|
|
The Weekly
News In
Review newsletter is a service
provided by Understand The Times that is a
compilation of the news articles
posted on our site during the previous
week.
 |
|
|
September 30 - A Message for Rosh Hashanah
Article: One World Religion
Comment from UTT:
The following comments by
Tony Blair fit with his agenda for the
establishment of a global
spirituality by inviting the religions of the
world to participate.
I send my best wishes to the
Jewish people on
the occasion of the Jewish New Year, Rosh
Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah in
many ways exemplifies the inevitable complexity of
life, which as
humans we try to ignore or over-simplify at our
peril. Its hoped-for
sweetness mingles with humility and repentance.
It acknowledges
that a new start necessarily involves not only hope
but also self-
examination. This celebration of a New Year with its
sense of
anticipation also initiates the ten High Holy Days with
their rigorous
demands and penitential reflection.
This is, in fact, a model of how
communities
may seek to renew
themselves, of how they may draw on their ancient
wisdom so that
they may better face the new challenges of the
future.
This 'birthday of the world' may also
cause us
all, whether
Jewish or not, to reflect on our duty to care for the
world, to nurture
God's creation so that it leads to renewed life.
At a time when the
very nature of the world is threatened by
environmental
challenges of enormous magnitude, such a reminder
is
more than
timely.
So may the sweetness of Rosh
Hashanah sustain
you, and may the
self-examination of Rosh Hashanah strengthen you,
throughout the
coming year.
Tony
Blair
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 29 - Announcing the Faiths Act Fellowship
Article: One World Religion
Comment from UTT:
Tony Blair is now working
together with youth leaders to establish his
plans to eliminate malaria by
working together with people of faith -
any faith.
I believe that
young people will
lead the way in building inter-religious
cooperation for the
21st century. That is why I am so pleased
that on September
25, 2008 we have launched a
partnership
between the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and my
organisation,
Interfaith Youth Core, to engage exceptional young
people whose
leadership motivated by faith will result in real
impact on the lives
of others. As changemakers for current and
future generations,
young people have the opportunity to establish a
new vision of inter-
religious interaction that places protecting the
welfare of the
world's poorest at its centre.
The Faiths
Act Fellowship brings together thirty young
leaders drawn from the
different faiths from the US, UK and Canada to
embark on a 10 month journey
of interfaith service. Training begins with
a two-month intensive initiative
that includes fieldwork with primary
health care partners fighting
deaths from malaria in Africa. Fellows
will return to their home
countries for 8 months to mobilize young
people of faith to raise
awareness and resources to promote the
Millennium Development
Goals. They will particularly focus on fighting
deaths from
malaria.
Jess Kent
is an example of one such
young person. Inspired by the Jewish notion of
tikkun olam, or repairing the
world, Jess has been mobilizing student
religious groups at Brandeis
University to work together to make
progress on the Millennium
Development Goals.
Partnering with nonreligious
students, humanists, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs,
Jains, Muslims, Baha'is,
Buddhists and Christians on campus, Jess has
mobilized support to sponsor
a Millennium Village and donate
anti-malarial pills and bed
nets with Brandeis University's Positive
Foundations club. These
students are now planning a trip to Rwanda so
they can see first-hand the
enormity of the challenges that they believe
can be eradicated through
sustained partnership across faith
divides.
The Faiths
Act Fellowship is an
opportunity for young leaders like Jess from the
UK, US and Canada to become ambassadors for
interreligious cooperation in
the fight against deaths due to malaria
and progress toward the
Millennium Development Goals. If this sounds
like you or someone you know,
I strongly encourage young people aged 18
- 25 in the United States, the
United Kingdom and Canada to apply to
join the
Fellowship.
Working
together, across faiths and across borders,
we can both prevent the
unnecessary deaths of millions of people and
build
more peaceful communities around the
world.
Assalaam
alaikum, Eboo
Patel
Founder and Executive
Director
Interfaith Youth
Core
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 1 - U.S.-Muslim engagement seen as key to security, prosperity
Article: One World Religion
Comment
from UTT:
Now the Southern Baptists are getting
involved in bringing religions
together in order to come up with a peace
plan. The following article
details proposals that were made at a
recent meeting.
WASHINGTON (BP)--Deep
misunderstandings between the United
States and Muslim communities around
the world are causing serious problems
and solving
them will require constructing
"bridges of understanding," says
the
president of the Southern Baptist
Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty
Commission.
"Polls show
there is a huge lack of understanding of
Americans in the Muslim world. We need
to broaden and deepen the
understanding on both
sides," Richard Land said.
"The U.S.-
Muslim Engagement Project will galvanize
every aspect of American society to
engage the Muslim society."
The group, which had 11 Muslim-
American members and was supported in its
work by Search for Common Ground and
the Consensus Building Institute, held
a briefing Sept. 24 on its report --
entitled
"Changing Course: A New Direction
for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World"
-- at the Rayburn House Office
Building and a press conference at the
National Press Club.
"This initiative is a serious,
comprehensive, bipartisan effort that seeks
to address a critical problem: The world Muslim
community misunderstands Americans
and Americans misunderstand them,"
Land said in a
written endorsement. "This
initiative lays out a detailed and
comprehensive plan to vastly decrease
that misunderstanding through a multi-
faceted approach that will build
constructive bridges of mutual
understanding between Americans and Muslim
world."
The group's plan
calls for significant shifts in
American foreign policy to create a safer
U.S. and a better world and
suggests a "new blueprint" on
how to reconstruct America's relationship with
Muslims around the world, said
Stephen Heintz, president of the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Project
leadership has called
for the next
president of the U.S. to recognize the
importance of improving U.S.-Muslim
relations in his inaugural speech.
The report suggests a "four pillar
approach" for U.S.-Muslim engagement:
1) diplomacy as the
"primary tool for resolving
conflicts involving Muslim countries,"
2) efforts "to improve governance and
promote civic participation in Muslim
countries, and advocate for principles
rather than parties in their internal political
contests," 3) an emphasis on
"job-creating growth in Muslim
countries," and 4) a focus on improving
"respect and understanding
between Americans and Muslims around the
world."
"By changing
our approach, we will also help reverse
the widespread perception of Muslims
around the world that the U.S. is
engaged in a 'war on Islam,'"
Land said.
Tom Dine, former executive director of the
American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, said, "It is late in the day,
but never too late,
for American policy
makers to alter their mindset about Islam
and the Muslim communities, and to
try and act on the common ground that
exists between the peoples and
government of the United States and
global Muslim societies."
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 2 - Real faith does not impose itself, Pope Benedict teaches
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Comment from UTT:
The following article provides
the pope's proclamation for "keeping the
flame of faith alive among the
Christian people." Note the reference to
Marian devotion and the
"rosary".
Vatican City, Oct 2,
2008 / 10:24 am (CNA).-
Bishops and other
clergy from Kazakhstan and Central Asia, a region
with few Catholics,
met with Pope Benedict this morning at the
Vatican. The Holy
Father encouraged the prelates to "keep the
flame
of faith alive
among the Christian people" and
spoke about the
dangers of religious
fundamentalism.
Other ways to keep this flame
alive are to
"Continue to
educate
everyone in
listening to the Word of God and arouse, especially in
the young, Marian
devotion and love for the Eucharist. Spread the
practice of the
Rosary among families. Patiently and courageously,
seek new forms
and methods of apostolate, making it your concern to
modernize them in
accordance with today's needs, bearing in mind the
language and
culture of the faithful entrusted to you
care,"
the Pope
said.
In contrast with
religious
fundamentalists,
Benedict XVI underlined how
"the Church
does not impose but freely proposes the Catholic
faith,
well aware that
conversion is the mysterious fruit of the action of
the Holy Spirit.
Faith is a gift and a work of God, and hence
excludes any form
of proselytism that forces, allures or entices
people by trickery
to embrace it."
Addressing religious
freedom again, the
Holy Father explained that, "A person may open
to
the faith after
mature and responsible reflection, and must be able
freely to realize that
intimate aspiration.
This benefits not
only the individual, but all society, because the
faithful observance
of divine precepts helps to build a more just
and united form of
coexistence."
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 6 - Surf-loving priests lead interfaith worshipers in a 'blessing of the waves'
Article: Ecumenical Movements - Misc.
Comment from UTT:
The following article gives a
glimpse of the ecumenical church of the
future that worships the earth
rather than the God who created the
earth.
For about 400
interfaith
worshipers, the
shoreline became a
makeshift church as Catholics, Jews and
Muslims gathered for an
unusual "blessing of the
waves." Although their faith
traditions differ,
those in attendance
were
bound by a reverence for the ocean and the peaceful
place
of
prayer they find on its shores -- if not surfing its
waves.
The
service, sponsored by the
Roman
Catholic Diocese of Orange, was directed
by a pair of
surf-
loving priests. Fathers Christian Mondor and
Matt
Munoz
chose the Sunday after the Feast of St. Francis of
Assisi
--
the
patron saint of ecology, as well as for animals -- for
the
event
as a reminder that the ocean and its ecosystem must
be
protected.
Rick Ischinger, a
longtime surfer, blew on a conch shell,
calling
the gathering to order. Then, one by one, the
representatives of different faiths stood to
give a brief
prayer.
"Some people pray by the oceans,
others by the mountains," said
Carol
Weinfeld of Temple Beth David in Westminster.
"Some people
pray in
forests and others by a calm cool lake. "We
hope," she
said,
"that those voices will join
together to thank God."
Fawad
Yacoob of the Islamic Society of Orange County
recited a verse from the Koran. The
crowd
was
quiet as he sang the prayer.
When the prayers were finished,
the Catholic priests
took long stems of rosemary, dipped
them
in a
large wooden bowl filled with holy water and sprinkled
the
crowd.
"Raise your hands over the
water," Munoz told the crowd when
they
reached the beach. They lifted their hands, and he
said a
prayer.
"May the gifts of creation not be something we
feel
entitled
to ourselves as individuals," he said.
"Let them be something we
protect and
cherish for everyone." Irma Fortin of
Costa Mesa took the bowl
of holy
water and poured it into the ocean.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 1 - Foreign economists urge 'global plan'
Article: One World Government
Comment from UTT:
It is very apparent now that the
United States financial meltdown is
part of the process for setting
up a global system of finance that
Bible prophecy students have
been looking for years. This one world
currency will eventually be in
the control of a one world government
and a one world leader.
Leaders and economists from
Western Europe to East Asia
Tuesday urged the
United States
to go beyond reviving a failed
domestic bailout and start working on
a new global
financial system.
"The
Americans don't
have a choice - they must absolutely have a global
plan,"
Christian Noyer, head of the French central
bank, said
in
Paris.
David Smick, a global
strategist and author of
"The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers of the
Global Economy," said
the next U.S. president should immediately call
for a second "Bretton
Woods" conference to
devise
a new doctrine of international
finance.
"I am convinced that the
sickness runs deep and that
we need to
rethink the entire financial and
monetary system, as we did in Bretton
Woods ... to create the tools for
worldwide regulation made necessary by
the globalization of
trade," French President
Nicolas Sarkozy said in the
French city of Toulon on Monday.
He said that officials from
France, Britain, Germany and
Italy will meet next week in Paris with the
Continent's top financial
officials to prepare for a proposed global
summit on the economic
crisis. European Central Bank President
Jean-Claude Trichet will
participate. The 27-nation European Union said
Tuesday that the crisis "has become a global
problem" and
Washington has a "special responsibility"
to resolve it.
"It is
quite threatening what is going
on," Hungarian Foreign Minister
Kinga Goncz said Tuesday
during a visit to Washington.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 1 - After the Aloha Shirts
Artricle: One World Religion
Comment from UTT:
Note that the "P" in
P.E.A.C.E. Plan 1.0 stood for "planting
churches".
Now, in P.E.A.C.E. Plan 2.O,
the "p" stands for Promoting
Reconciliation. What does this
mean? Rick Warren has said he is willing
to work with people of all faiths
as long as their motive is to do good.
The following words stated by
Rick Warren in the article below make this
clear. He said:
"I am
interested in interfaith projects.
Let's do something together. You are
probably not going to change
your doctrinal distinctives, and I'm
probably not going to change
my doctrinal distinctives. We have
different beliefs. But the fact is,
we do serve the same Lord. Let's
work on the things we can
agree on."
Do
all the religions of
the world serve the "same Lord." If this is
what Warren
believes, it is not biblical. However, it is a bridge
that is being built
that leads to a one world spirituality. This of
course is biblical.
The Bible calls this one world religion, the
harlot.
Get
ready! It is not far
away.
Does the civil
forum fit into the PEACE Plan?
It fits into building bridges to the
government. I have these three
great objectives in my life.
One of them is to
restore responsibility to individuals. Everything
is a gift from God,
and what we do with it, we are responsible to
God for-stewardship. The second one
is
to restore
credibility to the church. One thing I wanted to do in
this forum is
say: The church is at the table,
the church is
intelligent, and the church believes in the common
good, not just the
Good News. That leads to the third goal,
which is to restore
civility to civilization. I've been influenced
by William
Wilberforce on the restoration of manners. You can
actually learn more
about the candidates through a civil discussion
than you can
through an antagonistic debate. I have a letter going
out to all the
pastors in our network saying,
"Look, I did it
at a national level, but you could do this at a
community
level."
Where did the
PEACE Plan's emphasis on government, business,
and
church
partnerships come from?
When I was at
the Davos World
Economic Forum for the first time, I kept hearing
people talk about
public and private partnership. What they meant
was that
government and business need to get together to
work on
poverty, disease,
and illiteracy. I'm thinking,
Wait a minute. You are close, but no
cigar.
You are missing
the third leg of the stool-the church. You are
missing the
component that has the most distribution, that has the
most volunteers,
that already has the boots on the ground, that
already has the
motivation to do it for free.
The "p"
in PEACE 2.0, "Promoting
reconciliation," has replaced
"Planting churches." Why
did you make this
change?
Everywhere I went
there were broken relationships. Everywhere we
went, we had to be bridge builders,
moderators, and
peacemakers. Get right with God and get right with
each
other.
When I looked
at the PEACE Plan,
church planting was the only [point] that had a
prescribed
method. We are still doing church planting, but now
we
put it under
partnerships with the local church. We don't expect
government and
business, the other two legs of the stool, to do
church planting.
But there are biblical
principles of
reconciliation that apply to everybody. If you listen
before you speak,
you are going to have better relationships,
whether you are a
believer or not.
There are more
than 1 billion Roman Catholics and Orthodox
believers. Where
do they fit in?
We need to
mobilize a billion
Catholics and Orthodox [believers]. I'm not
really that
interested in interfaith dialogue.
I am interested in
interfaith projects. Let's do something together.
You are probably
not going to change your doctrinal distinctives,
and I'm probably
not going to change my doctrinal distinctives.
We have different
beliefs. But the fact is, we do serve
the same
Lord. Let's work on the things we can
agree
on.
At Saddleback's
PEACE summit in May, you spoke about what you call
a
"new
wineskins" model for Christian leaders. What
did you mean by
that?
The essence
of the new
wineskins concept is that hierarchy
is going to be
replaced by network. The organization of the future
of Christianity is
the network. PEACE is a framework and a network
for global
missions. It's not my framework. All I am saying
is: Let's do it the
way Jesus did it. The lesson of Jesus is: I do
it and you watch.
Stage two is: You do it and I watch. Stage three
is: I'm out of here
and you're doing it on your own.
Every time
the Word of God
has been taken into a new technology, there is
renewal, revival, or
a reformation. Now we've got the Internet. I
can talk to
somebody in Sri Lanka as easily as I can talk to you.
PEACE is also a network in which
local
churches can now
work with each other instead of being in
denominational
silos. It allows collaboration in global missions
that we could
never have done before.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 5 - Yoga at NY High School Causes Stress Among Critics
Article: New Age
Comment from UTT:
While many who practice or
promote yoga claim there is no connection to
eastern religion, the facts
speak for themselves. The western world has
been influenced by
evangelists from the Hindu and Buddhist faiths who
have now recruited teachers in
the west to promote yoga as an exercise.
The whole idea behind this
religious practice is to link oneself to the
the universal energy. While
those who promote yoga may say this is not
the case, those who
participate in this religious practice have opened
a door to the spiritual realm
without knowing it.
Two high
school teachers began using
yoga last year to help students relieve
stress before exams.
Special education teacher Martha Duchscherer
and Spanish teacher Kerry
Perretta also were
developing a districtwide
program.
But those plans were halted
after parents and others in the
community complained
students
were being indoctrinated in Hindu rites.
"We are not
opposed to the benefits. We can understand the
benefits.
We are opposed to the philosophy behind
it and that has its ties in
Hinduism and the way they were presenting
it,"
said the Rev. Colin Lucid of
Calvary Baptist Church in Massena.
"If the school board felt
there was any hidden religious
activity behind the motives of our two
instructors, we certainly
wouldn't allow that," she said. "There is
absolutely none of that. The
teachers are well intended and trying to
offer an
aspect of fitness in the classroom that
relaxes and readies the
children for better learning."
A
hundred schools in 26 states
use yoga in the classroom to relieve stress,
Reagan said. Federal funds and grants are
available to educators seeking
yoga certification, she said.
According to a statement on
the Web site of the American
Yoga Association, yoga is not a religion,
although its practice has been
adopted by Hinduism, as well as other
world religions. There are
more than 100 different schools of yoga,
which seeks to bring harmony
to the mind and body. The most
commonly practiced type in the
United States is hatha yoga, which
encompasses physical movements
and postures, plus
breathing techniques.
"It's been a little
discouraging that this program
has taken on a negative tone," said
Duchscherer, who has taught
in the Massena district for 11 years. "The
intention was never to teach
religion. ..
It was to
introduce relaxation techniques."
Parents in Aspen, Colo., were
successful in demanding the
removal of yoga in the local curriculum in
2002. In Alabama, religious
leaders pushed for a 1993 law prohibiting
the teaching of yoga in
schools, citing
connections between yoga
and Hindu religious training.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 6 - NATO chief: I'm not positive Iran can be stopped
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Comment from
UTT:
The establishment of an Iranian nuclear
bomb is now being accepted as a
reality by world leaders. This means that
the threats being made by
Iran to wipe out Israel are also real. We
are facing a showdown in the
middle-east that the Bible predicts will
happen in the last days.
In what is seen as a rare statement
of support for Israel,
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said
Monday that
there was no
reason for Israel to surrender its alleged nuclear
capabilities in the face of
Iran's continued race towards nuclear power.
Speaking at a conference in
France, Scheffer said he did not
believe
the international
community would be able to stop
Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. "I am not
positive about the world being
able to stop Iran from fulfilling its ambitions,"
he was quoted as
saying.
"It is
a major challenge to prevent Iran from continuing to
strive to get the bomb,"
Scheffer said, adding that his
concern was "that the
Security
Council, as we speak, is rather
incapable of coming to
further conclusions on further sanctions."
As
a result, Scheffer said
there was no reason for Israel
to give up its supposed
nuclear capability. According to foreign media reports,
Israel has an arsenal of
several hundred nuclear bombs.
"As we all know, Israel never
admits to what it has, but I do not see very many
arguments for the Jewish state
to abandon its potential," the NATO chief said.
"What is
as dangerous is the missile technology which [Iran]
is also developing
at a fast pace."
Government officials in
Jerusalem, meanwhile, expressed concern that Scheffer's
uncertainty that
the international
community will be able to stop Iran from fulfilling its
nuclear ambitions
reflected the opinion of more and more of the international
arena.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 6 - Friar takes the lead in lauding God's creatures
Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.
Comment from
UTT:
The following article explains
how a Catholic friar and a Buddhist monk
join hands in ceremony to
bless pets. According to the article the
friar believes that pets can be
a "ladder to heaven." The Bible states
that faith in Jesus Christ is the
only way to heaven. The coming one
world religion worships the
creation.
PETS
can be our ladders into heaven, a
Franciscan friar said yesterday as
he blessed hundreds of dogs - and a
couple of rabbits.
As part of celebrations for
the Feast of St Francis of Assisi,
renowned for his love of animals, the
City of Port Phillip and Kilbride ecumenical
centre invited pet owners to a
blessing ceremony at the Port Melbourne
Lifesaving Club.
Matthew Hufer, a friar
from St James of the March Friary in Box
Hill, blessed the dogs - and their
owners - for long-lasting life and good
health. Despite the invitation, most
other animals stayed away from the
blessing, with word going around that
most cats had decided to stay home and
bask in the sunshine. But there was a
pair of rabbits that popped out of their box
in time to be blessed with the
holy water.
Brother Hufer
was joined at the
ceremony by Buddhist nun Carolyn
Lawler, who shared the Dalai Lama's
mantra of universal compassion.
Using readings from the
Bible to demonstrate how important
animals could be in people's lives,
Brother Hufer said God did not discriminate between
his creations.
Yesterday's blessing was
the eighth such event. Councillor Dick
Gross said it
was important to promote the role pets
played in keeping their owners in
good health and good
spirits.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
October 10 - Tony Blair on the Faiths Act Fellows
Article: One World Religion
Comment from
UTT:
Tony
Blair's Faith
Foundation is now recruiting youth from around the
world to be faith
ambassadors by working with all faiths (including
their own) to
eliminate poverty and diseases from planet earth. The
indoctrination of
this generation in ways like this leads to what
the Bible calls the
harlot (a counterfeit church in the name of
Christ). When you
watch the video clip of Blair, note the similarity
to Rick Warren's
plan to work with other faiths for the cause of
good.
Watch You Tube Video ....
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS ALERT September 20 - Farrakhan calls Obama the Messiah
Article: Misc.
Comment from
UTT:
The following video clip
showing Louis Farrakhan
promoting Barack Obama as the
coming "messiah"
is a must view by anyone concerned
about the future.
Farrakhan was speaking to a large
group on February 28, 2008.
Note the sign that is
clearly visible on the podium -
In
the Name of Allah -
Nation
of Islam Saviours'
Day.
The following is a
transcript of Farrakhan's own
words:
"You are the instruments
that God is going to use to
bring about universal change,
and that is why Barack has
captured the youth. And he has
involved young people in
a political process that they
didn't care anything
about. That's a sign. When the
Messiah speaks, the youth
will hear, and the Messiah is
absolutely
speaking."
Watch You Tube Video ....
|
|
We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Roger Oakland
|
|
