Immoral behavior

[Shammu]

Arabs Desecrate Grave of Biblical Prime Minister Joshua
by Ezra HaLevi

Jewish worshippers Tuesday were stunned to find Arabs had desecrated the graves of the Biblical Joshua, Caleb and Nun (Joshua’s father).

Joshua served as the Jewish Nation's Prime Minister from the year 2488 until 2516 on the Hebrew calendar (1272 BCE - 1300 BCE).

Members of the One Shechem organization that organizes visits to the graves arrived in the village of Timnat (Kifl) Haress, near Ariel in Samaria, to prepare for a special prayer gathering, discovered that Arab vandals had desecrated the village’s Jewish tombs.  The tombs of Yehoshua (Joshua) ben Nun, Nun, and Calev (Caleb) ben Yefuneh were covered with garbage and feces – both human and animal, and anti-Semitic and Nazi slogans and symbols had been painted in the area.

Nevertheless, worshippers gathered at the tombs Tuesday night for special prayers on the tenth of Tevet, the day Kaddish and other prayers are recited for those whose date of death is unknown, such as Calev ben Yefuneh. Organizers had cleaned up the damage and attendees reported a positive experience.

The prayers were also to mark the end of the 30-day increased-stricture mourning period for murdered Jewish father Ido Zoldan of Kedumim, by a Palestinian Authority police officer.

Organizers reported that a wide array of Jews – hareidi, national religious and traditional – took part in the visit and prayers. They also praised the cooperation of security forces, particularly the Efraim Division of the IDF.

The One Shechem organization issued a call to the public to do everything in their power to preserve the holy sites in Samaria, including Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem and to fight for the right of Jews to visit and worship there freely.

Arabs Desecrate Grave of Biblical Prime Minister Joshua

[Shammu]

Arabs Desecrate Grave of Biblical Prime Minister Joshua

When they stand before the One True God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they will have to answer for this I'm glad....... I'm not them.

[Shammu]

Pro-gay schools law hit


December 18, 2007

By Jennifer Kabbany - A new law that amends California's education code has many of the state's conservatives in an uproar and taking drastic measures to repeal it, saying the changes go too far in promoting a homosexual agenda in public schools.

The law known as SB 777 is due to take effect in January and forbids any school activity that "promotes a discriminatory bias" on the basis of "gender" or "sexual orientation."

Parents, preachers, conservative lawyers and Sacramento-based pro-family advocacy groups have mounted campaigns against the law in recent weeks, efforts that include pulling children out of school, circulating a referendum petition and filing a lawsuit.

"If this is not repealed, the next step is to get out of California itself — it's like Sodom and Gomorrah," said Pastor Vincent Xavier, one of many church leaders across the state who helped spread the word of a two-day school boycott in late November to protest the law.

The mix of protesters contend the law would allow students to decide whether they are male or female, potentially wreaking "havoc" in campus locker rooms and bathrooms, and bans lessons and any other school activities that are construed as portraying homosexuality negatively.

"People have said enough is enough," said Karen England, executive director of Capital Resource Family Impact, the Sacramento-based nonprofit advocacy group behind the referendum petition. "I think they realize it's gone too far."

At issue is a law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October that proponents say clarifies and streamlines — but does not expand — existing civil rights protections for students spelled out in California's education code.

"There has been no change in California law, none at all," said state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, the Los Angeles Democrat who authored the original bill.

An avowed lesbian, Ms. Kuehl said the amendments simply spell out in the education code laws it has referenced for several years in the state's penal code with regard to various forms of discrimination.

"The education code already included all of this by reference to the penal code," she said. "If there was going to be any problem with that, it would have already arisen."

She said the conservative campaign against SB 777 "is nothing but a cynical attempt to exploit their supporters for more money."

Opponents of the measure say they are protecting the state's students and Christian teachers from an overzealous homosexual lobby.

"The special interests are in control in Sacramento," said Bob Tyler, lead counsel for the Southern California-based law firm Advocates for Faith and Freedom, which filed a federal lawsuit against the law in late November. "The homosexual lobby is so powerful, it has passed over 40 bills since 2000 forcing their agenda on society."

Mr. Tyler said the latest law is a "ridiculous" example of that agenda. SB 777 redefines "gender" in the education code so as to include "gender identity" — a potentially dangerous change, he said.

"Any testosterone-driven boy in the midst of his high school era who wants to wreak a little havoc, all he has to do is say, 'I believe I am a girl, and I am entitled to use the girls' locker room, and you can't stop me, or you are discriminating against me,' " he said.

The notion of boys using girls' bathrooms, or vice versa, isn't farfetched, said Mrs. England, pointing to a 2005 Los Angeles Unified School District policy already mandating as much.

Mrs. England also contends the law means "equal time" for all sexual orientations in kindergarten through 12th grade, affecting everything from high school child-development lessons to boys campaigning for prom queen.

Ms. Kuehl said the new wording actually makes it harder to prove discrimination by changing the education code from banning lessons and activities that "reflect adversely" on homosexuality to those that "promote a discriminatory bias."

" 'Promotes a discriminatory bias'is much less vague than 'reflects adversely,' " she said.

However, Mrs. England and Mr. Tyler said the new law will have dire effects on teachers'lessons and students'free-speech rights.

For example, they said, lessons about families that only cover heterosexual situations may be construed as promoting a discriminatory bias. Also, an annual Christian student protest on campuses across the state meant to counter the annual, pro-homosexual "Day of Silence" school campaign might also be construed as promoting bias.

Mrs. England said the law effectively silences Christian teachers and students. "It's crazy," she said. "It's the line in the sand."

The law was to take effect Jan. 1, but the effective date has been pushed back to Jan. 10 because of the referendum petition.

Mrs. England said thousands of volunteers are collecting signatures, and her group needs 434,000 valid signatures by early January in order to put the referendum on the June ballot.

Mary Calgaro, a 64-year-old grandmother who lives in Southern California, is helping with the petition drive. She said she joined the cause because she believes the state's Legislature is "out of control."

"I am really concerned about our schools and our children, how they are being indoctrinated, and how our poor teachers have to contend with all these things," she said.

Mrs. Calgaro is not alone. Joy Stutz, a 64-year-old grandmother who lives in Escondido, Calif., launched a campaign calling on parents to pull their children out of school for two days in late November to protest the law.

She first advertised the campaign on the Internet, she said, but it picked up steam when conservative advocacy groups such as the Sacramento-based Campaign for Children and Families, as well as local churches, helped spread the word, she said.

The effort attracted the attention of local and statewide education officials, who complained that the protest only hurt the students, as they lost out on classroom time. But many parents who participated in the protest said they did so because they felt it was time to take a stand.

Homosexual activists "are getting all kinds of legislation passed in their favor because they are out there in the forefront, taking action, demonstrating, pushing their agenda, pushing for what they want," said Dale Porth, 67, who kept his 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son out of school.

"I felt that a majority of us need to start taking a stand against some of these issues that are being pushed forward by a small minority of people who are very militant in their agenda," Mr. Porth said.

Pro-gay schools law hit

[Shammu]

Archbishop of Canterbury Dismisses Nativity Scene as Nothing but 'Legend'

Thursday , December 20, 2007
Ruth Gledhill

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, dismissed the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men yesterday as nothing but "legend."

There was scant evidence for the Magi, and none at all that there were three of them, or that they were kings, he said. All the evidence that existed was in Matthew’s Gospel. The Archbishop said: "Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t tell us there were three of them, doesn’t tell us they were kings, doesn’t tell us where they came from. It says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that’s all we’re really told." Anything else was legend. "It works quite well as legend," the Archbishop said.

Further, there was no evidence that there were any oxen or asses in the stable. The chances of any snow falling around the stable in Bethlehem were "very unlikely." And as for the star rising and then standing still: the Archbishop pointed out that stars just don’t behave like that.

Although he believed in it himself, he advised that new Christians need not fear that they had to leap over the "hurdle" of belief in the Virgin Birth before they could be "signed up." For good measure, he added, Jesus was probably not born in December at all. “Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival.”

He said the Christmas cards that show the Virgin Mary cradling baby Jesus, with the shepherds on one side and the Three Wise Men on the other, were guilty of "conflation."

But in spite of his scepticism about aspects of the Christmas story, as told in infant nativity plays up and down the land, he denied that believing in God was equivalent to believing in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy.

"The thing is, belief in Santa does not generate a moral code, it does not generate art, it does not generate imagination. Belief in God is a bit bigger than that," the Archbishop said.

Williams was speaking live on BBC Radio Five to the presenter Simon Mayo when Ricky Gervais, star of The Office and a fellow guest, challenged him about the intellectual credibility of the Christian faith.

He said he was committed to belief in the Virgin Birth "as part of what I have inherited." But belief in the Virgin Birth should not be a "hurdle" over which new Christians had to jump before they were accepted.

He hinted that decades ago he was not "too fussed" with the literal truth of the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. But as time went on, he developed a "deeper sense" of what the Virgin Birth was all about. And he went on to do a literary-critical analysis of the traditional Christmas card that features, as often as not, a Virgin Mary cradling a baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, with shepherds on one side, the Three Wise Men on the other and oxen and asses all around. Sometimes the stable is depicted with snow falling all around, and often with a bright star rising in the East.

Most of it, the Archbishop said, could not have happened like that.

One of the few things that almost everyone agreed on was that Jesus’s mother’s name was Mary. That is in all the four Gospels. It was also pretty clear that Jesus’s father was called Joseph.

Williams was not saying anything that is not taught as a matter of course in even the most conservative theological colleges. His supporters would argue that it is a sign of a true man of faith that he can hold on to an orthodox faith while permitting honest intellectual scrutiny of fundamental biblical texts.

The Archbishop admitted that the Church’s present difficulties, with the dispute over sexuality taking the Anglican Communion to the brink of schism, were off-putting to outsiders. "They don’t want to know about the inside politics of the Church, they want to know if God’s real, if they can be forgiven, what sort of lifestyles matter more and they want to know, I suppose, if their prayers are heard."

Williams’s views are strictly in line with orthodox Christian teaching. The Archbishop is sticking to what the Bible actually says.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dismisses Nativity Scene as Nothing but 'Legend'

[Shammu]

Archbishop of Canterbury Dismisses Nativity Scene as Nothing but 'Legend'

What was even sadder was the long list of comments I saw on the news website-- so many hard-hearted people who won't even consider having faith in something they can't see.

[Shammu]

Sarkozy meets with pope at the Vatican
The Associated Press
Thursday, December 20, 2007

VATICAN CITY: French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, saying he was personally "moved" by his first audience at the Vatican since taking office in May.

They discussed a range of international issues, including "the drama of hostages," an apparent reference to France's efforts to free Ingrid Betancourt, who is being held by Colombian guerrillas.

Betancourt is a dual French-Colombian citizen and former presidential candidate in the South American country. She has been held for nearly six years and France has been actively seeking her release.

During his daylong visit to Rome, Sarkozy also pitched his idea for a union of Mediterranean countries, gaining support from leaders of Italy and Spain.

The Vatican described the visit as "cordial" and noted what it called the good relations between the French government and the Roman Catholic Church.

Sarkozy, in talks with the pope and a second meeting with the Vatican's secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, discussed themes of "common interest" in France and the "role of religion, in particular the Catholic Church, in the world," the Vatican said.

Before the visit, Sarkozy's spokesman, David Martinon, described the Vatican as "extremely active and influential" in diplomacy.

"It's a partner that counts, and it's a heavyweight ally on a great number of subjects," such as on Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Martinon said.

The two men held 25 minutes of private talks. Sarkozy then introduced members of his delegation to Benedict, including a priest known for his work with troubled youths and a standup comedian known for his off-color jokes.

The French leader arrived at the Vatican about 15 minutes behind schedule after flying in from Paris. Benedict greeted him outside his study and two men posed for photographers before taking their seats at a desk for their talks.

"Where did you learn your French?" Sarkozy asked Benedict. "In school," the German pope replied.

Sarkozy presented the pope with three books, including one he had written before becoming president on the role of religion in secular France.

After the talks, Sarkozy visited excavations under St. Peter's Basilica.

Sarkozy later visited St. John Lateran Basilica, where he accepted the title of honorary canon.

The title dated back to the kings of France and is one that not all French presidents wanted to accept because of the sensitivities surrounding the separation of church and state.

In a speech at the Basilica, he said that both Christianity and secularism were key elements of French history.

"My presence among you today attests to France's fidelity to its own history and to one of the major sources of its civilization," the president told a group of prelates including the pope's vicar for Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.

Sarkozy drummed up support for his project for a Mediterranean Union in separate talks with Italian Premier Romano Prodi and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The three leaders issued a joint appeal for increased cooperation in the region, saying the Mediterranean Union "wants to be the heart and engine" of such dialogue.

They announced plans for a summit to be held in Paris July 13-14 gathering countries north and south of the sea, including fellow EU nations.

"It's in the Mediterranean that some of mankind's future will be decided," Sarkozy said at a joint news conference with Prodi and Zapatero. "In the Mediterranean we have to find agreements and put aside hate and destruction."

All leaders insisted the plan, which has drawn some criticism in Europe, would boost ongoing EU dialogue with Mediterranean countries that are not part of the European bloc.

Sarkozy meets with pope at the Vatican

[Shammu]

The Vatican and Beijing warm up
20/12/2007

The Holy See moves to regain control of the Chinese catholics and rein in the most radicals of the "underground" Church
by Francesco Sisci

The great maneuvers towards the normalization of diplomatic relationships between the Holy See and Beijing are beginning, and Rome looks resolute in resuming control of the Catholic Church in China.

Eight bishops of the “underground” Catholic Church, the one that for decades has been loyal to the Vatican and against the Communist government, are under review and might risk excommunication for having acted against the directions of the Pope’s letter on China issued this past June.

Some bishops in the Gansu and Hebei province, in particular, are at risk for allegedly carrying with ordaining priests without full communication with Rome. The Pope’s letter cancelled the state of emergency of the Chinese Church that was granted in the 1980s because of situation of duress of the local catholic clergy. The state of emergency allowed more freedom of action and initiative to bishops and clergymen, permitting them to ordain bishops and priests of the underground Church without the consent of Rome.

Xinhua reported that on December 18th evening Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China, presided the second plenary politburo meeting after the Congress and it centered on religious issues. Hu gave a positive assessment of religion about its role for a harmonious society and stressed that the Party should pay greater attention in the positive contribution of religion in economic and social development.

Catholics in China are divided into an underground Church, which did not want to register with the state’s organizations, and an official one, organized within the Patriotic Catholic Association (PCA).

According to Chinese catholic sources loyal to the Holy See, the inquiry indicates that the preparation for the normalization of the ties could be quite advanced and the Vatican is working already to shed light on the actual situation of many bishops and priests of the underground Church, which lived for nearly 60 years in a semi-clandestine condition.

The Pope’s letter, however, eliminates this state of emergency, therefore declaring implicitly that there are no more persecutions or communication difficulties with Rome, and offers an important political acknowledgment to the People's Republic of China.

A rapprochement between Rome and Beijing appears also from the ordaining of Beijing’s bishop, Li Shan, in September, who was chosen together by the two parties and the selection of new bishops after that. These appointments are signs that channels between Rome and Beijing are working smoothly.

The inquiry is also connected with to a second aspect of the letter. According to one interpretation of the message, within the Easter period of 2008, the underground Church must come to the open and register with the Chinese authorities.

Some bishops and priests oppose this interpretation.  In fact, the issue of official registration is ambiguous as the Holy See does not specify its terms.

Chinese authorities want bishops and priest to register with the Patriotic Association, a semi-governmental body highly controversial for Rome. The Vatican denies any religious role of the PCA, however it is open to admit its civil role.

The Underground Church, who had been confronting officials fro PCA for decades, would want to register directly with the Office of Religious Affairs, the competent government body supervising also the PCA, or not register at all. Here again there are margin of ambiguities as at least in one case, for the district of Fengxian, the bishop was been able to skip the PCA and sign up directly with the local Office of Religious Affairs.

Yet, Beijing may not want to broaden the exceptions. It is an administrative problem: the Patriotic Association enrolls about 10,000 people who might have to find a new role after the normalization and cannot simply be fired.

These people have been loyal to Beijing for decades.  They are insiders to the organization of the state, where they have friends and relatives, and the government does not intend to betray them and turn its back to them.

Moreover, Rome’s intention to clarify the situation with the underground Church probably also opens a hot new chapter with the official Church. Some “official” bishops and priests may have grave moral issues, they are rumored to have had wives and sons and daughters.

A final decision on the normalization of the diplomatic relations has not yet been taken. There remains, still, the mutual distrust that generates suspicion on the true intentions of the other part.

Moreover, there are two centers of influence with no interest in normal ties.

From the Chinese government’s side, a wing of the PCA is opposing because it would lose its freedom, it would have to be under stricter review from Beijing and Rome.  At the moment, Beijing exercises a mild control over the PCA, and Rome does not exercise any.

Against it is also a part of the underground Church for analogous reasons. Today, adducing the communication difficulties, it answers little to Rome and nothing to Beijing, because it does not recognize its political authority. With the normalization of relationships it should meet demands from both.

Actually, the PCA as such has fully resumed its contacts with Rome, which had been more  fragile in past years, and some members of the underground Church have kept in touch with the authorities for a full legalization. Last July, during a government meeting, in the presence of many ministers, the head of PCA Liu Bainian invited the Pope to visit China after the normalization of diplomatic ties.

More time could be necessary in order to create a broad consensus for normalization on the two sides.  But there is not much time.

Beijing can have an interest in the establishment of diplomatic relations before the Olympic games, beginning next August 8th. Interest could wane if things were to drag for too long.

The Vatican and Beijing warm up

[Shammu]

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, dismissed the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men yesterday as nothing but "legend."

There was scant evidence for the Magi, and none at all that there were three of them, or that they were kings, he said. All the evidence that existed was in Matthew’s Gospel. The Archbishop said: "Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t tell us there were three of them, doesn’t tell us they were kings, doesn’t tell us where they came from. It says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that’s all we’re really told." Anything else was legend. "It works quite well as legend," the Archbishop said.

The Archbishop of Canterbury who allegorizes the Christmas Story found in the Bible and calls it a legend is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

The fact that the leader of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, can call the Gospel accounts of the Christmas Story a legend says that this major Church leader is willing to forsake the literal interpretation of the Bible accounts of the birth of Christ. In order to say that any part of the birth of Jesus found in Matthew 1 or 2 is a legend states the obvious, the method of interpretation used to come to those conclusions would be the allegorical method and subject to the interpreter's belief, not the Bible as the main source of information.

Though I agree we have no evidence that there were only three wise men, there may well have been three hundred, in any case it is not legend but fact that they came to see the newborn babe who was with His mother Mary, Matthew 2:11. A close study of the account of the priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist and when he served at the Temple as recorded in Luke 1 will give absolute evidence that Jesus was indeed born in December. There is a good chance that there might well have been snow, but that report comes from weather history and not a Biblical account. The danger with the claim by the Archbishop of Canterbury that the Story of the Nativity is legend is the method of his interpretation of Scripture, he rejects the literal interpretation of God's Word. This places in danger the literal truth that Jesus who came the first time as prophecy indicated He would, will literally come the second time as foretold by Bible prophecy.

The birth of Jesus Christ as foretold in God's Word is proof
that Bible prophecy will indeed be FULFILLED.

[Shammu]

'Gay' plans to target 2-year-olds

5th-grade students could be handed 'Coping With Sexual Orientation'
Posted: December 17, 2007
11:49 p.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Children as young as two years of age are in the bull's-eye of coming changes in California's school curriculum, which "gay rights" advocates now admit will alter the very foundation of information presented to public school classrooms.

A list of school resources, sponsored by a homosexual-advocacy group called Safe Schools Coalition, suggests that for those who are only two years old, there's "Felicia's Favorite Story," which tells how she was "adopted by her two mothers."

The list also promotes a book called "Are You a Girl or a Boy?" by Karleen Jiminez, a resource for children ages 4-8 when advocating homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and other alternative lifestyle choices.

It's described as "A sweet book about a gender-different kid."

Other resources being promoted in light of California's adoption of SB 777 as state law include books authored by officials for Planned Parenthood and the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network.

One book, called "Tackling Gay Issues in School," is for kindergarten through grade 12, and offers a "rationale (for the inclusion of les/bi/gay/trans issues in school)." It features recommended "extracurricular" activities for classes.

The promotion of such materials has coincided with the recent admission by Equality California, a homosexual advocacy group that worked to have SB 777 passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that the bill really does edit all school curricula in California.

For months while California lawmakers discussed Senate Bill 777, opponents worried about its usefulness in censoring public school curricula to include a pro-homosexual bias. Supporters, however, steadfastly maintained that it only clarified anti-discrimination laws already on the books. They still hold that stance, with statements this week from both Schwarzenegger's office and Equality California.

Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the governor, insisted it is a "technical bill" intended to clarify anti-discriminations laws.

"It simply takes anti-discrimination language used in other areas of [state law] such as employment and puts that in the education code," she said.

And Ali Bay of Equality California told WND the new law "doesn't require that any specific curriculum be included in California's classrooms."

Technically it is correct that the law doesn't "require inclusion." But opponents say it does now ban anything that can be "perceived" as being discriminatory, up to and including references to "mom" and "dad" or "husband" and "wife."

"The terms 'mom and dad' or 'husband and wife' could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured," said Meredith Turney, the legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute.

"Parents want the assurance that when their children go to school they will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic – not social indoctrination regarding alternative sexual lifestyles. Now that SB 777 is law, schools will in fact become indoctrination centers for sexual experimentation," she said.

The new law demands, "No teacher shall give instruction nor shall any school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because of a characteristic [including perceived gender.]"

And Karen England, a spokeswoman for Capital Resource who is a primary organizer behind the Save Our Kids plan to put the issue before voters and ask them to reject it, noted that even Equality California's own materials are assuring constituents the law will ban curriculum that fails to meet the pro-homosexual standard cited.

"All along, Capitol Resource Family Impact has maintained that the true agenda behind SB 777 is to infuse school curriculum with pro-homosexual, and other controversial lifestyles, propaganda. The proponents of the bill countered that this was not true and the law would merely 'streamline' anti-discrimination laws for schools. Based on our 20-year experience with the homosexual lobby, we know that a common tactic is to maintain innocence and then utilize vague language to push a radical agenda. We expected the same of SB 777 and we are already witnessing the same pattern," England said.

"Last week the sponsor of SB 777, homosexual rights group Equality California, released their 2007 legislative scorecard. The scorecard featured a description of the each of the bills the group sponsored or considered homosexual-friendly," she said.

"For the first time, the group admitted that SB 777 'prohibits curriculum that is discriminatorily biased against LGBT people.' Understand that the entire time the group was pushing this bill through the legislature, they vehemently denied that it would affect curriculum. After the bill had passed, they now reveal their true agenda," England said.

The report card specifically said SB 777 "prohibits curriculum that is discriminatorily biased against LGBT people and other protected groups."

"In fact, SB 777 will affect curriculum and public education programs. The proponents lied to lawmakers and to the public," England said.

"One website features curriculum programs for teachers to use in introducing 'homosexual history' to their students as young as 5," she said.

Among titles now being recommended for use in public schools is "A Family Counting Book," intended specifically for those students in pre-kindergarten who are yet learning to count, she noted.

The recommended resources address "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues that schools are encouraged to have in their collection. All of these are suitable for classroom and library use to address the prescribed learning outcomes … or any effort to make your school a (sic) affirming space for all students, staff, and families," according to the website.

Another "resource" is about "A 10-year-old [who] asks her lesbian grandmother a heartwarming question," "What's a lesbian?"

Others feature stories about a boy who makes a card for his mother "and her partner" for Mother's Day, and another for "pre-kindergarten" is a coloring book called "Beach Party with Alexis" which is described as "a super story with people of color and gay/lesbian parents."

For older children, such as those in fifth grade, there's a book called "Coping With … Your Sexual Orientation" and it is "especially designed for the public school system."

For those as young as age 3, there's "The Different Dragon," which "shows how the wonderful curiosity and care of a little boy, along with some help from one of his moms, leads to magical and unexpected places …"

There also are offered several elementary school "lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender" lesson plans, produced by the Buena Vista Lesbian and Gay Parents Group, among others.

Rounding out the multimedia offerings are videos such as "Different and the Same," a series of nine videos which is described as good, but not great because none of the videos specifically condemns "homophobia."

GLSEN also has produced another resource, "Tackling Gay Issues in Schools," substantiating the "rationale" for including such teachings in California classrooms.

"Tolerance education is an important first step, but we need to push further," the instructions said. "Infuse LGBTQ curriculum into history, social science, and literature classes," is the organization's plan.

As a result, spokeswoman Denise Kanter told WND that her group is sending out 5,000 DVD packages to churches around the state that include basic "how-to" information to provide parents a direction to turn when they choose to protect their children from the new school agenda.

Another group's website,  Discover Christian Schools, has been getting almost 4,000 visits per day as parents seek alternatives, co-founder Harold Naylor Jr. said.

Besides the referendum being pursued by England's organization, WND also has reported on work by the non-profit Advocates for Faith and Freedom to file a lawsuit challenging a SB 777.

[Soldier4Christ]

http://forums.christiansunite.com/index.php?topic=16563.msg233283#msg233283

 

[Shammu]

Whoever causes one of these little kids who believe in sin, I feel sorry for.... It would be better for them to have a great millstone, hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea........

I can't imagine the punishment these people are going to face, at the "Great White Throne Judgment". To have the audacity to corrupt little children in such way's.

[Shammu]

Choir drops 'Christmas' from carol

Teachers' Decision; Children to sing: 'Soon it will be festive day'

Tony Lofaro,  CanWest News Service  Published: Thursday, December 20, 2007

OTTAWA -- One of the more popular Christmas songs is getting a slight retooling by an Ottawa elementary school choir so as not to offend any students.

The teachers leading the Elmdale Public School choir -- made up of Grade 2 and 3 students -- have dropped the word Christmas from Silver Bells and replaced it with the word "festive."

So, when the choir performs the song tomorrow at a singalong assembly, instead of singing the line "soon it will be Christmas day" they will say "soon it will be a festive day."

This bit of revisionist tinkering of a favourite Christmas tune is not sitting well with one parent whose eight-year-old daughter is in the school choir.

"I think it is a silly thing to do," said Betty Clark, about the decision by the choir directors to change the song's lyrics.

She said it's a "shame" the lyric to a traditional Christmas song sung by many people at this time of year was changed to take on a more generic tone.

"It's a sad comment on the state of society today that we do this kind of thing," she said.

Although she said the altering of the lyric was troubling, Ms. Clark has decided not to pull her daughter out of the concert.

"My daughter loves the choir," she said.

Silver Bells is one of four Christmas songs being performed by the choir of 70 students, although it's the only song that has been altered, said principal Paula Marinigh.

The other songs in the musical program are Candles of Hanukkah, Candles of Christmas; Pere Noel and It's Christmas generally reflect the feelings about the holiday season, as well as the themes of Hanukkah and Christmas, she said.

"The choir teachers are trying to be as inclusive as they can be because not everybody is celebrating either Christmas or Hanukkah," Ms. Marinigh said.

The initiative for the lyric change came from the teachers and was not something imposed by the school board, she said.

"They [teachers] wanted to have a song that emphasized the holiday spirit, so they just changed the Silver Bells song to reflect a more generic flavour."

She said she supports the teachers' decision to alter the song, saying their intent in this case was not a problem.

"The idea in public schools is that everybody feels welcome and has a sense of comfort with the celebrations. I think it's being sensitive to not only the students in the choir, but also to the general population," she said.

Choir drops 'Christmas' from carol

[Shammu]

Whatever. These hypocrites...... teachers felt it was fine to shove witchcraft and other religions down the throat in schools. I'm glad my kids are grown adults, and we, don't live in Canada.

Someday they all will have to bend their knee and announce "Jesus christ is LORD", and I HOPE they do so in this lifetime.

[Shammu]

Ahmadinejad felicitates Pope on Christmas, New Year
26 December 2007

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad felicitated Pope Benedict XVI on the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ who is the messenger of love, friendship, justice and spirituality on the advent of the New Year.

In a message to the Leader of the World Roman Catholics, the Iranian president said the present world is in dire need of guidelines of the divine prophets more than any other time in the history.

He expressed the hope that the New Year would be the year of elimination of oppression, violation and discrimination and that of peace, friendship and respect for the rights of people.

President Ahmadinejad further wished that the new Christian year would bring peace and tranquility to the international community on the basis of justice and spirituality.

Ahmadinejad felicitates Pope on Christmas, New Year

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Media's two-faced Christmas coverage

Muslims driving Christians out of Bethlehem, but media outlets choose to blame Israel

Aaron Klein
Published: 12.24.07, 15:06
Israel Opinion

Ah, Christmas in Bethlehem. Manger Square is ablaze with colorful lights. The weather is usually a bit chilly. Aggressive merchants bombard passersby with “special sales” on all kinds of cedar wood statues and religious carvings.

And like clockwork, the mainstream media descend upon this city every year to ignore rampant Muslim intimidation of Christians and instead blast Israel - often with completely inaccurate information - for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion.

Take a widely circulated piece by McClatchy Newspapers writers Dion Nissenbaum and Cliff Churgin.

The piece, published last week, cites Bethlehem's dwindling Christian population and paints a picture that squarely blames Israel.

"For generations, the Holy Land Arts Museum (in Bethlehem) has been selling olivewood manger scenes to thousands of pilgrims wanting souvenirs from the biblical birthplace of Jesus," starts the piece.

"Gone is the olivewood stable shielding the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In its place, looming over the angelic family, are an Israeli watchtower and three towering sections of an adjoining wall."

Outright lying, the McClatchy Newspapers piece stated Bethlehem "remains largely isolated from the outside world by Israel’s 25-foot-tall concrete walls, part of Israel’s separation barrier."

The piece implied the wall caused the crash of Bethlehem's economy and prompted Christians to flee. Similar articles were churned out by Reuters, the BBC online and scores of local newspapers.

ABC News, for example, chimes in: "The (Israeli) wall has cast a shadow over this famous West Bank town."

Now let's get our facts straight. Bethlehem is not surrounded by any wall.

Israel in 2002 built a fence in the area where northern Bethlehem interfaces with Jerusalem. A tiny segment of that barrier, facing a major Israeli roadway, is a concrete wall, which Israel says is meant to prevent gunmen from shooting at Israeli motorists.

The fence was constructed after the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada, or terror war, launched in 2000 after late PLO Leader Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state, returning to the Middle East to liberate Palestine with violence.

Scores of deadly suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis were planned in Bethlehem and carried out by Bethlehem-area terrorists.

At one point during the period of just 30 days in 2002, at least 14 shootings were perpetuated by Bethlehem cells of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists, killing two Israelis and wounding six.

Many times Muslim gunmen in the Bethlehem area reportedly took positions in civilian homes in the hilltops of Christian Beit Jala, which straddles Bethlehem. Beit Jala afforded the terrorists a clear firing line at southern sections of Jerusalem and at a major Israeli highway down below, drawing Israeli military raids and the eventual building of the security barrier there.

Is this barrier causing Bethlehem's Christians to flee, as the mainstream media claim?

Rampant land confiscation

Simple demographic facts will answer this question. Israel built the barrier five years ago. But Bethlehem's Christian population started to drastically decline in 1995, the very year Arafat's Palestinian Authority took over the holy Christian city in line with the US-backed Oslo Accords.

Bethlehem consisted of upwards of 80 percent Christians when Israel was founded in 1948, but since Arafat got his grimy hands on it, the city's Christian population dove to its current 23-percent. And that statistic is considered generous since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population at as low as 12 percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating per year.

As soon as he took over Bethlehem, Arafat unilaterally fired the city’s Christian politicians and replaced them with Muslim cronies. He appointed a Muslim governor, Muhammed Rashad A-Jabar and deposed of Bethlehem’s city council, which had nine Christians and two Muslims, reducing the number of Christians councilors to a 50-50 split.

Arafat then converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus, into his official Bethlehem residence.

Suddenly after the Palestinians gained the territory, reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims began to surface.

Christian leaders and residents told me they face an atmosphere of regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spoke of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and Christian homes attacked.

They said in the past, Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis from Christian hilltop communities, drawing Israeli anti-terror raids to their towns.

In 2002, dozens of terrorists holed up inside the Church of the Nativity for 39 days while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. Israel surrounded the church area but refused to storm the structure. Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tanzim and Brigades terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks.

More than 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli hostage negotiators failed to secure their release.

Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs.

"There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the (Muslim) mafia," said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station.

"It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses and he runs away," Qumsiyeh told WND, speaking from his hilltop television station during a recent interview.

Qumsiyeh himself said he was targeted by Islamic gangs. He said his home was firebombed after he returned from a trip abroad during which he gave public speeches outlining the plight of Bethlehem's Christian population.

One Christian Bethlehem resident told WND her friend recently fled Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities. The resident said a good deal of the intimidation comes from gunmen associated with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization.

A February Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Faud and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it, Faud was beaten by gunmen.

One religious novelty-store owner I met recently told me Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property.

“We are harassed but you wouldn’t know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away.”

What? Muslim persecution is driving the Christians out of Bethlehem? One would never know that from the Christmas coverage/annual Israel bash-fest by my "colleagues" in the media.

Media's two-faced Christmas coverage