Apostate Christianity

[HisDaughter]

How long will people follow false prophets - Camping now says end of the world will happen in 5 months

religion.blogs.cnn.com/

Harold Camping is sticking to his apocalyptic guns.

In his first radio broadcast since his doomsday prediction failed to pan out in a spectacularly public fashion, the California preacher insisted his was an error of interpretation, not fact.

What's more, he has another calculation for the day the world will end - October 21, 2011.

Camping had kept a low-profile since Saturday, the day he had forecast for the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. He and his devoted followers have been warning for months that on May 21, a select 2% to 3% of the world's population would be taken to heaven. Those left behind would face months of tribulation before perishing in the Earth's destruction, which Camping said would happen on October 21.

This is the basis for his new prediction, which Camping claims is not new at all. He told listeners on his Family Radio broadcast Monday that God is "loving and merciful," and had decided not to punish the humanity with five months of destruction.

But he maintains that the end of the world is still coming.

"We've always said October 21 was the day," Camping said during his show. "The only thing we didn't understand was the spirituality of May 21. We're seeing this as a spiritual thing happening rather than a physical thing happening. The timing, the structure, the proofs, none of that has changed at all."

However, Camping said his group would not be mounting another advertising push. In the months leading up to May 21, Family Radio billboards popped up across the country, warning that the end was near.

"We're not going to be passing out tracts," Camping said. "We're not going to put up any more billboards. We're not going to be advertising in any way. The world has been warned. We did our little share and the media picked it up. But now the world has been told, it's under judgment."

Fred Store, who led one of four RV caravans that toured the country in recent months to spread the word about judgment day, said he and other followers heard Camping's broadcast "and we were quite happy - it will be interesting to see what the next couple of months will bring."

"It appears as though this whole [rapture] thing happened in a spiritual, rather than a physical way," said Store, 66. The retired electrician said that he and the other nine members of his five-RV caravan were still at an RV park where they waited for the rapture to arrive on Saturday.

He said the park was within 100 miles of Boston, Massachusetts, but didn't want to disclose the specific location. He said the caravan was waiting for word from Camping's ministry, Family Radio, about arranging the return of the vehicles to the broadcaster's Oakland, California, headquarters.

Store said he and the others in his caravan were not disappointed that the dramatic events associated with the rapture had not come to pass.

"We think that judgment day did happen," he said. "It didn’t result in an earthquake, and there were a number of things that weren't exactly the way we said they would be, but we were only reading from the Bible. We’ve been humbled by the whole experience."

Camping founded Family Radio, a nonprofit Christian radio network with about 65 stations across the country, in 1958. It received $80 million in contributions between 2005 and 2009.

He first inaccurately predicted the world would end in 1994. Despite his poor track record, he has gathered many followers. Some gave up their homes, entire life savings and jobs because they believed the world was ending.

Reporters who were allowed to ask questions during the broadcast Monday pressed Camping on this issue, but he would not admit that he bore any blame for his followers' predicaments.

"I don't have any responsibility," Camping said. "I'm only teaching the Bible. I'm telling ... this is what the Bible says. I don't have spiritual rule over anybody ... except my wife as the head of the household."

Experts in apocalyptic movements said that reinterpretations like Camping's are not uncommon in the wake of failed doomsday predictions.

“Historically, failed prophecies tend to result in disillusionment, with members deserting the group, or, more typically, a faith-saving (and face-saving) statement to the effect that while divine revelation remains infallible, human calculation is not,” said Lorenzo DiTommaso, author of the forthcoming book “The Architecture of Apocalypticism” and an associate professor of religion at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada.

“In short: The math was off, and it’s back to the drawing board,” he said. “If the logic seems a bit self-serving, recall that in the apocalyptic mindset, faith precedes theory, and theory informs the evidence."

[HisDaughter]

The Gospel of Greed - Expose On TV Ministers Lifestyles
insideedition.com


They are some of the most popular TV preachers in the country, packing their mega churches each week and taking in millions every year. They urge the faithful followers to donate generously and in return the Lord will bring them prosperity.

There's no denying some people have prospered handsomely—the pastors themselves. They live like rock stars with huge mansions, private jets, and fancy cars. Their lifestyles are so lavish, six of them have been investigated by the U.S. Senate.

One preacher, Paula White, lives in multimillion dollar homes in New York City and Tampa, Florida. And another preacher, Creflo Dollar, gets around in style, flying in private jets to preach around the country. He owns a mansion in an exclusive Atlanta suburb.

Not one of them would would sit down for an interview about their opulent lifestyle so INSIDE EDITION's Lisa Guerrero caught up with Creflo Dollar at an event in New York City. She asked him, "How do you justify your million dollar mansions and private jets to your donors?" Dollar had no comment.

But when it comes to opulence, few religious leaders compare to Kenneth Copeland. He lives in an 18,000 square foot home outside Ft. Worth, Texas worth $6 million. It has beautiful water views that comes complete with a boat house. But that's not all.

Copeland is an avid pilot, and his pride and joy is a $20 million Cessna Citation jet. It's the fastest private jet money can buy. He said he needed it to better serve the Lord, and proudly did a fly by for his followers after the church bought it.

But that's not the only plane used by the church. We found a fleet of planes registered to the church. And you won't catch him waiting in line at the airport, because he's got his own. The Kenneth Copeland Airport is located right next to his mansion.

"I think Copeland is unbelievably greedy", said Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation, a church watchdog group that worked with the Senate Committee investigating Copeland and other TV preachers. .

"Televangelism is a $2 to $3 billion industry, untaxed, unregulated," said Anthony.

That's right—by law, religious groups like Copeland's are exempt from federal taxes, and they don't have to report how they spend their money to anyone.

Copeland and his church takes in tens of millions a year, through donations and selling books and DVD's to his donors.

When Kristi Parker's mother died of cancer, she said she found diaries that showed her mother sent Copeland most of her life's savings, hoping her faith and donations would heal her deadly disease.

"She sent them a lot of money, a whole lot of money", said Parker.

Guerrero asked Parker, "What do you think of Kenneth Copeland's lifestyle?"

"TV doesn't do it justice. Their office furniture is probably worth more than most people's houses. It make you sick." said Parker.

Copeland, like the other preachers investigated by the Senate, refused INSIDE EDITION's request for an interview, so we caught up with him at an event in North Carolina.

Guerrero asked, "Can you explain to us why you are living such a lifestyle of luxury off of church donations?"

An assistant to Copeland said, "We don't have any time for this," and tried to usher Copeland away. At the same time a hotel employee tried to block our camera.

Guerrero continued to try to get answers from Copeland.

"Why won't you answer any of our questions? It's a simple questions, sir," said Guerrero.

Copeland then agreed to chat and said, "I'm going to give you a simple answer. My life follows scripture. We've never asked anyone for money. We give. We believe we're open."

Guerrero then asked, "Sir, you have a fleet of private jets. Why is that necessary? How many jets do you have?"

Copeland answered, "That's none of your business."

Right after that he walked away.

Copeland told INSIDE EDITION that he cooperated with the Senate investigation, but the committee disagreed and said Copeland refused to provide the information it requested for its investigation. According to the committee, only two of the preachers did—Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn. The committee recommended that the IRS look further into the matter.

[HisDaughter]

70 Methodist Clergy Agree to Wed Gay Couples
christianpost.com

Same-sex marriage is illegal in Minnesota but 70 United Methodist clergy in the state have signed a statement saying they will marry gay couples.

"We joyfully affirm that we will offer the grace of the Church’s blessing to any prepared couple desiring Christian marriage," reads the statement introduced this week at the 2011 Minnesota Annual Conference.

"We are convinced by the witness of others and are compelled by Spirit and conscience to act. We thank the many United Methodists who have already called for full equality and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the life of the Church."

The Rev. Bruce Robbins, pastor of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, read the statement to clergy Wednesday during a time of personal privilege, the United Methodist News Service reported. By the end the day, 40 clergy members had signed the statement. As of Friday, the number of signers reached 70.

"We repent that it has taken us so long to act," continues the statement, entitled "Equality for All in Christian Marriage."

"We realize that our church’s discriminatory policies tarnish the witness of the Church to the world, and we are complicity. We value our covenant relationships and ask everyone to hold the divided community of the United Methodist Church in prayer."

The United Methodist Church holds that homosexual practice is incompatible with Christian teaching. The denomination affirmed its stance at its latest legislative meeting in 2008 despite calls by some to change the body’s constitution.

In 2009, UMC’s top court also ruled that clergy, active and retired, cannot perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. The ruling came after more than 80 retired clergy from northern California said they would conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies on behalf of clergy who cannot perform them.

Bishop Sally Dyck said that simply making a statement in support of same-sex unions did not break any denominational rules. But she indicated that officiating at a gay wedding would be a chargeable offense, according to UMNS.

Under the 2008 Book of Discipline, same-sex unions are not to be conducted by United Methodist ministers or in its churches. Clergy who are convicted of officiating a homosexual union would face revocation of conference membership or clergy credentials.

The voluntary statement was open to any United Methodist persons in the Minnesota Conference who conducts Christian marriages, and was not endorsed by the denomination's General Conference.

[nChrist]

It sounds like some folks need to open some gay bars and forget about churches.

[HisDaughter]

'God the Father' banished by mainline denomination
israelnationalnews.com

The United Church of Christ, the denomination whose Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright blasted the United States and white people for years from the pulpit while Barack Obama sat in his pews, has decided to banish God "the Father" from its organizational documents.

A report from Eric Anderson on the denomination's website confirmed that delegates to the UCC's "General Synod 28" agreed late Monday to a series of proposed amendments to the constitution and bylaws. The vote was 613 in favor of the changes, 171 against and 10 abstaining.

The changes include a pointed deletion of a reference to God "as heavenly Father," which has been part of Christendom's description of the Trinity for millennia – the three persons of God being the heavenly Father, Christ the Son and Savior, and the Holy Ghost, the counselor and comforter.

It was cited by Shakespeare, John Bunyan, John Milton, Oliver Cromwell and William Bradford, and now you, too, have the opportunity to own the "1599 Geneva Bible"

In Article V, referencing local churches, the constitution previously said, "A Local Church is composed of persons who, believing in God as heavenly Father and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, are organized for Christian worship, for the furtherance of Christian fellowship, and for the ongoing work of Christian witness."

The new language, which still must be reviewed by the denomination's conferences, would be changed to say, "A Local Church is composed of persons who, believing in the triune God, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit."

Other constitutional changes in the package approved by delegates meeting in Tampa, Fla., over the holiday weekend dealt with issues such as modifications in the church structure, the responsibilities of boards and committees.

Denomination spokeswoman Barb Powell told WND today that the change was made because the reference to "heavenly Father" was too restrictive.

"In the UCC, our language for God, Christ and the Holy Spirit … is preferred to be more open for different expressions of the Trinity," she said. "Heavenly Father is just one vision."

She told WND the denomination seeks to be "inclusive" in its language, "so therefore we will tend to change language that is more traditional to be more inclusive."

She said some of the denomination's pastors refer to God with terms such as "Creator" and "Father and Mother."

"There are a lot of people who decided, if God still is speaking to us, there is more light and truth to break forth," she said.

However, a group within the denomination, the Biblical Witness Fellowship, was critical of the editing.

"Rejecting God as Father in an age of fatherlessness is unthinkable," said David Runnion-Bareford, a leader of the fellowship organization. "God acted toward us in amazing grace when He offered to be our Father through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ who offers us life in his name.

"This is not something we as humans made up in some other time. Rejecting our Father is [an] act of arrogant rebellion in the name of cultural conformity that only further alienates members, churches, but more importantly God himself."

He noted the constitution had contained the reference since its founding in 1957, and said it "remains the covenant connection with the basic truths of Christianity that keeps many churches affiliated who are otherwise alienated by the denomination's very liberal agenda."

The organization, a group inside the denomination, warned that the UCC is "the leader among Protestant denominations in member loss."

"This is indeed a powerful confession by the Synod of the UCC that, having rebelled against the word of God, is on sinking sand – with our members, churches, historic witness, and identity in Christ washing away before our eyes," Runnion-Bareford said.

The organization explains on its website that it was "formed in alarmed response to decades of continued denominational decline that has resulted from the UCC's theological surrender to the moral and spiritual confusion of contemporary culture."

"The BWF attempts to network with renewal movements in other 'mainline' denominations as well as to expose churches to the rich diversity of resources available in the wider fellowship of the evangelical mainstream of the American church. In doing so, we hope to spark new vitality and faithfulness in the life of a denomination which seems to have strayed from its first love," the organization explains.

"We are deeply concerned about the alarming rate at which the UCC is encouraging the ordination of those who choose 'alternative' lifestyles (i.e., homosexuality, bisexuality and sexual activity outside of marriage), embrace moral relativism, seek authority in human experience, or are ambivalent about such basic beliefs as the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the reality of the Resurrection and other doctrines of the church which are the foundation of our faith. Continued ordination of ministers who cannot accept even the simplest truths of the Christian faith will only contribute to the further collapse of our church to the prevailing mythologies of the culture."

Anderson's report from the Florida meetings said delegate Robb Kojina of Hawaii urged adoption of the changes. According to Anderson, Kojina said, "This structure of governance is a missional model for us to do ministry in a post-modern world, that makes us responsible to discern God's voice in our settings."

The UCC and its prominent Chicago pastor Wright made headlines during the 2008 presidential election because of Obama's 20-year membership in the church.

Wright famously condemned America in God's name and blamed the U.S. for provoking the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by dropping nuclear weapons on Japan in World War II and supporting Israel since 1947.

ABC News reviewed dozens of Wright's sermons, finding repeated denunciations of the U.S., based on what he described as his reading of the Gospels and the treatment of black Americans.

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God d--- America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people," he said in a 2003 sermon. "God d--- America for treating our citizens as less than human. God d--- America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."

In addition to damning America, he told his congregation on the Sunday after Sept. 11, 2001 that the U.S. had brought on al-Qaida's attacks because of its own terrorism, ABC News reported.

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," Wright said in a sermon Sept. 16, 2001. "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."

WND has reported the church itself has been revealed to have a strong African-centered and race-based philosophy.

Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago is where Obama was baptized as a Christian two decades ago. Obama even borrowing the title for one of his books, "The Audacity of Hope," from a sermon by Wright.

During the campaign, the first paragraph of the "About Us" section of the church's website mentioned the word "black" or "Africa" five times:

We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian. ... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.

On another page on the website, Wright explained that his theology was "based upon the systematized liberation theology that started in 1969 with the publication of Dr. James Cone's book, 'Black Power and Black Theology.'"

[HisDaughter]

The Fruits Of Replacement Theology - A Church Against Israel
frontpagemag.com

A few days ago UK researchers announced that 17 skeletons belonging to Jews were found at the bottom of a medieval well in Norwich, England. The Jews were murdered in a pogrom or had been forced to commit suicide rather than submit to demands for conversion to Christianity.

The bodies date back to the 12th or 13th Centuries, at a time when Jewish people faced killings, banishment and persecution throughout all Europe. Those 17 Jews were killed because of “replacement theology,” the most ancient Christian calumny arguing that because of their denial of the divinity of Christ, the Jews have forfeited God’s promises to them which have been transferred to the Church.

Some 10 centuries later, global Christian forums are reviving this theological demonology against the heirs of those 17 Jews: the Jews of the State of Israel. The World Council of Churches, an ecumenical Christian body based in Genève and boasting 590 million worshipers, just ended a four-day conference in the Greek city of Volos. Not a single word of criticism was uttered there against the Islamists who are persecuting Arabs who believe in Jesus.

Lutherans arrived to Volos from the United States, Catholics and Protestants from Bethlehem and Nazareth, Orthodox Christians from Greece and Russia, lecturers from Beirut and Copts from Egypt. The conference declared the Jewish State “a sin” and “occupying power,” accused Israelis of “dehumanizing” the Palestinians, theologically dismantled the “choseness” of the Jewish people and called for “resistance” as a Christian duty.

The conference denied 3,000 years of Jewish life in the land stretching between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, took sides against the very presence of Israel, likened the defensive barrier that has blocked terrorism to “apartheid,” attacked Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria invoking the name of God and conceptually dismissed the Jewish state, imagining it to be a mixture – Islamic, Christian and perhaps a bit Jewish. It even legitimized terrorism when it talked about the “thousands of prisoners who languish in Israeli jails,” proclaiming that “resistance to the evil of occupation is a Christian’s right and duty.”

In the last few months we have seen a radical and dangerous increase of attacks on Israel by the Protestant and Catholic churches. While the US is home to many Christian supporters of Israel, the groups more closely linked to global public opinion, European bureaucracy, the media industry, the United Nations and various legal forums are all violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. They are paving the way for a new Jewish bloodbath by the theological exclusion of Israel’s Jews from the family of nations.

The patriarch of the Antioch Church, the Catholic Melkite Gregory III Laham, proclaimed that there is a “Zionist conspiracy against Islam,” reviving old conspiracy theories that led to infamous pogroms. In Antwerp, once called “the Belgian Jerusalem,” a highly respected and government-funded Catholic school, the College of the Sacred Heart, just hosted a “Palestine Day” replete with anti-Semitic references and activities for youngsters. One stall at the event was titled “Throw the soldiers into the sea,” allowing children to throw replicas of Jewish and Israeli soldiers into two large tanks.

The most influential international Catholic peace movement, Pax Christi, just promoted a boycott of Israel’s goods “in the name of love.” The most hated Israeli product includes Ahava, the famous Israeli cosmetics company, whose shop in Covent Garden, London, has just been closed by the company after years of demonstrations. Strangely, Ahava body lotion tubes have been chosen as a satanic symbol of Jewish colonialism.

Today, most of the divestment campaign against Israel is driven by Christian groups such as the Dutch Interchurch Organization and the Irish Catholic group Troicaré, both funded by the EU. The United Church of Canada, a very popular and mainstream Christian denomination, just voted to boycott six companies (Caterpillar, Motorola, Ahava, Veolia, Elbit Systems and Chapters/Indigo) and South African bishop Desmond Tutu convinced the University of Johannesburg to severe all its links with Israeli fellows.

Last year the Methodist Church of Britain voted to boycott Israeli-produced goods and services from Judea and Samaria. The catholic Pax Christi is also leading the campaign glorifying Mordechai Vanunu, Israel’s nuclear whistleblower who had converted to Christianity. La Civiltà Cattolica, the Vatican magazine reviewed by the Holy See secretary of state before publication, in January opened with a shocking editorial on Palestinian refugees. Adopting the Islamist propagandist word “Nakba,” just recently invoked by Arab mobs to breach Israel’s borders, the paper declared that the refugees are a consequence of “ethnic cleansing” by Israel and that “the Zionists were cleverly able to exploit the Western sense of guilt for the Shoah to lay the foundations of their own state.” Indeed, Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric is alarmingly similar.

Israel’s relationship with the Vatican is different from Jerusalem’s relationship with Albania or Luxembourg for example, because the Catholic Church has more than one billion adherents and a global moral authority. At the Rome synod, Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, a cleric chosen by Pope Ratzinger to draft the synod’s 44 final propositions, denied the Jewish people’s biblical right to the Promised Land. “We Christians cannot speak about the Promised Land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people”, Bustros said, reviving the “replacement theology.”

Edmond Farhat, a Maronite Apostolic Nuncio, who is a sort of Vatican’s ambassador, described Israel’s place in the Middle East in terms of a rejected “foreign implant” that which has no specialists “capable of healing it.” Elsewhere, the current Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, named by Pope Ratzinger to represent the Catholic community in Israel and the West Bank, is sponsoring an appeal against the “Judaization of Jerusalem.” Indeed, at this time, new anti-Israel policies by the most powerful Christian groups are breathing new life into Medieval doctrine that demonized Jews for hundreds of years.

The latest excavations in England suggest the Jews were thrown down the well together, head first, the kids after the parents. Five of them had a DNA sequence suggesting they were likely to be members of a single Jewish family. Some 10 centuries later, five Jews from the same Israeli family, the Fogels of Itamar, were slaughtered in their own beds. A famous Italian priest, Mario Cornioli, wrote immediately after the massacre in a subliminal justification of the killings: “What is Itamar? An illegal Israeli colony built on stolen land.”The replacement calumny has changed its language, yet it still marks a death sentence for the Jewish people: Israelis, like Lucifer, were God’s chosen but were cast out for their rebellious and evil ways, and now deserve to be obliterated from the so-called “Holy Land,” the argument goes. From Norwich to Itamar, the Jewish martyrs are an everlasting and heroic stain in this horrible, theological blood libel.

[nChrist]

I think we can tell that this evil and chaotic world is ripe for the ushering in of the Tribulation Period. It's definitely easy for the devil to deceive many.