So is it against the law to give the plan of salvation to them?
And do we have to provide Korans to them to fuel their hate of us?

No, I wouldn't go that far. There is no law saying that we must give any prisoner any kind of book nor that we cannot proselytize to them irregardless of what certain groups (such as the ACLU) say.

Witnessing to these people and trying to force them to denounce their beliefs are two different things.

Hi again Billie,

I am glad to hear that you are getting somewhere with the person you spoke of. That is great news.

I understand what you are saying but think about it a minute. We cannot force them to denounce their beliefs or to accept Jesus Christ. Maybe outwardly but not in their heart. Just as you said .... many of the Muslims that are forced into that belief are actually Atheists? Hmmm .....  something to think about.

I think that there should be some methods used to attempt to get useful information from prisoners but we must be careful to not go into the realm of their world by doing as they have done. More times than not when information is forced from these people through torment it is information that is not any good as they give us anything just to stop us from tormenting them. It is a rare thing to get good valid information through such tactics.

The prayer entitled "I Asked" was written by a Confederate soldier.
It was recovered from his body in Devil's Den after the battle of Gettysburg,
and is a provocative prayer that many of our Veterans can relate to:



I Asked

I asked for strength that I might achieve,
God made me weak that I might obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things,
I was given grace that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

 received nothing that I asked for,
My prayer was answered.

~A prayer by a Confederate Soldier~

Old Glory Flaps in the Breeze

by Irvin L. Rozier, Veteran

I woke up this morning way before dawn
I sat on my bench by the edge of the lawn;
I meditated on the Lord and his goodness to me
I am blessed to live in America where I am free.

I have a tall flag pole by my little white shed
I just raised a new flag, it is white, blue and red;
I saw Old Glory whipping around in the breeze
For years it has flown over the land and the seas.

As a young child I held my hand over my heart
I learned the Pledge of Allegiance, part by part;
I recalled that day when I raised my right hand
I promised to support and defend our great land.

As I watched Old Glory gently flapping in the wind
I prayed to the Lord and asked that he would mend;
Our great nation so it would not be divided and fall
I believe the Lord heard me as on his name I did call.

The red of Old Glory reminds me of the soldiers' blood
Shed on foreign desert sands and in the jungle mud;
The 50 white stars set against the blue background
Reminds me of God's grace that is spread all around.

God Bless America is a phrase that we often hear
Repeated on many lips day by day, year by year;
Indeed God has blessed America in a mighty way
Because of the many that to him do kneel and pray.

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:23 (NIV) So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (NIV)

This flag reminds me that this week we will celebrate a very important national holiday. How many of you know what holiday we will celebrate? We will celebrate Veterans Day. Veterans' Day is a day on which we honor all of the men and women who have served in the military and who have fought to defend our freedom.

We enjoy a lot of freedom. We are free to come to church and worship, we are free to choose what we want to be when we grow up, we are free to choose where we want to live, we are free to choose most of the things that affect our daily lives. This might come as a surprise to some of you -- but did you know that freedom isn't free? That's right, someone had to pay the price for us to have the freedom that we enjoy. There are men and women right here in this room this morning who have helped to pay that price. Some have served in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard. Many of them have fought in wars and some may have been wounded. There are probably some people here this morning who had loved ones who gave their lives fighting for our freedom. All of these are the ones that we honor as we celebrate Veterans Day.

Yes, we have a lot of freedom, but the greatest freedom that we have is the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus. The Bible teaches that the penalty for sin is death, but you and I have been set free from this penalty. We have been set free because Jesus paid the penalty. The Bible tells us that Jesus died to set us free from the penalty of sin. Instead of death, we have been given eternal life. This freedom wasn't free, Jesus paid the price.

This week as we celebrate Veterans' Day, let us remember to stop and thank God for those who have paid the price for our freedom. Let us also remember to thank God for Jesus, who has set us free from the penalty for sin, because he was willing to pay the price.

Dear God, thank you for the freedom that we enjoy in our country. We are thankful for those who paid the price for that freedom, but even more important, we thank you for the freedom we have because Jesus was willing to pay the penalty for our sin. Amen.

 Lest We Forget!

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes. Job 19:25-27a (NIV) But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. Luke 20:35-36 (NIV)

This week we celebrate a very special holiday.

- It isn't Thanksgiving, even though it is a day to give thanks.

- It isn't Independence Day, even though it is a day to celebrate freedom.

- It isn't Valentine Day, even though it is a day to think about love.

The holiday we celebrate this week is called Veterans' Day. This holiday is celebrated in many countries around the world. In some countries it is called Armistice Day. In others it may be called Remembrance Day. No matter what you call it, it is a day on which we honor the men and women who have served in the military. We also honor those who have died for the cause of freedom. It is a time for us to say "Thank you" for the sacrifices they have made. It is a time to think about the freedoms we enjoy because they were willing to serve. It is a time to think about love -- the love they showed for their country and for their fellow man.

How do we celebrate Veterans' Day? I guess many people will celebrate it just like they celebrate any other holiday. They will go to the mall and go shopping! I would like to suggest some other ways we might celebrate this important holiday.

- Fly a flag in your yard to remind others that this is a day to honor those who have served.

- Spend some time in prayer. Give thanks to God for those who served to defend the cause of freedom.

- Observe two minutes of silence. Concentrate on remembering those who have died defending the cause of freedom.

- Wear a Poppy. A Poppy is a red flower which is worn to show others that you are remembering those who died for their country. The poppy was chosen because it reminds us of a place called Flanders Fields where many soldiers from the first World War are buried. The poppies grow there between the crosses that mark their graves.

Veterans' Day is a holiday that we take very seriously, but that doesn't mean that it is a time to mope around and be sad. It is a happy occasion indeed. We can be happy that because of the sacrifice of these brave men and women, you and I enjoy great freedom. We can also be happy that even though many of these brave soldiers died in battle, that is not the end of their story. Here is the rest of the story -- those who had put their trust in God will be raised and will go to be with the him. That is a promise from God's Word. Listen to these words from the book of Job, "My flesh may be destroyed, yet from this body I will see God. I will see him for myself."

You know, that promise is not for soldiers alone. It is for you and me as well. It is for all who put their faith and trust in God. Jesus said, "Those who are considered worthy of taking part in the resurrection are like the angels. They can no longer die. They are God's children." We are God's children and one day we will see him. Won't that be a wonderful day!

Dear Father, we remember and honor those who have served to preserve and protect our freedom. We also celebrate the resurrection, because all of us who have placed our faith and trust in you -- even though we die -- will live again. Amen.

Welcome to Christians Unite GKB. This is a great forum filled with some great Christians. I hope you enjoy sweet fellowship because we have plenty of that to go around.

Hi GKB,

I'm not sure if I have welcomed you to the forum yet so I extend a warm welcome to Christians Unite.

I don't know the situation with your Pastors children that you are speaking of and don't care to know, but Pastors children should be afforded the same as anyone else in the church and not be given a position just because they are his children. If they are not properly abiding by the standards set forth in the Bible and in the church then they should not be allowed to hold a position any more than anyone else would be.

Hi Billie,

Our troops are not only prepared for going through mental torture but also the physical torture. It is because not all countries will abide by the Geneva Convention and afford our Troops the care and respect that they should. This does not mean that we should do the same as the other countries.

To risk sounding like a liberal my question though is what is defined as mental torture? Just how far do you think we should take mental torture? Should we be able to go as far as humiliating them or perhaps forcing them to violate their religious beliefs? Where do we draw the line?

Page two

The council is headed by Charles Freeman Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and gets direct funding from Saudi Arabia.

In September, the council’s acting director, Jon Roth, visited Saudi Arabia to meet with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a member of the royal family.

“Our hope and expectation is millions” from the Saudi prince, who initiated the meeting after hearing about the teaching program, Roth said.

The council’s board of directors includes executives from companies with huge financial stakes in Saudi Arabia, including Boeing, ExxonMobil Saudi Arabia, the Carlyle Group, and the Saudi Binladin Group.

Sandra Stotsky, a former senior associate commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education, is one of a growing number of critics of the Arab World Studies Notebook. It is one of the examples she cites in “The Stealth Curriculum: Manipulating America’s History Teachers,” in which she examines supplemental teaching materials.

“The organizations that create them,” she said in her study, “embed their political agendas in the instructional materials so subtly that apolitical teachers are unlikely to spot them.”

The American Jewish Committee issued a scathing report on the manual earlier this year, called “Propaganda, Proselytizing, and Public Education: A Critique of the Arab World Studies Notebook. ”

The report said that the publication, while “attempting to redress a perceived deficit in sympathetic views of the Arabs and Muslim religion in the American classroom, veers in the opposite direction n toward historical distortion as well as uncritical praise, whitewashing and practically proselytizing.”

The result, the AJCommittee report said, “is a text that appears largely designed to advance the anti-Israel and propagandistic views of the Notebook’s sponsors, the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) and Arab World and Islamic Resources (AWAIR), to an audience of teachers who may not have the resources and knowledge to assess this text critically.”

In an interview with JTA, Shabbas said the goal of the notebook is “to establish a basis for understanding the Middle East” by examining the largest of the groups that live there n the Arabs.

She also noted that the publication directs students to solicit other perspectives from various groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the AJC committee.

Roth of the Middle East Policy Council dismissed the critics of the notebook as “cranks.”

The AJCommittee took the unusual step of issuing a public warning “urging school districts across the nation” not to use the manual. Still, Shabbas and her publication are welcomed by outreach coordinators to some of the nation’s key national resource centers, including those at Georgetown, Harvard and Yale.

Many of the principal players involved in disseminating pro-Islamic, anti-American and anti-Israel materials to the public school system have links, direct or indirect, to a little-known place called Dar al Islam.

Located in Abiquiu, N.M., Dar al Islam (www.daralislam.org), which means “abode of Islam” in Arabic, is an Islamic enclave registered with the state as a nonprofit in 1979. The massive complex is accessible only by an unpaved, dirt road. It was created with direct financing from the late Saudi monarch King Khaled ibn Aziz and from five princesses in the Royal House of Saud, according to Saudi Aramco World.

The enclaves sit on 1,600 of the original 8,500 acres provided by the royal family; the rest was sold and invested to help finance its operation, Dar al Islam officials say.

In addition to the mosque, the enclave has a madrassa, or religious school, summer camp and teacher-training institute. It runs speakers’ bureaus and programs and maintains a website.

Many of the individuals and groups involved in promoting education about Islam and the Arab world in American schools have ties to Dar al Islam.

Shabbas, lecturer and editor of The Arab World Studies Notebook, was director of Dar al Islam’s summer teacher-training program in 1994 and 1995.

Others with connections to Dar al Islam include:

• Zeina Azzam Seikaly, outreach coordinator at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, a Title VI National Resource Center on the Middle East.

Seikaly promotes many associates of Dar al Islam, printing their writings and inviting them to lecture.

• The Council on Islamic Education. Independent textbook review organizations describe the council as one of the most powerful groups in the country influencing the content of textbooks. Critics say that in its effort to promote a positive view of Islam, it distorts history.

• Susan Douglass is a former teacher at the Islamic Saudi Academy of Virginia, a Saudi government-supported school, and she consults on textbooks and curriculum by major publishers. She has written a series of books on Islam for K-6 students at Islamic and public schools.

One of Dar al Islam’s websites, islamamerica.org, posts articles defending Palestinians and their supporters, while excoriating democracies, including America and Israel.

Some Saudi watchers say Saudi Arabia’s goal is to export the most rigid brand of Islam: Wahhabi Islam, which in contrast to other forms of Islam, is intolerant of other religions.

It’s an agenda “more dangerous than communism” ever was, according to Ali Al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, a Washington-based pro-democracy think tank, because it targets all non-believers, including Christians, Jews and most Muslims.

Such apostates have only three choices, he said: “Convert, be subjugated or die.”

The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to several requests for comment.

JTA STAFF REPORT

With the school year back in full swing, do you know what your children are learning?

In thousands of public school districts across the United States, taxpayers, without ever knowing it, pay to disseminate pro-Islamic materials that are anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.

Often bypassing school boards and nudging aside approved curricula, teaching programs funded by Saudi Arabia make their way into elementary and secondary school classrooms.

These teachings enter school systems with the help of a federal program, Title VI of the Higher Education Act, now up for renewal.

Expert analyses of these materials have found them to be full of inaccuracies, bias and proselytizing. They also have found that many of the major history and social studies textbooks used in schools across the country are highly critical of democratic institutions and forgiving of repressive ones.

These materials praise and sometimes promote Islam, but criticize Judaism and Christianity and are filled with false assertions.

Much has been written about the anti-Israel, anti-American bias found at many university Middle East studies departments, some of which receive Saudi funding. Now, a special yearlong investigation by JTA reveals for the first time how Saudi influence is also penetrating the American classrooms of young children.

Saudi influence enters the classrooms in three different ways. The first is through teacher-training seminars that provide teachers with graduate or continuing-education credits.

The second is through the dissemination of supplementary teaching materials designed and distributed with Saudi support. Such materials flood the educational system and are available online.

The third is through school textbooks, some of them vetted by activists with Saudi ties, who advise and influence major textbook companies about the books� Islamic, Arab, Palestinian, Israeli and Middle Eastern content.

Ironically, what gives credibility to the dissemination of these distorted materials is Title VI of the Higher Education Act.

Under Title VI, select universities get federal funding and prestigious designation as national resource centers for the study of places and languages the government deems vital for meeting global challenges.

Eighteen of these centers are for the study of the Middle East; each receives an average of about $500,000 per year. The taxpayer-supported grants are worth at least 10 times that amount in their ability to garner university support and attract outside funding, proponents of Title VI say.

As part of its federal mandate, each center assigns an outreach coordinator to extend its expertise to the community and to children in grades kindergarten through 12. Outreach usually includes workshops, guest speakers, books, pamphlets and whole syllabuses and curricula and visual aids.

While some school district officials are completely unaware of the material reaching their teachers and classrooms, others welcome it: Believing they�re importing the wisdom of places like Harvard or Georgetown, they actually are inviting into their schools whole curricula and syllabuses developed with the support of Riyadh.

The Arab World Studies Notebook is one such example. Billed by its creators as an important tool to correct misperceptions about Islam and the Arab world, the manual for secondary schools has been blasted by critics for distorting history and propagating bias.

First published in 1990 as the Arab World Notebook, the manual was updated in 1998.

Some of the references are subtle, critics say, making them all the more harmful. For example, the manual:

� Denigrates the Jews� historical connection to Jerusalem. One passage, describing the Old City, says: �The Jerusalem that most people envisage when they think of the ancient city, is Arab. Surrounding it are ubiquitous high-rises built for Israeli settlers to strengthen Israeli control over the holy city.�

� Suggests that Jews have undue influence on U.S. foreign policy. Referring to Harry Truman�s support of the 1947 United Nations resolution to partition Palestine, separating it into Jewish and Arab states, it says: �Jewish lobbying and its impact on Truman�s decision ... is well worth exploring.�

� Suggests that the Koran �synthesizes and perfects earlier revelations,� meaning those ascribed to by Christians and Jews.

� Leaves out any facts and figures about the state of Israel in its country-by-country section, but refers instead only to Palestine.

One of the groups involved in the publication is the Berkeley, Calif.-based Arab World and Islamic Resources, or AWAIR (www.awairon line.org), founded in 1990 with funding from organizations that include Saudi Aramco, a Saudi government-owned oil company.

Editor of the notebook is Audrey Shabbas, AWAIR�s founder.

The second organization involved in the manual is the Middle East Policy Council of Washington, which helps print and disseminate the 500-page manual of essays, lesson plans and primary sources.

The council employs Shabbas to conduct its training and seminars. According to the group�s website (www.mepc.org), more than 16,000 educators have attended its workshops in 175 cities in 43 states. The manual itself claims to have reached 25 million students.



Contd on page two

That's right brother. They have not been able to translate some older manuscripts and fragments using what they know of the Hebrew language today as it is different than the original Hebrew language due to the many influences of other languages being mixed in. This is the earliest known Hebrew language available and it was made easier by being in the correct alphabetic order.

I am anxiously waiting to see what all comes out of this.

The final result being that many more will come to the realization that the Bible is true and will accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour will definitely be the icing on the cake. I am sure that their are many "doubting Thomas" that will come to that understanding.

Mother of nine sues school for its 'opposite sex' dress up day

Thursday, November 10, 2005

By Steve Gonzalez - East St. Louis Bureau

Some folks have a penchant for cross dressing. Others find it objectionable--especially when it is encouraged in public school.

A mother of nine from southern Illinois, clearly aligned with the latter, filed suit in federal court claiming Carrier Mills School District in Saline County violated the Constitution by instituting "opposite sex" day during its spirit week.

Lora Stanley, who parents six foster children and three of her own, claims children in grades k-12 were instructed to dress as a member of the opposite gender in order to receive a reward on Nov. 1, 2004.

Precisely one year later, she filed suit in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis.

“Stanley, who is a Christian and endeavors to direct the upbringing of her children according to principles according to the Bible, and being advised that the boys were wearing short skirts and large breasts groping themselves as part of the activities, pulled her children out of school to avoid exposing her children to the cross-dressing taking place in the school,” the complaint states.

Stanley pulled her children from school that day so they would not be injured by the stigma of being the only students not to participate and go unrewarded.

According to Stanley, she complained about the cross-dressing tradition in 2003, but claims the school dismissed her concerns. Her vocal criticism has drawn the attention of several local and national media outlets.

“By conducting opposite sex day at its schools, Carrier Mills violated Stanley’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to direct the upbringing of her children...in the book of Leviticus in the Christian Bible, cross-dressing is forbidden by God,” the complaint states.

“Nonparticipation would also not prevent the interference with Stanley’s ability to raise her children according to her Christian values, as her children would be exposed merely by being present at school to sexual matters being cast in a light hostile to the religious principles she seeks to instill in her children," the complaint states.

Stanley claims that after exentisive media coverage she learned that one of her foster children was not receiving his Individualized Education Plan (IEP), a special education provision to which he was entitled.

She also alleges that school superintendent Richard Morgan placed several calls to the Department of Children and Family Services, reporting her as an unfit mother and foster parent. Stanley claims he told caseworkers that he would continue to make complaints until DCFS took actions against her.

According to Stanley, Morgan told DCFS that he removed his own children from her daycare years before due to filthy conditions, and publicly said that she was “crazy” and accused her of having “deep seeded problems.”

The suit alleges that Stanley's children also were harassed, threatened and received excessive punishment from school officials.

One of her foster children received an excessive number of detentions from a substitute teacher, who happened to be the superintendent’s mother, and then was denied the right to ride the bus home, Stanley claims.

“By slandering Stanley, denying her children needed special education services, and excessively and unfairly disciplining her children, defendants have engaged in a pattern of retaliation against Stanley for exercising her First Amendment rights to speak out against opposite sex day.”

According to Stanley, she pulled her children from the school to avoid further harassment and anything else that interferes with her religious values.

Stanley is seeking injunctive relief finding Carrier Mill’s opposite sex day as unconstitutional, as it violates her parental rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

She claims she has the right to direct the upbringing of her children according to a sincerely held religious belief.

Stanley seeks to prohibit opposite sex day and compensatory and exemplary damages, plus attorney fees and costs of the suit.

Jason Craddock of Sauk Village represents Stanley. The case has been assigned to Chief Judge Patrick Murphy.



(My note: The public schools are going over the line again and again in their anti-Christian agenda. It is past time for more parents to take the same action this woman did.)

Thursday, November 10, 2005 · Last updated 5:36 p.m. PT

Finding said to boost proof of Goliath

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM -- Archaeologists digging at the purported biblical home of Goliath have unearthed a shard of pottery bearing an inscription of the Philistine's name, a find they claimed lends historical credence to the Bible's tale of David's battle with the giant.

While the discovery is not definitive evidence of Goliath's existence, it does support the Bible's depiction of life at the time the battle was supposed to have occurred, said Dr. Aren Maeir, a professor at Bar-Ilan University and director of the excavation.

"What this means is that at the time there were people there named Goliath," he said. "It shows us that David and Goliath's story reflects the cultural reality of the time." In the story, David slew Goliath with a slingshot.

Some scholars assert the story of David slaying the giant Goliath is a myth written down hundreds of years later. Maeir said finding the scraps lends historical credence to the biblical story.

The shard dates back to around 950 B.C., within 70 years of when biblical chronology asserts David squared off against Goliath, making it the oldest Philistine inscription ever found, the archaeologists said.

Scientists made the discovery at Tel es-Safi, a dig site in southern Israel thought to be to be the location of the Philistine city of Gath.

PA police: Our guns are aimed at Israel

By Ryan Jones
November 10th, 2005

In an ominous letter to PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas, a large number of Palestinian Authority security officers confirmed Israeli's worst fears regarding the “Oslo” peace process – the guns Israel allowed them to obtain are to be used against Jews and their allies only, not terrorists.

The Arabs “know very well that if they use these guns against us once, at that moment the Oslo Accords will be annulled and the IDF will return to all the places that have been given to them,” late-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin warned after signing that agreement with Yasser Arafat in 1993.

Rabin's words were neither heeded nor backed up.

Despite “Palestinian” police officers having turned their weapons on Israelis numerous times over the past decade, the “peace” process has rolled on.

In fact, many members of recognized terrorist organizations actually double as PA policemen. Abbas is trying to add more by bringing his Fatah faction's Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades into the fold.

But if the man Washington insists is a “moderate” thinks such a move will lessen, at least temporarily, the violence between those he governs and Israel, this week's letter sought to set him straight.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the officers who attached their names to the document stressed “that their weapons would be used only against Israel and suspected collaborators” - those Palestinian Arabs that, in the spirit of “Oslo,” cooperate with Israel in the war against Islamic terror.

Cracking down on terror groups such as Hamas in compliance with US and Israeli demands is out of the question, the officers wrote.

“We are the soldiers of the homeland, not [US security coordinator] General William Ward. Neither are we a branch of the Israeli Shin Bet nor members of a hired gang serving certain centers of power.”

They also cautioned Abbas over the rampant corruption and cronyism his regime has facilitated, and which threatens to tear the security forces apart.

“We urge you to get acquainted with what's really happening inside the security forces, which have begun disintegrating because of corruption, mismanagement and placing private interests above the national interests of the people,” the officers wrote.

The letter appeared to contradict Abbas' recent claims that he has taken concrete steps to reform security in line with his Road Map commitments, as well as recent upbeat US State Department assessments concerning the situation within the PA.

PA officials attempted to play down the letter, telling the Post “it was written by a group of disgruntled officers who had been retired or dismissed.”

In another challenge to Abbas' rule, several long-serving PLO ambassadors originally placed by Yasser Arafat have refused to relinquish their posts to new appointees.

These incidents again called into question the validity of Israel relying on the Abbas-run PA as a peace partner capable of enforcing the laws born out of any final peace agreement.