Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on May 29, 2017
As more and more details emerge concerning Friday’s Ramadan attack on a busload of Christians on pilgrimage, the more it becomes evident that these 29 martyrs died solely because they were Christians.
Survivors of the attack said that the ten masked Islamic State militants did not merely open fire on the bus full of Christian pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confesor, but that the victims were made to descend from the bus and asked one by one whether they were Christians before being shot by the assailants.
According to one of the chaplains of the group, Father Rashed, as each pilgrim came off the bus they were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them—even the children—refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat.
In a statement Friday, President Donald Trump said the “merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls.”
“Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity,” the statement said. “But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organizations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology.”
The attack occurred in the midst of a three-month state of emergency period in Egypt following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed some 46 Christians who were in church honoring the celebrations. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for those attacks as well.
On Saturday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday’s slaughter through its Amaq news agency.
May their souls rest in peace in Heaven with God and Jesus. Ever one God, world without end.
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell., [MT 10:28]
May these admirable Brothers and Sisters in Christ, always be in the presence of the Master.
These are true Heaven-bound martyrs, and no Muslim will ever meet them again.
What bothers me is that the western world fails to recognize or won’t admit the fact that these people have been fighting a holy war against it for 2000 year
Has the MSM covered the part where one by one they (even the children) were executed for refusing to renounce Christ?
The MSM do not realize they worship Climate Change which they say is man made thus promoting man into the position of God. They are not covering the massacre of Christians as it goes against their humanistic faith. To me they are no better than the terrorists as they do nothing to but cover up the atrocities happening to Christians by not reporting on what is happening and supporting the Muslim causes as peaceful when that is not true.
As a son of Middle Eastern Jews who fled to the United States because of Islam, I cannot do anything else but sympathize strongly with Egypt’s Coptic Christians and other Middle East /North Africa Christians. Western leaders, especially in Europe are cowards. Ignoring the oppression of their co-coreligionists, and holding the door wide open for Islam. SHAMEFUL!
Having lived in Southern Africa for five yrs, I compare the behavior of the Muslims to two indigenous snakes of there: The black mamba and the puff adder, the first one is extremely aggressive and lethal (Like a Jihadi), you can’t outrun it because he can slither in the bush at 17mls x hr, the other can stay coiled for days at the time immobile, but walk by two feet of him and zap! you will be shortly dead. (peaceful Muslim)
To understand islam, one must realize that the “god” of islam, the fellow that the muslims call allah, is in reality none other than satan himself. Once you realize that it all falls into place.
It is well past time for men and women everywhere to call on the good people who are Muslims, and implore them to renounce the hideously evil ideology of islam.
Renounce this evil ideology once and for all.
The time for ‘tolerance’ is past.
The time for ‘understanding’ is over.
The time for ACTION is now.
Let no civilized person pretend anymore that he can be a member of a murderous death cult and be any different than the modern equivalent of something even worse than a WWII Nazi.
The time for all good people to renounce this great evil is at hand. And now is the time for any adherent of islam who claims to be a decent human being, to prove that by leaving islam and helping humanity to defeat this ideological Ebola called islam.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on May 27, 2017
Christian Copts are the most stubborn Christians on earth. You will never find a Coptic Christian convert to Islam under duress. So how did the Christians of Egypt react when Muslim terrorists attacked a bus full of Christians killing twenty eight Christians traveling on the road to the St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya? In the Middle East and from ancient times, in a wedding they make this sound they call “Zaghareet” (Ululation):
Of course, the bodies are brought into the church at the sounds of women making these very sounds while mothers wail and the priests sing with joy. The Martyrs brought in the church then the procession is a joyous one. Copts show Muslims that their martyrs are in a wedding of a different type than Muslims having weddings with virgins with carnal joys. Here is how they present the bride of Christ:
And of course, the funeral for the Christian martyrs presenting them to Christ:
While some in the West might see these scenes as foreign to them, I remind; being made in God’s image and likeness means that we have within ourselves the creative nature of God. Copts bow to the martyrs. They make icons of them.
Yet I have people comment that icons and bowing are acts of worship.
I chuckle at such statements from people who are oblivious to the Bible. God creates, so we create and is why God required the Israelites to make 3-d icons of angels on the Ark and even Joshua bowed face down towards it:
Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the LORD until evening (Joshua 7:6).
If bowing was worship, why then when two angels approach Lot in the gateway of the city of Sodom, Lot sees them and he “bowed with his face to the ground.”
No objection from the angel. Why? Because you are supposed to bow.
“When Abigal saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet.”
And I ask; did Lot get rebuke from the angels? Did David rebuke Abigal?
NEVER.
“Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown” (Numbers 22:31).
No rebuke.
I can show several examples.
There are even verses that speak of human statues and God ordered it (hint, its in Ezekiel’s temple).
This alone blows away all what the scoffers say. Every day I read poorly written comments and its sad.
But will these people heed? I guess not. Why? Because perhaps they are tares. A tare thinks its wheat. Us saying this diminishes our donations, but who cares.
People kiss the hand of the priest and the priest washed my feet.
Is that an act of worship? No.
“May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.” (Gen 27:29)
There are a ton of verses that debunk these claims:
“The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, ‘The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.’ And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.”
“When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne.”
So what say the tare? Are these so westernized that they lost the postures of respect, honor and duty?
Did they forget “blessed are the meek and humble at heart”?
The issue is not scripture, the issue is the lack of desire to search the scripture.
So likewise, all of these martyrs are icons of Christ, just like all of the martyrs of old who were depicted in Christendom’s paintings.
But in the West many object to having icons of martyrs. Where are the statues of the martyrs, where are the paintings of their contests, over which they conquered and for which they received their crowns of glory?
EVERYONE HAS ICONS. Why do we have statues of presidents, politicians, feminists and explorers, yet we do not dare inundate the society with the images that would reminds us of the most important thing? that is, the realization that we are not here for ourselves, that our “bodies are members of Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:15), that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that we are given a destiny that breaks through the physical, the beautiful purpose to stand in the midst of this capricious world, as a beacon of order, as an exemplifier of harmony, as a living candle that shines with the unseen light that repulses the infernal spirits naked to the eye, and pulls in those whose souls are parched by the waves of the watery abyss, into the bright rays of the Holy Cross, so that we can say with the Gospel, “people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16) It is that sublime purpose, to be an icon.
As icons, we fight the idols by creating beautiful art, art that teaches the Faith through wonder and majesty. Look to the Church, and you will see beautiful paintings and images of Crosses. Oh, how the devil’s hate such art, because they — with their immaculate imagery — instill in us a sense of Christian identity, and constantly remind us that we are in Christ, and are not to be dictated by the trends of this world. This is why the wicked and evil atheists and Muslims are always pushing for governments to censor any sort of Christian imagery and expression. They want us to be devoid of icons, to forget our hope, and to place our faith in idolatry of the self. I have heard people say that crosses, church bells, Christian paintings and statues, are idols.
But the hatred against the icons is the real idolatry. For to make a society devoid of Christian imagery, is to enable the enemy to replace the icons with true idols, with the worship of celebrities, of buildings, of politicians, of false prophets. Man, by his very nature, venerates. Take away the icons and he will venerate himself, he will venerate other men, he will venerate Mammon, he will venerate the devil. But restore the holy icons and you will see Christendom revive. The icons will be everywhere, and even the least religious person will see it and feel within himself a small measure of awe, enough to compel him to express his gratitude to the One Who died for Him. Embellish the earth with holy icons, and man will be reminded of what is sacred, man will come to contemplation, and with contemplation comes wonder and inspiration, and from this does the person know that he is but an icon himself, a window into Heaven, who is to shine so brightly that men will worship their Father in Heaven.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on December 30, 2015
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, son of Alphaeus, was a tax collector. When the Lord said, “Follow Me,” Matthew left his tax booth and followed Him. After that, he prepared a reception for the Lord in his home and thus provided the occasion for the Lord to express several great truths about His coming to earth. After receiving the Holy Spirit, the Holy Apostle preached the Gospel to the Parthians, Medes and Ethiopians. In Ethiopia, he appointed his follower Platon as bishop, and withdrew to prayerful solitude on a mountain, where the Lord appeared to him. Matthew baptized the wife and the son of the prince of Ethiopia, at which the prince became greatly enraged and dispatched a guard to bring Matthew to him for trial. The soldiers returned to the prince saying that they had heard Matthew’s voice, but could not see him with their eyes. The prince then sent a second guard. When this guard approached the apostle, he shone with a heavenly light so powerful that the soldiers could not look at him; filled with fear, they threw down their weapons and returned. The prince then went himself. Matthew radiated such light that the prince was instantly blinded. However, the holy apostle had a compassionate heart; he prayed to God, and the prince was given back his sight. Unfortunately, he saw only with physical eyes and not spiritual eyes. He arrested Matthew and subjected him to cruel tortures. Twice, a large fire was lighted on his chest, but the power of God preserved him alive and unharmed. Then the apostle prayed to God and gave up his spirit. The prince commanded that the martyr’s body be placed in a lead coffin and thrown into the sea. The saint appeared to Bishop Platon and told him where the coffin bearing his body could be found. The bishop retrieved the coffin with Matthew’s body from the sea. Witnessing this new miracle, the prince was baptized and received the name Matthew. After that, the prince left all the vanity of the world and became a presbyter and served the Church in a God-pleasing way. When Platon died, the Apostle Matthew appeared to the presbyter Matthew and counseled him to accept the episcopacy. He accepted the bishopric and, for many years, was a good shepherd until the Lord called him to His Immortal Kingdom. St. Matthew the Apostle wrote his Gospel in the Aramaic language. It was soon after translated into Greek and the Greek text has come down to us, while the Aramaic text has been lost. It is said of this evangelist that he never ate meat, but only vegetables and fruit. – adapted from the Prologue of Ochrid
The Apostolic History of Abidas, records Matthew staying in Ethiopia for 23 years, founding churches, ordaining a priesthood and converting the entire royal family.
Equally there is mystery about his death. The Apostolic History of Abidas has him being stabbed in the back by a soldier, whereas the sixth century Martyrdom of Matthew has him being crucified and then burnt to death at the hands of a tribe of cannibals. Clement of Alexandria’s account has him dying of old age around AD90
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on June 4, 2015
Orange is the new color for Sundays, as the movement to wear the color either in clothing or on ribbons – to raise attention to the Christians executed by ISIS.
The trend was popularized by several Christian leaders, including Catholic writer Rey Flores, who declared ‘Orange is the New Color of Martyrdom’ in an article for The Wanderer. Flores has worked to draw attention to the #orangejumpsuit project run by Rev. Patrick Mahoney, who leads the Church on the Hill in Washington, D.C.
Pastor Frank Bolella, of Living Word Community Church, in Dumont, N.J., said his church is participating because the campaign is a good way to get parishioners talking about persecution of Christians.
“Americans need to be aware first of all what is happening,” he said.
One congregant, John Estrada, said wearing orange made him feel like he was taking action.
“The reason why I am wearing an orange shirt is to represent the Christian brothers and sisters that are being persecuted,” Estrada said.
Lydia O’Leary, of Ribbons for Rescue, aims to encourage people to call on lawmakers to provide more financial assistance for Christian refugees in the Middle East and offer them safe havens in the U.S. Her group advocates Christians wear orange every day to draw more attention to Christian prisoners persecuted for their religion.
“We call on people to wear orange daily,” O’Leary told FoxNews.com. It says “we’re standing with you on this—you’re not alone.”
The color orange was chosen to represent the color of the jumpsuits worn by Christians seen executed on videos produced by Islamic State militants. In February, twenty Egyptian Coptic Christians captured in Libya were beheaded on a beach. Ethiopian Christians have also been seen martyred in ISIS videos.
PHNOM PENH, June 3, 2015 (Xinhua) — People attend a celebration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 3, 2015. Thousands of well-wishers on Wednesday joined a procession celebrating Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni’s being awarded an honorary title for his tireless efforts in spreading Buddhism in the world. (Xinhua/Sovannara/IANS)
Eurarabia in the making: France and Europe first replace hardworking Jews with lazy Arabs, and then sever ties with Israel
After CEO’s Anti-Semitism, Orange ‘Dumps’ Israel
Orange
Orange cuts ties with Israel, as Israeli embassy demands French authorities condemn statement of French Orange CEO.
The French cell phone company Orange announced on Thursday afternoon that it has decided to halt its operations in Israel and end its partnership with the Israeli company Partner, which franchises Orange’s name in Israel.
The dramatic move comes as Israel is launching a political campaign in response to the insulting comments made Wednesday by Stephane Richard, CEO of Orange, in which he said he wished he could “dump” Israel “tomorrow,” which he in fact did.
“Orange doesn’t want to continue to hold its brand name in countries in which it isn’t the direct provider. Therefore, Orange is interested in putting an end to giving permits to (use) its brand name,” read the Orange statement announcing the move.
Partner issued a sharp response on Wednesday, and starting Thursday morning Israel’s embassy in France has been taking action on the issue, and Israels’ Ambassador has contacted the French Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry demanding clarification.
The Israeli Ambassador to France, Yossi Gal, expressed how seriously Israel views the comments of the French company’s CEO, and called on the French authorities to condemn the remarks.
“The embassy is working intensively with all the relevant sources to get immediate clarifications on the serious words, and is clarifying the seriousness we attribute to the issue,” said Gal.
In his statements, made at a Cairo press conference, Richard said he would “tomorrow” end his company’s association with its Israeli partner, saying, “we want to terminate this and to fix this, we don’t want it. In the existing contract, it gives us the option to terminate this without exposing this to a huge financial risk. If you were the CEO of this company you would act the same.”
Call to boycott in response
In parallel to the embassy, several Jewish organizations in France have launched a wave of protest, with some of them urging French Jews to cut their service with Orange.
Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev (Likud) responded to the statements as well, calling on French President Francois Hollande to immediately fire Richard if he does not apologize for his anti-Semitic comments.
“On the backdrop of the recent serious events in France, the French government must show zero tolerance for anti-Semitism,” said Regev, referencing the growing wave of anti-Semitic violence in the country that was highlighted in January by a Muslim jihadist holding a kosher supermarket hostage in Paris and murdering four Jews.
The minister added, “I call on Jews of France and the world to disconnect from Orange unless Stephane Richard takes back his words. The time has come for them to understand that Jews in the world and sane voices that oppose anti-Semitism and racism also have power.”
“It’s important for me to note that the Israeli public must not turn Partner into a victim of this statement,” she warned, referencing the Israeli Orange cell phone provider. “Partner is is an Israeli company that employs thousands of workers in Israel, and I wish to strengthen its management and workers.”
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