"CAN THESE BONES LIVE?"

by R.C. Sproul

It was the early spring of 1958. I had spent the entire morning hours, till noon, on my knees beside my bed. It was the most passionate prayer experience of my young Christian life. I had been converted in September of 1957 and was now facing the deepest crisis of my nascent spiritual pilgrimage.

At issue was this: my girlfriend was coming to campus. She was the girl I loved and desired to marry. My resolve toward matrimony with her was kindled when I was in the eighth grade, five years earlier.

The previous months were difficult for her. She received a letter I wrote to her the night I became a Christian. She read it with zero comprehension of what I was talking about. At first she was puzzled by my new religious fervor. Her bewilderment turned to grave concern as our mutual friends warned her that I had gone off the deep-end and morphed into a religious fanatic. Then concern gave way to hostility knowing she could not spend her life with a religious nutcase.

Each day she fielded my letters that were laced with quotations from the Bible and testimonies of each new experience I had with Christ. Soon we both understood that our relationship was headed for a train wreck, one not unlike the one she and I experienced in Alabama in 1983 — hence my prayer vigil. This was not mere intercession. It was importunity, spiritual begging with a vengeance. I knew that unless she became a Christian, there was no way we could ever marry.

I picked her up at the bus station, and she checked-in at the girls dorm on campus. After dinner I took her to our weekly Bible study in the parlor of the church across the street from “Old Main.” There in the course of the opening of the Word, her heart was opened as well, and she made the transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. She met the Master, and He redeemed her.

That night her sleep came in fits and starts. She kept pinching herself asking silently, “Do I still have it?” Satisfied that indeed she still had it, she drifted off to sleep.

First thing the next morning I picked her up at the dorm to begin our journey home for the weekend. On the way down Route 19 toward Pittsburgh, she looked at me with a radiant smile and said, “Now I know who the Holy Spirit is.”

She had grown up in church. She sang in the choir. She heard the words of Scripture, but they bounced off her recalcitrant heart. She had no ears to hear, no eyes to behold the excellency of Jesus. Until that night in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, the Holy Spirit was a mere abstraction, a third of the ritual of the weekly benediction. But now she knew Him as the third person of the Trinity.

Less than twenty-four hours as a Christian, and she had no training in theology. She was illiterate with respect to the content of the Bible. But she was, by intuition, already a Calvinist. She understood that her conversion was not caused by my prayers or by my oratory. She knew the cause did not reside in the inclinations of her own flesh. She knew her faith was not self-created. No, she clearly knew that what was wrought in her soul was wrought by the immediate, supernatural, and efficacious work of God the Holy Spirit.

The accomplishment of all that was needed objectively for her redemption had been achieved by Christ centuries earlier. But the personal application to her soul, the subjective appropriation of the objective work of Christ, was done by the Holy Spirit.

It was John Calvin who was known as the “theologian of the Holy Spirit.” He was dubbed this not because he manifested the gifts of tongues or became so preoccupied with the Spirit as to lean toward a unitarianism of the third person of the Trinity. He was called the theologian of the Holy Spirit because of his biblical emphasis upon the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in our redemption. He understood that just as the Bible sets forth the divine work of Creation as a triune activity involving the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, so, in a similar fashion, Scripture reveals the work of redemption as the threefold activity of the Godhead. In our redemption, it is the Father who designs and plans our redemption. It is the Father who sends the Son into the world and, together with the Son, sends the Holy Spirit.

In the administration of redemption, though all three persons of the Godhead are co-equal in being, glory, and eternality, there is nevertheless an economic subordination that takes place. The Son comes to do the will of the Father. His task is to satisfy the demands of God’s justice and righteousness. His meat and His drink is to do the will of the Father. He speaks with authority, but it is an authority not His own. Rather, it is an authority delegated to Him by the Father.

His perfect obedience is both active and passive. Actively, He kept every jot and tittle of the Law. In that endeavor, He was perfectly successful. He is more than sinless. To be sinless is to be free from all fault, taint, or blemish. It is to be innocent of guilt. But the Son is more than innocent. He is righteous. He achieves perfect merit. He fulfills the details of the covenant by which God promised the reward of blessing to those who achieved obedience. It is the fruit of Christ’s active obedience that is the ground of our justification and the righteousness that is imputed to us by faith.

In His passive obedience, like the silent lamb at the slaughter, the Son acquiesces to the dreadful punishment of the curse of God. He drinks the cup of the bitterness of God’s wrath to its dregs.

In His active and passive obedience, the Son accomplishes our redemption objectively. Yet, for that redemption to avail for us, it must be appropriated subjectively. Faith is required as the necessary instrument for us to receive the benefits of Christ’s accomplished work of redemption.

The subjective appropriation of the work of the Son is accomplished by the application of that redemption by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who regenerates us. In that regeneration, He generates the faith in us that is necessary for our appropriation of the work of Christ.

That application via regeneration and faith is not a joint venture between the sinner and the Spirit. The Spirit does not regenerate those who believe. No, He regenerates the unbelieving sinner unto faith. He quickens to spiritual life those who are dead in sin. He changes the recalcitrant heart of the sinner, making the unwilling willing to come to Christ. He makes the indisposed disposed to Him, the disinclined fully inclined. Our salvation is entirely of God — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Soli Deo Gloria.

Source: Ligonier.org

© Tabletalk magazine
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Monergistic Regeneration

Since faith is infinitely beyond all the power of our unregenerated human nature, it is only God who can give the spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see the beauty of Christ in the gospel. God alone disarms the hostility of the sinner turning his heart of stone to a heart of flesh. It is God, the Holy Spirit, alone who gives illumination and understanding of His word that we might believe; It is God who raises us from the death of sin, who circumcises the heart; unplugs our ears; It is God alone who can give us a new sense, a spiritual capacity to behold the beauty and unsurpassed excellency of Jesus Christ. 

The apostle John recorded Jesus saying to Nicodemus that we naturally love darkness, hate the light and WILL NOT come into the light (John 3:19, 20). And since our hardened resistance to God is thus seated in our affections, only God, by His grace, can lovingly change, overcome and pacify our rebellious disposition. The natural man, apart from the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, will not come to Christ on his own since he is at enmity with God and cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14). Shining a light into a blind man's eyes will not enable him to see, because eyesight first requires a set of healthy eyes. Likewise, reading or hearing the word of God alone cannot elicit saving faith in the reader (1 Thess 1:4, 5) unless God plows up the fallow ground of our hearts and the Spirit "germinates" the seed of the word, opening our eyes to see Christ's true beauty and excellency and uniting us to Him through a Spirit-wrought faith. So the problem of conversion is not with the Word or God's Law but with man's prideful heart. The humility required to submit to the gospel is, therefore, not prompted by man's will but by God's mercy (Rom 9:16) since no one can believe the gospel unless God grants it (John 6:63, 65). As an example of how the Spirit uses the means of the spoken word to disarm closed hearts, the Book of Acts records the work of the Holy Spirit during the preaching of the apostles and, in one instance, states that "the Lord opened her [Lydia's] heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul," (Acts 16:14). The Spirit must likewise give all His people spiritual life and understanding if their hearts are to be opened and thus respond to Christ in faith.

Source: ReformationTheology.com  by John on November 12, 2009 06:44 PM
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Thorium: An Energy Solution

Thorium is readily available and can be turned into energy without generating transuranic wastes. Thorium's capacity as nuclear fuel was discovered during WW II, but ignored because it was unsuitable for making bombs. A liquid-fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) is the optimal approach for harvesting energy from Thorium, and has the potential to solve today's energy/climate crisis. LFTR is a type of Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (Th-MSR). This video summarizes over 6 hours worth of thorium talks given by Kirk Sorensen and other thorium technologists. Thorium is a naturally-occurring mineral that holds large amounts of releasable nuclear energy, similar to uranium. This nuclear energy can be released in a special nuclear reactor designed to use thorium. Thorium is special because it is easier to extract this energy completely than uranium due to some of the chemical and nuclear properties of thorium.  To learn more about the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor visit: http://energyfromthorium.com/

Solar, Hydrogen, And Aluminum: A Guide To The Latest In Advanced Vehicle Technology

BY RYAN KORONOWSKI APRIL 5, 2014 AT 10:47 AM UPDATED: APRIL 5, 2014 AT 11:28 AM

Since the days of Henry Ford and the Model T, cars have always captured the American imagination. For a time, bigger was better and gas-guzzling behemoths like Hummers were all the rage. But times have changed. Retooling the auto industry to produce more efficient vehicles helped save Detroit and advanced vehicles have become so mainstream that Cadillac’s recent Super Bowl ad marketing a luxury hybrid vehicle as a symbol of all that makes America great.

“You work hard, you create your own luck, and you gotta believe anything is possible,” the driver says as he unplugs his car.

While conservative pundit George Will claims Americans are driving bigger cars to show how ungrateful they are for federal efforts to improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon emissions, Americans are actually driving lessthan they used to, and when they do so, they are often driving smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

Many people see efficient vehicles, electric cars — cars that use less or no gasoline — as unrealistic luxuries. The sticker price of Tesla’s Model S means it is a pipe dream for the vast majority the population, even if it earns some of the highest ratings ever. But if Americans look to the innovative Next Big Thing for inspiration, believing that anything is possible — what are those next big things?

Here is a look at some of the highlights of what’s coming next in the world of efficient vehicles:

 

 Plug-in hybrids

CREDIT: THINKPROGRESS

First, what’s happening now? The most visible way that Americans see cars becoming more efficient is through the expanding electric and hybrid vehicle markets. Instead of running on gasoline, these cars use batteries to store an electric charge to completely replace or augment a gas-powered combustion engine. Tesla Motors’ stock continues to do well this year, and it touts impressive sales, but until it offers a modelcompetitively priced with other hybrid or electric vehicles, the vast majority of the population will be entirely insulated from any of its innovative designs. Toyota and Ford currently dominate recent hybrid sales with the more reasonably priced Prius and Fusion. In the plug-in category, Chevy’s Volt competed well with Toyota and Ford’s models, while in the pure electric category, it’s almost entirely Tesla and Nissan’s game with the Model S and Leaf.

A recent study by researchers at North Carolina State University looked at how high electric car usage would have to go before emissions over the whole economy would begin to go down. Because power plant emissions were assumed to increase, they found that electric cars would have to make up more than 42 percent of the total fleet usage to see a reduction of the emissions of key air pollutants.

Replacing an inefficient gasoline-powered car with an efficient one that uses a mix of electricity to charge itself is a good step, but it’s not everything. So what kind of vehicle innovations can consumers look to in order to drop total emissions by a meaningful enough amount to make a dent in carbon pollution?

Solar cars

CREDIT: THINKPROGRESS

Look out over a large parking lot on a hot day and it is easy to think about covering the whole surface with a solar farm for cars. Sure, there are efforts underway to install solar shades over parked cars. But what if you could bring your solar panels with you when you drove away? Solar panel-embedded roofs are already available on the Prius, for example, but without the canopy to concentrate the energy, it only powers climate control systems in the cabin. The Ford C-MAX Solar Energi concept car boasts a rooftop covered in solar panels that aim to do more than that.

The designers of the Energi concept car crammed 16 square feet of solar panels on the roof, but that would not be enough to charge the battery on its own over the course of the day — it would take at least a week. The best way that collaborators Ford, SunPower Corp., and the Georgia Institute of Technology found to charge the car’s battery without relying on the grid is to set up a transparent canopy of its own over the owner’s driveway (or office parking lot) that magnifies the sun’s rays to maximize the charge. Concentrated solar photovoltaic power plants operate in a similar manner. The car even slowly moves as the sun tracks east to west across the sky to ensure the energy flows in as directly as possible.

“We call it an 8x multiplier,” Ford’s global director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure Mike Tinskey, told Climate Progress. “Without the canopy you’re just getting 1x.”

Tinskey explained that without the canopy, the panel still charges the car, and would continue to do so even while driving. Without the concentrating lens pulling in more of the sun’s energy, however, on an average day it would generate just one kilowatt of charge. A four-hour battery charge takes 8 kilowatts.

With the canopy, the Energi’s charging time drops from a week to six or seven hours. This charging system won’t be feasible for every prospective owner — Tinskey said that working with offices to allow for employee solar charging during a bright work day may be the best option. He also acknowledged that care must be taken to avoid the super-concentrated rays under the canopy without the car there, as they are eight times as strong as normal sunlight.

The benefit of a concept car like this would be another step away from a fossil fuel powered grid. Since most transportation is still powered by petroleum, and a lot of the grid is powered by coal, beginning to supplement the fleet with direct solar power would start to cut carbon emissions. Ford estimates that savings at four metric tons of CO2 per person.

Because the Solar Energi concept car is a plug-in hybrid, the sun helps to top off the capacity of a vehicle with a range of up to 620 miles. Bob Sheth wrote on Electric Forum that “the vast majority of concept vehicles will never make it to market” though they show how a major auto company can build a car that “is not only good for the industry but also gives potential customers of the future food for thought.”

For now, while the solar version evolves from concept to reality, the normal plug-in hybrid version is currently available. The Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid gets a combined 100 mpg between its electric battery and hybrid gasoline engine. Though the car’s detractors may complain about price (around $33,000), storage, and pickup, its fans (over 10,000 sold so far) love the flexibility of a plug-in hybrid with the comfort of a conventional car.

Tinskey explained that the reasoning behind such a concept car was to show what’s possible while the potential market develops — these cars are not going to be commercially available until consumers see them as safe and robust options. Yet the idea of a car that requires no fuel or outlets for most trips (but is equipped to handle both options), while powering itself by the sun is sure to appeal to many.

The world’s first full-sized solar truck

Rest assured, internal combustion engine fans, Via Motors’ XTRUX has a big V8 engine powered by gasoline, but the hybrid truck also has a 24 kWh decent-sized lithium-ion battery pack and two big electric motors that combine to over 800 horsepower. That’s all well and good for an electric hybrid truck, but what sets this truck apart is the big solar panel in the back.

Similar to those Prius models that have a small solar panel in the roof to augment on-board power needs, this truck uses power harvested from a big solar panel covering the truck bed. The sheer mass of a V8 truck means that the solar power cannot carry the truck as far as it could a sleek sedan, but no other truck can recharge the battery while sitting out in the parking lot or off in the woods on a sunny day. There will be two options: a 400-watt model will cost $2,000 while providing six miles of electric range, and an 800-watt model will cost $3,000 and provide ten miles of electric range. The power can also be used to drive power tools using the truck’s onboard outlet. The solar charge is more to extend the range than anything, but this would be the world’s first full-sized truck powered by solar panels.

Like the Ford Solar Energi, timing and pricing remain a mystery. Until this truck reaches the market, are there new, efficient options for people who prefer pickups?

The amazing aluminum truck

CREDIT: THINKPROGRESS

The Ford F-150 is getting a makeover, and that makes people nervous. At the 2014 Washington Auto Show, it seemed like the vehicle that people most wanted to touch — but were afraid to — was the brand-new, 2015 F-150.

They had heard the rumors, that it was made of aluminum, that it had gone light, gone soft. They wanted to see, and hear, for themselves. Rap two knuckles against the blue chassis and instead of a resounding clanking sound, they got a flat, absorbing, plasticky, thunk. Several asserted that the skin had to be plastic — no way was that truck made of aluminum and light-weight steel. Why would Ford do this?

Well, for one thing, the new F-150 dropped 700 pounds, meaning that drivers save on fuel, and are able to tow that much more weight than before. This helps with improving the automaker’s average fuel economy. Another benefit of switching over to a lighter material is that it actually makes the truck more resistant to scratches and bumps.

Water vapor exhaust fumes

CREDIT: THINKPROGRESS

One of the main attractions of the Washington Auto Show was the Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle concept car: brightly lit, slowly rotating up on a podium. It didn’t have a traditional tailpipe, just a place for water vapor to leak out the back.

Hydrogen cars — vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells that emit nothing but water vapor as exhaust — have been a pipe dream for decades. The recurring joke is that hydrogen is the fuel of the future … and always will be. The cost of creating an infrastructure from scratch to fuel a fleet of hydrogen cars has long been an issue.

But there is a reason people keep trying, primarily because powering a vehicle with hydrogen has undeniable advantages. The car does not need a heavy battery pack, so it functions as a light, spry electric car that carries only compressed hydrogen. The fuel cell converts the hydrogen into electric power to drive the motor by chemically oxidizing it, yielding only hydrogen and oxygen — water. Nothing is burned, and it does not require a charge from the grid. It therefore emits no greenhouse gases.

Topping off the fuel cell every 300 or so miles is an issue, though, especially when this can only happen in a few places in the United States. Honda has been leasing the FCX Clarity to brave souls in Southern Californiasince 2008, and unveiled the FCEV concept car last year, upping the range from 230 to 300 miles. This still means that even getting to San Francisco from Los Angeles is a dicey affair because there are only nine public hydrogen fuel stations. In fact, there are only ten in the entire country, with the last being in Columbia, South Carolina. The California Air Resources Board aims to have 70 fueling stations up and running in the state by 2016. Hyundai has offered the Tucson ix35 Hydrogen Fuel-Cell vehicle for lease in Europe for years, and in 2015 it will start leasing the American version.

Toyota plans to offer its Fuel Cell Vehicle for sale in 2015, as well, and given the company’s ability to sell a lot of hybrid electric Prius models to the American market, it could be the company to make hydrogen a normal way to power thousands of commutes and road trips. The car would have a range of 300 miles and would be refueled in about as much time as it takes to pump gas — around three minutes. Toyota points to a study with the University of California at Irvine showing that only 68 refueling stations would be needed between San Francisco and San Diego to support 10,000 vehicles. Bob Carter, a Toyota senior vice president for U.S. automotive operations, said in January to “stay tuned, because this infrastructure thing is going to happen.”

Toyota expects to price the car at a bit less than $100,000, meaning they would be more expensive than Tesla’s electric cars. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in January that “there is still the need for substantial cost reduction” with regard to fuel cell technology. After a modest roll-out in Japan, Europe, and California, the idea goes, the price would drop to between $30-50,000 by the end of the decade.

Is that a car or a tricycle?

CREDIT: THINKPROGRESS

Don’t be alarmed, the car is supposed to lean into turns. More of a scooter that keeps you dry in the rain, the Toyota i-ROAD is powered by a lithium-ion battery. While it’s very unorthodox, Car and Driver said “we’re genuinely tickled by this Toyota concept.”

Toyota is starting consumer trials in Japan soon to see if this is a feasible car to produce. If so, it’s likely the i-ROAD would start out in Japan or Europe where the 33-inch width would be an asset on congested roadways and drivers would find widespread charging stations. Elio Motors has a gasoline version of the three-wheeled car that promises 84 mpg, meaning a range of 670 miles per tank. The price fits most budgets at $6,800, and they expect production to start in 2015. No word yet on the price of the i-ROAD.

What about charging?

Toyota fun vii CREDIT: THINKPROGRESS

This Tron-like concept car from Toyota is called the Fun-Vii and isn’t likely to show up in dealerships any time soon in this form, but it does show where the more imaginative vehicle designers are looking for the next-next generation models. Though much of the attention goes to this fuel cell-powered smartphone-like changeable colors on its exterior, one thing the company is pretty sure it will be able to do is charge without plugging in. In fact, earlier this year Toyota announced it would begin testing wireless charging technology on some modified Priuses. The service is available courtesy of Bosch and Evantran to Nissan Leaf and Chevy Voltowners who shell out over $3,000 for a home system, which can charge a car in half the time a conventional 120V outlet does.

Electric vehicles are not just useful for low-emissions travel — having a large battery of stored energy plugged into the grid so close to home has other uses, as well. The military has found that having a fleet of electric vehicles on domestic bases can actually make them money when they are plugged into the grid. Electric grid operators love having a network of vehicle batteries to either draw upon when electricity demand spikes or to dump excess power onto when demand drops. This vehicle-to-grid technology is worth so much to the utility that the revenue more than covers the lease payments for the electric cars.

Other families are turning their Priuses into emergency backup generators for when the power goes out. Thiscomes in handy as the electric grid becomes more vulnerable climate change-fueled storm activity, like Superstorm Sandy.

SOURCE: ThinkProgress.org    For Similar Articles You Can Visit - FREE ENERGY Hi-Tech/ Top Secret Projects. PLS CLICK HERE.

Related Article to read - TWO YEARS OF OPEL AMPERA: THE UNCOMPROMISING ELECTRIC CAR 

Rüsselsheim. The Opel Ampera is unique. The first electric vehicle suitable for everyday use has been on sale for almost two years and at a current price of 38,300 euros, the customer gets a car today that is equipped with the technology of tomorrow. Owners across Europe have now driven a total of 100 million kilometers on pure electric power, so it’s time to review real-life electric mobility. The number of electric vehicles in the European market in 2013 is still too low. While their market share has increased slightly over last year, from 0.15 to 0.19 percent, this is still far behind the forecasts of numerous experts.  MORE..  -  http://bit.ly/S5KRh2

Pope Francis Kisses Skin and Blood Relics at John Paul II's and John XXIII's Canonisation

On April 27th 2014 the Roman Catholic Church canonised two former popes, John Paul II and John XXIII. Rome now declares them to be 'saints' who can intercede to God on the people's behalf. Is such a practice Biblical? Who are the true saints of God? What does it mean to be a saint according to the Word of God? Should the Church use relics or should they ever contact the dead in prayer? Paul looks also at what the Bible says about the Roman Church and what it says for those within it's communion.
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" -1 Timothy 2:5

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." -Revelation 18:4-5 ( http://www.youtube.com/user/megiddofilms )

Pope Kisses Skin, Blood Relics in Declaring ‘Sainthood’ to John Paul II, John XXIII ( CHRISTIANNEWS.NET)



ROME – A crowd of approximately one million spectators crowded St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday for the canonization ceremony for Popes John Paul II and John XXIII, as Pope Francis declared sainthood to the two deceased pontiffs.

The event was stated to have been the largest public Roman Catholic gathering since the funeral of John Paul II in 2005. Pope Francis was joined by his predecessor Pope Benedict at the event, as well as leaders and dignitaries from 122 nations worldwide.

As part of the rites, Francis was presented with relics from both of the two men–a vial of blood belonging to John Paul II and a fleck of skin removed from the body of John XXIII during his beatification. He kissed each container as they were received and placed at the altar. Tapestries were also hung in the square that bore the images of the popes.

“We declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II to be saints and we enroll them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church,” Francis declared in reading his prepared decree. - CONTINUE READING PLS. CLICK HERE.

Jesuit Pedophiles... GUILTY!

Jesuit priest at Adelaide St Ignatius' College admits to child pornography offences
By court reporter James Hancock - Updated Thu 6 Mar 2014, 2:53pm AEDT

A Jesuit priest and teacher at Saint Ignatius' College in Adelaide has admitted to child pornography offences. Father Stan Hogan, 69, has pleaded guilty to accessing child pornography and an aggravated count of possessing child pornography. The offences happened between April-June 2012 and last August at suburban Athelstone.

Hogan was suspended from the college after his arrest last August. A publication by the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide said Hogan was ordained in 1976 and also taught at schools in Victoria and New South Wales.

He is to be sentenced in the Adelaide District Court, where there will be a further hearing next month. The Jesuits have issued a statement saying Hogan acted alone and has had no contact with the college since the time he was arrested.

Statement from the Jesuits

A Jesuit priest, Fr Stan Hogan, today has pleaded guilty in an Adelaide court to two criminal charges: the use of the internet to view and download child pornography and to possession of child pornography.
Fr Hogan was suspended from all duties at St Ignatius’ College, Adelaide, as soon as these matters were brought to the attention of Jesuit authorities last August, when Fr Hogan was arrested. Since that time he has been on bail living away from the school, under supervision and where he will continue to live until sentenced. He has been allowed no contact with the College nor anyone in the wider community. Fr Hogan acted alone and there is no suggestion that his crimes are connected with anyone else. The Province has co-operated with the police and fully supports the due application of the

[caption id="attachment_2090" align="alignright" width="300"] PHOTO: Stan Hogan admitted his offending (ABC News: James Hancock)[/caption]

law. The welfare of all people served by ministries of the Australian Jesuit Province is paramount. Children in particular are owed special care and everything possible is done in our ministries to protect and nurture children at all times. Jesuits and lay friends and colleagues with whom Fr Hogan has worked are deeply shocked to learn of his crimes, which are an abuse of the children involved and a betrayal of them and of the wider community he was expected to serve. Child exploitation offences are serious crimes involving the sexual abuse of the children portrayed, and are morally repugnant. - Father Stephen Curtin, Provincial of the Jesuits (Source: ABC.net.au)

A Jesuit priest pleads guilty to offences against children

A Catholic priest in the Jesuit Order, Father David Rankin (now aged 79), is pleading guilty to historical acts of indecency on young boys in Sydney. The offences occurred in the 1960s when Rankin was a lay teacher before he joined the priesthood.

On 30 April 2014, Father Rankin (full name Gregory David Rankin) appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court for pre-sentence proceedings. He confirmed his guilty plea.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on a later date.

According to court documents, David Rankin was a lay teacher at Northbridge Primary School in northern Sydney when he committed 11 acts of indecency on three boys in the 1960s.

The court documents said Rankin molested one boy after volunteering to tutor the 11-year-old after school in late 1963. The abuse continued at tri-weekly tutoring sessions the following year.

On one occasion, Rankin drove the boy to another school in Manly to commit an assault.

Rankin told the victim he loved him and gave him money on a number of occasions.

He swore the boy to secrecy, warning that he and the boy would both “get into big trouble” if the incidents were discovered.

About the same time, the offender molested two other boys during rehearsals for school musicals.

Both of those victims gave statements to police in 2012, leading to Rankin’s arrest.

The other victim told a number of family members of the abuse, but did not report it to police until 2009.

Footnote
Gregory David Rankin joined the Jesuits as a mature-age entrant in the early 1970s. The Jesuits are an Australia-wide organisation. In the Australian Catholic Directory, Reverend David Rankin, SJ, has been listed at Jesuit addresses in Melbourne (at the Jesuits' parish in Hawthorn), Sydney and Canberra. In some years he has been listed as living overseas (it is believed that his overseas locations included Canada and London).

According to a newspaper report, Father David Rankin spent some years in Canberra, most recently as a hospital chaplain.

In 2010, aged in his seventies, David Rankin was reported to be living in a Jesuit house in Canberra. On 13 October 2010 a Jesuit newsletter published this news item (under the heading "A trinity of jubilees"):

"On Sunday October 10 [in 2010], John Eddy, Frank Brennan and David Rankin celebrated significant anniversaries at the Jesuit residence in Yarralumla, Canberra.

"John Eddy, the doyen of the community who has spent most of his life as a Jesuit at the Australian National University in Canberra, celebrated his sixtieth anniversary as a Jesuit. David Rankin celebrated his fortieth anniversary as a Jesuit. Frank Brennan celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination as a Priest.

"Special guests at the celebrations included Australian Jesuit Provincial Fr Steve Curtin and the former Australian Prime Minister, Hon Kevin Rudd MP.

"The afternoon tea also offered guests the opportunity to see the renovations at the Yarralumla residence, which will enhance its value as a centre of ministry."

In April 2014, the Jesuits' Australian provincial-superior (Father Steve Curtin) told the media that David Rankin was removed from active ministry after the Jesuits learned of charges against him when he was arrested in August 2012.

Fr Curtin said David Rankin moved to a Jesuit community in Victoria where he is under supervision in compliance with his bail conditions.

In the mid-2013 edition of the Australian Catholic Directory, the Jesuit listings included:
"RETIRED - Rev. David Rankin SJ."

SOURCE: BRA

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Amazing Grace - The History & Theology of Calvinism

Just what is "Calvinism?" Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won't evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God's sovereignty and man's responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists deny the Arminian definition of free will and label it heresy? Why did the Roman Catholic Church condemn the Reformed teaching of predestination and election and embrace free will theology? And why do so many Protestants, perhaps unwittingly, agree with Rome on this issue?

Amazing Grace:The History and Theology of Calvinism is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. This fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten "Sunday-school-sized" sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer.

Part One explores the history of the debate. It begins with the pivotal dispute between Augustine and Pelagius and continues through the semi-pelagian controversy; focusing particularly on the debate between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. Many viewers will be shocked to discover that free-will theology was NOT the doctrine of the Reformation but instead the teaching of an increasingly apostate Roman Catholic Church. The history section ends with a definitive historical explanation of the issues that arose during the Calvinist/Arminian controversy. By examining the five points of Arminianism and the Synod of Dort's response, the viewer will clearly see that the Protestant Church understood how the Gospel would be compromised if Arminianism prevailed.

Part Two opens the Word of God, our ultimate authority for life and faith. The five points of Arminianism are put on trial as what would later come to be known as the "five points of Calvinism" are clearly and forcefully presented.

Part Three asks and answers the provocative question: If Calvinism is true, if God is absolutely sovereign; then why should we evangelize? It also explores the vital issue of how to and to whom the gospel should be presented so as to be faithful to the great doctrines of God's sovereignty, man's depravity, and the miracle of amazing grace.

Rich in graphics, dramatic vignettes, and biblical analogies, Amazing Grace - The History and Theology of Calvinism also features many of the finest reformed thinkers and pastors of our time: Dr. R.C. Sproul, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Dr. George Grant, Dr. Stephen Mansfield, Dr. Thomas Ascol, Dr. Thomas Nettles, Dr. Roger Schultz, Pastor Walt Chantry, Dr. Joe Morecraft, Dr. Ken Talbot, Pastor Walter Bowie and Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr..

Come learn what the great Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon meant when he said, "...to deny Calvinism is to deny the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Ecumenism: Spiritual Whoredom

Many people are being deceived not only by the Jesuits and the Vatican Luciferians but by many cults and false religions of the world. Their main message is to be UNITED that God the Creator can be found in many religions and faith and there are many roads to salvation... that you can be a Muslim and go to heaven or be a Hindu and still be saved. But is this what the Scripture is teaching? Obviously this is a lie... Jesus said that He is the ONLY way... There is no other way but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved (john 14:6 KJV). Modern Ecumenism is a lie and a deception by Roman Catholics... Dont be deceived. Biblical Christianity is teaching us to be separated from the false religions of the world. Get out of her before its too late! Her masonic illuminati agents are working hard to get you out of the true teachings of the Messiah. True holiness is separation from the satanic system that is now working in the children of disobedience.

The Theology of Unclean Food

Gordon J. Wenham


The problem of unclean foods was at the heart of the first great controversy in the early church (Acts 15). Did Gentile believers have to be circumcised and keep the laws of Moses about food? The conclusions of the council of Jerusalem are recorded in Acts, but there is little explanation of the theological reasoning behind the decisions. Commentators therefore tend to regard the decree (Acts 15:19-20) as little more than a pragmatic compromise between Judaizers and Hellenists.1

Since the theological principles determining the division of animals into clean and unclean are so obscure in the OT, it is not surprising that NT scholars have only been able to discern pragmatic reasons for the abolition of the distinction. Recent discussion of the OT material has at last brought some semblance of order into the apparent chaos of the food laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. These insights, it will be suggested, may also provide a clue to the thinking of the primitive church on these controversial issues.

I. TRADITIONAL EXPLANATIONS OF THE FOOD LAWS
1. Hygiene
Despite its inherent attractiveness the hygienic explanation faces four grave difficulties.3 First, other peoples have held and hold certain animals to be unclean, yet their demarcations seldom coincide with the biblical. Second, it is far from clear that all unclean animals mentioned in Leviticus are harmful to health. For. example, the Arabs have long enjoyed the camel and its products. As for pork, if it is supposed that  ancient Israel had discovered the risks in eating it, they could also have learnt that these risks could be avoided by cooking it thoroughly. Third, though motive clauses justifying particular rules are frequent in biblical law, there is no appeal to health in connection with the food rules. Yet this would surely have constituted an excellent reason for keeping them had it been recognized. Instead the motive clauses explain that certain animals may not be eaten, because of the way they travel or their eating habits (Lev. 11:3-12, 20-23, 26-31, etc.). Finally, if hygiene was the motive underlying the OT regulations, why did the early church allow their abolition in the first century AD? What was harmful when Leviticus 11 was drafted, would have been just as dangerous in the days of the early church.
2. Religious Associations
The above article is extracted from  "The Theology of Unclean Food" by Gordon J. Wenham,  Evangelical Quarterly 53.1 (January/March 1981): 6-15.

Probably the most popular explanation of the food laws is hygiene. The unclean animals were recognized by the ancients as a danger to health, and were therefore pronounced unclean. This explanation is a very old one, but enjoyed its greatest vogue at the beginning of this century, with the great advances in medical knowledge. Moses was hailed as anticipating the findings of modern science. It still has its advocates today. R. E. Clements writes: “What we have here is a simple and comprehensive guidebook to food and personal hygiene.”2


The second kind of explanation of the food laws is that the unclean animals were closely associated with non-Israelite religion.4 They were either used in sacrifice or the deities were supposed to manifest themselves in animal form. Israel was called to be the holy people of God and had therefore to disassociate itself from these pagan practices. For example, Isa. 65:4speaks of people “who sit in tombs... who eat swine’s flesh”. And at various sites collections of pig bones have been found, which lends support to the notion that the pig was eaten in Canaanite rituals.5 Other animals banned as unclean by Leviticus were worshipped by the Egyptians. This explanation of the distinction between clean and unclean animals has the merit of noting the biblical writers’ insistence that these regulations are designed to further the ideal of creating a holy nation (Lev. 11:44-5; Deut. 14:2). But its major weakness is that it can only explain a few of the regulations. In general, Israel used much the same animals for sacrifice as her neighbours. If use in contemporary religions were ground for making animals unclean, the bull should have been an abomination in Israel in view of its role in Canaanite and Egyptian culture. Yet in Israel the bull was the best and most valued of the sacrificial animals. ( Continue Reading - PLS CLICK HERE)

What Would Jesus Eat? The Science Within the Bible

With historical interpretation, experts can go back and assess how people lived during Jesus' time. What did He most likely eat? Could we follow His example for better health?



AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically, and Dr. Don Colbert both studied the bible for nutritional clues about Jesus’ diet.

How Was His Food Different?

People back in Jesus’ time ate a mostly plant-based, clean diet. In that region of the world, lentils, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, dates, nuts and fish were all quite popular. For snacks, some even ate grasshoppers and crickets! All these foods provided proper and satisfying nutrition without excess fats or cholesterol.

Many ate most of their food raw, which also bestows additional health benefits. The additional chewing that raw food requires burns additional calories. Plus, cooking certain foods puts its nutritional value at risk.

Also, without refrigerators, it was harder to eat huge steaks, slabs of ribs, or massive amounts of meat at every single meal. Hence, it’s likely that Jesus and his followers ate little red meat or poultry.

Furthermore, Jacobs and Colbert believe not only that the people of Jesus’ time ate a more plant-based diet, they also think that our bodies were designed to eat a mostly plant-based diet – similar to what Jesus ate.

How Does Science Show This?

To assess how our bodies are potentially designed to eat, scientists have studied our dental records and concluded that humans are more suited for a plant-based diet with little meat – especially red meat.

In our mouths, we have four canine teeth, eight frontal teeth and many molars, depending on your dental history.

Our four canine teeth are designed to tear meat apart. More of this type of teeth is prevalent in the mouths of carnivores like alligators, wolves or sharks.

Our eight frontal teeth, also known as incisors, are used to bite fruits and vegetables.
The majority of our teeth, however, are molars, which are located toward the back of the mouth. They are used to grind and crush plants and seeds.

Because the majority of our teeth are molars, Dr. Colbert believes that our bodies are mostly designed for a plant-based diet. Carnivores, on the other hand, have much more than four canine teeth and have jaws that are designed to bite off chunks of meat.

Furthermore, our saliva is alkaline and full of enzymes, like amylase, that are designed to process plants and carbohydrates. After analyzing this and comparing it with other animals, Dr. Colbert postulates that this means we are more suited to digest plants instead of meat. Carnivores, on the other hand, have mostly acidic saliva without amylase.

Also, after comparing the length of our intestines with that of carnivores, Dr. Colbert has also postulated that we are designed to eat mostly plants. Our intestines are four times longer than we are tall. In carnivores, on average, their intestines are only twice as long as their height. This allows for meat to pass through the digestive tract quickly before it starts to rot.

Our longer tract, however, allows for more time to process the complex carbohydrates within plants. However, as we eat meat with little fiber, especially red meat, it has a higher chance of getting stuck within our intestines – causing constipation or bloating. In fact, because Jesus and people around Him ate a mostly plant-based diet with little red meat, there’s little mention of “constipation” in the bible.

How Can I Eat More Like Jesus?

Based on the Bible and historical records, Jesus most likely ate a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet, which includes foods like kale, pine nuts, dates, olive oil, lentils and soups. They also baked fish.

AJ Jacobs and Dr. Colbert have both teamed up with The Dr. Oz Show to develop a set of guidelines for eating more like Jesus:

1. Calculate Your Breakfast Time and "Break Your Fast" Accordingly: Jesus ate breakfast very early so he could have the energy and fuel for a full day’s work. You should be breaking your fast every morning 12 hours after your last meal the previous day. If you had you dinner at 6 p.m., you should break your fast the next morning at 6 a.m.

2. Linger Over Lunch: Many people rush through lunch, eat at their desks at work, and wolf down their food. The key to eating like Jesus is making lunch your biggest meal and eat in as much of a relaxed atmosphere as possible.

3. Eat a Light Dinner at 4 p.m.: Your digestive system should not have to work on overdrive when you should be sleeping. Eat dinner as early in the evening as possible.

4. Wine and Walk: This should not be confused with wining and dining. Wine played an important role in Jesus’ life and health. They drank red wine with meals. It’s good for the heart. But don't overdo it!

Source: Doctoroz.com

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs can be read here. Pls Click here to download (pdf format. Adobe Acrobat Reader maybe needed to read the file.)

If Predestination is True--Why Pray?

An objection has been raised which is very ancient indeed, and has a great appearance of force. It is raised not so much by sceptics, as by those who hold a part of the truth; it is this—that prayer can certainly produce no result, because of the decrees of God have settled everything, and those decrees are immutable. Now we have no desire to deny the assertion that the decrees of God have settled all events. It is our full belief that God has foreknown and predestinated everything that happened in heaven above or in the earth beneath, and that the foreknown station of a reed by the river is fixed as the station of a king, and "the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses."

Predestination embraceth the great and the little, and reacheth unto all things; the question is, wherefore pray? Might it not as logically be asked, wherefore breathe, eat, move, or do anything? We have an answer which satisfies us, namely, that our prayers are in the predestination, and that God has as much ordained his people's prayers as anything else, and when we pray we are producing links in the chain of ordained facts. Destiny decrees that I should pray—I pray; destiny decrees that I shall be answered, and the answer comes to me.

Moreover, in other matters we never regulate our actions by the unknown decrees of God; as for instance, a man never questions whether he shall eat or drink, because it may or may not be decreed that he shall eat or drink; a man never enquires whether he shall work or not on the ground that it is decreed how much he shall do or how little; as it is inconsistent with common sense to make the secret decrees of God a guide to us in our general conduct, so we feel it would be in reference to prayer, and therefore still we pray. But we have a better answer than all this. Our Lord Jesus Christ comes forward, and he says to us this morning, "My dear children, the decrees of God need not trouble you, there is nothing in them inconsistent with your prayers being heard. 'I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you.' " Now, who is he that says this? Why it is he that has been with the Father from the beginning—"the same was in the beginning with God" and he knows what the purposes of the Father are and what the heart of God is, for he has told us in another place, "the Father himself loveth you."

Now since he knows the decrees of the Father, and the heart of the Father, he can tell us with the absolute certainty of an eye-witness that there is nothing in the eternal purposes in conflict with this truth, that he that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth. He has read the decrees from the beginning to end: hath he not taken the book, and loosed the seven seals thereof, and declared the ordinances of heaven? He tells you there is nothing there inconsistent with your bended knee and streaming eye, and with the Father's opening the windows of heaven to shower upon you the blessings which you seek. Moreover, he is himself God: the purposes of heaven are his own purposes, and he who ordained the purpose here gives the assurance that there is nothing in it to prevent the efficacy of prayer. "I say unto you." O ye that believe in him, your doubts are scattered to the winds, ye know that he heareth your prayer. 

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon

How God Relates to Evil in the Book of Job

Hee Sung Lee, Chongshin University, Korea, goodnews21c@yahoo.co.kr

The evil that befell righteous Job causes controversy among scholars, questioning whether it was from God or from Satan. Classical theists argue that God is the first and primary cause of every occurrence in the world. They unanimously claim God never takes risks concerning evil. While the notion of Satan as the archenemy of God in the prologue is not compelling, the malicious evil character of Satan is. Even though his role and identity in the prologue is somewhat ambiguous, the text clearly demonstrates that the activity of Satan, which is confined to the prologue, is restricted to God’s permission. More...

How does God relate to evil and suffering in the book of Job? Different understandings of the providence of God, creaturely freedom, and evil have given rise to a number of responses. The Calvinist model of God’s providence maintains that everything is determined by God and divinely ordained. The openness of God model argues that both God’s knowledge of the future and his ability to control every event are limited and contingent upon the actions of his creatures to whom he gave freedom. However the prologue of Job (2:1 and 2:10) clearly demonstrates that the activity of Satan is restricted to God’s permission. As far as the author of Job was concerned, God exercises absolute control over Satan, suffering and evil. - MORE READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE.(pdf format. Adobe Reader maybe required to read the article.) The whole article can also be downloaded from Torch Trinity Graduate University. - Pls Click Here.

This Faith That You Gave Me (A Prayer)

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Phil 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake...

2 Pet 1: 1 To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ...

Phil 1: 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

John 6: 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 10: 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.

Heb 12: 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith...



THE FAITH YOU GAVE ME (A Prayer) by John Samson

"Lord, I thank you for this confidence I have in You, Your Person, Your word, Your promises. I thank You for this because it was not anything of my own doing, but from first to last, Your gift to Me.

I once thought that the grace was your part, the faith my own, but now, through Your word, I see that You gave me faith as a gift - yes, You gave me the gift of trust, the gift of confidence, the gift of an assurance that You are true, that You are all You say you are, and that You will do all You say. Oh, how I thank You for this! Left to myself I would never have come to You, would never have trusted You, and I would never know the assuring, priceless comfort of Your promises. But You did not leave me to myself, but you granted me faith to believe You and when I did so, You justified me forever.

I know that faith is simply a belief in You, a faith that does indeed lead to action on my part. Romantic feelings between couples ebb and flow and my fear was that what I feel about You today may not last forever. How this fear robbed me of sacred and blessed assurance - the assurance of my salvation. Could I keep this thing up? Would I feel the same thing next Friday as I do today? Would I really? Really would I?

Now I know that You complete every project You start. This faith is much more than a feeling, but a sure and steadfast confidence that Your promises are true. You are the ground and depth of my faith. It is You (not me) who began the good work in me and therefore You will bring it all the way to completion. By Your grace I will be found trusting You ten thousand Fridays from now. The faith that You require is the faith You Yourself gave me, and this faith is not a casual temporal interest in You, but a faith that endures all the way to the end. That is its very nature.

Oh, how this knowledge thrills my soul. My faith is not the product of my prone to wandering heart, but the gift of a Sovereign and sure Savior. I once thought that the one thing I brought to the table of redemption was my puny but hoping faith... now I see that this faith I have was something You gave me. It is as strong and eternal as You are, unshakable in the midst of trial... a constant sure thing when all around me fails!

And even when my faith seems to fail... even when I might lose sight of You and even deny You by my words or my actions, and start walking in another direction, like Peter before me, you pray for me that my faith would not fail and I am turned around so that I see You once again. You do this Lord, over and over again, and that is why You never lose any of Your true sheep.

Oh how this truth sets me free... Salvation is truly of the Lord.

Lord, when I feel weak and when faith seems to be failing, I now know that all I need do is look away from Me and look instead to You. You will help me to look up and see You, Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. Yes, yes, yes, You are the source of my faith. You are faith's initiator and perfecter. Though frail and tiny, my faith looks to You now and will always look to You to find a God big enough and trustworthy enough to rest in. I do believe You Lord and I know I always will. This is not because of some feeling I have, but because Your word teaches me that my confidence in You is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that for even this, I cannot boast.

Oh how I love You Lord. Oh, how I love You."

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