Faith
All posts tagged Faith
‘In a world where enormous sums of money rarely raise eyebrows, Bill Gates’ new pledge of $7 billion in aid to Africa should give us pause.
“Constantly reducing maternal mortality, constantly reducing neonatal mortality, under-5 mortality, that’s really the metric that drives our foundation,” said Gates while announcing the four-year pledge on November 17 in Nairobi. While laudable in theory, it is imperative that we ask—what will this money actually do?
International development funding inevitably comes with strings attached, and more often than not, those strings are tied to ideological agendas. Case in point: the Gates Foundation’s aggressive track record of abortion promotion, which stands in sharp contrast to the robust pro-life culture of many African countries. Abortion is illegal or heavily restricted across most of the continent. But money has a way of maneuvering around the law, and ultimately, much of the reason for pushing tremendous sums on developing countries is to dismantle established laws that protect unborn life. In this context, $7 billion could go a long way toward undermining what people actually want for their countries.’ https://www.lifenews.com/2022/12/06/bill-gates-sends-7-billion-to-africa-that-will-promote-abortion-as-population-control/
The Western world is enamored with killing via abortion and euthanasia. However, one would think a person who claimed to be a Christian would think differently. Well, think again! Down in Georgia ‘In a new interview, pro-abortion Democrat Raphael Warnock claims that killing babies in abortions is somehow a Christian concept even though it clearly results in the destruction of babies created in God’s image.
In an interview with MSNBC host Joy Reid on ‘The Reidout’ on Monday, Warnock, who has voted for abortions up to birth, tried to justify killing babies by saying that it’s okay from his standpoint because he is a pastor.
“I get a lot of pushback from people who seem to think that they own the interpretation of the Gospel,” Warnock said. “I have been studying the Scriptures my whole life. I’m committed to the faith. And, as a pastor, I have a profound reverence for life. And, as a pastor and a person of faith, I have a deep respect for choice.”
“If we care about life, black women are dying three to four times the rate of white women in childbirth, as a result of childbirth,” he said. “And so, if you care about life, we ought to find a way and address the obvious bias in our health care system.”
“It’s what Jesus would do,” Reid said.
“I think it’s exactly what Jesus would do,” Warnock agreed.’https://www.lifenews.com/2022/12/06/raphael-warnock-as-a-pastor-i-support-abortion-because-its-exactly-what-jesus-would-do/
Genesis 1:1-2
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
‘Many people are aware that evolutionary astrophysicists believe that the Earth came into existence about 4.5 billion years ago. The formation of this planet-size lump of rock allegedly happened by gravitational accretion from the dust that had previously swirled around the Sun. One grain of dust would attract another. Gradually, one lump would attract another. This would keep repeating until a planet-sized object appeared.
There are two main problems with this scenario, apart from the fact that it is not described that way in the Bible. First, why would particles of dust or small stones stick together by gravity? If this were a normal thing to happen, then why has it not subsequently happened in the asteroid belt? The second problem is that even if such accretion were possible, it would only produce a planet-sized lump of amorphous rock. But the Earth has structure, with a solid crust, semi-molten mantle, and molten inner and outer core.
So evolutionary astrophysicists suppose that about 3.9 billion years ago, another planet, about the size of Mars, crashed into the Earth, and vaporized. This caused the Earth to melt so that it could reset in the “correct” order. Although this model is a lot more sophisticated than this simplified version, it still seems to be something of a fiddle-factor – an invented story to attempt to explain the inexplicable.
In contrast, the Bible tells us that the Earth was a direct creation by God and that the rest of the Solar System – and, indeed, the rest of the universe – was formed three days later, again as a direct creative act of God.’https://creationmoments.com/sermons/evolution-of-the-early-earth/?mc_cid=2d3601609a&mc_eid=00c1dcff3c
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
‘Canada’s dystopian love affair with State-assisted dying grows more chilling by the day.
Fashion house La Maison Simons has produced a (now deleted) three-minute advertisement promoting euthanasia as a trendy, progressive lifestyle choice.
The ad presents state-sponsored MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) as ‘the most beautiful exit’.
‘Dying in a hospital is not what’s natural. That’s not what’s soft. In these kinds of moments, you need softness,’ the advertisement’s narrator says.
Viewers are told that, ‘Last breaths are sacred…’ as the narrator, an attractive woman in a wheelchair, is shown on a picturesque beach.
‘I spent my life filling my heart with beauty, with nature, with connection. I choose to fill my final moments with the same,’ she says.
‘When I imagine my final days, I see bubbles. I see the ocean. I see music. Even now, as I seek help to end my life, there is still so much beauty. You just have to be brave enough to see it.’
The narration – backed by an inspirational musical score – is set to beautiful images of bubbles, candle-lit forests, beaches with luminescent whale and jellyfish puppets, and friends gathering around in support.
The advertisement ends with a dedication to the 37-year-old narrator who ended her life with help from the State in October.
‘Jennyfer Hatch – 1985 to October 2022.’
Oh, and there’s a small logo of La Maison Simons – the fashion retailer. If you’re not busy this afternoon being euthanised by the State, we recommend you check out some of their winter fashions.
Jennyfer Hatch wasn’t terminally ill when she applied to be euthanised. She had reportedly spent years trying to get treatment for chronic pain caused by an inherited disorder that affects connective tissue.
She eventually applied for MAiD and was approved within weeks.
When it comes to healthcare, dying is fast becoming what the Canadians do best.
The callous message goes something along the lines of ‘you can spend years seeking medical treatment and get nowhere, or you can apply for euthanasia and receive help within weeks’.
Five-time Paralympics champion Christine Gauthier shocked Canadians last week when she told a parliamentary committee how she was offered MAiD when she complained to the Veterans Affairs department about a delay installing a wheelchair ramp at her home.
‘I have a letter saying that if you’re so desperate, madam, we can offer you MAiD, medical assistance in dying,’ she was told.
No doubt, this is an alarming escalation.
Where’s my wheelchair ramp?
It’s on backorder. Would you like to die instead?
They shouldn’t call it assisted suicide. It should be called Very-Assisted suicide.
In case it sounded like an unlikely, isolated instance, Veterans Minister Lawrence MacAulay told Parliament she knew of at least four other military veterans similarly offered the death option without ever requesting it.
Can’t help you live. Happy to help you die. So thoughtful of the government…!
The only good thing that can be said about these shocking cases is that death was offered, not mandated.
Anyway, producers of the ‘death is beautiful, everyone should try it at least once’ advertisement didn’t seem bothered by the fact there are people who wouldn’t have needed to experience the beauty of death if they’d been offered a bit of government help to live.
Death is the latest fashion, and corporations are now advertising for people to try it on.
La Maison Simons executive Peter Simons said the objective in shooting the video was to ‘truly reflect on who we want to be as a company’.
A lot of things came to mind, none of them complimentary.
Simons said the company had made ‘the courageous choice to use the privilege of our voice and platform to create something meaningful, something that is less about commerce and more about connection’.
It’s a pretty revealing insight into where Western culture is at right now – a respected corporation parading its Woke credentials by cheering vulnerable people to consider an early death out of … kindness?
The unifying feature across all progressive ideology today is fundamentally anti-human.
Whether it’s the mad panic to get to Net Zero – irrespective of the human cost – or the gender botherers’ relentless campaign to strip the term ‘woman’ of all meaning, progressivism is at war with humanity.
Abortion was sold to us as being safe, legal, and rare. Now progressives insist that anything other than abortion up until birth, for any reason at all, is a violation of human rights.
Same-sex marriage was sold to us as being about love and equality. Within a few short years of its legalisation, our finest political minds cannot say for sure what a woman is.
It’s been quite the slippery slope.
The La Maison Simons advertisement comes just three months before Canada intends to legalise euthanasia for people with mental health issues.
In less time than it takes a child to complete primary school, Canada went from legalised euthanasia for terminally ill people suffering intolerable pain and with the end in sight, to euthanasia for sad people.
There is already talk that the next ‘reform’ should be to give children access death services, and without parental consent.
Of course, the legislation being considered does not call children ‘children’. One of the charms of progressivism is its linguistic gymnastics that make it easy to forget what one is actually talking about.
Children are referred to as ‘mature minors’ (which is an oxymoron) without any detail as to what constitutes mature, or who decides.
Dying with Dignity responsibly recommends that the legislation should only apply to mature minors ‘at least 12 years of age and capable of making decisions with respect to their health’.
It begs the question, if we are going to allow euthanasia for 12-year-olds, why not 11-year-olds? And if for 11-year-olds, would we really deny death to depressed 10-year-olds?
Dying with Dignity insist it would only be in very rare instances that a child would access Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).
And if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
MAiD’s first year of operation in 2017 saw 2,838 people opted for assisted suicide, according to a government report.
Five years later the number of assisted suicides had ballooned to 10,064 and accounted for more than 3 percent of all deaths in Canada.
I know. I know. I’m sounding anti-death. I’ll try to look on the bright side.
Here’s the good news…
Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer issued a report in October 2020 stating that MAiD would cut healthcare costs by more than $66 million.
Others – including Aaron Trachtenberg, a research fellow and a doctor at the University of Manitoba, and Braden Manns, a health economist, and nephrologist at the University of Calgary – have predicted that MAiD could save the health budget up to $100 million annually.
It’s only a matter of time before the Canadian government starts asking citizens to kill themselves to save lives.
And then – having killed the elderly, the miserable, and the disabled – they will be able to boast that they have the best healthcare system in the world, since everyone left alive is well.
You think I’m joking?
Iceland boasts about having ‘eradicated’ Down Syndrome. The unspoken part is that they have done this by aborting almost all unborn babies that test positive for the syndrome.
As Mother Teresa once said (paraphrased): ‘There is no poverty like Western poverty.’
Having abandoned belief in God, we now see ourselves as no more than an evolved species in an accidental biosphere.
When Nietzsche said that ‘God is dead’, he wasn’t celebrating a liberating insight, he was just pointing out that humans are utterly alone in a cold and uncaring universe.
This nihilism is pervading our increasing secular world.
State-assisted suicide is now so progressive, so cool and so modern that corporations believe their brands are enhanced by promoting it.
You have to wonder if, as a society, we have reached some sort of non-adaptive tipping point.’https://spectator.com.au/2022/12/death-a-dystopian-love-affair/
‘If one was to go by the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they would be under the impression that they believed the Bible. This might lead one to ask why do Mormons use the KJV? After all, when the LDS Missionaries stop by your home in their attempts to convert you to the “church,” they always carry a King James Bible. They will gladly open it and go to a few select verses that seem to indicate that the books promoted as the “standard works” of the church, especially the Book of Mormon, are prophesied by the Bible. In fact, when you ask a Mormon if they believe the Bible, they will wholeheartedly confirm that they do, but sadly they only believe it, “…as far as it is translated correctly” as is stated in the eighth article of faith.
There are two main reasons that the Mormon church utilizes and endorses only the King James Version. The first is that at the time of the organization of the church in 1830, the King James or Authorized Version was accepted as the authoritative Bible among English speaking people. The Mormon use of the King James Version would certainly work towards credibility as they were trying to gain converts, whereas if they had utilized a less common and less available version, the opposite would no doubt had occurred. Franklin Gonzales, Institute Teacher at the University of Utah states, “Early church leaders were partial to the KJV not only because they have grown up with it, but also because the KJV was couched in language unparalleled for its literary beauty.”1 For the Mormons to use the King James all the way from the beginning was necessary, as they quickly gained a reputation for being “cult-like” in the surrounding areas of church influence.
The Mormon (LDS) movement started at Palmyra, New York, then moved to Kirtland, Ohio, Independence, Missouri, and lastly to Nauvoo, Illinois. If the Mormons had begun their proselytizing efforts with any version of the Bible than the King James, it would have been another warning flag to those they were seeking to convert. It is interesting to note is that Smith was supposedly divinely commissioned to make a new translation of the Bible called the Joseph Smith Translation, yet the church has never employed the Smith translation in their “evangelistic” work, as he died having only translated the Gospel of Matthew.
The second reason for why Mormons use the King James Version, even in these “latter days” (pun intended) with all the many modern versions available such as the NIV, NAS, ESV, etc. is that the King James Version was respected and chosen by Joseph Smith. The (false) prophet used an 1828 King James Bible to prepare the above-mentioned translation of Matthew. Gonzales states that Smith learned early on that “original Bible texts” had been corrupted.2 Of course the “originals” no longer exist, and though Smith and the leadership in the Mormon church held the King James Bible as being more accurate and reliable, Smith still fell into the same trap that modern revisionists have done since 1881, correcting the King James Bible using their wisdom, relying on that they think a specific word, phrase or verse should read. In fact, on March 7th, 1881, The “Prophet,” as he is known by church members, received a revelation that is an alternate revelation of the olivet discourse of Matt 24, this time God supposedly speaking directly to Smith. This adding to the word of God is found in another LDS standard work called Doctrine and Covenants 45:60-61.
While there is much more that can be added concerning the Joseph Smith Translation, in a desire to stay with the content of the article here about “Why do Mormons Use the KJV” it is very strange indeed that the KJV was not replaced by this translation, especially when BYU publications state that it provides clarity and understanding. Regarding the church’s continued use of the KJV, the Statement of the First Presidency states, “While other Bible versions may be easier to read than the KJV, in doctrinal matters latter-day revelation supports the KJV in preference to other translations. All of the Presidents of the Church, beginning with the Prophet Joseph Smith, have supported the KJV by encouraging its continued use in the Church. In light of all the above, it is the English language Bible used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
In Summary, the Mormons use the KJV because it was the most accepted version during the time of its origins and because the founder, Joseph Smith, endorsed it. It is interesting that a cult leader and his religion recognize the errors of modern versions, yet equally disheartening is that they add and take away from the KJV, just as the scholars of the past have done. So, in essence, it is the same double-speak that we get from those that have produced the NIV, NASB, ESV, Living Bible, etc. Thankfully we can trust that what we have in the KJV is God’s preserved word! As a side note I will also state as one that was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for about 3 years, that while they use and carry a KJV, it is hardly opened during their church meetings. Rather, it is primarily utilized when proselytizing, twisting scriptures to make it seem that those verses point to the Book Mormon.
By James Lyman
References:
1. Why does the Church still use the King James Version?
2. Ibid.’ https://www.kjvchurches.com/why-do-mormons-use-the-kjv/
whatyareckon 