Dalai Lama: What Do I Really Fear? Being Eaten By Sharks!

Outside the Dalai Lama’s temple complex in Dharamsala, hundreds of young monks in crimson robes are locked in animated verbal combat. Against a Himalayan backdrop of jagged white peaks and a bright iris sky, the next generation are holding a debate, clapping their hands triumphantly when they score a point over their opponent.

Inside the high-security cloisters, the bravado gives way to a more sombre scene as selected devotees wait in line for the man they regard as their living god. These include local teachers waiting to be blessed for their devotion; a wealthy looking white-haired Western man in a black Tibetan robe; and a glamorous young Australian woman in a tight cheongsam and high wedges. As Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, passes down the line, the emotion is too much for some. One young woman starts weeping and locks her fingers into his, holding his fist to her cheek.

At the end of the line, the Dalai Lama stoops to meet the gaze of 81-year-old Lhakchung, a wheelchair-bound tailor now dying of cancer. He looks intently into his eyes. There are tears running down the old man’s lined cheeks – he knows this will be the last blessing before he dies and he is looking for comfort, perhaps even hope. Instead, the man regarded by Tibetans as a living incarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, places a traditional white scarf around his shoulders and urges him to come to terms with his fate. It is at once moving and hard, religious and scientific. “I have nothing to give. I told him to pray. We all have to die,” he explains afterwards, matter-of-factly.

Over the past 53 years, the Dalai Lama has been able to offer little more in the way of hope to Tibetans. Exiled since 1959, he watched helplessly as China imposed its totalitarian rule on Tibet. Today, Tibet is no closer to freedom but, without him, the Tibetans might have been forgotten, simply another group of exiles clinging on to a fragmented culture.

Despite Beijing’s countless efforts to discredit him, the Dalai Lama has become one of the world’s most revered leaders, praised for the non-violent way he has led his people, and has a rockstar-like following (tickets to next month’s lecture tour of Scotland, for instance, sold out within hours). Along with his close friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu, he remains one of the last great surviving 20th‑century icons of peace.

Tomorrow he will be in London to receive the Templeton Prize at St Paul’s Cathedral. The honour is awarded annually to someone who has encouraged common ground between science and religion – Mother Teresa was its first recipient – and, with its £1.1 million purse, is by some measure the world’s largest prize. The Dalai Lama will announce how he is to spend the money during the ceremony. The award follows the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to non-violence, and highlights his championing of science as a vital element in religious life.

It is hard not to be in awe of a man billed as a living divinity, and his charisma is undeniable. But when I met him in Dharamsala last week, I discovered a less godly and more human leader than I was expecting; one who spoke of his achievements and regrets, his strengths and weaknesses, and his eventual demise, which poses the problem of a successor.

This is an interesting time for the Dalai Lama. Last year he passed the political leadership of exiled Tibetans on to an elected prime minister. He remains their spiritual leader – and the future Dalai Lama will be an exclusively spiritual figure. “So after my death I have no worries about the leader of the spiritual tradition,” he says. “I’ve made a significant contribution regarding the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture and also forming a Tibetan refugee community outside Tibet. It is now one of the most successful refugee communities in the world.”

However, his succession is unlikely to be an easy transition. The Karmapa Lama has been touted as Tibet’s next spiritual leader, and in Tibetan spiritual hierarchy he ranks only behind the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. But the current Panchen Lama was chosen by Beijing, and followers of the Dalai Lama do not recognise him. The Dalai Lama’s own choice was rejected by China; that particular boy then mysteriously vanished and has not been seen since.

The same could happen with the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. Indeed, such is his fear of Chinese attempts to impose a pro-Beijing successor that he says the Tibetan people could choose not to have another Dalai Lama at all. “If, at the time I pass away, or even before, the majority of the people feel the Dalai Lama institution is no longer relevant, the institution will automatically cease,” he says, adding, “I am not worried about that.”

The Dalai Lama was born Lhamo Thondup. His family were farmers in the Tibetan region of Amdo, then already part of the Chinese province of Qinghai. He was selected as the “rebirth” of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two, by a search party sent to look for the new incarnation. There had been a series of strange omens. For instance, the head of the embalmed 13th Dalai Lama, which was originally facing south-east, suddenly turned to face north-east, so the party headed in that direction. When Thondup was eventually found, he was presented with various items, some of which had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. He correctly identified his possessions, crying: “That’s mine! That’s mine!”

At four, Thondup was taken in a procession of lamas (spiritual masters) to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, and renamed Tenzin Gyatso. His monastic education started at the age of six, but he was still allowed some fun. He describes a childhood in which he loved images of military hardware, marching soldiers and war – in particular Royal Navy gunships from the First World War.

“The war picture books kept by the 13th Dalai Lama, those pictures of the British Navy at the time – their guns, their battleship guns – I found very attractive,” he tells me. It is an unexpected confession for an icon of peace, but he waves away its significance.

“Every child loves a uniform,” he says, recalling children marching behind his Tibetan army parades in Lhasa before his exile.

He also inherited his predecessor’s wind-up film projector and a series of other mechanical gadgets which, he says, sparked his lifelong interest in science and logic. He dismantled, and then reassembled, each one to understand how it worked. If he were not a monk, he would have liked to have been an engineer.
Indeed, when he met Chairman Mao Tse-tung and Premier Chou En-lai in “Peking” – as he still calls the Chinese capital – for the 1954 talks following China’s invasion of Tibet, Mao himself told him he had a “scientific mind”.

He soon developed a close relationship with both men, despite them having unleashed the might of the People’s Liberation Army on his country. Mao served him with his own chopsticks, and Chou played him at ping-pong. “Chairman Mao gave me food in the Chinese tradition. I felt great honour but also fear. He was a chain smoker, too, lots of coughing, so I thought I might get a virus from his chopsticks,” he says with his trademark naughty giggle.

Mao had initially praised Lord Buddha as a “revolutionary”, but later told the Dalai Lama that “religion is poison”. Despite their closeness, five years later the Dalai Lama was forced to lead his Tibetan government into exile in Nehru’s India. The Dalai Lama made the north Indian hill town of Dharamsala his spiritual centre as well as his home, establishing a “government in exile”. Since then, several thousand Tibetan exiles have settled there.

The Dalai Lama has not had an opportunity to discuss religion – or play table tennis – with today’s Chinese leaders, and to outsiders the prospects do not look good. A series of anti-Chinese protests by monks throughout Tibet in 2008 was brutally put down by armed police, and children were among the estimated 160 killed.

China accused the Dalai Lama of organising the uprising – a charge he denies – and has since charged him with encouraging the self-immolations of Tibetan monks and nuns (there have been more than 30) in protest against government attempts to marginalise the Tibetan language and culture.

The Dalai Lama has so far remained silent, offering them neither support nor condemnation. “If I say anything negative, then their families will feel very sad,” he says. “Of course, I cannot say this is good. So I remain silent. I can only pray and share their determination, their willpower. Nobody normally sacrifices their own life without reasons – they’re concerned about Tibetan culture, Tibetan Buddhist faith.”

He still hopes that China will change its approach to Tibet and will initiate democratic reforms within his lifetime. “My lifetime means if I remain another 10, 20 years, then definitely we’ll see it. If I die next year, I don’t know.”

He believes that the Arab Spring has had a deep impact on China’s thinking, and that Buddhist logic could offer its leaders a way out of totalitarianism. “If they face the reality, then there is no reason for fear or distrust” – which he believes are the product of China’s rule. “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”

To some, this might seem naive. China furiously protested when President Obama held talks with the Dalai Lama, for instance. And last October, he was denied a visa to South Africa to attend Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday celebrations (he was due to deliver a lecture). The Archbishop accused the South African government of bowing to pressure from China.

The Dalai Lama’s high profile may also account for reports of an assassination plot. Last year he was warned that Chinese agents had trained Tibetan women to kill him using scarves laced with poison. “They would have said they were sick, to receive a blessing from me, and my hand would have touched them.”

He believes his popularity worldwide is due to his focus on common human desires for happiness and contentment. “Human beings – we are all physically, emotionally, the same. And importantly, everybody wants a happy life. We need money, it’s useful, but if we put all our hopes on these things, it’s wrong. We must look at our inner values, that’s the main thing to bring inner strength, self-confidence and inner peace. The ultimate source of happiness is within ourselves.”

He cites Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu (“a very close friend; always joking”), Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Einstein as people who inspire him, but says he has been most heavily influenced by the second-century Indian Buddhist monk Nagarjuna. “He said that there is a huge gap between appearances and reality. Appearance is something absolute, but reality is not that way – everything is interdependent, not absolute. So that view is very helpful to maintain a peace of mind because the main destroyer of a peaceful mind is anger.”

But he hasn’t quite mastered this himself, he concedes. He gets angry “quite often” with “advisers, secretaries, other people around me when they make some little, little mistake, then sometimes I burst. Oh yes! Anger, and I shout! And some harsh words. But that remains for a few minutes, then it’s finished.”

At 76, he doesn’t have time to allow his rage to linger. He wakes at 3.30 every morning, meditates for four hours, pounds the treadmill, and then uses Buddhist prostrations to relax. He hasn’t watched television for two years, doesn’t read novels or poetry, but stays up to date with Newsweek and Time and is a BBC radio “addict”. He stops work just after three in the afternoon and is tucked up in bed by 7pm.

He wishes he had been more studious and less playful as a young boy, and regrets not learning to swim. His great fear, though, is of flying and of sharks. “Long flights, those I really feared, but now I’m used to them,” he says. “The fear now is that I never learnt to swim so if the plane crashes on water, I would immediately go deep under the sea and be enjoyed by a shark. That I really fear.”

The greatest single thing in life, he says, is the intelligence of human beings. “With the help of human intelligence, we have the ability to develop infinite love and infinite compassion.”

It is what drives his dedication to others, and inspires his favourite prayer from an eighth‑century Indian Buddhist master. “So long as space remains and suffering of sentient beings is there, I will remain to serve,” he recites. “That prayer really gives me inner strength.”

By Dean Nelson, The Telegraph, May 13, 2012

Ripperologists

By: Anjel Guyde

We all have this fascination of wanting to know the “unknown”.  We want all the puzzles solved, the missing found and criminals held accountable.  When it comes to Jack the Ripper, everyone thinks they know the answer.  On Amazon, there are almost 3,000 books on Jack the Ripper alone. 

Crimes that took place in the Whitechapel District in London in 1888 where murders by the famous “Jack the Ripper”.  An organized Serial Killer that brutally butchered women who were mostly prostitutes.  An Organized Serial Killer is one that carefully picks the victims and brings the tools to kill the victims and brings them back with him when they leave the crime scene area.  This was a calculated man that found his victim, lured her into a place where he felt comfortable and then sliced her throat.  With the slicing of the throat you do so for two main reasons, to kill quickly and to stop the victim from screaming.  If he cut the throat from behind, there would be blood spatter in front of the victim and across any wall or building.  If he cut her throat from the front, he would be soaked in blood.  I would have to say that most were cut from behind. 

We don’t know exactly how many victims “Jack the Ripper” had killed, but we can estimate with at least five to eleven women were killed by “Jack the Ripper” during the times of April 3, 1888 to November 9, 1888.  There are two women that were killed that are not included in the original five victims and they are Emma Elizabeth Smith and Martha Tabram, but these two were the first to be killed in the Whitechapel Murder Files. 

For even an organized serial killer, the first victim would have been the most traumatizing and the killer probably wouldn’t have gone to the extremes as he did with his other victims.  With the first victim, the Ripper probably would have been close to an area where he lived or worked so if someone came by, he would have a safe place to escape too. 

Emma Elizabeth Smith was robbed and sexually assaulted and she had a blunt object placed inside her vagina and she died the next day from peritonitis, on April 3, 1888.

Martha Tabram was killed by being stabbed 39 times on August 7, 1888.  There was no obvious motive for her murder.  Martha was stabbed mainly in the throat and abdomen.  Now since her throat wasn’t slashed, it is still a possibility that the “Ripper” was just beginning of his horrendous crimes.

Some may not except these two victims as a victim of “Jack the Ripper”, but I beg to differ.  It shows the crimes increasing and becoming more grotesque.  Also, the “Ripper” will venture out into different  territories that he may not be so familiar and most likely he will go further out from where he lives because he doesn’t want to be caught and being in different areas, he would have a better chance of not being caught because police departments might have had heightened security in the areas that were already hit.

Serial Killers will normally start out smaller crimes and work toward a more threatening and causing more harm, as his ego would become more excessive, inflated and would feel more powerful over all people, men and women, especially the police.  So you would expect that each victim would have more drastic wounds.  Serial Killers do not go from extremely dramatic killing to simply strangling someone.  The killer would not get that same kind of thrill as he did before. 

The other women were part of the “Ripper’s” victims due to the nature of their wounds.  Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapmen, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.  Now, the last victim, Mary Jane Kelly, was the worst victim because she was in a room that would allow the killer longer time without being seen or heard and he could take his time within the killing and could completely desecrate the Mary Jane Kelly’s body.

It is possible that “Jack the Ripper” knew these women.  It’s possible that he was rejected by these prostitutes and he eventually took his rage out on them. 

The point to all of this is that this particular case will never be solved.  There is no evidence, no witnesses and no DNA to work with.  There is no evidence that “Jack the Ripper” ever wrote a letter or any letter.  Without having a photo of what was written on the wall over Catherine Eddowes dead body that stated:

“The Juwes are The

Men That Will not be Blamed

For nothing.”

There is no way to realize that the writing is the same or could be compared to anyone else’s handwriting samples since it was ordered to wash that off of the wall.  Without that proof of the real “Jack the Ripper’s” handwriting skills, you cannot use the letters that were sent to the police and the newspaper because most of them have been found to be fraudulent.  So now you have nothing to state or to use to prove that you know who the identity of the real “Jack the Ripper”.

Patricia Cornwell had stated with the title of her book, “Portrait of a Killer, Jack the Ripper, Case Closed”, she had spent many painstaking hours and over $6 Million dollars of her own money on collecting DNA samples of the letters.  She even states that the #1 fact is Most, if not all, of these “Ripper” letters are considered to be hoaxes.  She had approximately 600 Ripper letters to go through during her investigation.  Even though she believes that she found the real killer as being Walter Sickert, again there is no proof or evidence to him being the real killer.

Then I fell across a book called “Bloodstains” by Jeffrey Mudgett.  He believes that his Great Great Grandfather, Herman Webster Mudgett aka Dr. Henry Howard Holmes aka H. H. Holmes was “Jack the Ripper”.  Although H.H. Holmes had traveled all over the United States, I have yet to find that he ever left the country, especially going to Europe.  H.H. Holmes was a very cunning man whom was attractive to very pretty ladies.  If someone he didn’t like someone who came to rent a room in his Chicago Hotel, he would simply turn them away.  Holmes was very organized especially when he created his Hotel from Hell.  He created a variety of rooms that would seal someone in their room and he could add gas to the room to kill that person from Carbon Monoxide poisoning to sealing up a person in a safe until they ran out of Oxygen.   One woman he was going to perform an abortion on her, but instead he chloroformed her and began to dissect her body along with dismembering her.  He had in at least 2 cases, extricating the body from all skin, organs, muscles, all the way down to the bones.  Once he had the bones, he meticulously wired all of the bones together and will sell the skeleton to a medical school for approximately $200 for a full skeleton.  Holmes was interested in being a doctor and did go to school  and graduated medical school at the age of 24 at the University of Michigan.  Holmes mainly killed for money through life insurance policies.  Holmes was inflicted to carry out his crimes due to his greed for money.  He might marry a woman for the land she owned and once she was married, she disappeared.  Holmes would go and sell off the property and collect the money.  He was a mastermind of defrauding people out of their money and items they owned all for greed.

Bloodstains

Now, Mr. Jeffrey Mudgett, who wrote “Bloodstains” and is now attempting to prove that his Great Great Grandfather is the famous “Jack the Ripper”.  He has tried to use letters that Holmes allegedly wrote against some of the “Ripper Letters”.  When you have compare handwriting skills, you have to look at each letter and how it started and stopped.  Are their extra loops or a specific way that someone writes one particular letter.  Now, when you look at the two letters, the handwriting looks familiar, but they are not.  For a handwriting expert to report on this would be very difficult since that style of writing was over 100 years old.  But, once again, there is NO PROOF that “Jack the Ripper” ever wrote one letter!

Mr. Mudgett’s handwriting sample:

Mr. Mudgett believes that Holmes was overseas during the time of the killings in the Whitechapel District in London.  There is NO PROOF that Holmes was ever in Europe.  Back in the last 1800’s the only way to get to London would be by way of a Steamship which would take almost 6-7 days on board before reaching Europe.  H.H. Holmes at that time was married to Myra/Myrta Belknap in Minnesota in 1887 while Holmes was finishing his “Castle” in Englewood, Illinois.  Myra/Myrta and Holmes had a child together, Lucy, who was born in October 1888, which means that she had to have been conceived by January 1888. 

Again, let’s look back at the dates of the “Jack the Ripper” killings:

Emma Elizabeth Smith  Died April 3, 1888

Martha Tabram            Died August 7, 1888

Mary Ann Nichols        Died August 31, 1888

Annie Chapman            Died September 8, 1888

Elizabeth Stride             Died September 30, 1888

Catherine Eddowes       Died September 30, 1888

Mary Jane Kelly            Died November 9, 1888

Now getting a room on a steamship is very costly, approximately $150-$350 for a one-way passage, that would mean that Holmes would have traveled at least twice to Europe, making it four complete trips that would have cost him approximately $600-$1,400, during the time his daughter was born.  Holmes would not have stayed away from his “Castle” for almost a year, nor his new wife almost after conceiving his child.  I have not found one thing Mr. Mudgett has stated to prove to me that this is the same man that created such horrendous crimes in another country.

Holmes was convicted of killing 27 people and was hung until dead in the Moyamensing Prison on May 7, 1896.  The Castle itself was burnt down in August 19, 1985 and where the Castle once stood is now a Post Office that will be closing down soon at 63^rd & Wallace in Englewood, Illinois. 

Mr. Mudgett is trying to get paranormal tours down in the basement of the Post Office, but most of that was not part of the original “Castle” property.

Mr. Mudgett is trying to prove that Holmes is “Jack the Ripper” and is creating his second book called:

“The Sequel… Two Plus Two = 5…  The Trial of H. H. Holmes as JTR!”

Seriously, anyone that believes that his Great Great Grandfather was “Jack the Ripper” has got be delusional.  Show me the proof and not make accusations in attempts to sell more books that you cannot even get in a real book store.  Mr. Mudgett states that he found this through his Great Great Grandfather’s writings, but he never has shown even one page to anyone to check the handwriting.  He will only show a small sampling.  There is only one picture of Herman Webster Mudgett and he states that he even looks like the sketches.  Of course he does, back then most men had the same kind of mustache and wore hats, just like Holmes did in those times.

The point is that finding out who the real “Jack the Ripper” will never be solved because there is NO EVIDENCE to prove who he was.  Show me the proof, real physical proof and maybe I’ll consider it, but there is nothing to be found.  It will always remain a mystery, let it stay that way.

Mr. Mudgett needs to find a new topic to write about, maybe one that he can prove his facts before stating anything that can be proven otherwise.

This article was originally posted on SciFake.com

Genuine, Childlike Faith

By Bridgette O'Hare

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

When I was pregnant with my second child people would often want to know if I was having a boy or a girl.  Since I wanted it to be a surprise I never asked the doctors to tell me.  However, my four year old son, Patrick, was certain that he knew.  Whenever someone would ask if I knew, my faithful little boy would pipe in boldly saying, “It’s a boy.   I know because I prayed and asked God for a brother.”  He was confident that he was going to get a little brother. He believed God for his promise that if we ask, we shall receive (John 16:24).   He had an attitude of faith that his request had already been granted even though he could not yet “see” this physically. James 4:2 states, “You have not, because you ask not…” Patrick asked and, low and behold, his little brother arrived.   Granted, we do have to be careful what we ask for sometimes.   There have been moments when I heard Patrick mumble “what was I thinking?” and other times, when Patrick is rather annoyed with Dade, the little brother he so faithfully awaited, I hear Dade quickly remind him “well, YOU prayed for me!”  (There’s nothing like brotherly love, is there?)

This childlike faith is required for us to receive the blessings that the Lord longs to give us.   When we pray and make a request of God we shouldn’t murmur to ourselves “I hope this works out.”  We should have the confidence in God that little children have. We should believe that our prayer has already been answered and wait patiently for God to bring it to us in HIS time.  At four years old, Patrick had no concept of the amount of time he would have to wait for his little brother, though he did often ask “how much longer?”  He simply believed that God would send him his request.  Never once did he question God.  I can’t lie, I found myself wondering how I would explain it to him in the event that his little brother turned out to be a little sister instead. My faith was not as genuine as Patrick’s was. Thankfully God took care of that one for me.

Looking back I realize that I simply lacked confidence in God.  And who am I to question the dependability of God? He has always been there for me.  Genuine faith is not professing that you believe… genuine faith is actually believing what you profess.  It is having confidence in the dependability of God...and who is more dependable than He is?

Our Christian lives begin because of our faith in Jesus Christ, they are lived by faith and they end in faith.  Our faith is strengthened by spending time in God’s word, if we do this... it is guaranteed that our faith will grow and we will have more childlike confidence to ask the Lord for the blessings we long for…even the ones we think may be too much to ask.  Maybe it’s time that we stopped insisting our children grow up and start thinking about learning to be a little more like them...childlike in our own faith.

Hebrews 11:1 is a well known verse.  Many Christians can quote it fluently, but quoting it isn’t enough...do you live it?  Do you truly have faith in God for the things you are hoping for, but cannot yet see?  How childlike is your faith?

Cleansings--What Choices You Control

By Stephen Piersall, Deliverance Ministry Consultant, Central New York

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Satan and his minions seek to devour Christians (1 Peter 5:8) and they scheme against believers (Ephesians 6:11). Many people these days go about their lives and travel over a bump or two, but just go about their materialistic worldview lives without God. Some of these people are already Christian and have placed God in the back seat because they’re too busy with family, work, school activities, etc. to even think about going to Church is just too much effort. When we leave God out of our lives, we sadden him. God wants us to be in his life as commanded in the Bible, the Holy Spirit within craves to live the Christian life. However, we sin and we had no choice in the matter of the beginning of sin. With Adam and Eve became the first sin of humankind by eating the fruit when told not to, but Satan disguised as a serpent convinced Eve to eat it and share with Adam. Therefore, we are born into this world with a sinful nature. Nevertheless, when Jesus died on the cross, He took away our sins, and in our everyday life, when we sin we must make restitution for it. We must pray to God and ask for forgiveness, and repent so that we do not do that sin again. In some instances, we much make amends with the consequences; you may have to admit to your wife about something or spend time in jail for a crime you might have done.

Now what does all this have to do with cleansings? As a result of being born into a sinful nature Satan knows us, he can’t read our minds but he and his minions have observed us for thousands of years and knows if we sin that will take us away from glorifying God in our daily lives. The key is temptation. Jesus was tempted by Satan three times and each time Satan lost that battle.  Satan will temp you as well, even after you have asked for forgiveness, repented, and made restitution he will continue to harass you until you are in a weak moment and WHAM! You do the same sin again. God is saddened but Satan is smiling. Present time we as a generation are more materialistic then we were 100 years ago. Back then and beyond our country was founded on a strong belief in God with respect, honor, and reverence. Look at our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and our currency as examples. Today’s times we rationalize away the sins, as it is not as important as getting that promotion at the office or buying that new Chevy with all the latest gadgets. Someone once asked “MY” opinion of homosexuality. I do not agree with it, I do not partake in it, and I have no problem working side by side with someone who is. Yes, it is a sin, but who are we to judge someone else’s sins? The Bible is very clear of it being a sin! But so is the lie I told my wife that her hair looked fine when she awoke with a wild bed head from a night’s sleep LOL Sin is sin, and no matter what, we will deal with it all as we die and stand before God and have our life flashed before us. If you’re a believer you will enter Heaven and if not, well let’s just say you’re taking the elevator down, and NO you won’t be earth bound or in some staging place to be prayed over and get you in to Heaven.

(Ephesians 4:26-27) “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” Bottom line, Pray and ask for forgiveness first thing in the morning and as you go to bed. Always start praying asking for forgiveness. It is hard to reward your child with a new toy while being caught in a lie. God will hear your requests but may not honor them until you come forward with forgiveness. Next blog I will go deeper into sins and how demonic attachment can happen. Meanwhile, please continue to pray every day, and for our country, your clergy, and your family and friends, etc. Deliverance Ministry does work, but we have to do the work that God puts before us.

Paranormal or Supernatural?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Last week I wrote about the demonaphobia that is prevalent on the many TV shows dealing with the supernatural. 

With very few exceptions, these dozens of diverse shows are in sync with each other in avoiding the mention of the demonic (Biblical demons, not characters from Charmed). A month-long experiment of focusing on how various TV shows viewed the demonic was startling and sobering—even well respected researchers like John Zaffis bent over backwards to not see demons as the cause for paranormal activity. Demonaphobia is real and rampant, and (this is key) this dismissive attitude regarding demons is effecting the beliefs of tens of millions of Americans. When there is paranormal activity it is assumed that trapped human spirits are the cause. In this regard, television accurately mirrors the majority report in the paranormal community. Of the roughly 4,000 groups listed on paranormalsocieities.com most are not explicitly Christian in their beliefs and methodology. Hence, the assumption of these investigators is that genuine activity is almost always caused by intelligent human spirits or residual energy and that demonic activity is very rare. This phobia is furthered by the tendency to refer to negative or dark spirits instead of simply calling them demons. However, it is primarily TV which is shaping the collective mindset of Americans regarding the demonic and the paranormal. Demons have been so marginalized on these paranormal shows that the paranormal realm has become synonymous with demonaphobia, no matter how unconscious it might be.

Last week’s blog and today’s form a unity—part one and two (I would strongly encourage you to read it because the two are an organic whole . . . in addition to my longer newsletter). I have wanted to write this article for two years but it wasn’t until recently that I felt the nudge. The reason for my hesitation will be manifestly clear in about thirty seconds.

We all know that words are powerful; I don’t need to go on and on to establish that point. But sometimes we can use words that are harmful and not even be aware of it. My impossible task is to persuade you that the word paranormal is one of those harmful words.  Do I really need to elaborate on the centrality of this word? It is the linguistic glue that binds this whole thing together—literally. I am acutely aware of the name of this excellent blog site, and it is with an even more acute sense of my own personal sinfulness, weakness, and brokenness that I write this . . . hopefully to simply stimulate some discussion.

What we think the word paranormal means is not important; what the dictionary’s definition is . . . that’s not important either—what IS important is common usage, because that is the real meaning of the word. It’s time for Christians to understand that this word has become so corrupted that it is irredeemable. Let me explain.

Based on what was said last week, and what is summarized above, the word paranormal connotes an invisible realm where ghosts dwell and where science alone can uncover its mysteries; God, the bible, demons, and spiritual warfare are all marginalized in the word paranormal. Honestly, is that not what paranormal has come to imply on TV and in culture (try not to take into account your personal beliefs)? I do not like what I am writing, but unfortunately it is an undeniable fact. Repeated so frequently, it is shaping a collective worldview in our culture . . . causing a paradigm shift in the spiritual landscape. Paranormal suggests a man-centered reality instead of a God-centered reality. This word is having an insidious effect on millions of people as they watch TV . . . insidious and profound. It is actually reshaping how the contours of invisible reality are perceived. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” is NOT the world of the paranormal. The world of the paranormal is more, “Forever there has been Energy, and the vibrations are increasing until there will be a revolution in consciousness.” It is the worldview that is going to make being a Biblical Christian increasingly difficult.

My suggestion is that we substitute the word supernatural in place of paranormal, because historically that is what Christians have referred to the invisible realm as. Like the word Trinity, supernatural is not in the Bible but it effectively connotes a Biblical reality. “The Jones’ are having supernatural activity in their home, so I am going tomorrow to cleanse and bless their demonically infested house.” Insert the word paranormal and see the difference? Maybe not, but that is my point . . . we have to realize that we are inadvertently causing misunderstanding, and even promoting an unbiblical view of reality by our continued use of this loaded word. We shouldn’t sentimentally cling to a word that is clearly conveying an anti-Christ agenda.  PLEASE, my intent is not to offend the people I care about . . . but I have to follow my calling.

Satan has co-opted this word, and is skillfully using it to hurtle this paranormal juggernaut across our country.  If ghosts are his most successful global deception—and I am convinced they are—then this word is vital in his strategy. As a brilliant general (linguist, wordsmith, and deceiver), he knows the importance of propaganda and the connotation of words in effective warfare strategy. A single word can dehumanize an entire group of people and cause genocide. In one word (paranormal), Satan summarizes a whole host of deviant beliefs regarding the invisible, and is causing spiritual genocide. Please don’t think I am joking or exaggerating.

What we call the paranormal realm is the realm God has sovereignly ordained to be the temporary home of Satan and his demonic followers . . . did you catch that? (Please read it again) Tragically, it is also the realm we poke around in, informing them not to be afraid of us. We are playing in Satan’s sandbox . . . otherwise known as the paranormal realm.

Lord Jesus, please help us. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I have been weeping a lot lately. My message and book are largely ignored, but I know it is the truth. Here I stand . . . clinging to Jesus and His word—trying, in my stumbling way, to stand in the gap.

Christians and Communicating With The Dead - Part 2

By Lisa Grace

Continued from Christians and Communicating With the Dead

Last week I received some questions regarding the fact that the dead sleep and some good Christians mentioned their Biblical references to support their beliefs, even though Jesus Christ who is the ultimate authority said the dead sleep.

These are logical and good points they brought up. Why then would the Bible and its inspired authors mention ghosts in direct opposition to Rabbinical and Christ’s teaching of the time?

Let’s fast forward first to modern times to get an understanding of how the satan uses misdirection to further his goals and dilute our effectiveness in spiritual warfare.

The Beloit College Study

The Beloit college study just came out a few weeks ago. It is administered to incoming college freshman every year and its results give a fascinating look into the new generation of Americans grasp on culture. http://www.beloit.edu/irap/collegedata/cirp/

Some of the findings that I found disturbing as a Bible believer is today’s college freshman do not know where such phrases as “forbidden fruit” and “the handwritings on the wall” come from. They do not know the “forbidden fruit” is a reference to Satan offering it to Eve, on e of the basic tenents of understanding how sin entered the world; nor do they know the writing on the wall was from the disembodied hand writing on the wall the phrase “Mene, Mene, Tekel, u-Pharsin” (Daniel Chapter 5) to King Balshazzar.

Why is it important that college kids no longer understand Biblical references?

In the Garden of Eden

God created the universe and all there in. He also created the concept of time,which is one of the basic natural laws our universe is stuck in.

Heaven exists outside of time in eternity, hence the concept of forever (no time).

This world is a shadow of heaven.

God did not create ghosts (the dead sleep), because God did not bring death into the world. He finished Creation on the sixth day. God did not create ghosts. Satan can create nothing, therefore ghosts do not exist.

Now, supernatural creatures do exist and that is what we are seeing and interpreting as ghosts.

Werewolves, Vampires, and Ghosts

These are all made up creatures and have their roots in Roman and Greek mythology. Early time Bible believers were exposed to these myths and naturally adopted them. Jesus always knew demons were fallen angels. He knew what people called “ghosts” were manifestations of different types of fallen angels or if you choose to call the disembodied ones, demons. There are several different types of Angels mentioned in the Bible and the fallen ones appear differently here on this earth too. Reference:

Different types of Angels and Demons

People through out the centuries have confused the real supernatural world and what is in it because of incorporating popular myths of the time. One of the oldest most popular myths is confusing demons with those who are departed.

Saul and His, Ahem, “Ghost” (really a demon/fallen angel)

1 Samuel 28:7 - Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, [there is] a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

Remember, the devil and mediums are spreading lies. The devil is the great deceiver. Saul commits many sins in this story, swearing by the Lord, visiting a witch, etc…

He admits the Lord has left him in verse 15. This story was not meant to “prove “ghosts” but to show how far Saul had fallen away from God that he could even believe in “ghosts”. It was to show how you can be deceived. If you read this same story from the perspective you know he is being deceived by a witch and demons pretending to be a “ghost” you can see how far outside the will of God he is. Always turn to GOD not witches or mediums.

It is not Samuel he is talking to, but a demon pretending to be Samuel.

A witch can not call up a prophet, only demons/fallen angels. And then only to the extent they are willing to play along in the deception. When you say a witch can call up the spirit of a person, you are insinuating she has power that only God has. You are elevating them to the level a god.

People believed in ghosts back in those days, just as they do now. It is a false teaching.

John 11:11 Even Jesus said the dead sleep.

The other “proof” people say to combat Jesus’ knowledge that dead sleep is to bring up his words on the cross.

Remember how important punctuation is. “Let’s eat Grandpa” is something a zombie (another made up creature) might say, “Let’s eat, Grandpa” is something a loving granddaughter might say.

Early Hebrew and Greek scriptures had no punctuation. Unfortunately, because of misplaced punctuation added by the King James version, many people take Jesus’ words on the cross out of context. It should be (and was understood to be for over a thousand years after His death to be again backed up by Jesus‘ own words while he was living), “I tell you today, thou wilt be with me in paradise.” Since Jesus knew and said several times the dead sleep, it was always understood this way, until man (King James) messed up an important translation.

In my next article we will discuss the last proof of why and how Jesus’ was taken out of context in the parable, The Rich Man and Lazarus.

Going on the proofs I’ve provided here. (Mainly if it was created by the sixth day, it isn’t here.) See if you can prove to yourself why it is other creatures you are talking to and not the dead.

Christians and Communicating With the Dead - Part 3

Issue 85 Stirring the New Age Crap Stew

The Psychic Highway to Hell – Part 2

 By Kirby Robinson

Some of our recent blogs have caused the new age readers to get a bit upset with our views on the uselessness and the dangers of talking to the dead. They're also under the impression that spirit guides know more than GOD does [and angels are inferior].

Sadly, the Christian church has for the most part remained silent on the dangers of the new age. Why? Because major church leaders like Rick Warren and Robert Schuller are the main shepherds into bringing such false doctrines into the church.

They are doctoring the idea of guided visualization or guided meditation--both of which aren't Bible-based. Robert and Rick claim that right after they took part in a guided visualization/meditation they were given the false doctrines they now teach.

What is guided meditation? When a demonically oppressed/possessed/demonic allowing [one who doesn't mind demonic communication taking place through their body a/k/a channeling] leads one or more person through a journey into what they claim is trip through your psyche. In reality, they're pulling your spirit into a different dimension where you'll meet higher spirits. Out of kindness, these "higher spirits" will teach you secrets that no one else knows and will improve your life. What they are doing is leading you into a land of demons, and these demons will do and say anything to get into your life. Demons will offer you a chance to learn a new Christianity, they'll offer you a chance to learn about the divine knowledge of ancient Indian masters, and they'll tell you how to live your life.

But if you take the path offered, if you embrace the "religion" they offer, if you bond with these new spirits, you'll get onto the carpool lane to hell. Because all this won't bring you closer to the light of GOD in heaven—it'll draw you into the darkness of hell.

Let me give you an example of this. Rick Warren has brought in a new age plan for Christianity for years to come. It's driven by the goal of moving it into all other religions to form one religion which will be driven by leaders of the new age.

If you know anything about the occult you've heard the term as it is above so shall it be below. If you hang around these folks long enough, you'll be saying it in your sleep. But would you ever expect to hear it in the Lord's Prayer? Now you can--the new age has done it and Rick Warren approves.

Here is the Lord's Prayer from the King James Bible:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Let's even show you the New International Version:

"This, then, is how you should pray:"
'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us today our daily bread.
 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

Now let's look at the version used in Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life".

The Message (MSG)

7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Now to be honest, the message isn't a translation. The author paraphrases the Bible to make it more hip and cool. In addition, the author slips in a new teaching that just might not be Bible based as above so below. So what God does the man behind it is Eugene Peterson want you to address that prayer to? [He doesn't include the Old Testament only the New]. I have no big issues with paraphrasing the Bible as long as you don't base a teaching on it. But that is what Rick does in "The Purpose Driven Life" which he wants to redefine the message of the church. Not to help it, but to sell it out to the new age.

What I don't understand was how Rick realized that all Christians have a purpose. We don't need Rick to tell us what it is. Rick must've been deceived by a demon and missed this lesson.

The purpose of a Christian's life is:

1 To please GOD

2 Glorify GOD

3 Understand GOD'S word

4 Show the world that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior

5 In the name of GOD be of service to your fellow man in deeds and share your savior with others

You do the above 5 steps and you have a purpose driven life.

Next week we'll show you how to be a channeler and write a new age book. We'll start diving into the false new age Christ and share with you the teaching that is spreading that there is no longer one savior.

NEW RADIO SHOW

Things will be controversial on Friday, August 31 at 7 PM [PST]
Paranormal Review with Luci Leibfried and Anthony Agate
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/paranormalreview

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