Signs of the Times

[Soldier4Christ]

Religious Americans: My faith isn't the only way

America remains a deeply religious nation, but a new survey finds most Americans don't believe their tradition is the only way to eternal life -- even if the denomination's teachings say otherwise. The findings, revealed Monday in a survey of 35,000 adults, can either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance, or disturbing evidence that Americans dismiss or don't know fundamental teachings of their own faiths.

Among the more startling numbers in the survey, conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: 57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching. In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.

"The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. "There's a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences," he said.

Earlier data from the Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released in February, highlighted how often Americans switch religious affiliation. The newly released material looks at religious belief and practice as well as the impact of religion on society, including how faith shapes political views. The report argues that while relatively few people -- 14 percent -- cite religious beliefs as the main influence on their political thinking, religion still plays a powerful indirect role.

The study confirmed some well-known political dynamics, including stark divisions over abortion and same-sex "marriage," with the more religiously committed taking conservative views on the issues. But it also showed support across religious lines for greater governmental aid for the poor, even if it means more debt and stricter environmental laws and regulations.

By many measures, Americans are strongly religious: 92 percent believe in God, 74 percent believe in life after death, and 63 percent say their respective scriptures are the word of God. But deeper investigation found that more than one in four Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants, and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubts about God's existence, as did six in ten Jews. Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit, with eight percent "absolutely certain" of it.

"Look, this shows the limits of a survey approach to religion," said Peter Berger, a theology and sociology professor at Boston University. "What do people really mean when they say that many religions lead to eternal life? It might mean they don't believe their particular truth at all. Others might be saying, 'We believe a truth but respect other people, and they are not necessarily going to hell.'" Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, said that more research is planned to answer those kinds of questions, but that earlier, smaller surveys found similar results.

Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent). By similar margins, people in those faith groups believe in multiple interpretations of their own traditions' teachings. Yet 44 percent of the religiously affiliated also said their religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.

"What most people are saying is, 'Hey, we don't have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God's bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people,'" said the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. "Some people are like butterflies that go from flower to flower, going from religion to religion -- and frankly they don't get that deep into any of them," he said.

Beliefs about eternal life vary greatly, even within a religious tradition. Some Christians hold strongly to Jesus' words as described in John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Others emphasize the wideness of God's grace. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the "one church of Christ ... subsists in the Catholic Church" alone and that Protestant churches, while defective, can be "instruments of salvation."

Roger Oldham, a vice president with the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, bristled at using the word "tolerance" in the analysis. "If by tolerance we mean we're willing to engage or embrace a multitude of ways to salvation, that's no longer evangelical belief," he said. "The word 'evangelical' has been stretched so broadly, it's almost an elastic term."

Others welcomed the findings. "It shows increased religious security. People are comfortable with other traditions even if they're different," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance. "It indicates a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone."

More than most groups, Catholics break with their church, and not just on issues like abortion and homosexuality. Only six in ten Catholics described God as "a person with whom people can have a relationship" -- which the church teaches -- while three in ten described God as an "impersonal force."

"The statistics show, more than anything else, that many who describe themselves as Catholics do not know or understand the teachings of their church," said Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput. "Being Catholic means believing what the Catholic church teaches. It is a communion of faith, not simply of ancestry and family tradition. It also means that the church ought to work harder at evangelizing its own members."

[HisDaughter]

Between this article and the ones on gays infiltrating churches, I'm about ready to look for something sharp to poke myself in the eye with and I only just got here today!  Good grief!

[Soldier4Christ]

Don't do that, sister. It might hurt.

May things like this encourage to speak the truth and do so more readily.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

The biggest problems of so-called religion these days is either ignorance of the HOLY BIBLE or determination to reject the clear teachings of the HOLY BIBLE.

The answers and guidance that men seek HASN'T CHANGED AND WON'T CHANGE - the HOLY BIBLE AND GOD! The HOLY BIBLE is still the measurement of ALL TRUTH! Bluntly, if a teaching contradicts the HOLY BIBLE - that teaching is FALSE! We are to search the Scriptures for ourselves to determine the TRUTH!

We've had a complete HOLY BIBLE now for about 2,000 years, so we are without excuse. GOD'S Message of Salvation hasn't changed, and it's simple enough for small children to understand. In fact, CHRIST is most impressed with simple childlike FAITH. The only problems involve what men try to add to or subtract from GOD'S Plan of Salvation. Men have changed, but GOD hasn't. I must add that men have changed for the WORSE!

GOOD NEWS!

1:  Romans 3:10 NASB  as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

2:  Romans 3:23  NASB  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

3:  Romans 5:12  NASB  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--

4:  Romans 6:23  NASB  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5:  Romans 1:18  NASB  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

6:  Romans 3:20  NASB  because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

7:  Romans 3:27  NASB  Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

8:  Romans 5:8-9  NASB  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

9:  Romans 2:4  NASB  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

10:  Romans 3:22  NASB  even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

11:  Romans 3:28  NASB  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

12:  Romans 10:9  NASB  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

13:  Romans 4:21  NASB  and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

14:  Romans 4:24 NASB  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

15:  Romans 5:1  NASB  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

16:  Romans 10:10  NASB  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

17:  Romans 10:13  NASB  for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Thanks be unto GOD for HIS unspeakable GIFT!, JESUS CHRIST, our Lord and Saviour forever!

[Shammu]

Brothers and Sisters,

The biggest problems of so-called religion these days is either ignorance of the HOLY BIBLE or determination to reject the clear teachings of the HOLY BIBLE.

The answers and guidance that men seek HASN'T CHANGED AND WON'T CHANGE - the HOLY BIBLE AND GOD! The HOLY BIBLE is still the measurement of ALL TRUTH! Bluntly, if a teaching contradicts the HOLY BIBLE - that teaching is FALSE! We are to search the Scriptures for ourselves to determine the TRUTH!

We've had a complete HOLY BIBLE now for about 2,000 years, so we are without excuse. GOD'S Message of Salvation hasn't changed, and it's simple enough for small children to understand. In fact, CHRIST is most impressed with simple childlike FAITH. The only problems involve what men try to add to or subtract from GOD'S Plan of Salvation. Men have changed, but GOD hasn't. I must add that men have changed for the WORSE!

GOOD NEWS!

1:  Romans 3:10 NASB  as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

2:  Romans 3:23  NASB  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

3:  Romans 5:12  NASB  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--

4:  Romans 6:23  NASB  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5:  Romans 1:18  NASB  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

6:  Romans 3:20  NASB  because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

7:  Romans 3:27  NASB  Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

8:  Romans 5:8-9  NASB  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

9:  Romans 2:4  NASB  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

10:  Romans 3:22  NASB  even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

11:  Romans 3:28  NASB  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

12:  Romans 10:9  NASB  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

13:  Romans 4:21  NASB  and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

14:  Romans 4:24 NASB  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

15:  Romans 5:1  NASB  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

16:  Romans 10:10  NASB  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

17:  Romans 10:13  NASB  for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Thanks be unto GOD for HIS unspeakable GIFT!, JESUS CHRIST, our Lord and Saviour forever!

AMEN brother AMEN!!

[HisDaughter]

Brothers and Sisters,

The biggest problems of so-called religion these days is either ignorance of the HOLY BIBLE or determination to reject the clear teachings of the HOLY BIBLE.

The answers and guidance that men seek HASN'T CHANGED AND WON'T CHANGE - the HOLY BIBLE AND GOD! The HOLY BIBLE is still the measurement of ALL TRUTH! Bluntly, if a teaching contradicts the HOLY BIBLE - that teaching is FALSE! We are to search the Scriptures for ourselves to determine the TRUTH!

We've had a complete HOLY BIBLE now for about 2,000 years, so we are without excuse. GOD'S Message of Salvation hasn't changed, and it's simple enough for small children to understand. In fact, CHRIST is most impressed with simple childlike FAITH. The only problems involve what men try to add to or subtract from GOD'S Plan of Salvation. Men have changed, but GOD hasn't. I must add that men have changed for the WORSE!

GOOD NEWS!

1:  Romans 3:10 NASB  as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

2:  Romans 3:23  NASB  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

3:  Romans 5:12  NASB  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--

4:  Romans 6:23  NASB  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5:  Romans 1:18  NASB  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

6:  Romans 3:20  NASB  because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

7:  Romans 3:27  NASB  Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

8:  Romans 5:8-9  NASB  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

9:  Romans 2:4  NASB  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

10:  Romans 3:22  NASB  even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

11:  Romans 3:28  NASB  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

12:  Romans 10:9  NASB  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

13:  Romans 4:21  NASB  and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

14:  Romans 4:24 NASB  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

15:  Romans 5:1  NASB  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

16:  Romans 10:10  NASB  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

17:  Romans 10:13  NASB  for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Thanks be unto GOD for HIS unspeakable GIFT!, JESUS CHRIST, our Lord and Saviour forever!

You tell em' Brother Tom!  Amen!

[HisDaughter]

YouTube privacy fears - what you watched, when and your IP Address   

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0329430120080704


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A U.S. judge's order to Google Inc to turn over YouTube user data to Viacom Inc sparked an outcry on Thursday from privacy advocates in the midst of a legal showdown over video piracy.

Viacom, owner of movie studio Paramount and MTV Networks, requested the information as part of its $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against the popular online video service and its deep-pocketed parent, Google.

Judge Louis Stanton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Google on Tuesday to turn over as evidence a database with usernames of YouTube viewers, what videos they watched when, and users' computer addresses.

Privacy activists from the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a blog post the order "threatens to expose deeply private information" and violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, a 1988 federal law passed after Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video rental habits were revealed.

Representatives of both companies said they were looking to work out how to comply with the court order to share video data while ensuring personally identifiable information is secure.

Viacom responded in a statement that it needs the data to demonstrate video piracy patterns that are the heart of its case against YouTube. But it sought to diffuse privacy fears, saying it had no interest in identifying individual users.

"Viacom has not asked for and will not be obtaining any personally identifiable information of any user," Viacom said.

"Any information that we or our outside advisors obtain ... will be used exclusively for the purpose of proving our case against YouTube and Google (and) will be handled subject to a court protective order and in a highly confidential manner."

Google senior litigation counsel Catherine Lacavera said her company was looking to resolve the issue quickly in a way that balanced Viacom and other plaintiffs' need for evidence in the case while "carving out some space for user privacy."

Lacavera said her company was pleased the court's decision had put limits on evidence discovery, including refusing to allow Viacom access to YouTube's search technology or to users' private videos on the site.

But the Google attorney called on Viacom to allow YouTube to anonymize user data -- in other words, redact rows of data containing usernames or unique computer Internet addresses.

In closed-door hearings ahead of the ruling, Google attorneys had argued against turning over such data without eliminating personally identifiable information.

"We are disappointed the court granted Viacom's overreaching demand for viewing history," she said. "We will ask Viacom to respect users' privacy and allow us to anonymize the logs before producing them under the court's order."

[HisDaughter]

UK Report Of The Future Predicts Brain Implants, Revolution

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/080703ministry.html


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A British defense think tank predicts possible “key risks and shocks” for the future in a recently released report. The report predicts microchip brain implants, flash-bombs, Marxist middle-class revolutionaries, extreme globalization and more, all likely within 30 years.

The “source document for the development of UK Defense Policy” was created by the Development, Concepts and Doctrines Centre (DCDC), and will be used to “shape the UK’s future defense requirements” until 2036, according to the report.

The report lumps predictions into four categories: things that will happen (according to the report, more than 95 percent likely, or “near certainty”), things that are likely/probable (more than 60 percent likely), things that may/possibly happen (more than 10 percent likely) and things that are unlikely/improbable (less than 10 percent likely).

Water scarcity will be a major issue, U.S. economic crisis is likely, a pandemic may happen, and the global financial system may fail; these are just a few of the predictions of the report. Several predictions are more futuristic.

“Many commentators anchor themselves in the familiar present and, exploiting the latest fashion and a series of telling anecdotes, merely tell people what is already happening,” Admiral C. J. Parry said. “Much of what we have to say, with regard to both continuities and discontinuities, does not have a conclusion or ending, happy or otherwise, because, self evidently, the future has not happened yet.”

Much of the report sounds like science fiction, but according to the DCDC, science fiction that very possibly may become reality.

A “hot topic” in the report is the “scramble for space.” The report claims that space programs will continue to increase, with many smaller nations entering the fray.

The larger nations including Russia, the U.S. and China are the few that will send manned crafts deeper into space to search for resources. This “will raise jurisdictional, ownership and competitive rights issues.”

Artificial intelligence is referred to several times in the report, and is “likely to be employed to manage knowledge and support decision making across government and commercial sectors.”

Genetic modification, “nanobots” and stem-cell therapies are predicted to create an “increase in human life span” and an improvement in quality of life, though they could also lead to a range of threats including bio-warfare and human rights violations.

Electromagnetic pulse weapons will probably be created before 2035. These weapons might be able to wipe out all electronic devices in a given area without casualties.

Perhaps one of the strangest predictions in the report consists of microchips that could be connected to brains, allowing for “synthetic sensory perception beamed directly to the user’s senses.” This technology could be used to download any amount of information, and could be used for communication, allowing for a sort of computer-aided telepathy.

The dramatic increase in technology gives rise to several “doomsday scenarios,” though the likelihood of any given scenario is not commented on in the report. Genetic modification, disease and artificial intelligence are some of the possible causes of doomsday scenarios other than nuclear weapons. Doomsday scenarios are just a footnote to the many threats outlined in the report.

The increase of Islamic revolutionary groups, along with the rise of other militant groups from the disenfranchised younger generation, are two potentialities referred to several times in the report as high-level threats. The possibility of middle-class Marxist revolutions caused by growing gaps between the middle class and the super rich also could create a threat, as well as the increase of rigid belief systems as a backlash to the moral relativism prevalent in the world.

Population explosion in less developed countries and dramatic urbanization will “exacerbate” social tensions, creating threatening circumstances, especially in poorer regions around the world including Africa and Asia.

All of these threats are in addition to the common prediction that the atmosphere will continue to increase in temperature causing a cacophony of catastrophic problems from melting ice caps to destroyed ecosystems for fish.

With all these strange and possibly dire threats and predictions the report curiously concludes, “The world would be better or, at least, no worse in the future than it is today.”

[HisDaughter]

I just wasn't sure where to put this one....?



Thousands Worldwide Prepare for the Apocalypse, Expected in 2012

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5301284&page=1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note From Kade - While there is no biblical evidence to support anything happening in 2012 - people's expectations for something to happen in the year 2012 is something that should be watched.  The subject of 2012 is a great opportunity to explore and share with people about what the Bible says about the future. Only time will tell if 2012 plays a significant role in God's plan for the last days.

Two years ago, Patrick Geryl, then 51, quit his job as a laboratory worker for a French oil company. He'd saved up just enough money to last him until December 2012. After that, he thought, he wouldn't need it anyway.

Instead, Geryl, a soft-spoken man who had studied chemistry in his younger years, started preparing for the apocalypse. He founded a "survival group" for likeminded men and women, aimed at living through the catastrophe he knew was coming.

He started gathering materials necessary to survive — water purifiers, wheelbarrows (with spare tires), dust masks and vegetable seeds. His list of survival goods runs 11 pages long.

"You have to understand, there will be nothing, nothing left," Geryl told ABC News from his home in Antwerp, Belgium. "We will have to start an entire civilization from scratch."

That's because Geryl believes the world as we know it will end in 2012. He points to the ancient Mayan cyclical calendars, the longest of which last renewed itself approximately 5,125 years ago and is set to end again, supposedly with catastrophic consequences, in 2012. He speaks of the ancient Egyptians, who, he claims, saw 2012 as a year of great change too. And he points to science: NASA predicts a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares for 2012, he said, sure to cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions.

All this adds up, Geryl said, to unprecedented catastrophe. First, a polar reversal will cause the north to become the south and the sun to rise in the west. Shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves and simultaneous volcanic eruptions will follow. Nuclear reactors will melt, buildings will crumble, and a cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for 40 years. Only the prepared will survive, Geryl said, and not even all of them.

These may sound like the ravings of a madman, or perhaps the head of a small apocalyptic sect. But Geryl is not the only one who believes in the apocalypse. Thousands of people worldwide seem to be preparing, in one way or another, for the end of days in 2012. Survival groups exist in Europe, Canada and the United States. A simple Google search for "2012" and "the end of the world" brings up nearly 300,000 hits. And the video-sharing Web site YouTube hosts more than 65,000 clips informing and warning viewers about their fate in 2012.

"It's bigger than Y2K," said Mark van Stone, a specialist of Mayan hieroglyphic writings and author of a forthcoming book on 2012. "The year is like a pop song or a popular movie. You type in 2012, and you get hundreds of thousands of hits."

Dennis McClung, 28, a project manager for Home Depot from Phoenix, Ariz., runs one of the Web sites dedicated to 2012, an online survival supply store, which sells gas masks, knife kits, bullet-proof vests and more.

"I'm not a firm believer in one specific prophecy," said McClung, who runs his site with his wife, Danielle. "But I think we ought to be prepared for anything."

Even with December 2012 still 4½ years away, McClung said business is booming. His Web site, which features an "official 2012 countdown" clock and exhorts customers to "be smart, be ready," averages several thousand visitors a week. McClung's best-sellers, he said, are emergency medical supplies and water purifiers.

"I get a lot of hits from India. I get a lot of hits from the Netherlands," McClung said. "But my No. 1 customer is the U.S."

One of those customers is Thomas Lehmann, a 25-year-old factory worker from Cape Girardeau, Mo. Lehmann said he started researching 2012 when he was 12 years old, and still spends about two hours a day reading about the topic both online and in books. He said he is saving money for survival gear.

"Whatever happens, I'm just trying to be prepared for it," Lehmann said. "I'm just learning to be independent of the system. I mean electricity, vehicles, alternate sources of energy. I'm learning to live without gas, basically be self-reliant."

"If this stuff does happen," Lehmann said, adding, "I have a way to eat. I can hunt, I can fish and I can purify water. I think it's people in the big cities that need to be worried. People that can't provide for themselves."

But for all the hype, there is little evidence the ancient Maya ever intended for the end of their calendar to be read as a portent for disaster.

"These prophecies of doom really don't have any basis in what we know about the Maya," said Stephen Houston, a professor of anthropology at Brown University and a specialist of Maya hieroglyphic writing. "The Maya descriptions barely talk about this event."

Instead, Houston said, the Maya saw their "long count" — the longest of their cyclical calendars — coming to an end in 2012 but also beginning anew on that date, without disastrous consequences.

"Really, it's a conversion of people's anxieties about our times, and finding some remote mythological precedent or prediction of it," Houston said about the origins of the current 2012 myths. "People like to believe that ancient wisdom is somehow predicting this time of upheaval."

John Hall, a professor of sociology at the University of California Davis who is writing a book on the history of apocalyptic ideas, agreed. He said movements predicting the end of the world often reflect a much larger nervousness about the state of our society.

"Terrorism, 9/11, ecological disasters, floods and earthquakes," Hall said. "[There is] a sense that modern civilization has had its run. Those kinds of anxieties are much more widely shared than simply among people who believe in the exact date."

To Lehmann, though, those very events are warnings of what's to come.

"We had Hurricane Katrina, the recent cyclone in Myanmar," Lehmann said. "We've got major flooding in Iowa. We're always going to have natural disasters. But they are picking up quite frequently now."

Lehmann said he eventually hoped to move away from Cape Girardeau, built on the banks of the Mississippi River, to the higher plains of southwest Missouri to keep safe from the floods sure to follow the earthquakes of 2012.

Geryl and his Belgian and Dutch followers have similar intentions, though their plan will take them much farther from home. They are looking to buy a plot of land high up in African mountains, where they'll be able to withstand the monstrous tidal waves and wait out the cloud of volcanic dust that they said would block out the sun.

Geryl said the group has recently zeroed in on a location, but won't reveal his find for fear of tipping off rival survival groups in the United States and Canada. On that land, Geryl's group, whose core membership consists of 16 people but whose wait list supposedly lists hundreds, will build concrete dwellings or outfit caves for survival.

After the cloud clears, Geryl said, they will attempt to create a new, better civilization.

"A guiding principle will be to keep the world population as small as possible so as not to get into the same problems we face now," Geryl said, adding that the group is currently looking for sponsors and hopes to move to Africa in 2011. "There is too little oil, too little grain in the world now. Those are the kinds of problems we want to avoid."

One of the group's members, Jan, a 57-year-old carpenter from Amsterdam whose name has been changed because he doesn't want to be identified in the press, recently drove five hours to attend one of Geryl's meetings in Antwerp.

"I thought, if there's a chance that we can start a new civilization, I want to contribute," Jan told ABC News. "Because whether I make it or not, and there's only a small chance I will, this is important."

Jan, who has never been married and has no children, said he has lost friends over 2012.

"All the people I've ever told about this have declared me crazy," he said. "It makes people feel uncomfortable. Now I just keep it to myself."

Geryl said he found comfort in sharing his knowledge with others. Since "discovering" what the future holds, he has written three books on 2012 and maintains a Web site on the subject.

When asked what would happen if December 2012 were to come and go without the earthquakes and tsunamis of his predictions, Geryl fell silent.

"I don't really contemplate that possibility," he said. "My predictions are so spectacular, they can't possibly be wrong."

[nChrist]

Hello GrammyLuv,

I was just thinking back to all of the Y2K hysteria compared to what actually happened. There was massive crow-eating, so I wonder if the crow population has recovered.

I was just laughing and thinking about the number of times that things like this have been predicted. The best ones were self-proclaimed prophets who built whole false religions around their failed prophecies. What I find to be amazing is that they survived more than one failed prophecy, and some of them are still with us today. One would think that exposure multiple times as a false prophet would ruin the con game, but it didn't. It's really quite sad when you consider how serious some people get about things like this.

There will be a quite REAL 7 Year Tribulation Period and SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. There will even come a time when evil men DO go underground in an attempt to escape. Needless to say, it won't work and will be a waste of time. GOD will spare who HE pleases for HIS own purposes. Mankind will never be able to out-smart GOD THE CREATOR, but vanity will make many try. The end results are already written in the HOLY BIBLE with 100% PERFECTION! THE HOLY BIBLE IS ONE SOURCE FOR THE TRUTH, and that's all we need. Christians can avoid tons of BALONEY by just reading their BIBLES!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Favorite Bible Quotes 192 - Isaiah 2:1-5 The word that Isaiah the son
of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to
pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to
the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and
we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the
nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of
the LORD.

[HisDaughter]

Hello GrammyLuv,

I was just thinking back to all of the Y2K hysteria compared to what actually happened. There was massive crow-eating, so I wonder if the crow population has recovered.

I was just laughing and thinking about the number of times that things like this have been predicted. The best ones were self-proclaimed prophets who built whole false religions around their failed prophecies. What I find to be amazing is that they survived more than one failed prophecy, and some of them are still with us today. One would think that exposure multiple times as a false prophet would ruin the con game, but it didn't. It's really quite sad when you consider how serious some people get about things like this.

There will be a quite REAL 7 Year Tribulation Period and SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. There will even come a time when evil men DO go underground in an attempt to escape. Needless to say, it won't work and will be a waste of time. GOD will spare who HE pleases for HIS own purposes. Mankind will never be able to out-smart GOD THE CREATOR, but vanity will make many try. The end results are already written in the HOLY BIBLE with 100% PERFECTION! THE HOLY BIBLE IS ONE SOURCE FOR THE TRUTH, and that's all we need. Christians can avoid tons of BALONEY by just reading their BIBLES!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Favorite Bible Quotes 192 - Isaiah 2:1-5 The word that Isaiah the son
of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to
pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to
the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and
we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the
nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of
the LORD.

Exactly.  What part of "no one knows the hour, but the Father" do they not get??

[nChrist]

Exactly.  What part of "no one knows the hour, but the Father" do they not get??

Hello GrammyLuv,

Sadly, the false prophets I'm thinking about don't care. It appears they are seeking their own glory instead of GOD'S GLORY. It's also a great con game that's almost impossible to prosecute, so it's almost the perfect CRIME that pays fortunes. They also predict many things for their victims, and it ends up being a very cruel crime. If and when the victims wise up, there's nothing they can do about it. It's very sad that many of the victims are elderly, ill, or have many other serious problems to deal with. The FALSE PROPHET simply makes their situations worse, but they always offer an excuse. The most popular one is:  Your faith isn't strong enough, or you're not right with GOD. The REAL problem is the FALSE PROPHET has no faith at all - AND has no connection to GOD at all. The ONLY FAITH of the FALSE PROPHETS is in spending the money of their victims.

[Barbara]

From Gary Kah's 'Hope for the World' Newsletter:


ACLU Threatening Christians with Jail

Editor's Note: The following excerpts are from an urgent appeal sent out recently by the Alliance Defense Fund.

"How does the ACLU ramp up its legal assault on Christianity after suffering a series of losses in court? "Threaten to lock up the opposition," warns Alan Sears, president and general counsel of the Scottsdale Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF)...
"By God's grace, we've begun to turn the tide," explains Sears. "With our allies, we're winning nearly three of every four cases, including 33 victories at the US Supreme Court. But as our opponents losses start mounting, so does their frustration. That's why today, the ACLU - America's number one censor of religious speech - and its allies are increasingly demanding jail for those who stand in their way." That intolerance was on stunning display recently in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.

After the ACLU learned that officials in Tangipahoa Parish offered invocations at public events, it filed suit. Then, when Tangipahoa school officials allowed a private individual to pray before a school event, the ACLU issued a startling threat. "Their refusal to comply...should and must result in their removal from society."

ADF and its allies defended the right of the board members to pray. The ACLU won an initial victory when a judge - the former President of the ACLU of Louisiana - ruled that the practice violated the Constitution. A divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld that decision.

The ACLU strongly denies any anti-Christian agenda. But as Sears points out, "here it was demanding jail for officials in Louisiana for allowing a Christian invocation. At the same time, it was suing on behalf of a Wiccan witch in Virginia who wants to offer pagan prayers at county council meetings!"...

"The Handcuffs Are Going to Come"

Sears also points to Oconee County, South Carolina - one of many current targets for the ACLU in America's Southeast - where the county council had a tradition of beginning offician meetings with prayer. For that "violation" of the so-called "separation of church and state," it received the following warning from the ACLU;

"Your sectarian invocations...are blatant violations of federal law...As you may know, the Town of Great Falls was required to pay well over $50,000 in legal fees that were incurred because of their stubbornness in persisting to use similar invocations."

At a meeting to discuss the issue, one of the ACLU's South Carolina board members delivered a specific threat;

"Prayers should not be allowed. Especially prayers to Jesus...If they continue to break the law, I want to say, the handcuffs are going to come" (Underlined words in original) Unfortunately, the county council gave in to the ACLU's demands and abolished their long-standing tradition.

[Soldier4Christ]

The ACLU has stretched and twisted the law to meet their agenda more than long enough. They have niot only blatantly disallowed freedom of speech and freedom of religion for Christians but they have been ardent supporters of terrorists to the point of aiding and abetting. The handcuffs do need to come out but for the ACLU not Christians. I would also vigorously support sending them to another country of their choice without any hesitation.

[HisDaughter]

Seriously.  How can they keep getting away with this kind of stuff? Why hasn't someone stepped in to stop this bullying?  Okay, I'm naive but can't even the President or the Supreme Court do something?  This is nothing short of terrorism.