Tag: Christianity

FDR Thanksgiving day proclamation 1942 versus BHO Thanksgiving day proclamation 2014. A timely reminder.

In the year 1942, with WWII raging and the outcome was far from certain, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made this Thanksgiving day proclamation:DSC_0415
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.” Across the uncertain ways of space and time our hearts echo those words, for the days are with us again when, at the gathering of the harvest, we solemnly express our dependence upon Almighty God.
The final months of this year, now almost spent, find our Republic and the Nations joined with it waging a battle on many fronts for the preservation of liberty.
In giving thanks for the greatest harvest in the history of our Nation, we who plant and reap can well resolve that in the year to come we will do all in our power to pass that milestone; for by our labors in the fields we can share some part of the sacrifice with our brothers and sons who wear the uniform of the United States.
It is fitting that we recall now the reverent words of George Washington, “Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy Protection,” and that every American in his own way lift his voice to heaven.
I recommend that all of us bear in mind this great Psalm:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Inspired with faith and courage by these words, let us turn again to the work that confronts us in this time of national emergency: in the armed services and the merchant marine; in factories and offices; on farms and in the mines; on highways, railways, and airways; in other places of public service to the Nation; and in our homes.
Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby invite the attention of the people to the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, which designates the fourth Thursday in November of each year as Thanksgiving Day; and I request that both Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1942, and New Year’s Day, January 1, 1943, be observed in prayer, publicly and privately.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

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One generation has passed, and under similar circumstances, the war on Radical Islam has been waging since Sep 11 2001, ISIS is gaining strength, genocide against Christians and other religious minorities is increasing, riots, arson and anarchy in the streets, President Obama makes this
Presidential Proclamation — Thanksgiving Day, 2014
– – – – – – –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION
Thanksgiving Day invites us to reflect on the blessings we enjoy and the freedoms we cherish. As we gather with family and friends to take part in this uniquely American celebration, we give thanks for the extraordinary opportunities we have in a Nation of limitless possibilities, and we pay tribute to all those who defend our Union as members of our Armed Forces. This holiday reminds us to show compassion and concern for people we have never met and deep gratitude toward those who have sacrificed to help build the most prosperous Nation on earth. These traditions honor the rich history of our country and hold us together as one American family, no matter who we are or where we come from.

Nearly 400 years ago, a group of Pilgrims left their homeland and sailed across an ocean in pursuit of liberty and prosperity. With the friendship and kindness of the Wampanoag people, they learned to harvest the rich bounty of a new world.
Together, they shared a successful crop, celebrating bonds of community during a time of great hardship. Through times of war and of peace, the example of a Native tribe who extended a hand to a new people has endured. During the American Revolution and the Civil War, days of thanksgiving drew Americans together in prayer and in the spirit that guides us to better days, and in each year since, our Nation has paused to show our gratitude for our families, communities, and country.

With God’s grace, this holiday season we carry forward the legacy of our forebears. In the company of our loved ones, we give thanks for the people we care about and the joy we share, and we remember those who are less fortunate. At shelters and soup kitchens, Americans give meaning to the simple truth that binds us together: we are our brother’s and our sister’s keepers. We remember how a determined people set out for a better world — how through faith and the charity of others, they forged a new life built on freedom and opportunity.

The spirit of Thanksgiving is universal. It is found in small moments between strangers, reunions shared with friends and loved ones, and in quiet prayers for others. Within the heart of America’s promise burns the inextinguishable belief that together we can advance our common prosperity — that we can build a more hopeful, more just, and more unified Nation. This Thanksgiving, let us recall the values that unite our diverse country, and let us resolve to strengthen these lasting ties.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 27, 2014, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together — whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors — and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.
BARACK OBAMA
The contrast could not be greater. The only reference left to God is God’s grace taken for granted. All the other references are about our dependence on each other, apart from God.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. While Obama speaks of getting together, his actions are driving us apart. This 2014 proclamation giving thanks to each other for a very successful year is not in the spirit of Thanksgiving, but is a symptom of the times we live in, “A Nation, divided, apart from God”.

The water on Earth predates the sun. The bible tells me so.

There was an interesting headline in Los Angeles Times’ Science Now:

Water on Earth predates the solar system, and even the sun.

There is nothing new under the sun.

God Himself told us so in the Holy Bible.

Genesis 1:1-3(NKJV)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

So it should come as no surprise that the water was there before the sun was formed.

Now the scientific paper in Science  from which Los Angeles Times quoted says it in scientific terms in its abstract: (by  L. Ilsedore Cleeves, Edwin A. Bergin, Conel M. O’D. Alexander, Fujun Du, Dawn Graninger, Karin I. Öberg, Tim J. Harries)

“Identifying the source of Earth’s water is central to understanding the origins of life-fostering environments and to assessing the prevalence of such environments in space. Water throughout the solar system exhibits deuterium-to-hydrogen enrichments, a fossil relic of low-temperature, ion-derived chemistry within either (i) the parent molecular cloud or (ii) the solar nebula protoplanetary disk. Using a comprehensive treatment of disk ionization, we find that ion-driven deuterium pathways are inefficient, which curtails the disk’s deuterated water formation and its viability as the sole source for the solar system’s water. This finding implies that, if the solar system’s formation was typical, abundant interstellar ices are available to all nascent planetary systems.”

The editor of Science tries to simplify it so all can understand:

Nature or nurture for solar system ices?

“We know that life’s favorite molecule, water, exists throughout the solar system. What we don’t know is whether present water levels reflect the chemical conditions of our parent nebula or whether they result from later reprocessing in the young system. The levels of deuterium and hydrogen in solar system water ice offer a tracer for chemical history, and Cleeves et al. model the processes at play. The analysis suggests that all nascent planetary systems may have the same water resources that we did.”

Science, this issue p. 1590

Methinks the beginning of the Holy Bible gives the best explanation of how Creation happened, completely void of scientific jargon.

In those three verses God establishes His principles:

In the Beginning – There was a beginning.

God – God was before the beginning of time and space.

Created – God Created all in the beginning

The Heavens and the Earth. – Yes, indeed every matter.

The earth was without form – Not even the sphere was formed.

And void -No life yet.

And darkness was on the face of the deep – No light was yet started, only matter, especially water.

And The Spirit of God hovered over the waters – The Holy Spirit – God’s Spirit was there at Creation forming everything.

And God Said – Here is introduced the Word that later became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ was present and active during creation.

Let there be Light – And so, the creation of life could begin.

 

 

 

Fundamentalist Christianity vs . Fundamentalist Islam; What difference does it make?

Fundamentalist Christianity vs . Fundamentalist Islam; What difference does it make?
A few years ago when Rosie was on “the View” she made the following statement: “Fundamentalist Christianity and Fundamentalist Islam: There is NO difference!”
Now I am a fundamentalist Christian. I was not always one, nor did I know what it meant. Reading through the Bible (I always loved old Christian music and playing a record of a cantata of J.S. Bach over and over one night I realized he knew something I do not know, I must find out what that is) I started to read the Gospel of Matthew. Nothing moved me until chapter 27: 62 -65 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ 64 Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”

That was when it hit me. I believed in God, but like the Pharisees I made sure Jesus was not risen, certainly not bodily. I liked the concept, but refused to accept the reality. What convinced me was the honesty in the language “that deceiver”, referring to the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees could only have said that if they in some way believed but refused to accept the claim he was to rise again. In a flash I saw my problem: If Jesus is not risen I miss out on Christianity.
The other thing that made me believe the Bible to be true was the Dead Sea Scrolls. As a child I had been told the book of Isaiah had been written after Christ. There was no other way to explain the many prophesies other than to say it had been modified after the birth of Christ. Then they found a complete scroll of Isaiah written at least 140 B.C. This convinced me the whole bible is true.
These are the five pillars of Christian Fundamentalism:
• The inerrancy of the Bible in the original languages
• The literal nature of the Biblical accounts, especially in regard to Christ’s miracles
• The Virgin Birth of Christ
• The substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross
• The bodily resurrection and physical return of Christ
That is it. That defines  Christian Fundamentalism.

These are the five pillars of Islam:

  1. Shahadah: declaring there is no god except God, and Muhammad is God’s Messenger
  2. Salat: ritual prayer five times a day at precise times determined by local sun time, not standard time, facing Mecca.
  3. Zakat: giving 2.5% of one’s wealth to the poor and needy yearly, 1/8th of which must go to Jihad (Struggle or Holy War)
  4. Sawm: fasting and self-control during the holy month of Ramadan, which occur 11 days earlier every year, making 103 Ramadans/century.
  5. Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime  if one is able.

Islamic fundamentalism may be best defined by what they do not believe in:
• Freedom from religious police.
• Equality issues between men and women.
• Separation of religion and state.
• Freedom of speech.
• Freedom of religion.

But Islamic Fundamentalists do believe:

Death to apostates.

Death (fatwa) to anyone insulting the Prophet.

Death to the Jews.

Death to Christians that do not acknowledge the superiority of Islam and Muhammad and do not pay the protection tax.

Death to converts to Christianity.

Sharia law is supreme to all other laws, and shall be practiced in all Islamic countries.

Islam is the religion of peace, and peace will come when the whole world is under Islam.

They believe the Bible is corrupted but the Quran is true to the last letter.

They believe the accounts of the Old Testament (the Book) when they do not conflict with the Quran.
They do believe in the virgin birth of Christ. (We can agree about something).
They do NOT believe Christ died on the Cross (it only seemed so unto the Jews), no substitutionary atonement exists. That is why the cross is so offensive to Muslims.
They believe Christ was directly translated to God, but since he never died he could not have been resurrected.
They believe Christ will return again and tell all Muhammad is greater, and that all crosses must be destroyed.
They believe Jesus was a Muslim (as was Moses and Abraham).

How do you become a Muslim convert?

Recite the Shahada in front of witnesses.

It is to be noted that President Obama has recited publicly the Shahada with a perfect Arab accent.

Therefore he is a Muslim to all Muslims.

 

 The Muslim Brotherhood’s slogan:  “Allah is its goal, the Prophet is the model, the Qur’an its constitution, jihad its path, and death for the sake of Allah its most sublime belief.”

 

 

 

 

ISIS destroys the Muslim Tomb of Jonah, not the Israel Tomb of Jonah.

JonahTomb blowupISIS destroys the Muslim Tomb of Jonah, not the Israel Tomb of Jonah.People walk through the rubble of the Prophet Younis Mosque after it was destroyed in a bomb attack by militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIL, in the city of Mosul

Jonah Prophet-Younus-Grave-DestroyedISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) blew up the Tomb of Jonah in Mosul. Why?

Jonah is a prophet according to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The Bible book of Jonah is short, only 4 chapters long and speaks of a most unwilling prophet being told by God to go to Nineveh and tell the hated Assyrians to repent. Jonah wants nothing of that so he tries to go the other way, boards a ship for Tarshish to escape God’s will for him. But (read the story for yourself, it is only 47 verses long) he was swallowed by a great fish and gets spit up on dry land three days and three nights later.

Then he goes to Nineveh and to his great dismay they repent and God spares them so they can continue to pester the Israelis.

In the Quran there is also a book of Jonah (Surah 10, Yunus (Jonah)). It has 109 verses and deals with what Jonah allegedly told the inhabitants of Nineveh. According to Muslim tradition he was buried in what is now a part of Mosul.

The Prophet of Jonah has a special significance for Christians, since the Lord Jesus said: Matthew 12:38-41  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

The question remain: Why does ISIS blow up Tombs and Shrines?

My guess is that ISIS tries to regenerate the Caliphate from today with no memorial places to put them in a historical perspective, but like the Chinese ruler Qin Shi Huang, that built the Great wall, He wanted all history to begin with him, so much so that he had his own mother killed, so do ISIS want to eradicate history.

one alternate explanation may be found in Muhammad’s last words as recorded in the Hadith, Volume 2, Book 23, Number 414: Narrated ‘Urwa: Aisha said, “The Prophet in his fatal illness said, ‘Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians because they took the graves of their Prophets as places for praying.”‘ Aisha added, “Had it not been for that the grave of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) would have been made prominent but I am afraid it might be taken (as a) place for praying.

Very conservative Sunnis take this seriously, so all graves must be unadorned, no tombs of any kind. Shias on the other hand are big on shrines and tombs. This may lead to a war of attrition between Sunnis and Shias. As is recorded in Ezekiel 38:21  I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.

ISIS is  ruthless. jonah2 jonah1
Their soldiers rape, mutilate and pillage at will. They even announced in Mogul newspapers that all virgins should do their duty and service the ISIS soldiers for the sake of Jihad.

The command to Christians left in Mosul is: Leave, pay Dhimmitude tax, convert or die.

This is the new face of Islam.

This is the Israel tomb of Jonah in the Arab village of Mash’had, 3 miles NE of Nazareth, Israel.

What is salvation, and is water baptism essential for salvation?

What is salvation, and is water baptism essential for salvation?

Someone posed the question: The mantra of many believers in Christ is “Water baptism is important, however, it is not essential for any ones salvation.”

Can you envision Jesus saying that?

To answer the question properly one first have to determine the true nature of God, Man, Salvation and Baptism, in that order. I will try to use only Scripture to present best case, as I understand it.

First: Who is GOD?

Genesis 1:1-3 King James Version (KJV)

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 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.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

This tells about the triune nature of God. There was a beginning. God precedes the beginning of time, which means God existed before creation of time and space. Since we are bound in time and space we cannot comprehend anything outside time and space, so I leave it at that. God exists in three persons, God the Father and Creator, God the Son which is the Word (John 1:1), the Word of God being the active ingredient in Creation, and God the Holy Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters. This defines the triune nature of God.

Second, the nature of Man (male and female created He them).

Genesis 2: 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Man was formed out of the dust of the ground, and God breathed into him the breath of life, he became a living soul.

Man consists of three parts, they all work together to form the complete person, body soul and spirit. When God said in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, what did He mean? Adam lived a long time after he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God referred to spiritual death. The day we eat of the forbidden fruit the Spirit dies, but the body and soul keeps on ticking until physical death.

Now we are ready to tackle the concept of Salvation.

Like God and Man, there are three aspects of Salvation, Salvation of the Body, Salvation of the Soul, and salvation of the Spirit. And there are the tenses: past, present and future.

John 3: 1-6 (KJV) tells about two births:

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Born again is literally from Greek “born from above”, which signifies spiritual birth. Born of water and of the Spirit signifies natural birth after the water breaks and spiritual birth, which comes from God.

When does salvation come?

Past tense:   Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Present tense: Philippians2:12  Terefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

Future tense: Hebrews 1:14

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

 

Salvation of the Spirit from the penalty of Sin: 2 Corinthians 5:17

 

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

Salvation of the soul from the Power of Sin:1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)

8 Though you have not seen him (Jesus), you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Salvation of the body from the presence of sin: Romans 8:23

 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

Now we are ready to tackle Baptism and its role in salvation.

Matthew 3:11 states: “I (John) baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Like God, man and salvation is threefold, so can baptism be seen as threefold as the previous verse states.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spiritso as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Acts 10:47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (As close to baptism by fire I can get)

The correspondence here is Holy Spirit Baptism corresponds to Salvation of the Spirit, eternally secure once enacted;

Water Baptism corresponds to Salvation of the Soul, an act of obedience to His command and a witness to the people.

Baptism by Fire then corresponds to the Salvation of the Body, yet to be performed for us living.

There is one more aspect of salvation: Luke 11:37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

The word translated wash here is the Greek word baptize so Jesus answered in a way that water baptism is not the important thing, it is the ceremonial aspect of cleansing, but it is the attitude towards God that counts.

To sum up: Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

To sum it up:

One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

One Man: Body, Soul and Spirit.

One Salvation: Salvation of the Spirit, Salvation of the Soul, and Salvation of the Body.

One Baptism: Baptism with the Holy Spirit, Baptism with Water, and Baptism with Fire.

And one more thing: Salvation is accepted by faith, executed in time by love, and our final redemption is our hope and anchor.

So to answer the question posed in the beginning: Jesus said to the repenting robber on the cross: “I tell you the truth: Today you shall be with me in paradise.” No time or need for water baptism there.

Freedom of Worship vs. Freedom of Religion. At this point, what difference does it make? The case of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim.

Is ‘Freedom of Worship’ Religion?
Confusion? Yes, more than a smidgen.
Both Barry and Hillary
make Freedom auxiliary.
The first of five freedoms: Religion.

The First Amendment has two clauses about Freedom of Religion. The first part is known as the Establishment Clause, and the second as the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits Government from passing laws that establishes an official religion or preferring one religion over another. The courts have interpreted the establishment clause to mean “separation of church and state”. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits Government from interfering with a person’s practice of his or her religion. However, courts have ruled that religious actions and rituals can be limited by civil and federal laws. Religious freedom is an absolute right, and includes the right to practice any religion of one’s choice, or no religion at all, and to do this without government interference, including the right to change one’s religion.

This President clearly sees religion as a key part of foreign affairs, especially when the Muslim world is involved. He is ultra-careful to not offend followers of Islam. We already know the administration has rejected the term “radical Islam” or any similar language and refuses to admit religion plays a major role in terrorism.

This new terminology of “freedom of worship” might be given as a sign to Muslim nations and places with Christian persecution like China that they are not going to crack down on religious persecution for minority religions in those countries. That could explain why Obama first used the term after a radical Muslim killed Americans at Ft. Hood. And it could also explain why he used the term “freedom of worship in speeches in China and Japan.

In my opinion Obama’s goal is to accommodate some aspects of Sharia law in this country. The State Department’s goal is to make this country sign the UNITED NATIONS Convention on the Rights of the Child. This convention is signed by 194 countries but not US and Somalia. While looking good on paper the effect of this convention is that the State (Remember “separation of Church and State”) has superior claim on the children, not the parents.

gabriel-wani-meriam-yehya-ibrahimMeriam Yehya Ibrahim is in jail, together with her 20 month old son, also in jail with her, since the Sudanese government does not allow her U.S.Citizen husband to have custody of her son. She is also 8 month pregnant and is sentenced to death by hanging as soon as the baby is delivered. Her crime? She is a Christian and refuses to renounce her faith, and for that she has to die according to Sharia law as it is practiced in Sudan. Can’t you be a Christian in Sudan? Yes, but her father was a Muslim and therefore she must be too according to Sharia law. The fact that he abandoned his family when she was six years old and since then has been raised by her Ethiopian Christian mother, the Christian faith being the only faith she knows is beside the point. So now she is in jail awaiting her execution as soon as her baby is delivered. The Sudanese cannot execute her now, that would mean to take the life of an innocent child, and only western decadent progressives would allow such an inhumane act as abortion.

Her husband is a Christian and a U.S. Citizen. He is legally married to her, and is the father of her 20 month old son and her yet to be born child. She is a Sudanese Citizen and subject to Sharia law. If she converts to Islam, her marriage is considered illegal and the children will go to Ibrahim’s father, the one that abandoned her when she was six years old. She cannot marry him again since he is a Christian and Muslim women can only marry Muslim men ( but Muslim men can marry Christian women according to Sharia law).

The Sudanese court ruled Ibrahim is an apostate who left Islam since she considers herself a Christian despite her father’s Islamic faith. She was sentenced to death and was also sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery after the court refused to recognize her marriage with Daniel Wani, an American Citizen. And, her children cannot have the father’s name since he is a Christian, according to Sharia law.

Last week, her attorney Mubarak filed an appeal based on Sudanese adoption of international law. He said he has high hopes for the court of appeals.

“There may be positive results,” he stated.

What has the State Department done so far? Nothing, except a few empty words.

Last week, multiple U.S. lawmakers pressed President Obama to grant Ibrahim asylum. Also last week, a group of bipartisan senators condemned Ibrahim’s sentence and urged Sudan to respect religious freedom.

Amnesty International launched an online petition demanding Ibrahim’s release that has garnered 660,467 signature so far.

Link http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/stopexecution-sudan

Update 5/27:  Meriam gave birth to her second child, a daughter five days ago while shackled to the floor inside the filthy Sudan prison. She will be allowed to nurse her child until weaned. Then they will hang her according to Sharia Law.

Freedom of Worship or Freedom of Religion? What difference at this point does it make? A Limerick.

Is ‘Freedom of Worship’ Religion?
Confusion? Yes, more than a smidgen.
Both Barry and Hillary
make Freedom auxiliary.
The first of five freedoms: Religion.

This country was founded by people of faith. What type of faith depended to some extent on where they settled. Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, Moravians, Swedenborgians, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, Baptists, Lutherans and Presbyterians to name a few settled in Pennsylvania, the champion province for freedom of Religion. Other provinces, such as Virginia and Maryland were founded by Anglicans and Catholics. And of course the Puritans landed on Cape Cod. Most of them had one thing in common, faith, so when the constitution was formed they agreed that the faith issue should be free from meddling by Congress, both to the establishment of religion, and to prohibit the free exercise thereof.

So, what is the difference between freedom of worship and freedom of religion?

Mark Twain once said: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.  Words matter.  This is especially true when it comes to the words of our Constitution. Those words are especially cherished. Yet it seems the Obama administration has changed one key word in that foundational document.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report revealed grave concern about both President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton substituting the term “freedom of religion” with the term “freedom of worship” in public pronouncements. Why the change?

The First Amendment has two clauses about Freedom of Religion. The first part is known as the Establishment Clause, and the second as the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits Government from passing laws that establishes an official religion or preferring one religion over another. The courts have interpreted the establishment clause to mean “separation of church and state”. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits Government from interfering with a person’s practice of his or her religion. However, courts have ruled that religious actions and rituals can be limited by civil and federal laws. Religious freedom is an absolute right, and includes the right to practice any religion of one’s choice, or no religion at all, and to do this without government interference.

November 2009, President Obama used the term “freedom of worship” at the memorial service for the victims of the Ft. Hood shooting. A few days later he did it again in speeches in both Japan and China. In December  former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also used that terminology three times in a speech at Georgetown University and never once used the phrase “freedom of religion”. In January of 2010  Clinton used the “freedom of worship” term four times while addressing senators.

This change in phraseology could well be viewed by human rights defenders and officials in other countries as having concrete policy implications.” – U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report.

That’s not an inconsequential change: Freedom of worship means the ability to have church services, which is crucial, but leaves out protection for Christian schools, publications, and Christian compassionate ministries…’Freedom of religion’ means that ministries designed to help prisoners change their lives, or to help the poor enter the workforce, can teach what the Bible teaches. Under ‘freedom of worship,’ these ministries could become illegal, as they are in many parts of the world. This is a development to watch warily. – World Magazine.

This President clearly sees religion as a key part of foreign affairs, especially when the Muslim world is involved. He is ultra-careful to not offend followers of Islam. We already know the administration has rejected the term “radical Islam” or any similar language and refuses to admit religion plays a major role in terrorism.

This new terminology of “freedom of worship” might be given as a sign to Muslim nations and places with Christian persecution like China that they are not going to crack down on religious persecution for minority religions in those countries. That could explain why Obama first used the term after a radical Muslim killed Americans at Ft. Hood. And it could also explain why he used the term in speeches in China and Japan.

In my opinion Obama’s goal is to accommodate some aspects of Sharia law in this country. The State Department’s goal is to make this country sign the UNITED NATIONS Convention on the Rights of the Child. This convention is signed by 194 countries but not US and Somalia. While looking good on paper the effect of this convention is that the State (Remember “separation of Church and State”) has superior claim on the children, not the parents.

We are talking Freedom of religion versus Freedom of worship. Let me illustrate the difference. Many missionaries and ex-pats live in Muslim countries. They enjoy freedom of worship, but not freedom of religion. One of the tenets of the Christian Faith is the obligation, right and privilege to proclaim the Good News. You can worship without fulfilling the great commission, and missionaries in Muslim countries risk their very lives were they to proclaim the Gospel without first being invited to do so. Even in this country some Christians were arrested for handing out Gospels of John outside a Muslim festival in Dearborn, MI. They exercised freedom of religion. Islam does by its very tenets not tolerate freedom of religion, but it does accept freedom of worship as a rule.

Our freedom of religion is at risk. This is a spiritual battle, and it must be fought with spiritual means. Pray! The future of our nation is at risk. Pray! The future of the world is in jeopardy. Pray!

The last words of Buddha, Krishna, a humanist, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Who has the right message?

The last words of Buddha, Krishna, a humanist, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Who has the right message?

The first person mentioned is Buddha. When he saw his death was near, he addressed all the monks assembled at his side, and these were the buddha-vid2-lozengevery last words he spoke:

“Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting.
Work hard to gain your own salvation.”

After that the Buddha lapsed into the jhana stages, or meditative absorptions. Going from level to level, one after the other, ever deeper and deeper. Then he came out of the meditative absorption for the last time and passed into nirvana, leaving nothing whatever behind that can cause rebirth again in this or any other world.

The passing away, or the final nirvana of the Buddha, occurred in 543 BC on a full-moon day in the month of May, known in the Indian calendar as Vesak.

The second person of interest is Lord Krishna. In his younger days, Sage Durvasa had cursed him saying that would die of a wound in his left krishna-deathfoot. The sage had been offended for some reason and had cursed young Krishna in a fit of anger.

As his last act in life, Lord Krishna decided that it was time for the curse to take effect and so sat down to meditate while exposing his left foot.

A hunter soon approached and mistook the Lord for a deer. And as was predicted he shot him in his left foot. On realizing his grave error he was filled with remorse and grief. But Lord Krishna consoled him and asked him not to be scared or sorry as these were the ways of destiny.  These were the great Lord’s last words on earth. This happened 18th February 3102 BC (the start of Kali Yuga).

Margaret Sanger and KKKAs an example of a humanist I have chosen
, founder of Planned Parenthood. While these are not her final words, she faded into obscurity during her last years, but they reflect the thinking of a modern humanist (or feminist if you choose)

“We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population….”

To get a glimpse of the differences of the three monotheistic faiths, let us go through the last days of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad and see what a message they delivered to us.

Moses had delivered his people out of Egypt and was now, at the ripe old age of 120 years ready to enter the promised land. But because of Moses disobedience God (YHWH) had told him that he was not allowed to enter into the promised land. He was however permitted to see it. So Moses recited his song and the blessings  on the tribes of Israel (Found in chapters 32 and 33 of Deuteronomy) ending with:

mosestombstoneDeuteronomy 33:28-29 (King James Version) Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

After that Moses went up Mount Nebo and saw the promised land Deuteronomy 34:4 (King James Version) And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

After that Moses died and to this day no one knows the place he was buried. The Bible goes on to record: Deuteronomy 34:10-12 (King James Version) And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

This indicates there never was another prophet like Moses. But Moses promised another prophet was to come after him. This is found in Deuteronomy 18:14-18 (New International Version, ©2010) 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” 17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.

We have two candidates: Jesus and Muhammad.

What about Jesus? Was Jesus a prophet?

541px-Jesus_ascending_to_heavenThe first reaction is: Of course, he was a prophet. Look at all he did and predicted. But that totally misses the point. Was He a prophet? Or was he more than a Prophet?

In the Old Testament of the Bible there is an old book called Job. We do not know much about him except he was before Moses and has a reputation of being “patient as Job”, refusing to turn from God when a series of misfortunes happened to him. He was looking forward to a redeemer: Job 19:25-26 (King James Version) For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Was Jesus that redeemer? What does “redemption” mean? Christian belief is that the reason Jesus came to earth was to redeem mankind back to God. Because of sin man is incapable to do it himself, so God had to do it. For this reason Jesus came as God incarnate to die on a cross for our sins. According to prophesies given by Isaiah about 800 B.C. in chapter 53 Jesus rejection and crucifixion was described. The earliest preserved copy of Isaiah dates back to second century B.C. so the prophecy is secure. These are Jesus last words on the cross. They confirm it was Jesus that died on the cross and not someone else.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). The word of divine forgiveness.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46.) Jesus became sin for us.

He said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27). The word of love.

“I thirst!” (John 19:28) The word of humanness.

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) The word of promise.

“It is finished!” (John 19:30). The word of redemption.

“Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46). The word of death.

Many people stop there, as if these were Jesus’ last words. But death was not the end of Jesus. On the third day Jesus rose again and gave instructions to his faithful for forty days.

Jesus last recorded words were:    “It is not for you to know times or seasons (of his return) that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” After that Jesus was taken up to heaven.

MuhammadtombThe last person in the trio was Muhammad. He had received messages from the angel Gabriel, very complimentary  about the Jewish people, the people of the Book, but while in Mecca he was not accepted as a Prophet so he moved on to Medina where he was accepted by some followers.

They asked the Jews whether he was the Prophet Moses spoke of, but the Jews said, No, not at all, he is an imposter and not the Prophet.

That changed things and the angel Gabriel told him to change the direction of their prayers from Jerusalem to Mecca, since they are in opposite direction of each other if you are in Medina. This forced people to disclose their true adherence.

From that moment on Gabriel changed his instructions to Muhammad and the feud was on. Muhammad and his team started to attack Jewish villages and force them into subservience. After a raid on a Jewish village a young Jewish girl poisoned Mohammed’s food. He never saw it coming (what a Prophet!), nor did the angel Gabriel warn him, so he ate it. He never recovered from it and died two years later.

Muhammad’s last recorded words before he died was: Volume 2, Book 23, Number 414: Narrated ‘Urwa: Aisha said, “The Prophet in his fatal illness said, ‘Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians because they took the graves of their Prophets as places for praying.”‘ Aisha added, “Had it not been for that the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have been made prominent but I am afraid it might be taken (as a) place for praying.

So Mohammed chose to curse Christians and Jews and join with his fellow martyrs.

You can judge for yourself which message to believe, which message is peaceful, and which message is the true message from God.

I have decided to follow Jesus. He is the risen Savior, his tomb is empty. All the others are dead, and have their tomb.

The wonderful planet Earth, complete with thermostat. Or is it out of control without human intervention?

The wonderful planet Earth, complete with thermostat. Or is it out of control without human intervention?

Climate Change is again making the news. During the February 13 broadcast of CBS This Morning, host Charlie Rose and his guest turned to the topic of this year’s harsh winter, calling the extreme cold an example of global warming.

Guest Michio Kaku, a physics professor from New York City College–not a climatologist, but a michio_kaku_ATSMIXphysicist– specializing in paranormal phenomena like ‘telepathy, telekinesis and mind reading’ claimed that the “wacky weather” could get “even wackier” and it’s all because of global warming. “What we’re seeing is that the jet stream and the polar vortex are becoming unstable. Instability of historic proportions. We think it’s because of the gradual heating up of the North Pole. The North Pole is melting,” professor Kaku said.

“That excess heat generated by all this warm water is destabilizing this gigantic bucket of cold air… So that’s the irony, that heating could cause gigantic storms of historic proportions,” the prof. explained.

This was all because of global warming, Rose insisted….

CBS Host Norah O’Donnell also took the occasion of the discussion to claim that 2014 will be the hottest summer ever.

Yesterday, Feb. 13. John Paul Holdren, the senior advisor to President Barack Obama on science John_Holdren_official_portrait_smalland technology issues through his roles as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology spoke to reporters  about President Obama’s one billion (with a “b) dollar Climate Resilience Plan and made the following statement: Without any doubt, the severe drought plaguing California and a number of other states across the country is tied to climate change.

Among his other ramblings he came up with this priceless gem:

Weather practically everywhere is being caused by climate change.

This is Holdren’s Law of Climate Causation, all you need to know about droughts and such … weather practically everywhere is being caused by climate change.

These are the people advising Obama on science. So, in his State of the Union message Obama made the following statement regarding the environment:

“Taken together, our energy policy is creating jobs and leading to a cleaner, safer planet.  Over theslide_335202_3370024_free past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth.  But we have to act with more urgency – because a changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought, and coastal cities dealing with floods.  That’s why I directed my administration to work with states, utilities, and others to set new standards on the amount of carbon pollution our power plants are allowed to dump into the air.  The shift to a cleaner energy economy won’t happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way.  But the debate is settled.  Climate change is a fact.  And when our children’s children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did.”

Of all the claims and statements Obama made during his hour long speech, this was the paragraph slide_335202_3370002_freenose
that received the largest difference in an audience tested poll between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats reacted more than 70% favorable, Republicans not so much, the approval was less than 10%.

Why is that? What is it in our respective world views that make such a difference?

Let us take a look at how most Democrats view the world and climate and contrast that with how most Republicans see it:

(Full disclosure: I am a Christian and take the God given call to be stewards of this earth very seriously, and I too want to leave this world a better place than I entered it.)

Democrats believe:

Climate Change is real. The scientific debate is over. Anyone disagreeing with this is still part of the flat earth society. (Obama, Al Gore, John Kerry, et. al. ) Kerry also calls Climate Change  our most terrifying weapon of mass destruction (Indonesia, Feb. 17, 2014)

 CO2 is a pollutant, and this pollution has been given a new name, “Carbon Pollution” The “environmentalists” have successfully convinced the U.S. Supreme Court that it is, and can thus be regulated. (D1)

The earth is heating up rapidly due to increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere. If we do nothing the earth will be between 3 and 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by the year 2100. (D2).

The earth is overpopulated with over 7 billion people. A sustainable level would be somewhere between 700 million and 2.5 billion, and UN’s Agenda 21 will lead the way to reduce the world’s population. To this effect birth control, abortion on demand, euthanasia, and education on the evils of “excessive” procreation must be enforced. Alternate lifestyles such as LGBT must be given social preference. The conventional family unit is the greatest hindrance to achieving these goals. (D3)

Increased CO2 levels may cause the earth to reach a tipping point with the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps melting off, causing catastrophic sea level rise (300 feet or so) (D4)

Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts floods and all kinds of extreme weather is increasing. 

The coming temperature rise will render large areas of the globe uninhabitable.

97% of active Climate Scientists agree global warming/climate change is caused by human activities. (D7)

Increased CO2 levels causes ocean acidification threatening coral reefs and all marine life. (D8)

We must develop alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal, but not nuclear. And indeed we have. Under Obama Solar has gone from 0.02% to 0.2% at a cost of more than three times conventional source development, Wind power has increased and is now approaching 5% , but depends heavily on subsidies. Geothermal is small and we have not completed a new nuclear plant since the Three Mile Island debacle.(D9)

We must invest heavily in alternate fuels like ethanol and biofuel. Not only that, its use should be heavily subsidized by the taxpayer. (D10)

Do not approve the Keystone XL pipeline! It will enable Canada to exploit the tar sands economically. The tar sands are one of the dirtiest crude oils ever discovered. It is an environmental hazard to transport it anywhere. (D11)

Don’t frack!  It poisons the underground water supply. But if you do, do it only for natural gas, not oil, and don’t touch Federal land! (D12)

Keep your hands off ANWR! Areas set aside for wildlife refuges must remain undeveloped forever! (D13)

Energy independence is a pipe dream, but it should be pursued anyway by regulating energy use, discontinue incandescent light bulbs, make smaller, lighter cars, making a smart grid that can tell you when to use air conditioning or the clothes dryer, etc. (D14)

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle! (D15)

Regulate, Regulate, Federal Regulate! (D16)

Republicans believe:

Climate change is real, has been and always will be. The question is: Is it getting warmer or colder, and is that good or bad? The so called consensus is anything but.

CO2 is not a pollutant; it is no more a pollutant than Oxygen and both are necessary for life. Carbon pollution is real and is called soot and comes from smokestacks in China, which by now burn 45% of the world’s coal. (R1)

The temperature of the earth is cyclical. There have been ice ages and warm periods in the past. It was warmer in the Roman and Medieval warm period than it is now. It was colder in the little ice age, then warmer till 1950, then cooling, then warming in the 80’s and 90’s. In the last 18 years global temperatures have been more or less constant and we are now entering a 40+ year cooling period. Though CO2 causes warming its effect is minor and mostly beneficial. There have been ice ages in the past where the concentration of CO2 was ten times higher than it is now. (R2)

The best way to stabilize the world’s population is by encouraging energy production, which is closely tied to quality of living. With stable and secure futures people naturally limit the size of their families. A well informed but free family unit is best suited to achieve this. (R3)

Increased CO2 levels lead to a greener environment. We can now feed 2 billion more people without starvation thanks to the increase in CO2 levels. Photosynthesis works more efficiently and uses less water in the process, so it becomes less sensitive to seasonal droughts, reduces erosion and helps stabilize the climate through evapotranspiration where there was only dry land before. The earth is getting greener. (R4)

With increased CO2 levels, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts are becoming less severe. The jury is still out on floods, they may increase. Extreme weather will decrease. (R5)

The tropics has found its temperature. The temperature was more or less the same as it is now during the ice age or medieval warming period. All temperature rise will occur in the temperate regions. The poles will warm the most making temperature differences less pronounced leading to less storms and violent weather. If the Greenland Ice temperature goes from -28 degrees to minus 24 degrees, who cares? It is still freezing. The Antarctic ice cap has been setting new yearly maxima the last two years, so there is no warming for now. There may be an increase in desert regions where there is very low humidity, but those regions are already unfit for inhabitation. (R6)

The 97% consensus among active Climate experts is an old myth. The survey is from a 2000 or so M.Sc. thesis where 10256 questionnaires was sent out and 3146 responded. There was the following qualification “Of all your peer reviewed papers in the last five years, was more than 50% about climate science”. 77 qualified, of which 75 responded positively that climate change is anthropogenic in origin. For most hat was the condition on which they had gotten the grant to produce the paper in the first place. On the other hand, more than 30000 engineers and scientists have signed a document stating that climate science is by no means settled. (R7)

Ocean acidification is mostly due to water pollution from acid rivers and acid rain. Sulfuric acid is more than 100000 times more acid than dissolved CO2. There is plenty of acid rain coming from China that burn 45% of all coal (mostly high sulfur lignite) and developing countries contribute as well. Underwater volcanoes do their part too. (R8)

We must develop alternate energy resources, like nuclear, and wind wherever profitable, continue solar research but refrain from mass production until profitability can be proven. My preference is for Thorium based nuclear power. (R9)

Alternate fuels like ethanol and biodiesel are terrible ideas. (R10)

Approve the Keystone XL pipeline today! (R11)

Fracking is our best way to become energy independent this decade. It is safe and economical and will finally get us out of this jobs recession. (R12)

Approve 400 acres for oil exploration in ANWR! It is Alaska’s oil anyway and by the Alaskan Constitution oil profits belong to the people, and is none of the Federal Government’s business. (R13)

We can be energy independent in less than 10 years if we go full out on fracking, approve ANWR and develop thorium based nuclear power. This will free us from dependence on Mideast, Nigerian, Nicaraguan oil, all countries that are unstable, have a terrible environmental record, and they hate us anyway. (R14)

Recycle whenever economically defensible (R15)

Regulation should be local whenever possible. (R16)

These are some of the differences between Democrat and Republican world views when it comes to energy. There are many more, and I have tried to be as fair as possible. After analyzing the facts I know where I stand, issue by issue. Do you, or do you only listen to and read from only one side of the spectrum prejudicing yourself?

Comments:

(D1) CO2 is a pollutant.

https://lenbilen.com/2013/08/15/co2-is-it-carbon-pollution-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/26/should-the-epa-regulate-co2-at-what-level/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/25/water-the-real-climate-challenge-much-bigger-than-co2/

http://lenbilen.com/2012/01/24/80-reduction-in-co2-emissions-by-2050-is-that-even-possible/

(R1) CO2 is not a pollutant

https://lenbilen.com/2013/03/19/co2-the-solution-to-climate-change/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/30/dihydrogen-monoxide-the-main-source-of-greenhouse-gases-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/31/co2-mans-best-friend/ 

(D2): The earth is heating up rapidly

IPCC Report AR5 summary for policymakers. http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/docs/WGIAR5_SPM_brochure_

https://lenbilen.com/2013/08/05/obama-the-real-flat-earth-society-spokesman/).

(R2): The temperature of the earth is cyclical.  My best take on real climate science looking at what is really happening:

https://lenbilen.com/2014/02/12/great-lakes-ice-cover-now-at-86-7-the-most-since-1994-we-are-in-a-cooling-trend/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/10/18/a-new-little-ice-age-is-looming-ten-days-in-new-all-time-record-for-ice-in-the-antartics-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/08/12/eleven-reasons-we-are-entering-a-new-little-ice-age/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/02/the-cause-of-climate-change-is-still-up-in-the-air/

(D3) The earth is overpopulated with over 7 billion people. plannedparenthood91

A happy  valentines’day massage from Planned Parenthood, Maryland: 

(R3) The best way to stabilize the world’s population is by encouraging energy production, which is closely tied to quality of living.

https://lenbilen.com/2013/07/11/go-green-like-spain-obamas-dream-a-limerick/

(D4) Increased CO2 levels may cause the earth to reach a tipping point

(R4) Increased CO2 levels lead to a greener environment

(D5) Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts floods and all kinds of extreme weather is increasing. The president’s statement, no scientific backup, only an assertion.

https://lenbilen.com/2012/05/05/forecast-of-drought-in-britain-brings-record-april-showers-time-to-change-climate-models/

(R5) With increased CO2 levels, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts are becoming less severe.

https://lenbilen.com/2013/11/18/2013-the-year-with-the-fewest-tornadoes-on-record-and-no-major-hurricanes-making-landfall/

(D6) The coming temperature rise will render large areas of the globe uninhabitable.

(R6) The tropics has found its temperature.

(D7) 97% of active Climate Scientists agree global warming/climate change is caused by human activities.  http://www.skepticalscience.com/debunking-climate-consensus-denial.html

(R7) The 97% consensus among active Climate experts is an old myth. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/18/what-else-did-the-97-of-scientists-say/

(D8) Increase in CO2 leads to ocean acidification.

(R8) Ocean acidification is mostly due to water pollution from acid rivers and acid rain.

(D9) We must develop alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal, but not nuclear.    

(R9) We must develop alternate energy resources, like nuclear

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/15/nuclear-power-and-earthquakes-how-to-make-it-safer-and-better/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/15/eleven-reasons-to-switch-to-thorium-based-nuclear-power-generation/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/15/eleven-more-reasons-to-switch-to-thorium-as-nuclear-fuel/

(D10) We must invest heavily in alternate fuels like ethanol and biofuel.

(R10) Alternate fuels like ethanol and biodiesel are terrible ideas

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/12/the-malthusian-option-food-or-ethanol-a-limerick-with-explanation/

(D11) Do not approve the Keystone XL pipeline!It’s the kind of scene we’d like to think we’d put behind us.

How would you like to look outside and see masked radicals with torches on your front lawn?Pipelineexecutive
That’s what greeted Mark Maki and his family.
Maki was targeted for this shameful act of intimidation because he is a member of the board of Enbridge Energy Management which works with oil pipelines.
The masked perpetrators refused to identify themselves, or their group, claiming only that they represent “the people.”

https://lenbilen.com/2014/02/14/the-real-reason-obama-wont-approve-the-keystone-xl-pipeline/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/03/22/obama-in-oklahoma-claims-credit-for-half-a-pipeline-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/01/the-keystone-xl-pipeline-decision-a-view-from-canada-and-rebuttal-from-the-obama-campaign/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/01/obama-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-keystone-xl-pipeline-decision-2/

(R11) Approve the Keystone XL pipeline today!

https://lenbilen.com/2013/07/07/ttain-derailment-in-quebec-and-keystone-xl-pipeline-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/03/the-keystone-xl-pipeline-decision-crony-capitalism-at-work/ 

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/25/warren-buffet-profiting-from-working-on-the-railroad/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/27/obama-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-keystone-xl-pipeline-decision/

(D12) Don’t frack!

(R12) Fracking is our best way to become energy independent

(D13) Keep your hands off ANWR!

(R13) Approve 400 acres for oil exploration in ANWR!

(D14) Energy independence is a pipe dream,

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/03/the-electric-car-is-it-good-or-bad-karma/

(R14) We can be energy independent in less than 10 years

(D15) Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!

(R15) Recycle whenever economically defensible.

(D16) Regulate, Regulate, Federal Regulate!

https://lenbilen.com/2013/09/22/learn-from-the-amish-phase-out-the-cfc-light-bulb/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/04/ban-inhalers-to-save-the-environment-fda-and-epa-gone-mad/

(R16) Regulation should be local whenever possible.

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/29/save-the-chesapeake-bay-a-limerick/

These are assorted observations on the earth’s recent climate.

https://lenbilen.com/2013/12/31/calamity-in-antarctica-global-warming-alarmists-get-stuck-in-ice-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/12/13/snow-and-cold-records-in-the-u-s-and-the-middle-east-baby-its-cold-outside/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/09/30/nine-new-all-time-records-for-ice-in-antarctica-so-far-this-year-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/09/09/shh-dont-tell-anyone-record-ice-growth-in-the-arctic-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/02/13/a-response-to-the-energy-portion-of-the-state-of-the-union-message/

https://lenbilen.com/2013/02/11/crounhog-day-climate-change-and-obamas-inauguration-and-state-of-the-union-message/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/04/30/wind-farms-warming-and-tilting-at-windmills-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/02/18/will-we-pass-an-energy-bill-finally-a-limerick/

No free speech in Australia, Carbon tax rules! A Limerick.

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/31/energy-from-thorium-save-500-million-from-the-budget-now/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/31/job-czar-jeffery-immelt-crony-capitalism-101-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/31/lies-damned-lies-statistics-and-climate-forecasting-a-song/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/30/minnesotans-for-global-warming-rise-up-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/30/climate-change-a-homeland-security-matter-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/30/the-lanthanides-lamentation-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/29/frankly-im-exhausted-is-this-my-new-reality-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/29/climate-change-is-now-global-climate-disruption-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/27/obama-loves-spain-its-hard-to-explain-a-limerick/

https://lenbilen.com/2012/01/27/climate-challenges-the-term-for-today-a-limerick/

Obama also made the following comments about his energy policy

“It’s not just oil and natural gas production that’s booming; we’re becoming a global leader in solar, too.  Every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar; every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can’t be outsourced.  Let’s continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don’t need it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future that do.

And even as we’ve increased energy production, we’ve partnered with businesses, builders, and local communities to reduce the energy we consume.  When we rescued our automakers, for example, we worked with them to set higher fuel efficiency standards for our cars.  In the coming months, I’ll build on that success by setting new standards for our trucks, so we can keep driving down oil imports and what we pay at the pump.”

But I guess commenting on this will have to wait for another time.

I welcome comments that tell me where I am going wrong. The research is ongoing, and I am really trying to understand how we shall best live so we can leave this earth a better place than we found it.