Religion in the news

[Pabo]

On 6/5/2024 at 1:02 AM, cme said:

 

I used to tell my husband that my study will probably not get baptized before him.  (I think I was right) maybe they will get baptized together. 

 

It still might be a race to the baptism pool to see who gets there first. 🤣

[Lee49]

Dallas pastor sentenced to 35 years in prison for stealing 3 church properties

 A Dallas pastor will spend 35 years in prison for stealing three churches in Dallas County.

Whitney Foster created fraudulent deeds for the churches and took control of the properties. But prosecutors say they have evidence he illegally took control of additional properties.

"What he wanted people to think was that because he was a non-profit that he had the ability and right to just move in on another non-profit’s property,"

https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-pastor-whitney-foster-sentenced     

[Sheep]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/12/pope-francis-priests-homilies-short-people-fall-asleep

 

What an admission!

[Parale]

BBC: US Southern Baptist Church opposes IVF in vote

 

The Southern Baptist Convention has approved a resolution opposing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) at its annual convention.

 

The resolution urged its congregants to only support reproductive technologies that affirm the "unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage", and criticized IVF.

 

The resolution, which is nonbinding, described IVF as "dehumanising" and asked the government "to restrain" the practice.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckvv1p1gxdno

 

 

Baptist Press: IVF resolution is SBC’s ‘first step’ in reproductive technology discussion

 

A resolution “On the ethical realities of reproductive technologies and the dignity of the human embryo” called on Southern Baptists “to reaffirm the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage, and to only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation especially in the number of embryos generated in the IVF process.”

 

IVF (a technology that combines an egg and sperm in a laboratory then implants the resulting embryo in a woman’s womb) “routinely generates more embryos than can be safely implanted,” “most often participates in the destruction of embryonic human life” and has generated 1-1.5 million unborn children currently stored in cryogenic freezers in the U.S., “with most unquestionably destined for eventual destruction,” according to the resolution.

 

Among the resolution’s other calls to action, it:

• asked Southern Baptists to “advocate for the government to restrain actions inconsistent with the dignity and value of every human being, which necessarily includes frozen embryonic human beings”;

• encouraged couples “to consider adopting frozen embryos”;

• urged couples struggling with infertility “to consider the ethical implications of assisted reproductive technologies as they look to God for hope”;

• commended “couples who at great cost have earnestly sought to only utilize infertility treatments and reproductive technologies in ways consistent with the dignity of the human embryo as well as those who have adopted frozen embryos.”

https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/ivf-resolution-is-sbcs-first-step-in-reproductive-technology-discussion/

 

Edited June 13 by Parale

[Lee49]

Saudi Arabia shuts pilgrims out of air-conditioned areas as more than 1,000 die in extreme heat

The death toll from this year’s hajj exceeded 1,000, diplomats said, as temperatures hit 125.2F (51.8C) in Mecca this week.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-shuts-pilgrims-air-151742857.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

[chuck83]

3 hours ago, Lee49 said:

Saudi Arabia shuts pilgrims out of air-conditioned areas as more than 1,000 die in extreme heat

The death toll from this year’s hajj exceeded 1,000, diplomats said, as temperatures hit 125.2F (51.8C) in Mecca this week.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-shuts-pilgrims-air-151742857.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

I had mostly 55+ sisters in my service groups all week. The minute anyone even feels a tickle I converted walking door to door to car door to door. Where normally it was 30 minutes and done. We’ve now been able to get 2Hs just by tweaking some things but just being more accommodating. Nothing worse than leaving the ministry… sick in bed with a heat headache and got 30 minutes. When you can do 2Hrs and be cool and happy when you’re done. Makes the world a difference.

 

They might need a lesson…

Edited June 22 by chuck83

[Dustparticle]

7 minutes ago, chuck83 said:

I had mostly 55+ sisters in my service groups all week. The minute anyone even feels a tickle I converted walking door to door to car door to door. Where normally it was 30 minutes and done. We’ve now been able to get 2Hs just by tweaking some things but just being more accommodating. Nothing worse than leaving the ministry… sick in bed with a heat headache and got 30 minutes. When you can do 2Hrs and be cool and happy when you’re done. Makes the world a difference.

 

They might need a lesson…

 It’s been hot where I’m at. We all need to be careful especially ones not healthy. We cannot go out in the field while dead. It suppose to cooler in the coming week. Jehovah understands our situation. 

[Dustparticle]

3 hours ago, Lee49 said:

Saudi Arabia shuts pilgrims out of air-conditioned areas as more than 1,000 die in extreme heat

The death toll from this year’s hajj exceeded 1,000, diplomats said, as temperatures hit 125.2F (51.8C) in Mecca this week.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-shuts-pilgrims-air-151742857.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

I hope I’m wrong on it. By reading this, I think the numbers might go a lot higher. 

[BLEmom]

7 hours ago, chuck83 said:

I had mostly 55+ sisters in my service groups all week. The minute anyone even feels a tickle I converted walking door to door to car door to door. Where normally it was 30 minutes and done. We’ve now been able to get 2Hs just by tweaking some things but just being more accommodating. Nothing worse than leaving the ministry… sick in bed with a heat headache and got 30 minutes. When you can do 2Hrs and be cool and happy when you’re done. Makes the world a difference.

 

They might need a lesson…

I did read another article that shows it’s a complicated situation. There are over a million people doing this travel from multiple countries. Some are even traveling illegally. Their countries of origin are trying to track how many of their citizens have traveled, dead or missing. 
It does seem the majority are dying around Mecca though. At least from what I can tell now. They are falling along the roadside and being covered with sheets until medical people collect the bodies. 
It’s stunning to think about being part of a traveling group where people are dropping dead beside you. Horrific!

[Jwanon]

It happens every year

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_during_the_Hajj

[Dolce vita]

44 minutes ago, Jwanon said:

Cela arrive chaque année

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_during_the_Hajj

 

True, but it is often linked to a rush. This year that's the heat that is deadly. A Muslim woman spoke to me about it yesterday, telling me that it was a privilege to die in these conditions. Access to paradise would be immediate.

I thought: 'What can I say without offending her?  I preferred not to raise it, we regularly talk about our respective religions together. I just thought: poor people, only the opponent can make them believe that death is a privilege.

 

Many of the dead are illegal pilgrims who do not have access to air-conditioned rooms. Either they cannot afford the trip (even though pilgrimage is one of the pillars of Islam) or they do not obtain authorization from local authorities, the quotas being exceeded.

[felito]

Deadly attack against Jewish, Christian targets in Russia's Dagestan Republic

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/06/23/deadly-attack-against-jewish-christian-targets-in-russias-dagestan-republic/

[Sofia]

23 minutes ago, felito said:

Deadly attack against Jewish, Christian targets in Russia's Dagestan Republic

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/06/23/deadly-attack-against-jewish-christian-targets-in-russias-dagestan-republic/

The majority of Dagestanis are Sunni Muslims
this will not get better so soon…

[SheyZ]

On 6/13/2024 at 10:50 AM, Sheep said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/12/pope-francis-priests-homilies-short-people-fall-asleep

 

What an admission!

Their masses are so boringg compared to our meetings, assemblies and conventions.  all the videos and variety make our get togethers so enjoyable

[MChill14]

Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government

https://apnews.com/article/israel-politics-ruling-military-service-orthodox-e2a8359bcea1bd833f71845ee6af780d

[GeordieGirl]

Israel’s supreme court has ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be drafted into military service, a politically explosive decision that threatens the stability of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.

 

Ostensibly, the court decision ends a decades-old cultural and societal row over the importance of Torah study in modern Israeli life, and who should bear the burden of conscription. But the timing, in the midst of the war in Gaza and as Netanyahu struggles to hold together a rightwing coalition that includes two ultra-Orthodox parties, is more likely to inflame existing tensions between secular and religious elements of society.

 

Mandatory army service for Jewish citizens is a large part of the Israeli national ethos, but longstanding legal compromises have to date exempted Haredi men, who instead continue full-time study of religious texts funded by government stipends. 

 

In an effort not to alienate Haredi parties and voters, successive Israeli governments have stalled on the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, despite a 2017 supreme court ruling that the exemptions are unconstitutional. The prime minister has been promoting a compromise bill tabled by a previous government in 2022, but it is now unclear whether he will be able to postpone the issue again.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/25/israeli-court-rules-ultra-orthodox-men-can-be-drafted-for-military-service

 

One day soon the scarlet beast will succeed in throwing off the woman and will trample her till she is no more! 

[Kunlesky]

1 hour ago, GeordieGirl said:

Israel’s supreme court has ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be drafted into military service, a politically explosive decision that threatens the stability of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.

 

Ostensibly, the court decision ends a decades-old cultural and societal row over the importance of Torah study in modern Israeli life, and who should bear the burden of conscription. But the timing, in the midst of the war in Gaza and as Netanyahu struggles to hold together a rightwing coalition that includes two ultra-Orthodox parties, is more likely to inflame existing tensions between secular and religious elements of society.

 

Mandatory army service for Jewish citizens is a large part of the Israeli national ethos, but longstanding legal compromises have to date exempted Haredi men, who instead continue full-time study of religious texts funded by government stipends. 

 

In an effort not to alienate Haredi parties and voters, successive Israeli governments have stalled on the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, despite a 2017 supreme court ruling that the exemptions are unconstitutional. The prime minister has been promoting a compromise bill tabled by a previous government in 2022, but it is now unclear whether he will be able to postpone the issue again.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/25/israeli-court-rules-ultra-orthodox-men-can-be-drafted-for-military-service

 

One day soon the scarlet beast will succeed in throwing off the woman and will trample her till she is no more! 

Interesting parallel with the Project 2025 being discussed by one of the political parties in the domain of “the King of the South.” Supposedly this will include reinstatement of military drafts. Looking at what is going on in Israel, those in the west cannot afford to say it will never happen there. Ever since we entered this realm of disinformation and misinformation, we have entered that era of “good is bad and bad is good”. Nothing should surprise us… Funny enough, I have been jokingly telling people during my recent travels that I’m prepping for “maga-geddon”!

[GeordieGirl]

I find it interesting that earlier this year the idea of conscription in the UK was being bandied about, hitting all major news sources. Then all went silent on the subject. 

Now there is this in Israel, an ally of the KotS. 

I would sometimes like to be a fly on a wall in the halls of power. 

 

When hearing of these things it makes me think of how the nations are, at the very least, desiring to strengthen their armed forces by forcing unwilling civilians into the battle lines, although it is currently only apparent in places which are at war, Russia, Ukraine, Israel.

But with Satan as the puppet master pulling their strings, could he be thinking that by getting his nations to build stronger armies he will at least have a slight chance against the forces of Jehovah during His battle! 

Edited June 26 by GeordieGirl

[ChrisW]

19 minutes ago, GeordieGirl said:

But with Satan as the puppet master pulling their strings, could he be thinking that by getting his nations to build stronger armies he will at least have a slight chance against the forces of Jehovah during His battle

It's pure insanity. I wonder what he thinks his end game will be. A brother gave a talk this past Sunday at our hall and mentioned the ant on the train tracks trying to stop a train. Those fighting against Jehovah have no chance.

[Desert Dan]

8 hours ago, GeordieGirl said:

But with Satan as the puppet master pulling their strings, could he be thinking that by getting his nations to build stronger armies he will at least have a slight chance against the forces of Jehovah during His battle! 

Satan is evil, but is also intelligent, and certainly knows that man, "who is made from the dust of the earth" cannot ultimately stop Jehovah's battle plan.

[GeordieGirl]

20 hours ago, Desert Dan said:

Satan is evil, but is also intelligent, and certainly knows that man, "who is made from the dust of the earth" cannot ultimately stop Jehovah's battle plan.

 

Indeed.  But he also has his hordes of crazy demons behind him.  Who knows what an angry, irrational, insane evil spirit is thinking he might be able to achieve.  

[LeolaRootStew]

11 hours ago, GeordieGirl said:

 

Indeed.  But he also has his hordes of crazy demons behind him.  Who knows what an angry, irrational, insane evil spirit is thinking he might be able to achieve.  

 

He wants to scare people away from God. Everyone who joins him dies.

[Watching and Waiting]

 

Oklahoma (USA) state superintendent orders schools to teach the Bible in grades 5-12

 

Described as the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms.

 

Opposing quotes from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Americans United for Separation of Church and State

[kejedo]

13 hours ago, Watching and Waiting said:

 

Oklahoma (USA) state superintendent orders schools to teach the Bible in grades 5-12

 

Described as the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms.

 

Opposing quotes from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Americans United for Separation of Church and State

I was subbing some years ago when switching back from Social Worker to School Teacher. I noticed a book in the School LIbrary, The Bible as Literature. This course was not being taught at the time, but I wondered if I were assigned to cover some such line up. Decided I would refuse the assignment and/or refuse payment (Give free/ Receive free.) How are others dealing with this if it is in their or their children's education/school? 

[chuck83]

Vatican excommunicates former US ambassador Vigano, declares him guilty of schism

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/vatican-excommunicates-former-us-ambassador-113619520.html