seminary’s courses in the various locations while sustaining a 35% cut in their salaries (and, as I understand it, the seminary gets little financial recognition for teaching college courses or the use of McQuiston as dorm space for Freshmen {and does this mean that McQuistion has already been absorbed by the college?}). (By the way, there is a rumor that the director of the the DMin program and the acting dean have served for two years without compensation for their labors at these positions.) In a word, the problems at Bowie Divinity Hall have been exacerbated by Belk Hall. That is, exacerbated by the president. If one were a suspicious fellow, one might get the impression that the Erskine administration is attempting to close the seminary and plunder the seminary’s endowment and buildings. The narrative that the folks at the seminary have no plan is bunkum and balderdash. It is the president’s responsibility to frame a plan for the seminary and to implement it. Kooistra throws an incomplete pass, again. But, wait, perhaps he is setting up a trick play. Is it an end around? Is this play the demise of the seminary?

The controversial MEDCOM program is dead. Interestingly, the seminary’s faculty was behind the withdrawal from the MEDCOM program. The Federal government has simply gone too far in its war on Christian values. On this, a tip of the hat is due President Kooistra for his part in this decision, and a tip of the hat is due to all who were a part of the decision.

The negative is that the lost of MEDCOM will cost the seminary $170,000 to $200,000 in revenue. Well, is it time for the General Synod to stand up and help the seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church? Is it time that we designated all the monies we give to Erskine for the seminary only? Yes, there is a screaming need presently at the seminary! Besides, Kooistra has a plan for the college. Tuition from students and monies raised are sufficient for the college — so it seems. Kooistra boasted over his plan for the college. Never mind that he has yet to balance the budget without moving money or drawing money from the endowment. Will this year see a balanced budget? Do not count on it.

When I was on the board in 1998-2006, the seminary was very healthy. Bowie was filled with students. The seminary was sending at least $100,000 a year to the college to assist with the college’s deficit. During those years, I had an interesting conversation with a professor who is no longer at the seminary. I pointed out to him that the seminary was nearly as large as the college, growing, and financially sound. He responded that the powers that be in Due West would have none of that. He said, “The seminary will never be allowed to eclipse the college.”

Well, the man must have been a prophet!

To the readers who are in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church: is it time that we took charge of our seminary? I am a seminary alum. Is it time that we saw to the separation of our seminary from the college in order to protect the seminary’s existence, endowment, and buildings that were given specifically to the seminary? Kooistra has made it clear to a number of people that, if the seminary ceases to exist, the buildings and endowment of the seminary will be absorbed into the college. By the way, from everything I see, Kooistra is not interested in separation; he is interested in assimilation. Is that what we want? Is that why we gave? I submit to you that under Kooistra’s leadership our seminary is not safe.

Somewhere around 2021, the $10,000,000 in bond debt comes due. What is Kooistra’s plan to attend to this debt? The institution pays $300,000 a year to service this balloon note. At the end, $10,000,000 is owed in a lump payment. CFO Greg Haselden says that the endowment is now restricted. The note cannot presently be paid off. However, was it not last year that funds were moved from restricted accounts to the general fund? Is the institution still functioning under exigency? What will Haselden do if the books do not balance at the end of June? In the past, there has been no problem with dipping into the endowment, or as he once was reported to say that he had employees to pay. Also, when the $10,000,000 note comes due and there is no way forward but to pay the note from the endowment, the note will be paid or the school will go into foreclosure.

Presently, it is reported that the endowment is about 35 or 36 million dollars. Under the terms of exigency, is it possible to pay off the $10,000,000 note? Why not? The board has already moved funds from restricted to un-restricted status. A paid off note makes $300,000 dollars available to the college yearly. Was Haselden’s opinion challenged?

The drop in the endowment has been astounding. When I served on the board, the endowment bounced from 40 to 42 million dollars (1998-2004). The drop to 35 to 36 million dollars is alarming. Add this: 1998 money was worth more than 2016 money. The purchasing power of the endowment is falling into the toilet. What is Kooistra’s plan? In spite of his efforts, the total worth of the endowment is dropping. Another draw on the endowment is about to occur with the framing of the budget for the next fiscal year, and, of course, if the receipts exceed revenue in June, the endowment will be drawn on again. Well, of course, it will be said the economy is the problem. Well, what is the plan to overcome the economy? Is not the mark of visionary leadership to overcome obstacles? Or do we have another incomplete forward pass?

Will next year’s class be larger or smaller than this year’s class? Will the institution earn a profit or run a deficit? Will the Annual Fund Drive bring in $2,000,000 per Kooistra’s goal? It is too early to say anything conclusively. The indicators, however, are not encouraging at this time. The indicators predict incomplete forward passes.

The most fascinating episode involved the vote on a change in the bylaws. When I was on the board, the last item of a board meeting was the executive session of the board. The board members would meet with the president and then ask the president to leave in order to speak frankly with one another. Generally, after talking about how good the campus looked, not much was said.

The practice of a closed executive session has been continued until this board meeting. At the October meeting of the board, Kooistra took umbrage with the board meeting in executive session without him. He let it be known that, if he were asked to leave again when the board was in executive session, he would resign.

At this meeting of the board, a change to the bylaws was introduced that would allow the president to be present in the executive sessions of the board. According to sources, Kooistra became visibly angry during the discussion when some board members expressed their opposition to the this change in the bylaws. Kooistra, SUDDENLY, DEMONSTRATED HIS LEADERSHIP BY WALKING OUT OF the meeting! His antic seems to have worked. The board voted to give Kooistra what he wanted. In football jargon, this is not an incomplete forward pass; it is a 15 yard penalty. What kind of leadership is this? It’s a temper tantrum! It is leadership by intimidation.

Earlier in the day, Kooistra gave a devotional on unity, love, cooperation, forbearance, and TRUST. Now, contrast the president’s devotional with the president’s behavior in the afternoon. Good grief! As my grandma would say: he showed his backside. The business world would not countenance such behavior.

May I suggest the following little book for reading by board members: Emotional Blackmail by Susan Forward (http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Blackmail-People-Obligation-Manipulate/dp/0060928972)?

I will leave the rest of the story to Cliff Smith, Erskine’s man in charge of publicity. It used to be that after a meeting of the board, Smith would post a sanitized version of the goings-on of the board in a news release on the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s news site. That has not been done during Kooistra’s reign. It seems that there has been a return to the adage of “What happens in Due West stays in Due West.” But, who knows, maybe Cliff will post something this time.

One last news item of note: I was nominated to the Erskine board. Kooistra can breathe a sigh of relief. Alas, I did not make the cut. If I had, I would have had to give up ARPTalk. Thankfully, now I do not have to do that. However, as one board member said to me: “Chuck, we don’t need you on the board. We need you writing. Your role as a gadfly keeps us on our toes.”

Finally, let me give an invitation to Dr. Kooistra. We’re in our seventies. We are old. The both of us are has-beens who are nearer to death than birth. Why don’t we retire to the nursing home? We can put our teeth in and eat corndogs and chocolate chip pizza for supper with shots of gin and Ensure and reminisce and tell lies about the good ol’ days.



+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, Fax: 864-379-2167, jguyette@erskine.edu

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729



A 5 February 2016 Holland Sentinel article titled “Honoring Ancestors: Pastor Organizes Korean New Year Event” reports that Dr. John Kim, a pastor at the Park Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan has organized a Korean New Year celebration of ancestors for 6 February 2016 that will feature the Chicago Korean Dance Company and other entertainment.

The website AsianInfo.org says:

“The importance of ancestor worship in Korea is well exemplified by the sacrifices Koreans traditionally have made to prepare the ritual feast….

“Memorial services that are commemorated on Ch'usok or New Year's Day are called "wch'arye,"….

The practice of ancestral worship has transformed dramatically in recent years. It is now common to hold ancestral rituals for only two generations of ancestors, and in some cases, people only hold rituals for their deceased parents. Also, in order to accommodate their busy schedule, more and more people are holding rituals in the evening as opposed to the traditional early mornings.

“In most Korean families today, ancestor worship still remains an integral part of family life and is faithfully observed as such. That these ancient rituals, albeit in revised form, continue to play a significant part in modern Korean society testifies to their inherent importance in the lives of all Koreans.”


+ Holland Sentinel, 54 West 8th Street, Holland, Michigan 49423, 616-546-4200, Fax: 616-393-6710, peter.esser@hollandsentinel.com

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org



The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA)Synod 2015 changed the role of church deacons to “[serve] as the leading edge in community transformation at both the local and regional levels as they address issues of justice and mercy,” according to Andrew Ryskamp, who is helping the CRCNA implement Synod 2015’s decision.

Deacons will now be allowed to be seated at classes and synod meetings in parity with the office of minister and elder.


+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org



A RESOLUTION OF THE PRESBYTERY OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST [Presbyterian Church in America] REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW EURASIA PRESBYTERY

January 29, 2016

Whereas it has sometimes happened that Christian congregations that have come into being on the frontiers of the kingdom of God through the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the committed labors of Christian ministers (however regularly or irregularly ordained) realize the need to be organized into a regional or national church. Such, indeed, was the case with Presbyterians in the New World. When Francis Mekemie organized the first New World presbytery in 1706, it was an action taken apart from and without the authority of any previously existing Church.

Whereas over the past twenty-five years Presbyterian congregations in the Russian-speaking world have been formed by evangelists, some of whom were ordained by established Korean churches, some of whom have never received regular ordination.

Whereas as the years have passed these far-flung congregations have developed a measure of unity in doctrine and life through the offices of the Slavic Reformation Society, an independent Eurasian ministry governed by a board composed of American Presbyterians and directed by the Rev. Blake Purcell, a ministerial member of this presbytery.

Whereas such men and such congregations have been encouraged, supported, and sustained by congregations of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and the Presbyterian Church in America, none of which bodies is presently in a position to organize a Russian-speaking Presbyterian Church that would be self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating.

Therefore this Presbytery declares its agreement with the plan of our Russian Presbyterian brothers to organize a presbytery, to admit congregations into its membership, and to ordain those ministers and elders who are biblically qualified and not yet regularly ordained.

This Presbytery further authorizes three of its ministers, the Rev. Eric Irwin, the Rev. Michael Kelly, and the Rev. Blake Purcell, who will be in St. Petersburg at the time planned for the service of ordination and organization, to take part along with what other Presbyterian ministers or elders may be present and willing.

Further, this Presbytery sends with its ministers its prayers and best wishes for the new church, for its future ministry, for its congregations, and for its people. May the Lord build his church and may the gates of hell not prevail against it!


+ Slavic Reformation Society, Post Office Box 794, Louisville, Mississippi 39339, 800-871-3164, mforster@internetcapital.com

+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
















+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com































+ YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@youtube.com







+ ConservativeBase.com, 5556 Long Walk Drive, Kernersville, North Carolina 27302, (336-416-7117, editor@conservativebase.com