Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on February 27, 2015
Last week, the attention of the world was riveted to a deserted beach in northern Libya, where a group of twenty one Coptic Christians were brutally beheaded by masked operatives of the ISIS movement.
In the wake of the executions, ISIS released a gruesome video entitled “A Message in Blood to the Nation of the Cross.” I suppose that for the ISIS murderers the reference to “the Nation of the Cross” had little sense beyond a generic designation for Christianity. Sadly for most Christians, too, the cross has become little more than an anodyne, a harmless symbol, a pious decoration.
I would like to take the awful event on that Libyan beach, as well as the ISIS message concerning it, as an occasion to reflect on the still startling distinctiveness of the cross.
In the time of Jesus, the cross was a brutal and very effective sign of Roman power. Imperial authorities effectively said, “If you cross us (pun intended), we will affix you to a dreadful instrument of torture and leave you to writhe in agonizing, literally excruciating (ex cruce, from the cross) pain until you die. Then we will make sure that your body hangs on that gibbet until it is eaten away by scavenging animals.”
The cross was, basically, state-sponsored terrorism, and it did indeed terrify people. The great Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero once described a crucifixion but only through a convoluted circumlocution, for he couldn’t bring himself to characterize it directly. After putting down the great slave uprising of Spartacus, the Roman government lined the Appian Way with hundreds of crosses so as to dissuade any other would-be revolutionaries. Pontius Pilate had much the same intention when he nailed dozens of Jewish rebels to the walls of Jerusalem. That same Pilate arranged for Jesus to be crucified on Calvary Hill, a promontory situated close to one of the gates of ancient Jerusalem, guaranteeing that his horrific death would not be missed by the large Passover crowds moving in and out of the city.
From the crucified Jesus, all of the disciples, save John, fled, precisely because they wanted with all their hearts to avoid his dreadful fate. After Good Friday, the friends of Jesus huddled in terror in the Upper Room, petrified that they might be nailed up on Calvary as well. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were, understandably, heading out of Jerusalem, away from danger, and they were utterly convinced that Jesus’s movement had come to naught. In a word, the cross meant the victory of the world, and the annihilation of Jesus and what he stood for.
And this is why it is surpassing strange that one of the earliest Apostles and missionaries of the Christian religion could write, “I preach one thing, Christ and him crucified!” How could Paul — the passage is taken from his first letter to the Corinthians — possibly present the dreadful cross as the centerpiece of his proclamation? He could do so only because he knew that God had raised the crucified Jesus from the dead, proving thereby that God’s love and forgiveness are greater than anything in the world. This is why his exaltation of the cross is a sort of taunt to Rome and all of its brutal descendants down through the ages: “You think that scares us? God has conquered that!” And this is why, to this day, Christians boldly hold up an image of the humiliated, tortured Jesus to the world. What they are saying is, “We are not afraid.”
How wonderful this is, by the way, in light of the Charlie Hebdo tragedy and the controversy over the Dutch cartoonist’s mocking depictions of the prophet Muhammad. Christians don’t fuss particularly about insults to Jesus, for we reverence a depiction of the insulted Christ as our most sacred icon. We can say, with Paul, “I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39), for we know that the world killed Jesus but God raised him from the dead.
Just before their throats were cut, many of the murdered Coptic Christians could be seen mouthing the words “Jesus Christ” and “Jesus is Lord.” The first of those phrases is a rendering of the Aramaic Ieshouah Maschiach, which means “Jesus the anointed one” and which hearkens back to King David, the paradigmatic anointed figure of the Old Testament. The second phrase is one that can be traced to St. Paul’s kerygmatic cry Iesous Kyrios (Jesus Lord!), which was intended to trump a watchword of the time, Kaiser Kyrios (Caesar is Lord). In short, both declarations assert the kingship of Jesus, but what a strange kingship! The new David reigns, not from a throne, but from a cross; the one who trumps Caesar doesn’t lead an army, but embodies the divine forgiveness.
The ISIS barbarians were actually quite right in entitling their video “A Message Written in Blood.” Up and down the centuries, tyrants and their lackeys have thought that they could wipe out the followers of Jesus through acts of violence.
But as Tertullian observed long ago, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. And they were furthermore right in sending their message to “the Nation of the Cross.” But they should know that the cross taunts them.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on February 27, 2015
A prominent fundamentalist organization is making headlines after creating an “anti-Christian bigotry map” which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy groups.
The American Family Association’s interactive map, […] breaks down groups into four categories: anti-Christian, humanist, atheist and those with a “homosexual agenda.”
Among the groups classified as those with a “homosexual agenda” include the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, or GLSEN.
“These groups are deeply intolerant towards the Christian religion. Their objectives are to silence Christians and to remove all public displays of Christian heritage and faith in America,” AFA officials note on their site. “Some members or supporters of these groups have committed violent crimes against Christians and faith-based groups. Physical and profane verbal assaults against Christians are methods frequently exercised in their angry methods of intimidation.”
In 1985, six crew-members on board the Soviet Salyut-7 space station witnessed something incredible:
A flash of bright light blinded all the cosmonauts on board for a short time. After a few seconds when they could see again, the cosmonauts saw silhouettes of seven figures outside the station.
The silhouettes looked like humans, but were huge, at least 90 feet. They also had large wings and luminous halos above their heads, the creatures looked like angels.
They were glowing, they reported…
“We were truly overwhelmed.”
“There was a great orange light, and through it we could see the figures of seven Angels.”
“The entire Space Station became filled with a feeling of peace and calm”
“These glorious beings were sent by God to watch over us during our long mission”
The Angels kept pace with the space station for some 10-minutes before vanishing.
Although the “official” chronicling of this event is fraught with chronological inconsistencies, but, by the best estimations, the first reported sighting of these so-called “celestial beings” — which would also come to be known as “space angels” — occurred on July 12, 1984.
Cosmonauts Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov and cardiologist Oleg Atkov were on their astonishing 155th day aboard the Salyut 7, conducting “medical experiments,” when the trio noticed what they described as an “brilliant orange cloud” surrounding the station.
The Salyut 7 had been plagued by a steady stream of system failures and the men aboard the craft were understandably concerned that the glow might represent a life threatening fire. Fearing the worst, the cosmonauts rushed to the portholes only to find themselves blinded by an eerily intense luminescence the poured in through the circular apertures.
After their vision adjusted to the light, the curious cosmonauts radioed ground control that the station was bathed in an anomalous, self illuminated mist. The men returned to the portholes, shielding their eyes from the radiance, and that’s when they spied something so incredible that it would forever alter their perception of reality.
According to reports published in newspapers across the globe — including, allegedly, the Washington Post — the three Russian explorers saw colossal, winged, humanoid entities hovering just outside the station in the vacuum of space.
The faces of these beings were said to resemble those of humans with “peaceful expressions” and the Soviet scientists even claimed that the creatures noticed them and offered distinctly beatific smiles.
This quote was published in the later newspaper reports, although it’s difficult to discern which cosmonaut it was credited to, though some have suggested it may have been Solovyov:
“What we saw were seven giant figures in the form of humans, but with wings and mist-like halos as in the classic depiction of angels.”
The cosmonauts went on to described these mist haloed beings as being nearly 80-feet in height with a wingspan comparable to that of a 747 jet; although, it should be noted, that there’s no indication in the public record of how these men of science came to these proportional estimations. The men observed the soaring seraphim for approximately 10-minutes before they vanished; leaving the isolated and surely perplexed comrades to ponder what it was that they had seen and try to gather the courage to report it to their superiors below.
By their own admission, the cosmonauts were themselves reluctant to accept the existence of the oddly angelic beings which they had seen, and concluded that they were more likely suffering from some form of mass delusion brought on by their extended space travel than an actual encounter with alien — or perhaps even divine — entities. Their self induced denial would be put to the test 11-days later when additional cosmonauts arrived at the station and the celestial beings returned.
Christian minister spreads the message of an impending tsunami and earthquake in the US which will cause 35 to 40 million deaths. Other witnesses confirm tsunami and earthquake. No date is known but government positions missiles on Puerto Rico to destroy asteroid. Asteroid will hit off of Mona Island (near Puerto Rico) at 0200 with a force that will stop the earth from spinning. The date of impact is unknown. Minister said this is not an end of the world event.
IMPORTANT!!!! SUMMARY OF EFRAIN RODRIGUEZ’S MESSAGE GIVEN IN TEXAS, PRIMARILY ADDRESSED TO THE U.S. AND PRESIDENT OBAMA, BUT CONCERNING THE WHOLE WORLD.
TRANSCRIPT:
Intro
May The Lord keep you. Prophet Efrain Rodriguez has given a message in Texas, primarily addressed to The United States and President Obama, but also concerning the rest of the world. The following is a summary of some of the most important points covered at that presentation. This summary is divided into topics covered and only highlights certain information. For more detailed information, click on the link to the entire message, posted below the video on the Description box.
I. Jehovah
-Jehovah will have absolute control over the earth that night. This is what the 12 point earthquake means-The Presence of Jehovah on earth. The Lord comes with His book to claim many souls before Jehovah, The Father, for His kingdom that night.
-This event is not part of the Great Tribulation. It is the preamble of a chastisement that will give rise to the new church of Christ, which will go to Heaven in The Rapture. It is not part of the events of Judgment seen by John, prophesied in The Book of Revelation, which will, for the most part, occur after the church has left this earth. The Lord led Efrain, on the plane ride back to Puerto Rico, to read The Book of Revelation. He guided him to chapter 3, verses 7-13, where Jesus is telling John about the Philadelphia Church. In this chapter, He tells John about an event that will happen-a test coming to all the inhabitants of Earth. Jesus tells him that He would look after His own people and then come for them.
-Millions of Jehovah’s angels are already on earth right now. They will be around those who serve The Lord. The Heavenly Host is here. Intercede for your loved ones, so that they are also protected. Pray for a Hedge of Protection over them.
The hedge will be around us. No matter what comes towards us-the shock wave, the sea, the earthquake, pestilence-it will not touch us. As long as we are bound to The Lord.
As He did with Elisha, Jehovah will place this Hedge of Protection around His people.The Armies of Heaven will fight for them and protect those who serve The Lord.He will remember you and your family, as He remembered Lot, because Abraham had been faithful. If we are serving Him and are faithful to Him in our hearts, He will honor what we declare.
-The game of playing to be a Christian is over. No more messing around with The Lord.
-Everywhere you go, give testimony, as a Christian, and as a Watchman.
Take advantage of the time that has been given to you. Jehova’s judgment approaches this nation. We are all to blame for this. Run to the feet of The Lord Jesus Christ in order for you to find mercy in the midst of this trial. There is still hope. The Lord promised Abraham that the righteous would not die together with the unrighteous. The same promise applies to us if we bind our souls and lives to Jesus, in our hearts and in our conduct.
II. Worldwide preparations/NASA
-Martial law is ready to be instituted in the United States and in the whole world, to be able to deal with this catastrophe.
-NASA keeps giving dates and trying to justify themselves. The prophetic letters written by Efrain indicate that The Lord would keep NASA in a state of confusion, bewilderment and agitation, since they chose to not consult with The Lord, and chose to not warn the people when they first received Jehova’s warning through Efrain. They even labeled the message as false, in a press conference in Florida. The actual date will be dictated by The Lord of Heaven, when He chooses. All Glory will go to Him, not to predictions of men or NASA.
-The sea will retreat back in all coasts, including California.
III. Puerto Rico
-Another earthquake is coming to PR. Puerto Rico had a 6.4 earthquake in January of this year. No great damage was done, considering the earthquake in Haiti was not much stronger than the earthquake in Puerto Rico.
Another earthquake is coming to Puerto Rico. No major damage will occur, either. God is letting the people know, so that people start looking up to The Heavens, looking and acknowledging The Lord.
-The total death toll in the Caribbean, the United States and South America will be 40 million.
-Obama, the President of the United States sent approximately 40 missiles to PR, to try to break the asteroid in the sky, so that it would fall on land (in Puerto Rico), and not in the sea. On a previous message, Efrain warned Obama to not press those buttons. He told the Army not to do it. He said: “Do not interfere with Jehovah’s plans.”
-They made a mistake at Mona Island, the tiny island to the west of Puerto Rico, next to the place where the asteroid will impact the sea. There is a dangerous and unstable seismic fault there. They were trying to seal the seismic plaque with nuclear devices, supposedly to avoid an earthquake. They planted the device, but lost it down the trench. Now they cannot find it. Nobody can stand in the way of Jehovah’s plans.
-Thousands of foreign troops are stationed in Puerto Rico. There are troops from Russia, China, Germany, France. They have been transported in sealed trucks, during late night hours, to the mountains, supposedy for disaster relief. These foreign troops are meant to protect someone. There are over 15,000 foreign soldiers stationed in Alaska, the United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. What for, i ask, unless they are expecting a major disaster? They have stocked up an enormous amount of ammunitions. Many bunkers have been built there.
But The Lord has control over the mountains, and His Judgement will reach everywhere, even inside the bunkers.
-Provisions for PR are ready in Venezuela. The Lord has chosen them as the nation that will first come to Puerto Rico’s aid. They have been stocking provisions for a long time, even though they are experiencing scarcity themselves. The U.S. will be in great need. Aid will not come from them. Venezuela will feed PR just like the poor widow fed Elijah, even though she had almost nothing. The Lord made a miracle and provided food for Elijah, the widow and her son.
-To all those pastors who have been preaching and fooling your flock with The Gospel of Abundance and Prosperity: you will see scarcity like never before.
IV. Israel
-End Time Prophecy is unfolding before our eyes. Israel is ready to build their temple. However, they have to wait. They cannot do anything at the Temple Mount while the muslim mosque -the Dome of the Rock-stands there. They will have to wait for the 12 point earthquake to destroy the mosque.
-Obama wants Israel to give up land. Israel will not yield any land. What Israel conquered belongs to them.
Even if U.S. troops-or anyone else’s-surround Israel, that land is untouchable. These are God’s chosen people, with whom He has an everlasting covenant.
Leave them alone Mr Obama, or you will encounter the same end that Hugo Chavez encountered, after publicly cursing Israel. He died an agonizing death, due to a cancer that ate the depth of his loins, from where he actually declared he cursed Israel.
V. United States
-The U.S. authorities are concealing a lot of information. But others, like the Russians, are warning the people of the U.S. to move away from the coasts.
-When the asteroid hits, we will feel the shock wave as a very strong wind. Ask The Holy Spirit where to move. Requisite: be bound to The Lord. Stay away from sin, so you can hear Him.
-If the U.S. remains silent, over 35 million deaths are expected in the U.S.
-Six events will occur that night:
1-asteroid
2-earthquake
3-shock wave
4-tsunami
5-three days of darkness
6- pestilence
-Besides the obvious coastal flooding, all rivers will overflow due to the sea level rising and the rivers having no outlet into the ocean. Many will die from this.
-Civil War will break out because of scarcity of food and resources. All the preparations concerning troops, ammunition, vehicles and concentration camps will be used to keep control of the population during the tremendous civil unrest that will follow. Martial Law will be implemented as a necessity to keep the people and the resources under control.
-A great epidemic will break out. It will be the worst of the 6 events of Judgment. It will come as a result of the decomposing bodies floating in the waters and left on land unburied. No matter how much medications they have stored, Jehovah will make the Nation come back to His feet, through this chastisement.
-This nation will be raised again, after the chastisement. Worldwide grief will lead many to bend their knees before a Holy God, and they will recognize His Supremacy. They will make a change in their lives because they will know that the return of The Lord is near. New leaders will emerge, together with a new church and a new nation, that will honor the God of Heaven. They will change back the laws for a time, up until The Rapture of God’s people, which will come before The Great Tribulation.
VI. President of the U.S.-Obama
-The President of the U.S. asked Congress for ALL Power. He plans to have absolute control during this Emergency. This means NO elections. He has taken advantage of the imminency of this coming disaster. This totalitarian power is a terrible danger. This message should be sent to all Congressmen: you still have time to revoke this power. Politicians, revoke the power you have given Obama. You have no idea what you will face.
-Obama does not love this nation, or Christ. In his second term, he has shown his true intentions against everything that is Christian. All the laws that he has signed indicate that he plans to persecute the church.
Woe to him who tries to hurt The Lord’s church!
-He has violated all statutes of God. He has made this nation go astray.
-He thinks he will be safe and cozy inside his bunker, while millions of people die above ground.
-The President of the U.S. is the most to blame for this judgment over this nation.
-He excluded The Law of God.
-He signed laws never before signed. He has no respect for The Church of Christ.
-However, The Church of Christ will not be touched. Together with Israel, they are the apple of God’s eye.
He does not chastise or penalize the homosexuals, or the muslims, no matter what they do, yet he takes every action to penalize and extinguish the church of Christ. He takes away freedoms from Christians, while at the same time giving freedoms to those who blaspheme God. Even Putin, the Russian President, rebuked him for this. Woe to you, poor, poor man!
-The judgment over the U.S. will come because the pastors and evangelists remained silent.
Many, if not all, of The great Evangelists and pastors have said nothing. They have gone along with Obama’s changes. Many of them, together with politicians, artists, performers, Hollywood personalities, etc. are in confabulation with Obama, even knowing that he is going against God’s mandates. Even knowing that all these laws are a slap in God’s face. A direct and shameless challenge to The Lord of Heaven. Great amounts of money are being paid to these people.
In New York City, a law is being drafted that would force people who do not accept homosexuals, to be forced out of the city.
Two cities were destroyed in the past because they went against the parameters of conduct established by God. The U.S. is following their example.
-Judges are forced to pass laws allowing things that The Word of God forbids.
Christians cannot talk about Christ in their government work places. Prayer has been taken out of the classrooms. Laws allowing the murder of innocent unborn babies are passed. There is a video that shows how unwanted newborn babies are beheaded after being born.
But rest assured, Jehovah will pass judgement over them. Over this nation. Obama has an appointment with Jehovah. He has offended God in every way. He told God that men can marry men and women can marry women, which goes against God’s commandment in the book of Genesis. Species went into the Ark as male and female. Otherwise, there would be no animals today.
All places in the nation where these aberrations are practiced will be affected.
-This spiritually corrupt President has blasphemed God’s mandates.
He has trampled underfoot all The Postulates of God. The majority of evangelists and pastors have gone along with it, keeping silent. The very few who stand firm in The Lord will be forced to give up their posts because they will be forced to marry men with men, and women with women.
Almost Nobody has complained. The rest have allowed it. They will have their sentence too. Politicians have fooled the nation because there is no longer Presence of The Holy Spirit in the majority of the churches.
-God delivered Israel from Egypt but, before He did, he made justice. He smote and struck Israel’s tormentors with 10 plagues.
The wrath of God is great. Nothing will stop it.
-Obama thinks he will be safe inside his bunker. He thinks no hand can touch him. But Jehovah’s hand will be upon him and his descendants.
The serpent-Satan Himself-will crawl down, all the way to the bunker, and Jehovah will execute judgment upon him.
-The people will kneel before God Jehovah during the pestilence. Current leaders will be replaced. The pestilence will do away with leaders who sold out God’s Supreme Law. A new nation will arise.
-This nation was founded upon postulates that cost Abraham Lincoln his life. He believed that all men are created equal. President Obama believes differently. He believes that Christians are to be disposed of.
This nation has belonged to Jehovah from its foundation. Christ IS this nation’s religion. No matter what laws they pass.
-Here I quote Prophet Efrain Rodriguez’s words: “Listen to what I say, Obama:
Jehovah called me. There is a hedge of protection around the people of Christ, in this land and everywhere. This nation will see with its own eyes what I declare. You have blasphemed the Lord of Heaven, Jehovah, and the Church of the Living God, The church of Christ. And this has consequences.
A 12-Year-old Boy’s Video Question’s Obama’s Patriotism
A 12-year-old middle-school student from Georgia is raising eyebrows as he’s scorching Barack Obama in an epic YouTube speech, accusing the president of having a “downright hatred for this nation.”
C.J. Pearson posted the video Saturday, seeking to “applaud Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his comments about President Barack Obama.”
“Here’s the truth of the matter: I don’t want to be politically correct. I don’t care about being politically correct at this point.
“President Obama, You don’t love America. If you really did love America, you would call ISIS what it really is: an assault on Christianity, an assault on America and downright hate for the American values that our country holds – freedom of speech, freedom of religion and every single thing that our country stands for.”
A Derry priest has warned parishioners against taking part in yoga and having Indian head massages.
Fr. Roland Colhoun, who is based in the Waterside, issued caution when saying mass in Drumsurn two Sundays ago, when he says he was drafted in at short notice. He said his sermon was based on the devil and exorcism.
“I mentioned a number of things that are part of the new age movement. It’s so embedded in our culture now that it has gained a kind of a respectability, but the new age practices, they’re certainly not good for us and the Church is very concerned about people employing them and has written specific documents on the new age movement. There is a great body of research (theological, spiritual and physiological) already done on it.”
Fr. Colhoun said he mentioned yoga and Indian head massage. “The Indian head massage, while I haven’t done a great study into it, the difficulty is that it involves the laying on of hands on another person’s head. There is a risk when you do that because that is a rite we use in the sacramental practice for the communication of the Holy Spirit in baptism and confirmation, and ordination as well,” said Fr Colhoun, “but if you do that outside of a sacramental rite you’re running the risk of communicating a bad spirit, not the Holy Spirit.”
Regarding yoga, Fr. Colhoun said the medical journals have taken great interest in yoga and the case studies of yoga practitioners who gained injuries and long term disabilities.
“Pope Francis said ‘do not seek spiritual answers in yoga classes’. Yoga is certainly a risk. There’s the spiritual health risk. When you take up those practices from other cultures, which are outside our Christian domain, you don’t know what you are opening yourself up to. The bad spirit can be communicated in a variety of ways. I’m not saying everyone gets it, or that it happens every time, and people may well be doing yoga harmlessly, but there‘s always a risk and that’s why the Pope mentioned it and that’s why we talk about that in terms of the danger of the new age movement and the danger of the occult today. That’s the fear.”
Fr. Colhoun said yoga or Indian head massage “don’t have their origins in Christianity”.
“There is definitely power from them, but where it’s from the Church is nervous and that’s why it fits into the sermon on the devil,” said Fr Colhoun who accepts some people may be bemused by his comments, but said: “I would refer people to the evidence. The Church documents are written on it. It’s not an exhaustive study as the new age movement keeps changing. The documents give great caution about their practices.”
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on February 20, 2015
Twenty-one Egyptian Christians who were being held by Islamic extremists were executed yesterday. They were decapitated. They were killed because they were not Muslims and because that’s what the extremists do…they kill people, savagely, brutally, horribly, sinfully.
Regardless of the religion of those twenty-one people, the world should be outraged. The western world should be horrified. Americans should be disgusted. American evangelicals should be saddened and brought to our knees in sorrow and prayer. We should be brought to our knees in sorrow and prayer not because the Coptic Christians – as they’ve come to be known – are Christians who share our saving faith in Jesus. Coptic Christians (by their confession) do not share our saving faith in Jesus. That should make no difference to the sadness of this tragedy…except, perhaps, make it sadder and even more tragic.
Southern Baptist and evangelical leaders were stumbling over themselves yesterday in a race to demonstrate who was the most sympathetic to our fellow Christians and these brave martyrs for the faith.
Do Southern Baptist leaders and other evangelicals really not know what a Christian is or how you become one? Is it being born into an ethnic group that denies the dual-nature of Christ in his full deity and humanity? Is it embracing a meritorious, works-based salvation nearly identical to that of the Roman Catholic church? Is it in aggressively denying salvation by a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ? We ask because that’s what Coptic ‘Christians’ believe. This really isn’t new, and we have to wonder why our leaders don’t know what Coptics believe and if they do, what on Earth makes them think they should be categorized as Christians.
Now, sure. In the broadest possible (and most inaccurate) sense possible, the term Christian is applied to the Coptics for the same reason it is applied to Roman Catholics by major media. To secularists, all one has to be to be considered Christian is to call themselves one. In this same sense, the press refers to cultists like the LDS and Jehovah’s Witnesses as Christians as well. There should be no outrage that the press calls them such, or even their outrage representative to evangelicals, Todd Starnes. We get it; they don’t get it. But why again do our Southern Baptist leaders not grasp that?
Maybe it’s one of those “Today we are all Republicans” type things – the expression used by Ronald Reagan’s surgeon the day he was shot – and often used to express solidarity to those suffering. A few weeks ago we are all Charlie Hebdo. So maybe what they mean is, “Today, we are all Coptics.” I think we’re fine with that, in a way. But that’s a far cry from saying, “Today, Coptics are Christians.”
Now is not the time to discuss doctrinal differences! We can hear that echoed now. How dare you, in a time of tragedy! Frankly, now is not the time to confuse for the entire blooming world what it means to be a Christian. We cannot consider the Coptics an unreached people group by the IMB one day and then call them Christian martyrs the next. Why anyone should have to point this out to our SBC president is beyond me.
What’s at stake, you see, is the Gospel. May God forbid our (good and honorable) desire to show sympathy for temporal suffering lead us to say careless words that might lead to eternal suffering. The Coptics, by their confession, believe in salvation-by-works. They need to be evangelized, and they need to come to Christ. Please love the group known as ‘Coptic Christians.’
Ed Henry Challenge WH Spokesman on Islamic State: ‘Why Did You Not Say 21 Christians Were Killed?’
White House press secretary Josh Earnest was pressed on Wednesday as to why he did not identify the 21 victims of an Islamic State beheading as Coptic Christians, as opposed to just Egyptian citizens.
At one point, Earnest said, “I can’t account for that specific line of the statement.” However, he asserted the Egyptians were killed because they were Christians.
“You talked about the murder of 21 citizens. I’m just curious, why didn’t you mention it was 21 Christians killed by Muslims? Is that relevant?” Fox News reporter Ed Henry asked.
Earnest answered, “It sure is.”
“The ISIL extremists that carried out this attack indicated the reason they were killing them is not just because they were Egyptian but because they were Christian,” Earnest said. “I think the president has been very clear. The president talked about this in his prayer breakfast speech earlier this month. There is a responsibility for people of all faiths to stand up and speak out when individuals try to use faith and distort faith to try to justify an act of violence.”
On Wednesday during the press briefing, Henry followed, “Why did you not say 21 Christians were killed?”
Earnest responded, “I can’t account for that specific line of the statement.”
“But we’ve been clear that we condemn this murder. The president was clear in the op-ed that was publish today and on a variety of occasions I think I’ve been pretty clear here,” Earnest said. “We’ve been pretty clear here that we condemn this outrageous killing of these Egyptian citizens because of their Christian faith.”
Henry went on to question Earnest about why the White House “invoked faith” when three Muslim students were killed in North Carolina, but not when Islamic State terrorists beheaded 21 Coptic Christians. Local authorities in the North Carolina slayings believe that the deadly incident was the result of a long-running parking dispute, not religion.
US Official: ISIS Will Not Join Boko Haram Due to Racism
A U.S. intelligence officer told NBC News the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) will not likely team up with Nigerian radical Islamic group Boko Haram in any official capacity due to the group’s racism against black Africans.
“The Arab world is incredibly racist,” the officer explained. “They don’t see black Africans as equivalent to them.”
Boko Haram has repeatedly praised the Islamic State and showcases its flag in many videos, but the Islamic State has not shown any brotherly love towards their comrades in Africa, other than reports indicating that the groups are in communication. The officer also said there is no evidence that the two groups will merge soon.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on February 15, 2015
Mysterious Orange Snow Falls on Russian Town
Orange snow falls over the Russian city of Saratov when it was blanketed with a deep covering of orange flakes.
Saratov is a major port (population over 800,000) on the Volga River, 858 km (533 miles) from Moscow, and has a moderate (for Russia) climate with an annual snowfall of about 163 centimeters (64 inches) which, until now, has never been orange.
Toxic Orange Cloud in Spain
Toxic orange cloud created by nitric acid explosion at chemical plant spreads over FIVE Spanish towns, forcing authorities to order everyone to stay inside
US Official Says ISIS Uses Orange Jumpsuits Because Of Guantanamo
According to a U.S. defense official, the primary reason the Islamic State forces its victims to wear orange jumpsuits is to antagonize the U.S. for continuing to operate detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.
The Recent Marian Apparitions in Northern Iraq and the Sign of Jonah
There were some fascinating reports of apparitions of the Mother of God in northern Iraq! She is reportedly appearing visibly to the masses and her image is being captured on photographs. This is very similar to her approved appearances in Zeitun, Egypt in 1968.
Photos were taken in the night sky on January 22, 2015 at Al-Kush, Iraq. This is the last Christian City that was not taken by ISIS
A warning of the wrath of God? A cry for peace & justice? Or just a reminder that The Lord is their when people are in despair losing all hope as Christians in the Middle East are being severely persecuted and barbarically slaughtered?
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” [Luke 21:25-26]
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on February 10, 2015
Birds such as the blue-breasted bee-eater can be found on Ethiopia’s shade coffee farms
A new study found high biodiversity on traditional coffee farms
Shady coffee plantations in Ethiopia, where coffee has been grown for at least a thousand years, hold relatively more forest bird species than any other coffee farms in the world, new research shows.
The research suggests that traditional cultivation practices there support local forest bird biodiversity better than any other coffee farms in the world.
In Ethiopia, coffee is traditionally grown on plantations shaded by native trees. These farms boasted more than 2.5 times as many bird species as adjacent mountain forest, according to a study slated for publication February 11 in the journal Biological Conservation.
“That was a surprise,” says study co-author Cagan H. Sekercioglu, a biologist at the University of Utah and a National Geographic Society grant recipient. Further, “all 19 understory bird species we sampled in the forest were present in the coffee farms too, and that just doesn’t happen elsewhere.”
Other studies have shown that shade coffee farms provide better bird habitat than full-sun plantations, but the effect may be more prominent in Ethiopia because farmers there tend to use native trees instead of the exotic species popular elsewhere.Coffee cherries, the fruit that contains the coffee beans, are seen up close on the plant in Ethiopia.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on February 9, 2015
Geologists have used earthquakes to study the interior of the Earth’s core
Half of the 750 mile wide inner core appears to have a different structure
Scientists believed the inner core was thought to be a solid lump of iron
The new findings will mean that school textbooks may need to be rewritten
The iron crystals in the outer half of the inner core are aligned north south
Those in the innermost portion of the core point in a east/west direction
Scientists believe the inner core could tell us about how the Earth formed
While there’s no prehistoric land hidden at the centre of our planet, as author Jules Verne imagined, the Earth’s core may not at all be like what scientists have led us to believe.
Geologists have discovered that the Earth’s inner core – previously thought to be a solid lump of iron – may in fact have its own even smaller core within it.
Using the seismic waves that reverberate across the planet after earthquakes, researchers have been able to gain new insight into what lies at the centre of our world.
The findings could mean that our understanding of Earth’s interior, and its history, will need to be rewritten.
Scientists found that rather than a solid ball of iron lying within the molten mass of the outer core, the inner core changes in structure about half way through.
They discovered a distinct inner inner core that is about half the diameter of what was believed to be the solid inner core, which is about the size of the moon.
Professor Xianodong Song, a geologist at the University of Illinois, said the structure of two inner cores could help reveal new details about how the Earth first formed.
He said: ‘Even though the inner core is small – smaller than the moon – it has some really interesting features.
‘The fact that we have two regions that are distinctly different may tell us something about how the inner core has been evolving.
Magma bursting to the surface like in the lava fountain above on Erta Ale, Ethiopia is from only the second layer of the Earth’s interior but the planet has a complex structure with a solid metal core at its very centre
Rotating liquid and solid cores at the centre of the Earth create the planets magnetic field, illustrated above
Addis Ethiopia Weblog 