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[Azenilto Brito]

Have You Ever Heard About ECOmenism?

       Did you know that this present fuss regarding “global warming” can contribute for ecumenism? There are already those who call it ECOmenism (from “ecology” + “ecumenism”). 
       There are lots of interests behind all that agitation, including New Age followers who want to lead people everywhere to honor Gaia, the Earth, “goddess of nature”. And these New Age people are committed to spread their “gospel” through all forms of ecological campaigns. The Vatican has already begun organizing seminars and studies regarding the subject, and other Christian groups are beginning to get involved, especially after former US vice-president Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”, to analyze the problems raised.
       That doesn’t mean that it is wrong to engage in preserving nature.  On the contrary, as Christians we should be stewards of the environment in which and for which we were created.  But man hasn’t revealed a good steward. Pollution of the oceans, for example, is very worrisome, as already has been shown through several researches and news reports, with the formation of huge “dead zones” across the seas where there is no transit of fish, or normal marine life.
       Large quantities of algi are formed on account of the enrichment of the waters, by excess of nitrogen from human dejections thrown into the sea, and these algi finally die, and their carcasses go to the bottom of the sea where immense contingents of bacteria devour their remains, reducing the oxygen in vast areas. 
       Lots of albatrosses in remote islands, far from the “civilized” world, are dying with their stomach loaded with all kinds of things, as plastic covers, lighters, toothbrushes, and myriad tiny pieces of things produced by man.  As they feed extending their broad and flexible beak across the waters to collect their food, what happens is that along with fish and other natural nutrients from the waters, they end up collecting those non-food materials, which get accumulated and leave no room in their digestive system for what sustain them, leading to their demise by starvation. 
       That is only a brief example of some of the many terrible conditions of environmental degradation on our planet. However, the subject has been explored for not-sanctified purposes and that should be better analyzed on the light of the biblical eschatology. Actually, news and reports regarding this “greenhouse effect”, or global warming supposedly caused by man’s action, has been blown out of proportion, as respected scientists, journalists and some weather experts say, contradicting what others have concluded and published.
       There are indeed signs of global warming on our planet, but not for the reasons pointed by the promoters of these alarming campaigns. They stress especially these problems as being the result of human activity, or at least, in very high proportion so.
       See below the summary of a video of some dissident voices in the scientific field. For a time it could be seen in the Youtube, but was withdrawn for copyright disputes. It has a new address now, with the link duly indicated:

The Great Global Warming Swindle
Summary of the video

(Complete video could be found through this link:  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4499562022478442170&q=global+warming+swindle--[It seems not being available anymore])

       That Earth’s climate is changing and always has done is not disputed by anyone. That it is warming now is also not disputed by anyone. But some people think that the warming is our fault, whilst others believe we have nothing to do with it.
       The film features an impressive roll-call of experts, in climatology, oceanography, meteorology, environmental science, biogeography and paleoclimatology, from such reputable institutions as MIT, NASA, the International Arctic Research Centre, the Institut Pasteur, of Paris, the Danish National Space Center and the Universities of London, Ottawa, Jerusalem, Winnipeg, Alabama and Virginia.
       An alternative explanation for rising global temperatures is based on research by the Danish Space Center. They found that as solar activity increases, cloud formation on Earth is significantly diminished and temperature rises.
       Recent research, presented in this film, apparently shows that the effect of cosmic radiation, and solar activity may explain fluctuations in global temperatures more precisely than the carbon dioxide theory.
       “Solar activity over the last hundred years, over the last several hundred years, correlates very nicely, on a decadal basis, with temperature.”
       The film argues that rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide have nothing to do with climate change. Further, the present single-minded focus on reducing carbon emissions may have the unintended consequence of stifling development in the third world, prolonging endemic poverty and disease.
       A respected Kenyan development expert says: “I don’t see how a solar panel is going to power a steel industry, how a solar panel is going to power a railway network. There is somebody keen to kill the African dream, and the African dream is to develop. We are being told don’t touch your resources, don’t touch your oil, don’t touch your coal; that is suicide.”

[Azenilto Brito]

Editorial Compares Environmentalism With Christian Preaching

       ”Environmentalist rhetoric . . . constantly reminds us of our own culpability. For that reason, environmentalism is more akin to a religious awakening than to a political ideology. Like evangelicals, environmentalists speak, in their way, of fire and brimstone. Like the preacher, the environmentalist activist demands we give ourselves to something beyond ourselves and we do penance for our wasteful, carbon-profligate sins. Like the Catholic Church of old, the even sell indulgences--carbon offsets.
       “And like any religion that emphasizes, sin, devotees will find all sorts of ways to prove their personal righteousness. Particularly during the Christmas shopping season, it’s fun to watch this new secular religion collide with one of our more established ones: shopping. . . .
       “Plenty of marketers and manufacturers are spinning their products as eco-friendly, not because they’ll actually help the Earth but because they hope it’ll make you feel better buying them. In fact, the near omnipresence of environmentalist rhetoric in the marketplace ought to be its own warning sign. Once eco-friendliness has become moral currency, and everyone exploits it, the less likely any of it is to make a difference”.  - Segment of an Op-ed article by Gregory Ramirez, “How much is Mother Earth really watching?”, The Birmingham News, Dec. 13, 07, page 11-A.

[Azenilto Brito]

Hi folks.

       See this:

       And check these links:

http://www.saveoursundays.ca/

http://saveoursundays.tripod.com/index.html

http://cv.11.forumer.com/a/a-national-day-of-rest-save-our-sundays_post345.html

http://saveoursundays.tripod.com/WesternAustralia.htm

http://wa.greens.org.au/items/Media_Release.2004-10-26.1431

Now, I subscribed to the Forum of one of these sites and I transcribe below what I said there:

       Speaking of pollution, how about all these ads that hackers are posting in this topic (and probably others)? I would urge the moderators to find ways of blocking these polluters, and no “carbon credit” acceptable. . .
       As to what Carolyn said, I agree 100% with her. The idea of stopping everything one day a week is right, efficient and biblical. The idea is right, but THE DAY IS WRONG. The “Never on Sundays” idea may be good for a title of a Hollywood film, but not for the purposes of religious freedom for all.
       Now, one thing is really worrisome: there are those religious people who are taking advantage of this world crisis to launch a “save the planet” campaign, by which they try to impose their agenda upon human society.
       We have to face the common challenges that this crisis represent, but always respecting people’s religious freedom.
       Unhappily we know how history has this tendency to repeat itself. I heard that in Auschwitz, now a museum, there is a big poster in several languages saying, “NEVER MORE”.
       Oh, how wonderful if such ideal were really materialized among mankind. But the crude reality is that after Auschwitz we had Cambodia of Pol Pot fame, Ruanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, East Timor, and now Darfur. . . And if things are left alone in Iraq, shiites will do their ethnic cleansing job on minority sunnis. . .
       These religious campaigns we see under development in the US and other countries are worrisome, my friends, very worrisome, because behind the scenes there are vested interests of those who don’t care for the small numbers of people who take seriously the ideals of stopping all secular and recreational activities one day a week, but do that according to God’s command, not human convenience and dogmas of intolerant religious bodies.
       May God have mercy on this poor battered planet, as well as on those faithful few who try to obey His commandment, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, not the Sunday of pagan origin (the old dies solis--day of the Sun, of Roman Mithraism) that certain people are trying to impose as an inescapable law upon everyone.--Source: http://www.saveoursundays.ca/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=275#275

Note: One of the sites indicated above is “celebrating” the fact that the well-known Walmart chain has set a committee to study the feasibility of closing on Sundays.

[Azenilto Brito]

Evangelicals Get Involved in the Defense of Nature and Establish the Creation Sunday

       We have seen how Evangelicals have engaged in establishing officially a “Day of the 10 Commandaments”, set for the 1st Sunday of May,  a promotion by the “10 Commandments Commission”, having reached a number that surpasses 333.000 signatures for their special petition regarding this project.
       Now, Evangelicals have formed an entity called Evangelical Environment Network whose Internet address is http://www.creationcare.org/. They have established the “Creation Sunday” to help believers in the Scriptures to have greater consciousness of their role as our planet’s stewards, in the face of the evident environmental degradation
       Let’s see some of their ideas and ideals:

       The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) is a non-profit organization that seeks to educate, inspire, and mobilize Christians in their effort to care for God’s creation, to be faithful stewards of God’s provision, and to advocate for actions and policies that honor God and protect the environment.
       EEN’s work is grounded in the Bible’s teaching on the responsibility of God’s people to “tend the garden” and in a desire to be faithful to Jesus Christ and to follow Him. EEN publishes materials to equip and inspire individuals, families, and churches; and seeks to educate and mobilize people to make a difference in their churches and communities, and to speak out on national and international policies that effect our ability to preach the Gospel, protect life, and care for God’s Creation.

       At another point, they explain further:

       Over the past several decades many churches have begun to celebrate the gift of God’s creation on the Sunday that falls closest to Earth Day, which is always on April 22. This once a year emphasis we call Creation Sunday. We encourage churches to celebrate Creation Sunday when it best suits their circumstances. (For 2006 we are suggesting April 23.)
       Our Creation Sunday resources available here are biblically based and designed to help busy pastors, worship leaders, and teachers celebrate Creation Sunday at their church. We add resources every year - especially resources tailored to each year’s theme.

       Now, all these are good causes by themselves, for both the promotion of the 10 Commandments and the preoccupation with nature make sense and are in harmony with the Christian ideals. Even granting a complete pause one day a week would be a very beneficial measure for the individual, the families, the society and the whole world.
       The problem is in the distortion of these good intentions for the fulfillment of agendas contrary to the integral text of God’s Word, under the inspiration of that being who always transformed good intentions into schemes of deceit, according to his tireless interest in departing as many people as possible from the genuine worship to God.

[Azenilto Brito]

Daily Scene in Chinese City (Beijing)

Global Warming:

Measures Should Be More Urgent and Radical to Stop Negative Trends, Warn Scientists

       The task of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases enough to avoid a dangerous rise in global temperatures can be much more difficult than earlier surveys suggested, say scientists who have just published studies indicating that the world would be required to cease emissions of carbon completely within a matter of decades.
       Their results, published in separate journals in recent weeks, suggest that both the industrialized and developing countries must renounce large consumption of fossil fuels by mid-century, in order to stop the global warming trends and the change in rainfall patterns, before the sources of water in the world dry up.
       Using advanced computer models to measure factors of deep ocean warming and other aspects of the carbon cycle, the scientists, from countries including the United States, Canada and Germany, have a simple message: the world must reduce emissions of carbon to near zero to prevent further temperature rise.
       “The question is, what to do if we do not want the Earth to get warmer?” asks Ken Caldeira, scientist of the Carnegie Institution, co-author of a scientific thesis published last week in the publication Geophysical Research Letters. “The answer involves a much more radical change in our energy system than what people are thinking.”

Emissions continue to rise

       While many countries have committed nearly a decade ago to take measures to reduce emissions, production of carbon from human activities around the world totals about 10 billion tons per year and is increasing.
       Schmittner, lead author of an article on February 14, in the Global Biogeochemical Cycles journal, said his computer model suggests that if global emissions continue as is the normal pattern today, the Earth will reach 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. If emissions do not fall to zero by 2300, he calculated the temperature would rise by more than 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
       “This is tremendous,” said Schmittner. “I was impressed with the fact that the warming continues much longer, even after emissions have been reduced .... Our actions now will have consequences for many, many generations. Not just for a hundred years, but thousands of years.”
       Although natural cycles remove about half the carbon dioxide of human origin of the atmosphere within a hundred years, a significant amount persists for thousands of years. Part of this carbon triggers heating of the sea, which leads to increase global average temperature, even after arresting emissions.
       Researchers have long predicted that the warming will persist even after the carbon emissions begin to decline worldwide, and that countries will have to reduce drastically their production of carbon, in order to avoid serious climate change. Last year’s report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change, said that industrialized nations would have to reduce emissions by 80 to 95 percent in 2050 to limit the concentration of CO2 to the target of 450 ppm, and the world as whole would have to reduce emissions by 50 to 80 Percent.
       While computer models used by scientists in the project have become increasingly powerful, scientists acknowledge that it is not a perfect model that reflects the complex dynamics involved in how things will evolve over time.
       Still, O’Neill said the modeling “helps clarify the thinking in the long term policy goals. If we want to reduce heating to certain level, there is a fixed amount of carbon that may be in the atmosphere. After that, we cannot issue any more. “
       Steve Gardiner, a Philosophy professor at the University of Washington said that the studies on climate change emphasize that the debate on global warming “is a classic inter-generational debate, by which the short term benefits in carbon issue accumulate up especially for us and the dangers are postponed largely for future generations.”
       When it comes to deciding how drastically to reduce emissions of gases, O’Neill, says “in the end, this is a value judgment, not a scientific issue.”
The idea of changing for a carbon-free society, he added, “appears to be technically feasible. The question is whether it is politically feasible or economically viable.”

Southern Baptist Convention Leaders Sign Environment Vow

       NEW YORK - In a major shift, a group of Southern Baptist leaders said their denomination has been “too timid” on environmental issues and has a biblical duty to stop global warming.
       The declaration, signed by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention among others and released Monday, shows a growing urgency about climate change even within groups that once dismissed claims of an overheating planet as a liberal ruse. The conservative denomination has 16.3 million members and is the largest Protestant group in the U.S.
       Even before Monday’s statement, religious activism on climate change had broadened beyond just liberal-leaning churches. But many of the most conservative Christians, including some Southern Baptist leaders, remained skeptical, and vigorously challenged evangelical environmentalists.
       The signers of “A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change” acknowledged that not all Christians accept the science behind global warming. They said they do not expect fellow believers to back any proposed solutions that would violate Scripture, such as advocating population control through abortion.
       However, the leaders said that current evidence of global warming is “substantial,” and that the threat is too grave to wait for perfect knowledge about whether, or how much, people contribute to the trend.

’We can do better’

       “We believe our current denominational resolutions and engagement with these issues have often been too timid,” according to the statement. “Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed. We can do better.”
       No one speaks on behalf of all Southern Baptists, who leave decision-making to local churches. Yet, the signatories represent some of the top figures in the convention.
       Backing the effort are presidents of three prominent Baptist-affiliated schools: David Dockery of Union University in Tennessee; Timothy George of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Alabama; and Danny Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina. More than 35 people signed the statement.
       Supporters plan to collect more signatures for the declaration through baptistcreationcare.org and encourage congregations to advocate for environmental protection.
       A decade ago, the 1993 “Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation” became a guiding document for the Evangelical Environmental Network. The Rev. Rich Cizik, Washington director of the National Association of Evangelicals, became a prominent environmental advocate, trying to persuade conservative Christians that global warming is real. Polls of younger evangelicals found they considered environmental protection a priority.
       

Student rallied leaders

       The last Southern Baptist statement on global warming came at the denomination’s 2007 annual meeting, which approved a statement questioning the belief that humans are largely to blame for climate change and warning that increased regulation of greenhouse gases will hurt the poor.
       Even so, Jonathan Merritt, a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, began rallying denominational leaders to take a different approach. Merritt, 25, son of former convention president James Merritt, said a theology class had inspired him.
       His professor had compared destroying God’s creation to “tearing a page out of the Bible.”
       “That struck me. It broke me,” the younger Merritt said in an interview, “and that was the impetus that began a life change, a shift of perspective for me.”

[Condensed from msnbc.com (Associated Press news reports)]
 

[Azenilto Brito]

ECOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF SUNDAY?!

       In a homily in Vienna, Austria, recently, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the threat that hovers upon the environment and Creation in general, stressing the necessity to pay greater attention to, what he called,  “the ecological dimension of Sunday”, the day when the Church thanks God for the Creation. He said: “At a time when creation seems to be endangered in so many ways through human activity, we should consciously advert to this dimension of Sunday too”.
       This “ecological dimension” of Sunday is a new language by which the Pope tries to show the Vatican’s leadership in a global campaign to “save the planet” (see http://zenit.org/article-20450?l=english). Wouldn’t that be what some are calling “ECOmenism”?
       But in a theological perspective, we see in the papal discourse a clear distortion of the real meaning of the Sabbath institution: he points to Sunday as a day to celebrate creation, which doesn’t match the biblical teaching, for that role is assigned to the seventh-day Sabbath as being the “memorial of creation”.
       According to the Genesis creation record, on the first day God was acting in His work, as Creator, and only on the seventh-day He rested, blessed and sanctified the day (Gen. 2:2, 3). So, this twisting of meanings is certainly a subtle change of the Bible’s teaching and symbolism on the subject of what constitutes the institution to remember the Creator and His creation.
       In the USA, on the other hand, campaigns stressing greater respect for Sunday and the 10 Commandments are under way. A “10 Commandments Commission” was formed to promote a “10 Commandments Day” (which is being set for the 1st Sunday of May) under the command of influential Evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, Benny Hynn, Charles Colson, Pat Robertson, Don Wildmon and a good number of others (see: http://www.ldausa.org/index.cfm and http://www.tencommandmentsday.com/).
       The promoters of these significant campaigns understand that the moral and spiritual decline of the great North-American nation (and all over the world) is due to the failure of society to consider seriously these divine principles, which seems a good thing, but that implies serious dangers for religious freedom. Such initiatives could lead to having religio-political systems influencing the government to dictate norms according to the expectations and interpretations of these leaders. History teaches us a sober lesson that when there is a mix of religion and politics, minorities are always hurt. . .
       In an interview on May 18, 2005 to the program “Fresh Air”, of the NPR network (National Public Radio), that covers practically the entire country, Dr. James D. Kennedy, influential minister and evangelist who had an intense radio and TV activity before passing away in September, 2007, said openly that the principle of separation of Church and State in the USA is an error that goes against the ideals of the Christian founders of the nation, and should be simply discarded. This is a very worrisome notion. His interview can be heard through the following link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4656600).
       We understand through the study of Bible prophetic statements that the final events on this planet will have much to do with the Sabbath/Sunday question. It will be the definition of who will bear the seal of God, and who will receive the “mark of the beast”. And that the obligatory character of total suspension of activities on Sundays is not a new idea we can see just recalling the “rehearsal” of that during a very serious crisis in recent decades--the oil embargo of the 70’s. What day in the week was affected by those politico-economical developments of the time? The older ones remember the gas stations closing on Sundays in many countries throughout the world.

[inga]

Thanks for sharing with us how you make others aware of issues of religious freedom.

Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, and we can't leave all this "vigilance" to others.

Now, I subscribed to the Forum of one of these sites and I transcribe below what I said there:

       Speaking of pollution, how about all these ads that hackers are posting in this topic (and probably others)? I would urge the moderators to find ways of blocking these polluters, and no “carbon credit” acceptable. . .
       As to what Carolyn said, I agree 100% with her. The idea of stopping everything one day a week is right, efficient and biblical. The idea is right, but THE DAY IS WRONG. The “Never on Sundays” idea may be good for a title of a Hollywood film, but not for the purposes of religious freedom for all.
       Now, one thing is really worrisome: there are those religious people who are taking advantage of this world crisis to launch a “save the planet” campaign, by which they try to impose their agenda upon human society.
       We have to face the common challenges that this crisis represent, but always respecting people’s religious freedom.
       Unhappily we know how history has this tendency to repeat itself. I heard that in Auschwitz, now a museum, there is a big poster in several languages saying, “NEVER MORE”.
       Oh, how wonderful if such ideal were really materialized among mankind. But the crude reality is that after Auschwitz we had Cambodia of Pol Pot fame, Ruanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, East Timor, and now Darfur. . . And if things are left alone in Iraq, shiites will do their ethnic cleansing job on minority sunnis. . .
       These religious campaigns we see under development in the US and other countries are worrisome, my friends, very worrisome, because behind the scenes there are vested interests of those who don’t care for the small numbers of people who take seriously the ideals of stopping all secular and recreational activities one day a week, but do that according to God’s command, not human convenience and dogmas of intolerant religious bodies.
       May God have mercy on this poor battered planet, as well as on those faithful few who try to obey His commandment, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, not the Sunday of pagan origin (the old dies solis--day of the Sun, of Roman Mithraism) that certain people are trying to impose as an inescapable law upon everyone.--Source: http://www.saveoursundays.ca/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=275#275

Note: One of the sites indicated above is “celebrating” the fact that the well-known Walmart chain has set a committee to study the feasibility of closing on Sundays.

[WillowRun]

 "One of the sites indicated above is “celebrating” the fact that the well-known Walmart chain has set a committee to study the feasibility of closing on Sundays."


I live in the heart of Walmart Country.  They used to be closed on Sundays back in the day.  They started staying open on Sunday to compete with Kmart  in the early 1980's.  How times change.....

[RND]

I went to the site in question and asked this question:

How does your group propose to protect the religious freedom and liberties of those that do not observe Sunday as the Lord's day, but rather observe the Seventh-day sabbath as the Lord's day, i.e. Messianic Jews, Orthodox Jews and Seventh-day Adventist's?

I wonder if I get a response. If I do I'll post it here.

Hi folks.

       See this:

       And check these links:

http://www.saveoursundays.ca/

http://saveoursundays.tripod.com/index.html

http://cv.11.forumer.com/a/a-national-day-of-rest-save-our-sundays_post345.html

http://saveoursundays.tripod.com/WesternAustralia.htm

http://wa.greens.org.au/items/Media_Release.2004-10-26.1431

Now, I subscribed to the Forum of one of these sites and I transcribe below what I said there:

       Speaking of pollution, how about all these ads that hackers are posting in this topic (and probably others)? I would urge the moderators to find ways of blocking these polluters, and no “carbon credit” acceptable. . .
       As to what Carolyn said, I agree 100% with her. The idea of stopping everything one day a week is right, efficient and biblical. The idea is right, but THE DAY IS WRONG. The “Never on Sundays” idea may be good for a title of a Hollywood film, but not for the purposes of religious freedom for all.
       Now, one thing is really worrisome: there are those religious people who are taking advantage of this world crisis to launch a “save the planet” campaign, by which they try to impose their agenda upon human society.
       We have to face the common challenges that this crisis represent, but always respecting people’s religious freedom.
       Unhappily we know how history has this tendency to repeat itself. I heard that in Auschwitz, now a museum, there is a big poster in several languages saying, “NEVER MORE”.
       Oh, how wonderful if such ideal were really materialized among mankind. But the crude reality is that after Auschwitz we had Cambodia of Pol Pot fame, Ruanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, East Timor, and now Darfur. . . And if things are left alone in Iraq, shiites will do their ethnic cleansing job on minority sunnis. . .
       These religious campaigns we see under development in the US and other countries are worrisome, my friends, very worrisome, because behind the scenes there are vested interests of those who don’t care for the small numbers of people who take seriously the ideals of stopping all secular and recreational activities one day a week, but do that according to God’s command, not human convenience and dogmas of intolerant religious bodies.
       May God have mercy on this poor battered planet, as well as on those faithful few who try to obey His commandment, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, not the Sunday of pagan origin (the old dies solis--day of the Sun, of Roman Mithraism) that certain people are trying to impose as an inescapable law upon everyone.--Source: http://www.saveoursundays.ca/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=275#275

Note: One of the sites indicated above is “celebrating” the fact that the well-known Walmart chain has set a committee to study the feasibility of closing on Sundays.

[RND]

I hope you don't mind Azenilto but I enjoyed this post so much that I decided to post it on my blogspot, http://youareisrael.blogspot.com/

I thought it was actually quite relevant to the topic of dispensationalism simply because the ship of the dispensational mindset is generally without course nor rudder in the sea of sound doctrine and scripture. All the while, as they consistently and blindly gaze at the wrong horizon of the secular, modernistic State of Israel (built on the image of neo-pagan Roman civil law), the ecumenical world movement is quickly creeping up behind them. The minions don't see Rome because they aren't looking at Rome and their pastors, who very much teach solid Jesuit eschatology, happily lead their flock astray.

David

ECOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF SUNDAY?!

       In a homily in Vienna, Austria, recently, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the threat that hovers upon the environment and Creation in general, stressing the necessity to pay greater attention to, what he called,  “the ecological dimension of Sunday”, the day when the Church thanks God for the Creation. He said: “At a time when creation seems to be endangered in so many ways through human activity, we should consciously advert to this dimension of Sunday too”.
       This “ecological dimension” of Sunday is a new language by which the Pope tries to show the Vatican’s leadership in a global campaign to “save the planet” (see http://zenit.org/article-20450?l=english). Wouldn’t that be what some are calling “ECOmenism”?
       But in a theological perspective, we see in the papal discourse a clear distortion of the real meaning of the Sabbath institution: he points to Sunday as a day to celebrate creation, which doesn’t match the biblical teaching, for that role is assigned to the seventh-day Sabbath as being the “memorial of creation”.
       According to the Genesis creation record, on the first day God was acting in His work, as Creator, and only on the seventh-day He rested, blessed and sanctified the day (Gen. 2:2, 3). So, this twisting of meanings is certainly a subtle change of the Bible’s teaching and symbolism on the subject of what constitutes the institution to remember the Creator and His creation.
       In the USA, on the other hand, campaigns stressing greater respect for Sunday and the 10 Commandments are under way. A “10 Commandments Commission” was formed to promote a “10 Commandments Day” (which is being set for the 1st Sunday of May) under the command of influential Evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, Benny Hynn, Charles Colson, Pat Robertson, Don Wildmon and a good number of others (see: http://www.ldausa.org/index.cfm and http://www.tencommandmentsday.com/).
       The promoters of these significant campaigns understand that the moral and spiritual decline of the great North-American nation (and all over the world) is due to the failure of society to consider seriously these divine principles, which seems a good thing, but that implies serious dangers for religious freedom. Such initiatives could lead to having religio-political systems influencing the government to dictate norms according to the expectations and interpretations of these leaders. History teaches us a sober lesson that when there is a mix of religion and politics, minorities are always hurt. . .
       In an interview on May 18, 2005 to the program “Fresh Air”, of the NPR network (National Public Radio), that covers practically the entire country, Dr. James D. Kennedy, influential minister and evangelist who had an intense radio and TV activity before passing away in September, 2007, said openly that the principle of separation of Church and State in the USA is an error that goes against the ideals of the Christian founders of the nation, and should be simply discarded. This is a very worrisome notion. His interview can be heard through the following link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4656600).
       We understand through the study of Bible prophetic statements that the final events on this planet will have much to do with the Sabbath/Sunday question. It will be the definition of who will bear the seal of God, and who will receive the “mark of the beast”. And that the obligatory character of total suspension of activities on Sundays is not a new idea we can see just recalling the “rehearsal” of that during a very serious crisis in recent decades--the oil embargo of the 70’s. What day in the week was affected by those politico-economical developments of the time? The older ones remember the gas stations closing on Sundays in many countries throughout the world.

[Azenilto Brito]

I hope you don't mind Azenilto but I enjoyed this post so much that I decided to post it on my blogspot, http://youareisrael.blogspot.com/

Be prepared friend, that I will sue you for using my material without consulting first with me!

Ha, ha, ha, just kidding. . . Of course you can use it freely. My objective is to put all these materials available for ample publicizing, as it could well serve to help people see how the end of times is near.

And I am writing this in the wake of this tremendous economic crisis. I hear experienced economists and other specialists saying openly on the radio and TV: "This is the most difficult time in economic terms that I have experienced in my entire lifetime".

Very special times, indeed, whose worldwide implications we can hardly fathom at this point.

May God help of those who will lose their jobs and source of income in the US and all over the world.

[Azenilto Brito]

       In an entire last page article, journalist Nancy Gibbs writes to Time magazine (Aug 2, 2004 edition) suggesting that it would be a good idea to bring back the old “blue laws” of rigorous closing of shops, stores and other establishments on Sundays in the USA. The article had as title “And in the Seventh Day We Rested?”, and as subtitle, “Maybe those old blue laws weren’t so crazy after all”.
       Voices have been raised in different places, asking that all commercial, industrial and recreational activities are suspended one day a week to save energy and to reduce the emission of pollutant gases, which seems to make good sense in the perspective of an ecological catastrophe scientists have been warning humankind about lately. Wouldn’t the Pope’s recent homilies linking respect for Sunday with respect for nature suit perfectly this type of vision?!
      A significant article in British newspaper The Guardian stresses the idea of halting activities on Sunday to undo the global warming effect. The article has as title “Slow Sunday: The simple solution to global warming”. It refers a certain movement supported by The Guardian, that proposes “a wonderful way to empower ordinary people to participate in the great movement of mitigating global warming.”
       The article goes on: “We cannot wait until governments are enlightened enough to legislate and cap the carbon emissions. Matters are urgent. We have to act now, without any delay. The power of public opinion and citizen action will have a strong impact on the climate conference taking place in Copenhagen.
       “One thing we can easily do to achieve this goal: we can declare Sunday to be a fossil fuel-free day or a low-carbon day or at least an energy-saving day. We can start this week, this month or in 2010. We can start individually and collectively. The long journey to cut carbon dioxide emissions can start in the here and now.
       “Not long ago Sunday used to be a day of rest, a day of spiritual renewal, a day for families to come together, but we have changed Sunday from a day of rest to a day of shopping, flying and driving. However, in the context of excessive carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which are bringing catastrophic upheavals, we can and should restore Sunday to a day for Gaia, a day for the Earth.
       “There will be no great hardship in cutting down all non-essential and non-urgent use of fossil fuels for one day a week. We can easily close supermarkets, department stores and petrol stations. . . . At a stroke, we can reduce 10% of our carbon emissions into the atmosphere by making Sunday a low-carbon day and at the same time make ourselves healthier and happier. So, let us make Sunday a day of rest and renewal rather than a day of travel and toil.
       “Global warming or climate change is only a symptom of our deep-seated desire to consume, consume and consume. The external problem of carbon emissions is connected with the internal problem of desire. If we stay in the rat-race 24 hours, seven days a week, we are bound to pollute our inner space as well as the outer space. Speed is the curse of modern civilisation. The solution to global warming is simple: slow down. Slow is beautiful. Even if we cannot slow down every day, at least slow down on Sunday.” -- Op. Cit., 17-09-09. [see original text in:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/sep/17/low-carbon-sunday]
       Once more, Sunday would, undoubtedly, be the day chosen, in a global campaign to “save the planet”, and if emergency situations arise—since nobody has any idea of how all this immense quantity of pollutants thrown into the air all over the world would effect nature—how much obligatory this measure couldn’t come to be?
       If in a boat there are five passengers, each belonging to a different religious or philosophical orientation, all debating enthusiastically their ideas, individually defending their views, and one of them spots a hole in the bottom of the boat, which begins to fill with water, won’t they all forget their differences and see a way to fix the common and threatening problem? In the face of emergencies, the tendency is everybody to unite to look for immediate measures that help achieve a common route of escape.

[Murcielago]

It seems that the radical element of the eco movement is imploding. The exposition of falsification and misleading information as a basis for pronouncements and actions is accelerating, and the leaders have largely lost their credibility with public. In my opinion it is a trend will die out and give way to new trends, as trends, by definition, do.

[princessdi]

So..............there is no global warming?  We have been excellent stewarts?   Just askin'..............   

[Murcielago]

Global warming... global cooling... every climate model shows earth cycling through both regularly. Not many thousands of years ago polar ice sheets came all the way down into what is now the northern states of the USA. There are also fossilized remains of tropical palm trees in Siberia. Less than 150 years ago the northern hemisphere came out of an ice age. A vast rain forest became the Sahara, which, at 3.5 million square miles, is the largest desert in the world, and this happened long before the advent of modern technology.

Are we good stewards of Earth? No.

Global warming? Yes, it happens as often as does global cooling, which is now what we are in. In the '70s the panic was another ice age, then there came the panic that the world would end in global warming. Then the world began cooling, so the panic terminology changed to become "climate change." Lol!