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White Mother Fuckers

Sam Slaughter — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:23:22 +0000

(a draft of an essay about racism and other lovely things, like sexual harassment)

It was English, but English in a Bajan dialect, a backwoods Bajan dialect at that, and the guy’s voice sounded like a machine gun firing underwater. White motherfuckers. It took a moment for my mind to process the words—slow them down and spread the clipped language out a bit. When I did finally get it, I let out an involuntary cough. Motherfuckers? What the hell?

The man pulled off a hat and shook out his granite-colored dreadlocks as he crossed the dirt road towards where we—myself and the two girls I was with—sat on crudely cemented concrete blocks. The U-shaped, three-foot high structure was, or was supposed to be, a bus stop somewhere in one of only two landlocked parishes in Barbados.

We continued to sit quietly. The girls didn’t seem to notice what he said and I decided not to bring it up. The man, old and gaunt, was now talking to another woman who sat on the other end of the U. After being on the island for over a week, I still couldn’t get over how immensely different the English language sounded. It tumbled out to a cadence so lyrically different that I might as well have been in Java or India. I was used to a Caribbean lilt and what it did to words; I liked it even. It had a calming effect on me whenever I went to a Caribbean restaurant at home or heard it walking down the streets of New York City or elsewhere. The levity in the air that backed up any word the person said made me smile. Saying go away was just the same as give me a big hug.

Maybe it was the media that kept this fantasy in my mind, an inundation of “Come to Jamaica and feel all right” commercials or an endless playlist of Bob Marley songs at anything that could even slightly claw at calling itself a reggae or Rasta event, but I still couldn’t help but keep the image of a happy Caribbean in my head. Some other part of my brain told me that everyone had the capacity to be mean, and really mean it, but I was choosing to ignore that. I wanted it to be all smiles and laughter.

Even if I wasn’t really on vacation (I wasn’t), I wanted to at least feel like it in some way. I was in Barbados to learn, but I was there to learn about the culture. I needed to be among the people every day in order to do that. Sure, in order to fully see the culture, I’d need to see the people happy, sad, angry, and every emotion in between, but I was content just seeing the happy side. It would make the trip more fun. I knew they would get angry at some point, I didn’t need to see it.

But here, on the easternmost island in the Caribbean, an island only one-hundred and sixty-six square miles large, the interior of the island was another world. I had felt more comfortable in Germany the first time I was there—a few months of beginner language classes at least allowed me to pick up a word here or there, smile politely, and give an answer resembling what I hoped was the right response. If not, I could just smile sheepishly, shrug and mumble something else about not understanding. Here, though, when the Bajans looked at you—the ones that didn’t work in the tourism industry at least—they just expected you to know what they were saying.

The two Bajans continued talking. I tried to focus on the crossword puzzle book in my lapbut couldn’t. White motherfuckers. I couldn’t get over it. I really hadn’t done anything to him. Hell, I was helping him, even. In Barbados, tourism is the lifeline of the economy as well as the Achilles’ heel. If it died, there goes everything. Stores, restaurants, hotels all survive because of the tremendous amount of tourists that visit the island every year (somewhere around a million per year). A week here for one family, two weeks there for honeymooners, they all add up. I was doing more than that; I was there for three weeks. I needed food and transportation and everything else everyone who lived on the island would need.

If the guy couldn’t figure that out by the fact that we had ventured to nearly the center of the island, far away from any beach, then a bartender I met who had referred to the inner part of the island as backwoods, was starting to seem more and more right. I had laughed the comment off originally. It was the liquor talking; the bartender had spent some time in the states and was probably just joking around. He had heard the term and now used it freely, like I did with y’all when I was at home in the North, far from the line that separated the acceptable southern drawl zone from the you-do-it-and-we’ll-harass-you-mercilessly zone. I don’t say it because I think I am a southerner, I’m not and I never will be. It falls off the tongue easily and at some points makes sentences shorter. That’s all. The bartender didn’t know what real backwoods was. It was the rum talking. He lived in paradise. Paradise, for Christ’s sake. Sun-baked beaches, a seemingly eternal font of Mount Gay, the world’s oldest rum, and enough fresh fish to have it three times a day every day.

This man, though, old, grizzled and grumpy, a tall, Rasta seventh Dwarf of sorts, was making that drunken comment a reality. Every once and a while the two locals would glance in our direction and then continue their conversation. They couldn’t get off the topic of us. How kind of them. If I were just there for sun and sand, would I bother making my way to a giant stone lion on a hill that takes all of five minutes to see and maybe take a picture of? I wouldn’t. Most young adults wouldn’t be caught dead doing that type of thing, on vacation or not. Senior citizens on air-conditioned bus tours did that. Five minutes one place, snap a photo, hobble back onto the bus and off to the next captivating vista. Okay ladies and gents, speed up those walkers, we’ve got eight more sites to visit and only a little bit of time before your ship departs. Instead, I’d be culling a painful cherry-red out of my pores while ice cubes slowly diluted the rum punch that sat next to my beach chair. I did that anyway, but I also saw the things that tourists wouldn’t—like the pottery factory located on top of what the Bajans would consider a mountain. It was high enough in elevation, far enough away from the sandy flat coast that our bus’s bumping and stalling caused visions of friends at home to flash through my mind, rolling in front of my eyes as steep roadside banks passed under them. Making the effort had to count for something.

A few more minutes (or moments, it all seemed slower, the pace of everything on the island was slower) of hushed conversation passed and the two locals walked down the block away from us, and got in a car together. The car rolled by and as it passed and the man shouted something else over the sound of the struggling engine before driving off down the dirt road towards Bridgetown. It took me another few moments to process this word—I was and am not good at the “being fast” thing. It seemed to be one syllable and came out “Rist.” Rist. Wrist. No, he wouldn’t say wrist. It made no sense. I figured he was missing a syllable or two so I had space for another sound. Realist, rapist, Rehnquist, racist. Racist. Yes, racist. That seemed to fit the vein of one-sided conversation the guy had with us, really? I didn’t shout at every person I saw on the island to get back into a sugarcane field (something not so far removed from an island that was begun as a plantocracy). All I was trying to do was get the hell away from his little tin house, anyway.

First, I’m a white motherfucker, and now I’m a racist? Clearly this guy really didn’t realize that my being there was helping his island. Everyone else on the island seemed to. People in the capital or on the street and in restaurants were nice enough. Cab drivers lauded their island to no end, delighting in telling stories and the history of little landmarks passed on short rides. There was a passion behind their words, an energy that belied the same excitement a Labrador shows when waiting to chase down a ball. That made everything more interesting. They really cared and it showed. They loved their island. They bled blue, yellow and black—the nation’s colors. Why couldn’t this guy be like that, too? A smile, a wave, a hello, something that didn’t insult me. Even if it was fake, like I’m sure some of the people I had encountered had been, it would’ve been fine with me. In the moment, it would be appreciated. I know not everyone would really love their country, love the fact that tourists clogged their capital and beaches and bars everyday, but, because I am a tourist, couldn’t they act like they do?

Even some ex-patriots got in on the action of picking on tourists. This I found the most stunning, since at one point they had been in the same position as I was. They were at one point fresh young tourists, looking for a little adventure, getting a lot of sunburn and somehow falling in love with the place anyway. Now, decades later, they had established themselves, living out their days slowly and comfortably, rising each morning to fresh fruit and the hot Bajan sun, going to bed each night, soothed by an orchestra of the little chirping frogs of the island, a cacophony worse then an army of crickets, that one eventually gets used to (by the end of the trip, unless it was pointed out, I didn’t even hear them).

I was standing at the bus stop down the road from our hotel on our second morning then when one of these ex-pats decided to get a little feisty. Our class, divided into small groups, had been sent out on a scavenger hunt to familiarize ourselves with the island. Our teachers told us to take the public buses as opposed to privately owned “zedders,” vans that shook and thumped along to reggae music and got you to the same destinations faster while adding a splash of danger and excitement to your life. After one ride, sitting next to the window, seeing just how close these vans came to other cars and people, you might have visions flash through your head—first kiss, best home-cooked meal, first sexual encounter—like I had. Being the good students we were, not yet ready to break the teachers’ rules—we didn’t feel like getting in trouble nor did we exactly trust the crazy looking vans yet, even though they turned out to indeed be better transportation in the long run—we were waiting for a public bus, watching and waving off zedder after zedder, telling them we were waiting for a different bus.

An older woman, who’s skin was a shade somewhere between Gran Marnier orange-brown and melting caramel, before queing up for an upcoming zedder herself, turned to our group.

“Are you too good for these?” she asked. We shook our heads. No, we were told to wait for the… “Are you racist against these things? Why do you have to wait? These are just as good…better, even.” We were told, we began again. More of the same guilt trip. Finally, she got on and left. After waiting another thirty minutes, we gave up on a bus and did the same as her.

Later on that day, I was confronted with my first language problem and in retrospect, one worse than the racist comments by the angry old man in backwoods Barbados that I’d hear later on. Part of the scavenger hunt was to visit one of the department stores on the island so off we went to Cave Shepherd, a Mecca for duty-free seeking tourists. I needed a book for class, so we went up to the book section of the store and after fruitless searching I gave in and asked someone. His words were fast and as far from understandable on the spectrum on clarity as they could get.

I wasn’t in Germany anymore; I couldn’t smile and shrug here. Hell, I had asked him for help. If I did shrug it off and blindly agree to whatever, I think I still might be some sort of paradisiacal sex slave. Something, most likely stupidity tinged by the fact that the sun was actively frying my brain even after only a little exposure, caused me to ask an old man in the book department where the poetry section was. He was wearing the same tan color as some of the workers and I, for some stupid reason assumed that he, an old guy just standing around doing nothing in particular, was a worker, too. He was just standing there not working, jut standing. I didn’t think to take three steps over to the register to the cheerful looking cashiers, their English tinted by British schooling at some point. At home, I don’t go up to random people who might work in the store and I still cant’ pinpoint what part of my brain told me this would be the time to start doing that. If I do find out what part, it’s got a thorough poking with a Q-tip coming its way.

He started talking to me some more and I could feel my brain thwacking against my skull going stop, no, stop, no I. Don’t. Understand with all the force of a Swedish death metal band. He finished what he was saying, made some hand gestures towards me, and smiled. His gums weren’t totally pink, more like purple in spots, and the few teeth he had were a ripe corn yellow. So on top of speaking too fast, he was mumbling through pudding gums. There he went, talking again as I took slow steps backwards. More hand gestures and I managed to recognize a few words. Something about sex and going somewhere. Sex and going somewhere and hand gestures. Did this old guy want to have sex with me? No, he couldn’t why would he want that? Right in the middle of a store, no less. It had to be my mind, I was convinced, just playing tricks on me. I had heard things about sexual harassment and my overactive imagination was taking it to the next level. My subconscious was creating a way for me to be the center attention, this guy was harmless, utterly harmless. But then he repeated himself and like listening to a song on repeat, I got more words this time around. My mind finally jumpstarted, an lawnmower kicking back to life after a long winter. There was no way I was going to be his little white sex slave.

No. No, no, no was my mantra as I took another step back and bumped into a bookshelf. Flower arranging books shook in their spots. He took a step forward but stopped when I held up my hand and shook my head. He took an over exaggerated look around the store and mumbled something about gills. Girls? Did I have any girls for him? Did I look like a pimp? was all I could think. I was trying to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, I was just an tourist with an overactive imagination and he was just a regular Joe, living his life, looking for some books. I really tried, but as he worked his gums and spoke again, repeating himself, it was hard not to judge him. Why would he be doing this? Did he do it often and if he did, did any tourists ever actually agree?

Our teachers had warned us about the girls being sexually harassed by locals before we came, that is why the guys were put into the various groups, to stop that. Hah. I think I might’ve been the first male traveler to Barbados to ever be sexually harassed.

Luckily, the only other offers I got the rest of the time were to buy drugs. Being a more common part of their society, though still a detrimental one, I found this more tolerable. Addicts with open sores and bloodshot eyes did this to me all the time at home. I was used to it. No, I don’t want to smoke up. No thanks, my veins are all filled with cocaine already. Ecstasy, you say? Well, shucks I just took a tablet five minutes ago. Maybe tomorrow.

Sitting with my feet dug in the sand, watching the brown hump of a turtle rise and fall under the surf fifty feet from shore, my mind wandered. No matter how many things I had encountered every day or how many new people I had met, both nice and not so nice, I kept thinking about the angry old man and the pervert. They hung around in my mind like men at rum shops, there all day with nothing to do. Was I took quick to judge them? Was I just overreacting because my mind couldn’t process things fast enough and just chose to freak out instead? At least, with the perverted old man, I knew mostly what he was saying. He said it enough times for me to get a good idea of the words that zipped by me. Context clues. The other guy, though, was I completely wrong? He wasn’t smiling and his body posture was more I-want-to-hurt-you than come-let’s-have-a-beer. But maybe he just didn’t want us there.

I tried putting myself in his shoes. When I saw tourists in my town (or even in New York City, close enough) how did I act? I ignored them like my life depended on it. Tourists ranked somewhere between vagrant and guy in a hot dog suit. With their cameras held out constantly, snapping pictures of everything, every last disease-ridden pigeon. I’d take a wide arc around them, even purposely not waiting for a light to change and crossing the street to away. They clogged the streets. They took up precious space in small cafés and delis, eager to try “true New York Deli.” Maybe this guy thought that way, too. He didn’t want tourists on his island, he was happy enough without them. He fished or grew cane or something that didn’t depend on foreigners. He did all he could to avoid the pale-skinned foreigners that ambled down streets in packs like cows being led to slaughter. Sure, they brought money to the island, but was he getting any of that? Probably not.

My mind bobbled the same thoughts in it for the rest of my stay on the island. This guy, just living his life, just didn’t want us there and I freaked out for no reason. But, what if he did call me a racist? Why would he do that? Even if I did put myself in his shoes, understand that he didn’t want us there, when I see tourists I just ignore them, I don’t open my mouth and harass them. If I saw him on a New York Street, waiting for a bus, I’d ignore him, that’s all. Why couldn’t he have done that? Was I missing something?

President Obama Slams African Leadership - West, Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism "Cannot Be Blamed For African Catastrophe Of Last 20 Years"

BFP — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:36:38 +0000

“I think part of what’s hampered advancement in Africa is that for many years we’ve made excuses about corruption or poor governance – that this was somehow the consequence of neo-colonialism, or the West has been oppressive, or racism,” Mr. Obama told an African website, AllAfrica , in his only interview dedicated to Africa before his visit.

“I’m not a believer in excuses,” he said. “I’d say I’m probably as knowledgeable about African history as anybody who’s occupied my office, and I can give you chapter and verse on why the colonial maps that were drawn helped to spur on conflict. … And yet the fact is we’re in 2009.”

The West cannot be blamed for the disastrous policies that have brought catastrophe to Zimbabwe and other African countries over the past 15 or 20 years, he said. “I think it’s very important for African leadership to take responsibility and be held accountable.”

… from Globe and Mail World article Obama’s Mission of Tough Love In Africa

The Obama Cat Is Amongst The Pigeons!

You really must read the go to YouTube or All Africa.com and let President Obama speak for himself. Read the transcript of the interview or hear him speak on YouTube.

Just do it.

The man has ideas, presence and moral authority unlike any USA President I’ve ever seen. I think that Barack Obama would have a most interesting conversation with George Ayittey and Dambisa Moyo.

As I have said before… Darn, I like Obama… if he would only soften the US position on Barbados offshore banking and our “tax haven” status.

Internet Searches For Sir Charles Williams of Barbados Explode: What Is Happening With COW Williams?

BFP — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:37:43 +0000

It’s me, Robert. I am not in Barbados at the moment and I’m handling spam duty this morning for the next few hours. I’m tired, hungry and stuck somewhere I don’t want to be, but at least the sun is rising so the breakfast lady will be around soon. Drank way too much Pernod last night.

There is a spike – hell, an explosion – in Google and Bing searches for “Sir Charles Williams, Barbados” and similar enquiries. Hundreds of hits coming in for the last few hours. Nothing on the web or internet radio.

What’s happening? Why the sudden intense interest in Sir Charles?

Anyone hear anything?

Robert

Comelec automation wala nang pag-asa

Vikky — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:27:30 +0000

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc Pilipino Star Ngayon, July 06, 2009 12:00 AM

SABOG na ang nationwide poll automation. Kasalanan lahat ng Comelec. Pinapanalo nila ang consortium ng Total Information Management ng Pilipinas at Smartmatic ng Barbados dahil lang sa pinaka-murang bid na P7.2 bilyon, miski hindi pa pala ayos ang incorporation sa Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nauna rito, pinalayas nila ang dalawa pang bidders dahil hindi pa rin incorporated, sa ilalim ng batas sa partnership na 60% Pilipino at 40% dayuhan. Pero pinalusot ang TIM-Smartmatic dahil may malakas na backer — malapit sa Malacañang.

Lumalabas na ang Kastilang Pilipino na may-ari ng TIM ay malapit sa Kastilang-Pilipinong pamilyang Aboitiz. Ang Aboitiz family ay cronies ng First Couple. Nakapag-palawak sila ng negosyomg kuryente dahil sa koneksiyon sa administrasyong Arroyo. Nabistong isa-subcontract pala ng TIM-Smartmatic sa Aboitiz Group ang delivery at pagbodega ng 82,200 voting machines para sa 2010 elections. Para na rin nila pinapasok ang bayawak sa manukan. Hindi maari ipagkatiwala sa mga Aboitiz ang maseselang makinang pang-automated elections, dahil baka mauwi sa automated cheating. Hinala pa naman ng marami na balak nina Gloria Arroyo at mga kasapakat ng poli-tiko na manatili sa puwesto sa anomang paraan. Dati nang maraming kontrata ang Aboitizes sa Comelec.

Away-pera lang umano ng TIM at Smartmatic ang dahilan kaya umaatras ang TIM sa partnership. Kesyo raw nais kontrolin ng dayuhang Smartmatic ang pondo at produkto miski 40% lang ang pag-aari nito sa joint venture. Kesyo rin daw, ani Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, masyadong ganid ang TIM dahil humihingi sa Smartmatic ng kalahating bilyong pisong tubo kapalit ng pagsuko nito ng mga awtoridad bilang 60% majority. May mga ulat naman na tinabangan ang TIM sa automation mula nang mamataang nakiki-pag-pulong ang Smartmatic executives sa mga Aboitiz at kay First Gentleman Mike Arroyo sa otel sa Makati.

Kaso kapag pinanghi- masukan na raw ni FG Mike ang anomang proyektong gobyerno, halimbawa NBN-ZTE, nasasalaula ito dahil tiyak na hihingi siya ng “tong-pats.” Sira talaga!

EXPOSED! - America's Phony, Apostate "Churches"!

deltaflt1189 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:41:59 +0000

EXPOSED! – America’s Apostate Churches!

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write… I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” —Revelation 3:14-16

The Devil is sly and he uses the arrogance, greed and ignorance of religious men to blind them from the truth. Today’s evangelical circles are complacently apostate, completely silent regarding the evils plaguing America. It is tragic. All across America ministers are selling books and hosting pastor’s conventions, but they are virtually silent concerning the wickednesses of our society. It is apostasy. Every church in America ought to be crying aloud publicly against the evils of abortion, homosexuality, pornography, et cetera.

I’m not endorsing Fred Phelps, but his methods come MUCH closer to being right than most pastors in America who hide behind closed doors in their pompous arrogance. America needs more Billy Sundays, John the Baptists, George Whitefields and Jonathan Edwards.

The Damnable World of Joel Osteen

God pity false prophets like Joel Osteen who never take a stand against sin. Mr. Osteen is nothing more than a greedy businessman and motivation speaker, and a disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist could have trimmed his sermons, turned a blind eye to Herod’s adultery, avoided telling people they needed to repent; but he told the truth. In sharp contrast, Joel Osteen makes one nauseous. He doesn’t mention the word “repent” until after his sermonette is over, as to avoid offending anyone.

2nd Timothy 4:3 perfectly describes Joel Osteen and his congregation… “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”

Joel Osteen is a greedy televangelist who’s afraid to tell the truth of God’s Word, lest he lose money. Judgment Day is coming… “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

Joel Osteen deceitfully brags of not taking a salary from his church, while making tens-of-millions of dollars from apostate book sales. Woe unto Joel and Victoria Osteen.

Would to God that Joel Osteen would tell people the truth, i.e., that they’re a bunch of dirty, rotten, hell-deserving sinners bound for hellfire in their sins. They’re GUILTY! Osteen alleges that people already know this; but they do not want to deal with the issue of sin, which is why they come to hear Osteen’s apostate sermons.

In sharp contrast to Osteen’s milquetoast sermons, please read this brief excerpt from Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon, SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD…

“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.”

SOURCE: SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD! by Jonathan Edwards; preached in Enfield, Connecticut; July 8, 1741

If Joel Osteen preached a sermon like that, he’d lose half his congregation overnight. Today’s superior, arrogant, thin-skinned, pompous, selfish, spoiled rotten America is INTOLERANT to the truth. Woe unto America! Souls are Dying Joel.

America’s Dead Churches

It was Billy Sunday, who nearly 100 years ago said…

“It would be a godsend if the Church would suffer persecution today; she hasn’t suffered it for hundreds of years. She is growing rich and lagging behind. Going back.“

-Billy Sunday, The Need for Revivals, From “Billy Sunday: The Man and His Message”, by William T. Ellis, Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1914

Evangelical Christianity today is more resemblant of the 1,200 lb. pig I saw at the Wisconsin State Fair many years ago. It seems that most pastors are only interested in obtaining more money…. gimme, gimme, gimme. It is not fair for a church congregation to have to finance the escapades of a pastor’s selfish interests. And then that pastor heads over to The Holy Land on vacation, while most of his church members can barely afford to drive to the next town. It is apostasy!

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42,43).

There were Pharisees who believed on Jesus; but were unwilling to take a stand for God for fear of losing the praise of men. This same cowardliness saturates evangelical circles today in America. The average Christian minister in America is afraid of losing the praise of men, which equates to loss of revenues. Shame on them! God must come first and His Word must be preached to the world.

At Ease On Zion

It is sinful how so many ministry leaders today make frequent trips to Hawaii and the Holyland; while they do little to fight against sin, contend for the Christian faith by exposing false doctrines, and cry aloud against the wickednesses of our time. Sadly, the few pastors who do preach the truth are cowards, afraid to publicly take a stand, and the message never leaves the comfort of their church walls. It is apostasy!

Here is a lengthy list of compromised, apostate, milquetoast, ecumenical, prophets of Baal that I wouldn’t give you a dime for…

Bob Bell, Doug Sager, J. Harold Smith, James Dobson, Chuck Swindoll, Charles Stanley, Alistair Begg, Dennis Rainey, Ron Stewart, Chip Ingram, Mart DeHann, Steve Brown, John MacArthur, David Jeremiah, Steve Arterburn, Sam Polson, Dan Corner, Adrian Rogers, Andrew Wommack, Chuck Bentley, Bil Gephardt, Fredrick Brabson Sr., RC Sproul, June Hunt, Hank Hanegraaff, Joni Eareckson Tada, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Paul Washer, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, and hundreds of others.

These ministers are what’s wrong with the church in America today!!! They are wishy-washy and never stick-their-neck-out for God. They don’t dare offend anyone, especially their peers in the ministry. They write scores of worthless books to inoculate people from receiving genuine Christianity. They all look and act like a bunch of spoiled elites. They’re all in the ministry to make a buck.

We need some John the Baptists in America to cry aloud against Herod’s adultery (Mark 6:18)! We need some Billy Sundays to cry aloud against booze, dancing and gambling! Rise up oh Christian! Where are the men of God who hate sin and love the sinner? Where are the men of God who walk with God, and get ANGRY over the wickednesses of our society in which we live? Where are the men of God who are willing to be counted as a fool for the cause of Christ?

All I see are these Shirley Temple, milquetoast, girly-boy types, like Joel Osteen who didn’t have enough gonads on the Larry King Show to say that Christ-rejecting Jews weren’t going to Heaven. Truly the love of money is the root of all evil as 1st Timothy 6:10 warns. Joel Osteen couldn’t preach his way out of a paper bag. It makes God vomit… “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15,16). Joel Osteen is lukewarm.

Apostate RBC Ministries

I was recently looking at different contemporary ministries online, including RBC Ministries whose President is Mart DeHaan (Martin DeHaan’s grandson). Sadly, they promote the New International Version [NIV] of the Bible on their website. By looking at their ministries’ webpage, you’d never get the impression that they take a stand for anything. They’re just collecting donations. It makes me sick that hardly any Christians nowadays have anything negative to say about anything. What is wrong with Christians today? We are engrossed in a raging battle in America today against evil and all I see are covetous believers who want to make money. It seems that everyone’s got a “new” book to sell. They’re no better than the “den of thieves” Jesus condemned in Matthew 21:13.

It’s a shame. RBC Ministries didn’t forget the “donate” button though. Don’t any believers care that homosexuals are trying to force their sick culture upon our children? Why doesn’t Mart DeHaan publicly speak out against this rot in America? What about abortion? What about pornography? It is apostasy. They drive their new cars, and live in their big homes, and eat the best of foods, and sit idle while their brothers are on the frontlines fighting the Devil… “Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). Repent!

Apostate Moody Ministries

Moody Bible Institute is about as pathetic as you can get nowadays, honoring heretics like John MacArthur at their annual Founder’s Week and teaching the heresy of Lordship Salvation to their students. Their female students dress immodestly, wearing tight pants and halter tops, their bookstore sells so-called Christian Rock ‘N’ Roll music (i.e., the Devil’s music) to the students, et cetera. This is apostasy! Moody today is a spiritual toilet bowl.

Whatever happened to the horses and carriages that Dwight L. Moody used to use to bring poor families to church in the Chicagoland area? Why no bus ministry today? Why has the Moody Memorial Church abandoned soulwinning? God deliver us from church-pew Christianity! The early believers in the Book of Acts DIDN’T have a church building. Their ministry was in the public streets of Jerusalem. They made people very angry with the truth of God’s Word. People either repented towards God or picked up stones to hurl at Jesus’ disciples. How does this compare to the sissy-pants type ministers today who dare not rock-the-boat or offend anyone? Offend Them!

If you’re a believer, and you’re sitting idle on the sidelines during the raging battle today in America against sin, then you ought to be ashamed. Matthew 20:6, “And about the eleventh hour he [Jesus] went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?” Believers today need to Make Some Noise!

Lukewarm Christianity (which is no Christianity at all)

There is something very wrong with America’s Christians today, who are eerily silent concerning the evils which saturate American society. God hates LUKEWARM Christianity (Revelation 3:14-16).

Homosexuals are everywhere and we ought to expose them for the Bible-hating, abnormal, mentally ill and spiritually rebellious sinners they are. Pastor Lon Solomon says homosexuality and abortion are only “minor concerns” in his church of 10,000. Youth Pastor, Tony Jones, says that he believes homosexuals can still live a Biblical lifestyle pleasing to God. Jones is an unsaved heretic. I don’t believe in condemning people, because the Bible condemns ALL OF US; but we need to protect our children from the evils of homosexuality and take an uncompromising stand against immorality! Homosexuality is immoral. No one has a right to teach children that it’s ok to be IMMORAL.

In 1998, Ellen DeGeneres exploited the murder of a University of Wyoming homosexual student named Matthew Shepard, using the boy’s death to demonize Bible-believing Christians. Read some of the hateful and malicious statement Ellen made publicly about Christians…

Ellen DeGeneres declares war

October 23, 1998

Ellen DeGeneres came to Washington last week, joined a bipartisan demonstration led by congressmen and senators on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and declared, “This is a war.” Who is she fighting and why? She is fighting you because of what you believe…

The “war” that Ellen DeGeneres talked about was a war against Jewish and Christian belief itself.

Listen to what she said to a crowd of several thousand as the beautiful dome of the U.S. Capitol loomed brightly above her on a crisp autumn evening.

“This is what I was trying to stop. This is exactly why I did what I did,” DeGeneres told the cheering throng, referring to the canceled prime-time television show in which she tried to normalize the practice of homosexuality.

She made it clear that her principal enemy in this cause is the “religious right,” Christianity in general, and people who raise their children to think that homosexual activity is wrong.

First, she attacked a series of newspaper ads published last summer by the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and a dozen other Christian organizations-ads that promoted the idea that those who have fallen into a homosexual lifestyle can rise out of it and change for the better.

“I don’t see full-page ads saying `Stop the Hate, Stop the Violence.” said DeGeneres.

“These same evil, idiotic, so-called God-loving people who use the Bible to justify their hate I’m sure still feel deep down that blacks aren’t equal to whites because the Bible was also used to justify slavery.”

She then compared such people to Hitler and those who were complicit in the Holocaust. “When Hitler was killing all the Jews,” she said, “the church was silent, they did nothing.”

Then she made her fundamental point: Children should be taught that the homosexual lifestyle is a good thing.

“Please raise your children with love and not judgment,”

she said.

“Tell them that everybody has the right to love whom they want to love.”

DeGeneres stomped off to the wings to hug and kiss Hollywood actress Ann Heche. Heche mounted the stage and shouted, “I am so glad to be Ellen DeGeneres’s wife.” [emphasis added]

SOURCE: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_199810/ai_n8815714

Ellen DeGeneres the degenerate, is an evil “woman” who hates the Bible, hates the God of the Bible and hates Bible-believing Christians. Consider the following two horrible statements made by Ellen DeGeneres from the preceding article quote…

“These same evil, idiotic, so-called God-loving people who use the Bible to justify their hate…”

“Children should be taught that the homosexual lifestyle is a good thing.”

Such deranged statements coming from one of America’s most influential lesbians ought to upset every born-again Christian in America. Ellen DeGeneres (or degenerate) calls God-fearing Christians “evil, idiotic and hateful.”

She’s the evil idiot. Only a complete fool would spit in God’s face by condemning Bible-believing Christians for preaching against sin. Homosexuality is a horrible sin which guarantees the judgment of God (Romans 1:24-32).

Children ought to be taught that homosexuality is sick, abnormal, shameful, unnatural, morally reprehensible and most of all… a SIN. What DeGeneres labels as “hate” is obedience to God. Ephesians 5:11 commands all believers to refute (Greek: elencho, which means “to expose”) all works of darkness… “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” This means we are to expose homosexuality for the vile, disgusting, shameful, unhealthy sin that it is. Ellen DeGeneres errantly calls this idiotic and evil. No Ellen, you are a God-hating rebel who chooses to live in unrepentant sin. Proverb 29:27 proclaims, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” This is the root of the matter. Christians are evil in the eyes of homosexuals, and homosexuals are evil in the eyes of Christians. There can be NO harmony between sodomites and born-again Christians who love the Word of God.

Sadly, America’s churches are virtually silent concerning the evils of homosexuality. Ellen DeGeneres needs to be exposed as a threat to America’s children. Several Fortune 500 companies have embraced Miss DeGeneres, featuring her in commercials. This is wickedness. Proverb 26:1 states, “As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.” Ellen DeGeneres is a fool undeserving of any honor; yet Godless heathens who hate Jesus Christ sinfully promote and honor her. Ellen DeGeneres is a disgrace to America and to the name of decency. It’s not about love and acceptance; it’s about obeying God’s morally perfect Law.

God wants His children to rise out of complacency, and not be lukewarm concerning sin. We must not be afraid to speak our opinion in public concerning the awfulness of sin. I complain frequently when I see smut and offensive things in public. I let people know where I stand. Of course, we need to discern each situation and use wisdom accordingly.

The Sad Conclusion

It appears that most believers today have given up on the war against sin and evil. Even America’s Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches (my camp) have become a sorry bunch, increasingly focusing upon making money rather than preaching the truth at all cost. You CAN’T have both!…

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money].”

Pastor’s are either going to preach the truth and end up struggling financially (like the Apostle Paul did) or else they’re going to sellout, compromise their message, suppress the truth, and appeal to the apostate, thin-skinned, woefully ignorant, carnal believer which saturate our churches today. God is sick of vacationing pastors and church-pew Christianity! If your pastor vacations often, while 95% of his church cannot afford to do so, find another church! A pastor is supposed to be a servant, which is what the word “minister” means. Most pastors today selfishly hound their congregation for more money, but the pastor and his family always seem to come out on top financially in the end. It’s called manipulating people and it’s wrong. God deliver us from shady car-salesman pastors.

Some pastors and evangelists teach bizarre unbiblical ideas concerning money… whatever it takes to brainwash naive people into surrendering their money to finance his own personal ministry agendas. Too many pastors today are enslaved to their own carnal ego, saturated with selfish pride and covetousness; but spiritually in denial, evidenced by their intense desire for financial success and unwillingness to humble themselves to preach the WHOLE truth. Money shouldn’t be an issue in one’s ministry; but sadly, it has become the MAIN ISSUE in most churches today (at the tragic expense of preaching the truth)! It is God’s ministry; not ours! Somewhere along the way believers have forgotten that it’s our duty to seek out, teach and defend THE TRUTH… “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). God expects every believer to contend for the Christian faith (Jude 1:3).

There is a direct correlation between a pastor’s LOVE FOR MONEY versus the AMOUNT OF TRUTH HE PREACHES! Tragically, most of today’s evangelical ministers love money more than truth, which is why they’re so publicly silent concerning sin, the moral meltdown of America and the blatant evils being committed by our government leaders.

“On moral matters where right and wrong are involved, and where the Bible clearly speaks, many preachers have so compromised and sold out, and are so afraid of their congregations, that they cannot give the clear Word of God. God pity the preacher who is afraid to preach against sin just because somebody will cry ‘politics’! “

SOURCE: Dr. Rice… Here Are More Questions; Question: Should politics and religion be mixed?; by Dr. John R. Rice, pg. 250, Sword of the Lord Publishers; 1973, ISBN: 0-87398-157-X

A believer’s love for the Lord Jesus Christ can only truly be measured by one’s hatred for sin and evil… “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil…”

Evangelical Christianity today

Ye Must Be Born Again! | You Need HIS Righteousness!

Constituency Councils Of Barbados Take Root

David — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:30:17 +0000

Almost like a thief in the night the much discussed and contentious Constituency Councils (CCs) will

EXPOSED! - Kittredge Cherry Is A LIAR, False Prophet, & A Filthy Lesbian Snake!

deltaflt1189 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:17:50 +0000

EXPOSED! – Kittredge

Cherry: Lesbian, Modernist,

False Prophet, & A Deceiver!

By David J. Stewart & Andrew Friedman

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” —2nd Peter 2:1

A popular modernist today is ordained lesbian minister, Kittredge Cherry. According to her blasphemous website at www.jesusinlove.org…

Kittredge Cherry is an author, spiritual director and art historian whose ministry put her on the cutting edge of the homosexuality debates at the National Council of Churches (USA) and the World Council of Churches. She is the motivational force behind JesusInLove.org. Kittredge Cherry was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as clergy in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for seven years until health issues forced her into a more contemplative life. She worked extensively with people from every branch of Christianity, including the Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical traditions. She now considers herself a free agent for Christ in the world.

One of Kitt’s biological and spiritual ancestors is John Donne, the 17th century English poet and clergyman who wrote, “No man is an island.” Kitt was born and raised in Iowa. She met her life partner, Audrey, when they were both students at the University of Iowa. After earning degrees in journalism and art history, Kitt worked as a newspaper reporter and studied in Japan on a Rotary International Journalism Scholarship. She was baptized at age 25 at an interdenominational church in Japan. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.

From looking at Ms. Cherry’s website, you could easily get the impression that she is a Christian if you didn’t know any better. She speaks of Jesus, love, prayer, and spiritual matters; HOWEVER, the honest truth is that Kittredge Cherry is a modernist, i.e., she falsely gives the impression of being a Christian, but she is not. Ms. Cherry is an unsaved heathen bound for the lake of Fire without Christ. Her salvation testimony is non-existent. Her website mentions that she was baptized in Japan. This is not salvation. Ms. Cherry makes no mention of being born-again, or of repentance towards God, or of the condemnation of God’s Law upon sinners. Our churches are becoming saturated with liberalism, with a shallow social gospel that requires no repentance. There can be NO salvation apart from God’s Law.

Kittredge Cherry Presents Jesus as a Queer (and that’s the term she uses)

In a deceitful maneuver, Ms. Cherry presents her homosexual views in a hypothetical manner; yet, her work is interpreted by homosexuals as defining the true character of Christ. This is masterful deception of the Devil.

Kittredge Cherry states…

“Surprising answers come in Jesus in Love, a novel that re-imagines Christ’s legendary life as an erotic, mystical adventure in first-century Palestine. Jesus has today’s queer sensibilities and sexual sophistication as he lives out the Christian story in this novel of spiritual and sexual awakening … He falls in love with people of both sexes. Society doesn’t understand him … Jesus, the narrator, speaks in an engaging, up-to-date tone as he reveals his intimate relationships with John the beloved disciple (a gay man mourning his lover’s death)…” - http://www.jesusinlove.org/newbook.php

There are some horrible people in this world, and Kittredge Cherry is one of them. I say this, not to be unkind, but to expose her for assassinated the character of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:9 tells us that Jesus HATED iniquity! Psalm 97:10 says, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil.“ I’ve yet to find one homosexual who speaks out against evil. The reason why is obvious–they are committing evil themselves. Homosexuality is a sin. The entire Chapter of Romans one is dedicated to revealing the origin, cause, and wickedness of homosexuality. Yet, Ms. Cherry fully rejects the plain teachings of Scripture, and puts forth the notion that Jesus and John the disciple were homosexual lovers. There’s nothing any more blasphemous and rotten to say about the Savior than what Kittredge Cherry has said. She ought to be horribly ashamed of herself for attacking the Lord. Ms. Cherry goes on to state…

“Ultimately he [Jesus] leads disciples of both sexes beyond ordinary human consciousness to a place where sexuality and spirituality are one.” (emphasis added)

- http://www.jesusinlove.org/newbook.php

Blasphemy! Miss Cherry would lead us to believe that homosexuality is of God, and spiritually good. Nothing could be further from the Truth of God’s Word… “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13).

Cutting-edge theology, medieval mysticism and the latest archeological discoveries undergird this artful page-turner filled with spiritual insights and sensuality. Jesus in Love frees the reader to imagine and experience Christ in new ways. - http://www.jesusinlove.org/newbook.php

You’ve got to be kidding… CUTTING-EDGE THEOLOGY? Do you see how deceptive Miss Cherry is? She presents her attack on the Bible as if it’s fiction, but then she claims to have used “cutting-edge theology” to do so. So the SAME blasphemous work she presents to the homosexual community as a definitive work, is simultaneously presented to the religious right as only being a fictitious novel. This is the same deceitful tactic which was used by the evolutionists when they began teaching their LIES. What was originally taught as theories and speculation is nowadays taught as fact and irrefutable science. Of course, the evolutionists are LIARS.
Today’s Apostate Churches are Filled with Modernists!

Photo to Right: A homosexual painting by artist, Becki Jayne

The artwork to the right is also found on JesusInLove.org (Ms. Kittredge website). The painting was designed to identify a rejected Christ with rejected homosexuals. The message is evil, unbiblical, and blasphemous to God Almighty! This is another master deception by Satan to dupe naive people into believing that homosexuals are equal to Jesus in their sufferings.

Jesus was persecuted because He preached the TRUTH… John 8:40, “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.“ Jesus was rejected by most people because He spoke the Truth! Homosexuals on the other hand, are not accepted because homosexuality is unhealthy, unnatural, uncivilized, and ungodly!!! We’re talking apples and oranges here folks. How dare Becki Jayne, Kittredge Cherry, and other homosexuals, pervert the meaning of the cross of Christ, by alleging that their rejection is no different than what Jesus endured. Homosexuality MUST be rejected because it goes hand-in-hand with apostasy, AIDS, the deterioration of society, and the judgment of God.

Marsha Stevens is a professed Christian, who operates the ministry BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music). Sadly, Bill Gaither has befriended her, singing in concert with her, and has remained silent about the sin of homosexuality. Apostasy has crept into so many churches that today that a Bible-believing Christian is criticized for speaking out against sin. Tragically, the average professed “Christian” today is more upset with people like me (who preach against sin), than they are with the rockers, lesbians, abortionists, strippers, and shysters who deceitfully CLAIM to be “Christian.” Our churches are filled with modernists who aren’t what they appear to be, “…having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.“ That “power” is the Gospel (Romans 1:16).. Modernists are everywhere today! They talk about the Bible, spiritual concepts, Biblical teachings, and the principles Jesus taught; BUT, they are unsaved, unregenerated, unrepentant, and on their way to Hell without Jesus Christ. They will certainly die in their sins if they continue on their present path of destruction.

I find the artwork above very offensive and blasphemous. Jesus was not a “faggot.” The message being implied by the above picture is that any criticisms or rejection of homosexuality is equal to Christ-rejection.. Talk about REVERSE-PSYCHOLOGY! Homosexuality is DIAMETRICALLY opposed to everything the Word of God teaches! The Bible is incontrovertible concerning the sinfulness of homosexuality. Any child knows that it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. God called homosexuals “sodomites” in the Old Testament (King James Bible), linking their wicked sin with the destruction which fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Is it any wonder why the apostate New International Version NIV translators completely removed the word “sodomite” from the Bible? To no surprise, the same parent company which publishes the NIV also publishes The Joy of Gay Sex. A homosexual recently wrote me, alleging that Ezekiel 16:49-50 indicates that Sodom wasn’t destroyed mainly for homosexuality. Argue as they may, the hideous sin which is spotlighted in Genesis 19:4-11 is homosexuality. By the way, these same Scriptures in Genesis reveal the violence, lawlessness, cold-heartedness, and vile affections which become more evident in a homosexualized society. The United States is headed for some dark times as homosexuality saturates our society and churches.

Those Who Seek to Legitimize and Justify Homosexuality are LIARS!

Photo to Left: A popular gay painting of Judas showing homosexual affection to Christ. This is a sick, twisted LIE!

Anyone who pretends that Jesus was a homosexual is a deceiver! Judas did not kiss Jesus with homosexual affection. Jesus and John were not gay lovers! Kittredge Cherry’s new book, Jesus In Love, presents Jesus and John as gay lovers. Kittredge Cherry is unjust towards the Savior. She admits that she CAN’T prove Jesus was homosexual, but she writes a fictitious novel attacking Him nevertheless. She has assassinated Jesus’ character! Woe unto those who attack the Lord, and take His name in vain! To say that Christ was a homosexual is the same as calling Him a sinner, which is a denial of His deity. Jesus hated iniquity (Hebrews 1:9). The Word of God states that homosexuality is an ABOMINATION (i.e., hate coupled with disgust) to God. Homosexuality is utterly disgusting.

Here’s an enlightening article from World Net Daily about expert liars, who know that the best way to destroy an innocent man, is to tell BIG LIES …

In his 1925 autobiography “Mein Kampf,” Hitler – who actually did lie his country into war, and a whole lot more – explained with remarkable insight the fantastic power of lying:

“… [I]n the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes. …”

Let’s bring this explanation down to earth with another example: Suppose, right before an election, one candidate accuses his opponent of immoral or illegal behavior. Even if the charges are totally false, and even if the accused answers the charges credibly and effectively, “the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it.” Which means, no matter how effectively the accused candidate answers the charges, some people will still believe he’s guilty, and many others will still retain varying degrees of doubt and uncertainty regarding the accused, who may well lose the election due to the cloud hanging over his head. This, as Hitler said, is the magic of lying that “is known to all expert liars in this world …”

SOURCE (World Net Daily–Why politicians lie, and why we believe them–April 10, 2006)

Liars! Jesus was NOT a homosexual. If you listen to all these idiots today who are promoting homosexuality, you’d think everyone was a homosexual. Homosexuality is a total denial of Jesus Christ! To deny the clear teachings of the Word of God is to deny Christ, for they are one and the same (John1:1-3,14; Revelation 19:13). Jesus is the Living Word; the Bible is the Written Word. Woe unto the fools who despise God’s Law. Homosexuals are a perverted bunch. Isaiah 47:10, “For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness… Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee…“ Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!“ “God will not be mocked.” (Galatians 6:7)!

I don’t care if it’s fictitious or not, anyone who even suggests that my precious Savior may have been a morally reprehensible homosexual is a LIAR!

Child Molester and Bank Robber Worship?

Sound crazy? It is, about as crazy as the title of one of Kittredge Cherry’s books called: Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations. Even the title of her book is a big lie! There is NO such thing as lesbian and gay worship… unless you’re worshipping Satan! Now a lesbian may come to Christ for forgiveness, and be saved, and worship Jesus; BUT, it is NOT “lesbian worship” anymore than king David practiced “murderer worship.” King David had sinned horribly. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, and got her pregnant. To hide his evil, David conspired to have Uriah–Bathsheba’s husband–killed (and he was). In Psalm 51 we read David’s words of sorrow, regret, and repentance for the evils he had done. In sharp contrast, homosexuals today have no remorse, regret, or desire to cease from their sinful lifestyle. In fact, they are trying to JUSTIFY their wickedness, even by corrupting the Bible to do so (Romans 1:25). King David didn’t write a book titled, Murderer Worship!!! How about a book called, Adulterous Murderer Worship? This is EXACTLY what Ms. Cherry has done with the woeful sin of homosexuality. David didn’t brag about his sins and defend his innocence; rather, he confessed his woeful GUILT to God in Psalm 51:4… “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.“ David repented. In sharp contrast, UNREPENTANT religious homosexuals have crept into our churches and colleges, shaking young people’s faith in the Word of God. Homosexuality is of the Devil.

The Greatest Love is Rooted in Truth

1st John 3:18 states…

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.“

Kittredge Cherry loves with her words, but not with the Truth of God’s Word. She certainly is NO Christian. When speaks of the “spirit,” she is speaking of a familiar spirit (a demonic spirit); not, the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus clearly said in John 4:24 that God can ONLY be worshipped in truth. This is why Jesus said that the people in Mark 7:7 were worshipping God in VAIN, because they were following the traditions of men instead of the commandments of God.

Homosexuals today are living in denial, and God allows them to do so to their own demise. God will not force anyone to repent and come to Jesus Christ for salvation. The decision is up to each individual (Romans 14:12). The homosexual community is working relentlessly to pervert the Word of God, twist the truth, and confuse public school children. They are succeeding; but thank God, the truth is always here for those who care enough to seek for it.

More on Kittredge Cherry

Kittredge Cherry is an author and mystic whose ministry put her on the cutting edge of the international debate on sexuality and spirituality. Her website, JesusInLove.org, offers LGBT Christian resources. Kitt was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) and served as clergy in the LGBT community for seven years until health issues forced her into a more contemplative life. One of her primary duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches (USA) and the World Council of Churches. She worked extensively with people from every branch of Christianity, including the Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical traditions. She now considers herself a free agent for Christ in the world.

Her books include “Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies and Celebrations” (co-edited with Zalmon Sherwood; Westminster/John Knox Press, 1995), Hide and Speak: “How to Free Ourselves from Our Secrets” (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991) and Womansword: What Japanese Words Say About Women (Kodansha International, revised edition 2002). The New York Times Book Review praised her “very graceful, erudite” writing style and her poetry has won several awards. She has also written for Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. -Profile – LGBTRAN

Sad Conclusion

Homosexuality is a horrible sin condemned in Romans Chapter one. Kittredge Cherry “considers herself a free agent for Christ in the world” (SOURCE). A “free agent for Christ,” who goes around portraying Jesus as a homosexual? Miss Kittredge is clearly an unsaved modernist who propagates religious liberalism. She ought to be ashamed of herself. God deliver us from today’s modernists who outwardly appear as Christians, but inwardly are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15). We are seeing an increase in UNREPENTANT homosexuals who claim to be “Christians.” Truly, God is willing to forgive anyone (Isaiah 1:18), including homosexuals. God wants everyone to come to repentance (2nd Peter 3:9). However, God will NEVER accept homosexuality or those seeking to legitimize it. That’s the big difference! You’ve got many critics today who accuse us Christians of being judgmental. However, Jesus told us to “judge” in John 7:24… “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.“ 1st Timothy 5:20 is very clear, “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.“ What does this Scripture mean? Are we to gossip and tell everyone about other’s sins? No, of course not. This Scripture is speaking of OPEN sin, such as in the case of the man living in fornication in 1st Corinthians 5:1, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you…” Notice that the sin was “commonly” reported, i.e., it was no secret. Kittredge Cherry not only commits the sin of homosexuality with her gay lover, but she parades it defiantly in the face of God, twisting the Scriptures, and even portraying the Savior as a sodomite. Kittredge Cherry’s work, “Jesus In Love” is not about “love”, acceptance, and equal rights–it’s about wickedness, corrupting the truth, and rebellion against God. Please don’t be deceived by Kittredge Cherry, Marsha Stevens, Anita Cadonau, and other lesbian modernists who exploit Christianity to further the Homosexualization of America and our children.

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) EXPOSED!

Hear The Truth!

Audiotape of Massachusetts public employees discussing how teens can fist their sex partners at a GLSEN – sponsored conference at Tufts University in 2000.”

Listen for yourself!

NAMBLA EXPOSED!

Homosexuality is a Sin!

Barbados In 2025: More Cars, More Roads - Or Light Rail Transit, Fewer Private Vehicles?

BFP — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:30:44 +0000

Our Current Failed Vision Of Barbados Transportation, Society and Daily Life

If you think our roads are crowded now, if you think that your time spent getting to and from work or school is unreasonable, if you think our quality of life and environment in Barbados is heading for the suckwell – just close your eyes and picture how Barbados will look after another ten or fifteen years of continuing to implement the same transportation “solution” of more cars, more roads, wider roads and ever more cars.

Is that where you want to see Barbados in the year 2025?

Unless we get some vision and leadership around this place, that is exactly where Barbados is headed.

In 1995, Barbados had a total of 55,668 vehicles on the island, of which 42,821 were private cars. By 2005, only ten years later, the number of vehicles had doubled to 116,675 of which 94,496 were private as opposed to buses, taxis, zr’s etc. (Thanks to Linda at My Barbados Blog. Where are you, Linda? We miss you.)

In 1995 Barbados had 55,668 vehicles on the island. By 2005, the number doubled to 116,675

How many vehicles do we have today in Barbados? We weren’t able to find any newer statistics than those quoted by Linda, but you can bet the number hasn’t gone down in the last four years.

Despite the fact that this out of control proliferation of private vehicles is spoiling the value of Barbados as a tourist destination, successive governments have devoted virtually 100% of transportation expenditures in support of ever increasing numbers of vehicles. Flyovers and more and wider paved roads are all we ever hear from government.

Friends, we can never build “enough” roads in Barbados if we continue to allow the number of vehicles to increase. Never.

But thanks to the DLP and the BLP, the only transportation option for Bajans is to drive on the crowded roads in a car, a bus or mini-bus – all competing for the same piece of pavement.

Stop Spending On New Roads – Start Spending On New Forms Of Public Transit

“Let’s just pave over the whole damn island” seems to be the motto of both the current DLP and the previous BLP governments.

All the good intentions in the world, and Bajan government officials attending environmental conferences in Greenland and Switzerland will do nothing to stop this private car insanity in Barbados. We must start spending our money to provide real solutions – instead of creating more problems.

How much good did it do for Barbados when Owen Arthur and Mia Mottley spent half a billion dollars for a few weeks of cricket? Would we not have been better off spending that money on starting a new light-rail transit system for Barbados? Instead of widening the ABC, we could have spent the money building vehicle parking lots outside the city and implementing a rapid commuter system to the city core.

More vehicles and more roads is foolish. It reminds me of that old definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome.

Puffing Billy: Nostalgia, Or Visions Of The Future?

Ian Bourne got us thinking about light rail transit with his excellent article Puffing Billy – History of the Barbados Railway Pleads for Revival of Old Service.

Then we read Jane Shatuck Hoyos’ article about our old horse-drawn trams Is it Time to Bring Back the Past in Barbados?

While we don’t think we need any more horse manure on the streets (especially near Parliament), we do think that a system of light rail public transit throughout the island combined with free and secure parking at major transportation nodes away from the city is the only solution that would really accomplish anything worthwhile for the future.

To be successful, a light rail transit system would have to be frequent, convenient, reliable, clean and safe. It wouldn’t have to go everywhere on the island, but as a start it would make sense to use the old Puffing Billy trackbed where possible if for no other reason than cost. Allen Morrison has put up a website display called The Tramways of Bridgetown Barbados that has the old tramway and Puffing Billy system maps. (Thanks to Planet Barbados for the tip on that one.)

You’ll hear all sorts of reasons why light rail transit can’t be successful in Barbados, and when you hear those arguments ask the speaker what alternative they propose. Unless they have invented a Star Trek transporter, the only “solution” they can offer is more vehicles competing for the same piece of pavement.

Let’s stop this insanity. Do we have any real leaders out there willing to say enough is enough?

Behold: The Mystery Of The Bride!

deltaflt1189 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:22:07 +0000

The Mystery of the Bride

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” – John 20:29

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The
Messianic
Seal of the First
Jerusalem
Church.
[ more info ]


The fish and cross where also used as symbols for the Faithful.

Greeting:

Peace be
unto you.

..



WANTED:
Teacher seeks pupils.
Must have earnest desire to save the universe.
Great benefits, apply in person.

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“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
- Matthew 7:20

A disciple was a general term meaning, a learner, or a pupil of some teacher. The Disciples of Yahshua, were to proclaim the Gospel [the good news] of the Kingdom of YAHWEH, and “to feed MY sheep” (which means teaching the Divine knowledge needed to develop in grace, spiritual knowledge, and GODLY character).

It has been suggested, that these dozen “called out” disciple’s of Yahshua had more impact on world history then any other group of twelve men who have ever lived. Yahshua did not choose men from “the holier than thou” crowd, and they were not high society types. They were common working men. From tentmaker to fisherman, Yahshua “called out” men that generally were not at all refined, cultured or educated. They were rough men living rough lives, they would use profanity, smelled of fish and were dirty. Another Disciple was a tax collector, not necessarily the most popular man in town. They are listed in Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16.

A point often missed is that YAHWEH, always as a principal, used plain people to carry out important spiritual missions, and Yahshua did the same. Today’s social snobbishness would find these ordinary men, who were laborers for a living, and then took up “the work” of preaching a Great Message, unacceptable as ministers. Not to mention inviting them into your home and listening to their spiritual concepts, and then wanting to join up with them. Yet they have the highest positions in the church. The lesson is, YAHWEH judges the heart not outside appearances.

When the righteous hearts of the Disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, these rough-hewn Galileans, were filled with new boldness and understanding, (Act.ch.2). Transformed and powered by the Holy Spirit, the Disciples became Apostles, which means sent forth – one chosen and sent with a special commission as an authorized representative of the sender. They preached with power and boldness, performing healings and miracles. Their appeal for the faith was irresistible, and their zeal for the Gospel was powerful, inspiring thousands to convert.

Ambassadors of the Kingdom is what the true Believers are considered to be (2Cor.5:20). The prime directive of Ambassadorship: Love your GOD, and love your neighbor. And, “. . . forgive them for they know not what they do . . .,“ is the motto (Luk.23:34).

To be an Ambassador of the Kingdom means you are a Friend of the Kingdom, not a servant to it. The Believers are considered Friends because of the Divine Knowledge revealed to them, (Jno.15:15).

The Believers know Satan is the target of this spiritual war not our neighbor, (Eph.6:12). Satan is the god of this world, and the Believers in our CREATOR are “living in their native lands – but as aliens.”

The Believers are “in this world, but not of this world.” The Believers are citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom of YAHWEH (Phi.3:20), fellow citizens with the Old Testament Saints (Eph.2:19) – under the authority of the Messiah. They follow local customs in clothing, food, and other aspects of life – but as citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom, they are only passing their days on Earth.

Knowin’ is the easy part! This is not a church of potted plants. The citizens are Ambassadors of the Kingdom and represent their Government. This is not a passive role. It is a pro-active role. They live by example and share the spiritual truths that they have learned, using clear and simple language – not political style double-talk (Mat.5:37).

They are “present in the flesh” – but do not live “according to the flesh.” They obey man’s laws – but go beyond that and follow the Heavenly Laws in their own lives. They are treated with outrageous disrespect – but behave respectfully and bless those in return. They are dishonored and their names blackened – but they gain glory through dishonor, and their names are cleared in the Heavenly Book of Life.

The Mystery…

“Behold, I tell you a mystery:
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed;”
-1 Corinthians 15:51

As the scripture says: “Watch . . . and pray to be counted worthy to escape . . .,” Luke 21:36. “First the dead in Christ, then the living in Christ will be called up to meet Him in the air,” 1Thessalonians 4:16-17. It may be interesting to note that some humans will never experience death. This remarkable supernatural event, commonly called the “rapture” by today’s Christians, comes from the Latin word rapere, which means to snatch away or to be caught up. It is an excellent word describing what the Bible says will happen.

The first rapture-event described in the Bible is when Enoch was caught up to Heaven before the flood (Gen.5:24). Another rapture happened with Elijah described in 2Kings 2:17, “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” This belief of a rapture-event is also what numerous documents from the early church leaders (first 300 years) revealed.

The Rapture is the blessed hope, (Tit.2:13).
It is the comforting hope, (1The.4:18).
And it is the purifying hope, (1Jno.3:3).

During this Age of Grace, the Messiah is calling out disciples to help Him rule the earth during His Millennium reign. These called-out ones are known as “the Bride of the Messiah or Christ.” The true Believers of the Messiah are called three things in the New Testament: The Church, in Acts 2:47. The Body of Christ, in 1Corinthians 12:13. And, “the Bride,” in John 3:29. It refers to a great mystery told as an allegory of a symbolic union of husband and wife in Ephesians 5:25-32. An allegory, is a story that symbolically represents another meaning other than what is apparently stated. Yahshua used this teaching technique in His parables, to teach complex Heavenly lessons by comparing them to simple everyday objects.

(Just for the record, and to avoid confusion, all those humans who did not know the Messiah, or were not chosen by the Him, or chose not commit themselves to the higher Covenants, will sleep until the time of the final Great White Throne Judgment of YAHWEH, after the earthly 1,000 year millennial rule of the Messiah. For more info. click here.)

The question every Believer ponders is, how many people will be called-out by Yahshua? Some say tens of millions of people will be called, and the puritans would say the numbers are much smaller.

Some say the term Christian has already been ruined by its many pretenders, maybe so, but then every religion has its pretenders and hucksters. In surveys taken in the United States and Canada almost 80% of the people responded saying they are Christian. But when asked the following: Do you believe the Bible to be the inspired word of GOD? Do you study the Bible? Do you believe in creation? Do you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ? Do you believe in His blood atonement for sin? Then the numbers drop to about 13% of those claiming to be believing Christians.

A hint can be found in Yahshuas’ messages to the seven churches in Revelation ch.2-3. Out of the seven churches only one was commended by Him. There is one revealing passage in Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” In simpler terms just going through the motions is not enough. (For more info see Ego Religion.)

Throughout the ages, there are always a lot of debate and doctrine among the Christian churches on how to get to Heaven. Today, surveys generally show that over 85% of Americans think they will go to Heaven, but only about 40% think their neighbor will get in. Why does it seem like the standard is always higher for those who live next door?

It is a thorny issue, and since I am not compiling the list, we will leave that debate to others . . ..

YAHWEH knows your heart and HE knows who the Believers are. When Elijah went out into the desert to escape persecution and said, “I am alone.” YAHWEH answered, “No, I have 7,000 Believers here” (1Kgs.19:18). When the Holy Spirit came upon the assembly on Pentecost described in Acts ch.2, HE knew exactly how many Believers there were. While Paul was teaching at the city of Corinth, he was afraid and thought it was hopeless, but he was told there were Believers there and he should continue his work (Act.18:10).

The Age of Grace closes when the hinderer (or the “intolerant ones”) is removed (2Ths.2:7). The term hinderer (some Bibles use the word restrainer, Jno.14:8), is a curious word used to describe the Holy Spirit that dwells within the true Believers of Yahshua. It can be any human being from, any domination, any nation, any ethnic origin, male or female, on the planet Earth. These are the intolerant ones – fighting for freedom – and they are the only power that is holding back or hindering the dark forces of evil.

When the hinderer is removed, then the world will propel itself into a period of seven years of tribulation, climaxing when the Conquering Messiah appears to save humanity. It will be Satan’s last attempt at establishing his New-World-Order. It will begin under the banner of peace and reform, complete with real convincing spiritual psycho-babble, all leading to a fool’s paradise and certain destruction. The peace will not last long, and “woe to them that are weak,” this society will turn on itself and many people will die during these years. This is not the talk of weird conspiracy nuts, shades of this story are in almost every culture.

Blessed are those who believe with out seeing, (Jon.20:29,1Pet.2:9). People have been seeking His return for many years, but 2Peter 3:9 says the Messiah is not slack concerning his promises. The Age of Grace remains open so as many Believers as possible may be included in His family.

The Rapture: Yahshua’s lesson of the rapture is told in the parable of the fishermen recorded in John 21: 5-12. As the fishermen pulled in their nets full of fish, so will it be with the called-out ones, caught up out of their earthly world. They will be in the middle of their daily routines, then all of a sudden caught up in the spiritual net (you have only a moment to stop what you are doing and prepare). It is called the translation of the body into spirit (1Cor.15:51-53). Then taken to YAHWEH’S Heaven, and once there no one will drop out of Heaven – “. . . the net was not broken.”

Bible Believers are accustomed to reading and studying the fantastic supernatural stories which can only be carried out by a higher intelligence. There is no Biblical reason why this event will not take place. One can only imagine how the mechanics of such an event would be organized.

The records kept by the Angels record humanities history on an individual basis, people must be selected for translation, the location of the chosen humans for translation must be recorded, the temporary collection center above the Earth after translation must be determined, and then transportation with Yahshua to YAHWEH’S Heaven. It takes more then say, twitching a nose to get these things done. The ground rules and executive orders are drawn up in the Great White Throne Room, and there will be a lot to do for the community of Angels who carry out these orders, under the supervision of Yahshua.

The second question every Believer ponders is, when will the rapture happen? “The Millennium” is a term meaning “thousand,” and it refers to the thousand year reign of the Messiah in connection with His return to Earth. The belief is that the Messiah will call His believers home before He returns to earth as the Conquering Messiah, but many theologians cannot even decide on the Millennium rule itself. Revelation ch.20 clearly referrers to the Messiah’s thousand year rule six times, and most Jews and Christians agree the Messiah’s rule will be an age of blessedness on the Earth. But because of anti-Semitism, some Christians ignore Scriptures and do not teach the Millennium-rule theory because that is what the Jews believe; they say the Millennium is the present church age – a period of indefinite length. Still others regard the Millennium as a way of referring to the ages of eternity.

Timing of the rapture in relation to the Millennium rule and the Tribulation Period is an item of great debate and contention by Christian theologians, over time it has evolved into three views:

[1] Pre-tribulation: This is the popular school of thought. The Believers will be caught up in the air to go with the Messiah suddenly, at any moment, before the Tribulation period begins.
[2] Mid-tribulation: The Believers will remain on the Earth for the first 3 1/2 years of the seven-year Tribulation period, and will be caught up before the last 3 1/2 years (the Great Tribulation) falls upon the human race.
[3] Post-tribulation: The Believers will continue on the Earth through the Tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Believers will be caught up to be with the Messiah and immediately return to Earth with Him for the Millennium reign. They believe the Marriage Supper described in Revelation 19:7-10, will take place after the Messiah’s second coming to Earth.

“Plan as if the Messiah’s coming is years away,
but live as if He is coming today.”


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The Bride of the Messiah…

..

The Bible teaches, the Believers are the children of light . . ., (1Ths.5:3-11), and YAHWEH did not appoint you to wrath (Rev.3:10). There is no example in the Bible when YAHWEH allowed the righteous to be destroyed by the judgment on the unrighteous. If one examines the lives of Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, and Lot at Sodom, the pattern of YAHWEH’S judgment throughout human history is unchanging. First, a Prophet warns of the coming doom. Next the righteous Believers are removed by YAHWEH from danger. Finally, the prophesied judgment falls upon those who continue in their sin without repenting.

Yahshua told His Disciples that the time of the end would be “as it was in the days of Noah” (Luk.17:26) and that they were to remember the lessons of Lot’s wife (vs.32). There YAHWEH raptured Enoch to Heaven then protected Noah and his family by sealing them in the Ark before the judgment. The Angels warned Lot that, despite the terrible sin of Sodom, YAHWEH would not destroy the city until Lot and his family were safely away, and they should not look back.

The Wedding Custom: The key to unlocking the mysterious meaning of “the Bride of the Messiah” one must understand the Jewish wedding custom as it was in the time of Yahshua. This is a remarkable analogy which also helps solve the timing mystery of the rapture. This is a wonderful Biblical story that is best told by a Jewish Believer because it is their history. Such a story teller is Zola Levitt and he has a great little book on it called A Christian Love Story – it will be the best few dollars you ever spent. (See the Links page)

The Visitation: When a man had chosen the woman he wanted for his bride he left his house and traveled to the house of his perspective bride.

By analogy, Yahshua left His FATHER’S House in Heaven and traveled to the home of His perspective bride on Earth.

The Covenant Proposal: The man arrives at the woman’s home, with the purpose of establishing a marriage covenant and the purchase price to be paid. She and her father would take a little time to talk it over and make a decision.

By analogy, when Yahshua came to Earth he established what is today called The New Testament, which is based on the New Covenant (Jer.31:31-34; Heb.8:8-12). And this Age of Grace is the time for people to review the Covenant and decide.

The Cup of the Covenant: After considering his contract, if the terms were suitable, the bride and groom would drink a cup of wine together. Sometimes called the Cup of Acceptance, this would seal the bargain.

By analogy, in the New Covenant faith, “the cup” of wine to seal Yahshua’s Covenant was a Rite established at the Passover supper, commonly known as the Communion service at the Last Supper (Mat.26:27-29).

The Price: After the drink of wine, the groom would make a little speech of his intentions and pay the agreed to price.

By analogy, the purchase price He paid for His Bride was the shedding of His own life blood at His death (Act.20:27; 1Cor.6:20).

The Separation: After the groom established a covenant and paid the price, they would remain separated for a while. He would leave her at her home, and return to his father’s house to prepare a beautiful place, a wedding chamber, to receive his bride for the honeymoon and wedding feast. He did not know how long this would take, usually about a year. His father would be the one to judge when the project was complete (if it was up to the young man, he would slap something together in a hurry and quickly return for his bride).

Meanwhile the bride was now consecrated, set apart and veiled when she went outdoors. Her manner was discreet. As a true lady in waiting, she would stay home every night with friends or family. She would be spending time preparing her trousseau, and making arrangements for her bridesmaids. She would be watching and waiting.

By analogy, Yahshua returned to His FATHER’S House and has been away ever since. He promised His assembly in John 14:1-3, that He had to go and prepare a place to receive His Bride, and He will be back.

Meanwhile the Bride of the New Covenant on Earth should also be preparing herself as stated in the parable of the ten virgins (Mat.25:1-13). The Bride of the Messiah is veiled, “in this world, but not of this world.” The trousseau of the Bride is learning the way’s of the Messiah’s righteous Kingdom. The Bride should be watching for the signs and waiting . . ..

Watching for the Signs: When the father determined his son’s project was completed, the groom would return for his bride on an unannounced night. That was the thrilling part of romance – the bride never knew exactly what night he would come to steal her away.

By analogy, when the FATHER determines the time is fulfilled (Mat.24:36), Yahshua will return for His Bride at an unannounced time. The rapture is always an imminent event, it could happen at any time. But Apostle Matthew also says in 25:13, Yahshua gives us signs to watch . . ., to know the seasons . . . (2Tim.3:19).

The Snatching Away: When the groom returned for his bride, he and his male escorts would call out to her from outside her home. An alert bride would hear the shouting from a distance as they were coming down the street (this would give her a few moments to prepare). The groom did not go into the house, the bride would quickly ready herself, light her oil lamp, and go outside to meet him.

By analogy, Yahshua will not return to Earth for His Bride, but will be just above the Earth in the air. He, along with the Angels will call to her, “come up hither. . .” (Rev.4:1). It will be a surprise. He will come as a thief in the night (2Pet.3:3-8). The Bride will only have a moment to stop her activities and then rise up to meet Him in the air.

Onto the Father’s House: After the bride, along with her bridesmaids, went outside to meet her groom, the whole wedding party would have a torch light procession to the groom’s house.

By analogy, Yahshua will greet His Bride above the Earth and they all will return to His FATHER’S House in Heaven.

The Bridal Chamber: After the bride and groom arrived at the bridal chamber that he prepared at his fathers house, they would go into hiding. In the privacy of the bridal chamber they would get to know each other, enter into a physical union and consummate the marriage. They would stay hidden in the bridal chamber for seven days.

By analogy, when Yahshua and His Bride arrive at the FATHER’S house they will go into hiding for a period of seven years. In Yahshuas’ Bridal Chamber is the Judgment Seat where everyone will sit alone with the Messiah (2Cor.5:10). There they will get to know each other. Most think their sins will be judged, but their sins are burnt up and forgotten, it will be a review of the righteous deeds one has done in their earthly service (1Cor.3:11-13).

We are all as different as snowflakes, and people shape their own destinies. They will be judged by what they did with the individual gifts given to them, and how they used these gifts as ambassadors in service for the Kingdom (2Cor.5:20).

For good works and avoiding sin, rewards and crowns are given to the Bride:

[1] Ministers and teachers crown, 1Peter 5:1-4; James 3:1.
[2] Watching for the signs crown, 2Timothy 4:8.
[3] Running the race faithfully crown, 1Corinthians 9:24-27; James 1:12.
[4] Winning friends crown, 1Thessalonians 2:19.
[5] Martyrs crown, Revelation 2:10.
[6] Special gift to those who overcome false teachings, Revelation 2:17.

A special gift to those who overcome false teaching proves that not everyone who is called by Yahshua will be called because they keep a perfect theology. There will not be one human being who will not be surprised when they discover there is more to the theology then they understood from their earthly education. The Bible says it is important that the Believers should earnestly contend for the true doctrine (Jud.3), because if someone has faith and believes in something, they will want to do the best they can with it. This reward is given to those that when they discover a new Biblical truth, set their old belief aside and adopt the new found truth.

Some are ashamed that they have not done more, they were not given any rewards, yet they are still called to Heaven to serve (1Jno.2:28).

The unique and special gifts that make up a person’s character, along with the crowns received, will determine a type of rank or position for the individual in the organizational structure of Yahshuas’ government.

The Marriage Supper: When the seven days were completed the groom would come out of hiding with his bride, her veil was removed and they would present themselves for all their close friends to see at a joyous wedding feast in the father’s house.

By analogy, after judgment all the Believers gather together in the Throne Room of YAHWEH and the Bride will lay their crowns at Yahshua’s feet, as a wedding present (Rev.4:10). They will meet the faithful Believers of Old Testament assembly and wait for the Tribulation martyrs to arrive (Rev.6:9-11).

The Rapture will trigger the greatest Biblical revival in world history. As the Biblical revelations are understood, the new converts that will make up this harvest of Believers are called the Tribulation Saints (their numbers will be greater than in the Rapture). They come to believe in Yahshua after the true assembly has been removed. These people unfortunately will have to prove their faith with their lives, as it will be these people who will first resist worshiping the Antichrist.

They will resist the new satanic global governing system and their ersatz leadership. They will not accept the future compulsory computer chip implants, and for their rebellious attitude they will be tortured, killed or beheaded (Rev.20:4). The last Rapture event will be those true Believers of Hebrew blood in Israel (Mat.24:40-41; many mistake this prophecy for the Rapture of Christians, but the Messianic Church was still a hidden mystery when this prophecy was given). For more info see: Tribulation / Apocalypse prophecies.

The Bible talks of two churches. The Local Church was the local earthly believers. The Universal Church, which is the higher Heavenly church made up of all members of the Heavenly Societies – “angels and strange creatures” – in the Universe, according to the Order of Melchizedek. Now, with all the human Believers together in the FATHER’S House in Heaven, will begin the first official meeting of the Universal Church, as everyone sits together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev.19:7-8).

Leave for their New Home: After the marriage supper the bride and groom would make their first public appearance as they depart his father’s house to live in their own permanent home.

By analogy, at the end of the seven years Yahshua will return to Earth as the Conquering Messiah, coming with His Bride and the wedding party for all the world to see. They will dwell together in a house prepared by Yahshua on Earth for a thousand years, (in the Millennium Temple complex Eze.ch.40-43). And the Bride will help Yahshua govern the creation during the Millennial reign (Rev.2:26-27, 3:21).

.
“And the armies in Heaven,
clothed in fine linen,
white and clean,
followed Him on white horses.”
- Revelation 19:14: .

With This Ring.....

lsjonline — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:32:58 +0000

www.lesliestjohn.com

Barbados 4H Tree Planting - Volunteer Efforts Much Appreciated - Money Wisely Spent

BFP — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:09:10 +0000

Well done to the 4H folks and Mr. Everton Hunte!

Hundreds of children from the 4H movement are involved in the growing of seedlings and planting of trees in an effort to beautify and stabilize coastal areas in Barbados. On Saturday 4H children planted over 1200 trees on the East Coast where the soil had been slipping in part due to the lack of plant roots and cover.

As reported in the local media, the project cost $30,000 – or about $25 per tree, which sounds like an excellent return on the investment if even half the young trees make it through the first few years. (See The Barbados Advocate article Green Coast)

The major benefit from the exercise though might be what the children learn about working together for the common good – and that ordinary people can make huge changes in the environment and the landscape.

While we’re not privy about which people were the driving force behind this project, from the accounts in the papers Mr. Everton Hunte, Chairman of the Barbados 4H Foundation, is obviously providing the kind of leadership that inspires everyone to do their part.

Should We Put Everton Hunte & 4H In Charge Of Saving the West Coast Beaches and Fixing The Sluice Gate at Graeme Hall Mangrove Wetlands?

Can the West Coast beaches and the Graeme Hall Mangrove Wetlands be saved with the help of the 4H Movement?

Rock Groins Destroying Barbados West Coast

Three Rock Groins Benefit One Condo While Destroying An Entire Coastline At Mullins Bay, Barbados

With all the ongoing erosion on the west coast, some of it no doubt probably related to climate change, government should have never given approval for three groins at St. Peter’s Bay. To put it mildly – it was a monumental environmental mistake (if indeed it was a mistake and nothing even more sinsiter). To continue to ignore the problem (where is the Minister of the Environment who promised to visit the area two weeks ago) will in the very short term mean kissing goodbye to Mullins Beach itself and tourism in the area – not to mention the total devastation and havoc it would visit on the local and adjoining communities…

… from Mullins Bay Blog article Educate Yourself On The Mullins Bay Area Issues

Graeme Hall Wetlands To Be Developed By DLP Campaign Funder CLICO & Leroy Paris

The Broken Sluice Gate That Is Killing The Graeme Hall Mangrove Wetlands

Despite formal Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary offers to government to help with Worthing Beach sluice gate operations over the years, almost nothing has been done, resulting in significant environmental degradation at the Sanctuary.

“We experience massive fluctuations of water levels because the sluice gate is not operating. This has contributed to increasingly unhealthy wetland waterbodies, including fish kills and mosquito infestations. After nearly 15 years, mismanagement of the sluice gate and the elimination of traditional tidal flows into the wetland continues. Since August 2006, due to the inoperative sluice gate, the Ministry of Public Works controls water levels in Graeme Hall Swamp using a backhoe to add or remove sand fill in the sluice gate channel.”

… from Graeme Hall Sanctuary “New Plans To Develop Most Of Graeme Hall Lands Will Kill Wetlands & Migratory Bird Site”

**EXPOSED! - Michael Jackson, The Secret Wealthy Pedophile!

deltaflt1189 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:41:56 +0000


Judge will allow testimony that Michael Jackson previously molested five boys; victims said to include Macaulay Culkin, noted choreographer

MARCH 28–In a significant legal setback for Michael Jackson, a judge ruled today that Santa Barbara prosecutors can present jurors with evidence that the performer previously molested five young boys.

Judge Rodney Melville’s bombshell decision came after a two-hour hearing during which Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon outlined several separate “prior bad acts” that investigators sought to present to the 12-member Superior Court jury.

Ruling from the bench after the hearing, Melville told a packed courtroom that he will allow prosecutors to present testimony that Jackson previously molested five boys, including actor Macaulay Culkin (pictured right) and choreographer Wade Robson (pictured left). That evidence, Melville ruled, is admissible to show a pattern of “grooming” on the entertainer’s part.

While Melville denied a government request to present testimony about two other boys, he ruled that prosecutors will be allowed to introduce evidence about a pair of financial settlements entered into by Jackson with two of the prior accusers (though Melville said that the D.A. is precluded from mentioning the settlement amounts).

Testimony about the prior incidents will come from one of the alleged victims (the son of a former Neverland Ranch maid) and eight third-party witnesses, according to Melville’s ruling. That witness list includes the ex-maid, another former Neverland household employee, ex-Jackson assistant Bob Jones, former security guard Ralph Chacon, and the mother of Jordan Chandler, the California boy who first leveled abuse charges against the King of Pop in 1993 (and who settled a related civil lawsuit for more than $15 million).

Melville’s decision appears to reflect his belief that admission of the prior incidents, none of which resulted in criminal charges against Jackson, would not serve to unfairly buttress the current case, which centers on allegations that the performer molested a Los Angeles boy, now 15, in early 2003.

The ruling is Melville’s tacit acknowledgment that Sneddon’s current case is not nearly as wobbly as Jackson lawyer Thomas Mesereau claims it to be, and that prosecutors would not improperly benefit from the introduction of “propensity” material allowed under California law. Section 1108 of the state’s Evidence Code (an amendment signed into law in 1996) allows testimony about alleged prior bad acts so long as its usefulness is not outweighed by any potential prejudicial effect on a jury.

As a result of Melville’s decision to admit so-called 1108 evidence, jurors will now weigh the 2003 molestation allegations in the light of other troubling charges from Jackson’s past. This is, of course, especially crucial in light of the multimillion dollar settlement deals. While not admissions of guilt, details of these decade-old agreements–Chandler’s deal and a $2 million settlement with the maid’s son–could prove devastating.

Melville’s decision came after a remarkable hearing during which Sneddon offered a detailed recitation of what he said was Jackson’s history of sexually abusing boys. Having investigated the singer for 12 years, Sneddon offered up the fruits of that lengthy pursuit, charging that Jackson’s pedophilia was borne out by a variety of illicit acts, including:

* One “prior child,” Sneddon said, will testify to three separate instances during which his genitals were touched by Jackson. On two occasions, the child was fondled outside his clothes, and once the singer “thrust” his hands inside the boy’s pants. The witness in question is the son of Blanca Francia, the former Neverland Ranch maid. The woman and her son, now 24, received a $2 million legal settlement from Jackson in 1994 (and both were included on the prosecution’s list of potential trial witnesses).

* Sneddon said that he had a witness who would testify that, on three occasions, they saw Jackson in bed with different children and “that the child and the defandant’s underpants were lying next to the bed.”

* Witnesses, Sneddon told Melville, would testify to five incidents involving four children (ages 10-13) who were kissed and/or inappropriately touched in the genitals by Jackson.

* Two witnesses will testify that they heard Jackson encourage children to call him “Daddy,” which echos claims by the current accuser and his family members.

* One witness told probers of seeing the entertainer lick the head of a young boy. The incident mirrors a claim from the current molestation case (the accuser’s brother and mother have both told investigators that they saw Jackson lick the accuser’s head while the boy slept during a 2003 flight from Miami to Santa Barbara).

In arguing for admission of such evidence, Sneddon said that Jackson has long shown a proclivity for illicit behavior with young boys the entertainer considers “special friends.” He noted that Jackson’s grooming of young boys often included the purchase of gifts for a child’s mother, so as to keep the parent preoccupied while he frolicked with the minor.

After Sneddon’s 40-minute presentation, Mesereau told Melville that the D.A.’s case so far has been a weak one, riddled with repeated lies and contradictions from the alleged victim and his two siblings. Testimony about uncharged behavior, Mesereau (pictured right) said, would only serve to prop up Sneddon’s case. Noting that prosecutors had yet to call the victim’s mother to the witness stand, Mesereau asked that Melville delay his decision on the introduction of prior bad acts testimony until the woman testifies. Referring to how Sneddon’s case has been unfolding, Mesereau remarked, “Every time they put on a witness, it gets worse.”

Jackson’s lawyer then went into a point-by-point attack of the old material Sneddon sought to introduce. With the exception of Chandler and the maid’s son, the other five boys allegedly molested by Jackson have all repeatedly denied being abused by the performer, Mesereau said. Additionally, since Chandler is not going to testify, Mesereau said, jurors would only hear direct testimony from one of the seven boys prosecutors claim Jackson sexually abused.

Mesereau said that many of the third-party witnesses Sneddon would call to testify about the prior abuse were tabloid informants, disgruntled former employees, and money-hungry litigants. He specifically mentioned a group of former Neverland workers who sued Jackson for wrongful termination and were routed in court (in fact, they lost a countersuit brought by Jackson and were hit with a seven-figure legal judgment, which drove some into bankruptcy).

Testimony about the alleged prior incidents–most of which date back more than a decade–would be incredibly time consuming, Mesereau said, adding that “all is fair game” when it came to examining the motivations of the third-party witnesses. Mesereau specifically mentioned how Francia sold her story to a television tabloid show, but then later disavowed her TV claims during a sworn deposition.

Before Melville called a short break, Mesereau again mentioned the accuser’s mother, saying, “The best is yet to come because the mother has not yet testified.” He added, “I submit it (the government’s case) looks real bad, and it’s gonna get worse.”

Michael Jackson Is A Pedophile

“

February 11, 2003
80 comments

The Smoking Gun has copies of previously secret court papers of the 1993 court case against Michael Jackson. WARNING! There are detailed descriptions of what went on between Jackson and the then 13 year old boy. Only read it if you have a strong stomach.

After reading them, I don’t know how Michael Jackson didn’t get jail time. Actually, I do know. He’s a famous superstar who has hundreds of millions of dollars. The relationship the kid describes looks innocent enough until after several months. Then things go completely wrong. Michael Jackson has SEVERE problems and should get serious help. Superstar or not, he should be in jail and listed in the pedophile database. It’s sick. Sad and sick.

chris may March 31, 2005

I fear that the word that is randy’s first name may also apply to michael jackson after a couple of coke cans of wine. I’m going to err on the side of decency and suggest that the fact that randy wouldn’t abuse a child has blinded him to the fact that others might do so. Of course being odd doesn’t automatically make a person a paedophile.

Ant-Ram March 31, 2005

Michael Joe Jackson’s “oddness” was at one time, long, long ago a refreshing change from the other prima-donna, drug addicted, sexually promiscuous musical star types, but today Michael is far beyond just being odd now he is?

I agree with the comment that being “odd” is not reason alone to be labeled a pedophile, or a criminal, but in today’s sleazy celebrity world of legal contracts between stars and their mistresses, prostitutes, and drug prescribing personal Doctors, anything’s unfortunately possible. Remember the rumor regarding Tom Cruise’s two past marriages as being set-up to protect him and hide his true Homosexuality? (Both marriages lasted almost 10 years each)

Who really knows (outside of Michael and every child who’s ever accused him) if he really has molested any child, but I for one am so sick and tired of hearing about it everywhere I look and having this latest accusation being decided outside of the Courts. Let’s let our Legal System do it’s thing and run it’s systematic course. The “truth” should not only come out, but either an innocent man will be cleared or a child abuser will finally received his just punishment!

chris may March 31, 2005

Or the lawyer with the highest win bonus in his contract will win.
Incidentally, what do people think of jonathan king’s release and the pope getting ill? I wonder who will be the fourth horseman of the paedophilic apocalypse?

Ant-Ram March 31, 2005

Don’t you mean to ask…. Who will be the Atty. representing the “fourth horseman” and oh yes, what will the Atty.’s bonus be???

kathy April 15, 2005

jackson probably comes from a history of abuse himself. (given his background and childhood stories) growing up jahovahs witness is a difficult act to follow too!

Jan April 18, 2005

It’s interesting, Michael Jackson must really, really like young boys to risk losing everything to continue to have sexual relationships with them. He’s actually compulsive about it.. Why can’t he just start screwing around with the male species when they reach 18 years old? That’s still pretty young. Maybe all pedophiles are out of control like this or maybe he just thinks that he can get away with it because he’s got so much money. Probably it’s a little of both but mostly the latter. I think that Michael Jackson should get help for his problem and some punishment, yes, but not the full 20 years in prison. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t excuse him for his actions or feel particularly sorry for him in any way, but 20 years in prison is harsh (especially for wispy MJ) and not particularly constructive. Why not register the spoiled brat as a pedophile, don’t ever let him be with children alone, take away his Neverland ranch/boy trap, give him a few years in jail and force him to go into intensive therapy (group and individual) for his pedophilia and issues from childhood. God, it makes me sick. He’s probably going to get away with this cuz he’s rich and black and famous. What a bunch of bullshit. I go 5 minutes over on my break and am almost fired from my job. Now that is fair. And one more little thing, I think it is just bizarre that people are actually supporting MJ as being innocent. It’s shined up crystal clear that this guy is a pedophile. Get over it and move on ya celebrity barnacles.

chris may April 19, 2005

paedophilia goes on because people let it. and saying wait until they are 18 is no solution, i was 5 foot 6 when i turned 18 and i am 6 foot 1 now i am 23. never was the difference between a man and a boy so distinct. happily now i am fully grown i get less offers from dodgy large men. don’t get me wrong, i am very happy for elton john and david furnish, i just feel the difference between homosexuality and paedophilia needs to be spelt out.

ii April 23, 2005

yeah the guy is a pedo for sure, the most disgusting kind..what is with all these jackobots that like think hes innocent? please let there be a god and not let this guy off… heres a good definition…

Ephebophilia (in Greek ‘ephebos’ έφηβος = teenager and ‘philia’ φιλία = friendship), also known as hebephilia, is the condition in which an adult is dependent on sexual attraction to adolescents. It is a chronophilia, i.e. belongs to a group of paraphilias of the stigmatic or eligibilic type in which the paraphile’s sexuoerotic age is discordant with his or her actual chronological age and is concordant with the age of the partner. Pederasty

reasons why he is a pedo/freak;

1..guy PUBLICALLY admits that he shares his bed with young boys, AND calls it a thing of beauty…is somehow able to justify this because of his effiminate/’naive’ nature…

2. 46 yr old black male admits he thinks hes peter pan with a straight face…

3. collects chimps, bones from the elepahant man, has a ranch called ‘neverland’ to lure in the kiddies…

4. pet names for kids not related to him, like apple head and blow hole? its just a hop n step away from hands down the pants from there…

5. the richest pedo on earth for sure… and those kids are the most highly paid prostitutes then…theres no doubt the guy did it man, have you seen those kids? theyre all very good looking, wouldnt want to molest a kid who wasnt cute would ya? sicko jacko… sorry even with the weirdo accusers mom, the rest of the story is just too ill…

John Seavey April 27, 2005

Michael Jackson is a closeted gay pedophile. Andone that married him, bore him children etc, did so to hide his homosexuality. He is sick in the head andf needs help.

Odessa Locicero May 8, 2005

The only comment I will make is that I strongly suggest people look at the evidence in FAVOR of Jackson. The media only cover the damaging, and irrelevent “evidence” against him, none of which has been substancial enough to convict him of any wrong doing. This whole trial is a media circus, there is striking evidence that Jackson did not molest that boy, yet it is never reported by the media, why? Because that would be “positive” and everybody knows the media hates anything that could be possibly positive yet true in nature. So lets watch who we call “disgusting” around here, shall we? Because the only thing disgusting is the media and these monsters Exploiting Jackson. I feel sorry for anyone who takes the media for gospal, I feel even sorrier for anyone who would take advantage of someone else for personal gain in such an heinous and evil way. And ya know what? I feel even sorriest for anyone who would come on a site like this who knows nothing but the irrelevent garbage the media spits without hearing the other side and sounds off about issues they know NOTHING about. There is a lot of sadness, and igorance. The media has accomplished it’s mission, and I mine. Have a nice, ignorant day…

sTrAnGeRiNmOsCoW May 10, 2005

Michael Jackson is 100% innocent. The prosecution’s case on the trial was none other than apawling and pathetic. It is now time for the defense to give their side, and Michael’s innocence will prevail in court.

I recommend that you follow the trial to a considerable amount of detail before you make such statements.

Think before you judge.

chris may May 13, 2005

“odessa” eh? were you named after that frederick forsyth book “the odessa file” which uncovers the way SS members escaped from the crumbling nazi regime to latin america, and the way the high up posts in society were staffed by a lot of the same people during and after the 2nd world war? I doubt michael jackson’s 100% anything; after all the surgery he is a compound of various alloys not a single element
probably guilty of half of the allegations but no way all of them or none of them.

David June 5, 2005

Michael Jackson is a pathetic, deranged figure. He is obviously gay, but he has, it appears, not contributed any money to AIDS research or AIDS patients. Instead, he pretends to be straight while wearing scarlet lipstick and seducing young boys. Also, he speaks like an infant—when he was briefly in police custody he referred to excrement as dooty; has made patently antisemetic statements about a cabal of Jews allegedly plotting to destroy him; and is bereft of intellectual, aesthetic or moral values.

He deserves prison and all the severity it can muster.

Also, his popularity is merely a sign of the debasement and stupidity of our insipid, vapid culture.

Maysie June 5, 2005

People I think that there are way to many strongly opinionated people out there. ME, being an avid fan of Michaels music and performances hope that he does not go to jail. But if it becomes obviously clear that he is a pedophile then he should be punished. At the moment however it is only one persons word against antoher. The fact the he speaks in a high voice makes no difference. Until a more reliable way of accusing Jackson, such as footage or recordings, are made there is no way he can get prosecuted as it is just one persons word against another.

Maysie June 5, 2005

I admit that J. Chandler’s story is shocking and sick but just because Rebecca Loos says she has slept with David Becham does it make that true? No, So why should it be different for Michale Jackson?

Not a moron June 13, 2005

At least 80% of Americans are sick, dumb, fat, evil morons. Michael Jackson is innocent!

Chris June 14, 2005

Spoken like a real brainiac.

Maysie June 14, 2005

he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent he is innocent Michael Jackson lives on

chris may June 16, 2005

The verdict proves nothing, juries judge by their own limited imaginations anyway. I read in the paper that he only weighs 6 stone so i think he would now have trouble overpowering all but the smallest child.

Carl June 28, 2005

I can’t say for sure whether or not he is innocent or guilty, but there is definitely wrong with someone who likes sharing his bed with young boys at that age.

nino June 30, 2005

j’t’aime michael t’ai le meilleure toutes la France te soutient. On savais que t’etais innocent.
vivement ton prochain album !!!!
on t’aimmmmmmmmmeeeeeeee !!!!

Johnny B Good November 23, 2005

Mike is Guilty.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck,
its a DUCK. Dont tell me its an Eagle.

Michael looks, and acts just the way he truly is a PEDOPHILE.

End of story.

Childsmile November 26, 2005

BJ Hickwoman has an interesting site about Michael Jackson. He/She has a bit of a sense of humor about the whole Jackson thing, but is also honest about it all. My opinion, as already expressed, is that Jackson is guilty of everything he has been accused of.. I also am of the opinion that his fans and supporters are contributors to the problems that exist for children who are being sexually molested on a daily basis. The truth is, if you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem, which means his fans and supporters are a part of the problem of child sexual molestation and NOT a part of the solution.

BJ Hickwoman’s website can be found at the following URL

http://jackobots.topcities.com

kathy January 5, 2006

Watch out overseas! Here he comes… guard your little ones! Sad to say we let a real wierdo loose… it kinda reminds you of the first Iraq war… “Tune into tomorrow soap fans, when MJ gets busted again in another country!” I suggest he get some help. He may not get off so easily this time.. By the way …hasn’t he been accused AGAIN since the trial? How many accusations does it take before people will listen?

Childsmile January 6, 2006

But he recorded Thriller!!!!! He can sing!!! He can dance!!! He’s so talented!!! He loves the world!! He’s…he’s…he’s so, sweet! [roll eyes here]

Here’s a nickle! That’s more than he’s worth.“

mikeforrest2003

Posts: 14,227

Registered: 12/9/02

(1 of 52)

“Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 6:50 PM

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The man should have gone to prison but he managed to buy off his victims!

Children are safer with him dead!

ScipioUSMC

Posts: 23,053

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 7:33 PM

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Some people paid alot of money to see his final tour I wonde rif they will get refunds

whitehall

Posts: 17,196

Registered: 1/13/03

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 7:35 PM

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How can you disagree? Does Jackson get a pass because he was a pop-star? If you had a Guiness world record established for the amount of drugs one man could contain in his body before Darwin’s theory took over Elvis would get the prize but the pop star gets a pass. Allegedly Jackson was the sleaziest of child predators. He pretended to be a Disney character and he paid off the parents when things went bad. I don’t say he is better off dead but it gives Geraldo something to do by pretending he is a journalist again. The autopsy should be easy. I think he had zippers holding his re-constructed body parts together.

igot5-onit

Posts: 665

From: The Ugly Underbelly of America

Registered: 3/9/08

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 7:41 PM

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> How can you disagree? Does Jackson get a pass because
> he was a pop-star? If you had a Guiness world record
> established for the amount of drugs one man could
> contain in his body before Darwin’s theory took over
> Elvis would get the prize but the pop star gets a
> pass. Allegedly Jackson was the sleaziest of child
> predators. He pretended to be a Disney character and
> he paid off the parents when things went bad. I don’t
> say he is better off dead but it gives Geraldo
> something to do by pretending he is a journalist
> again. The autopsy should be easy. I think he had
> zippers holding his re-constructed body parts
> together.

I can’t belt out PYT, try and immitate the anti-gravity lean from Smooth Criminal, or rewind the Van Halen solo from Beat It over and over again because he likes to rub little boys?

–
“New rule; the rest of the world can go back to being competely jealous of America”

42h6Fh62h

Posts: 9,811

From: upper right

Registered: 8/3/08

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 7:44 PM

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As a man, he was most certainly dysfunctional.

Musically, he was a genius.

Neither can be ignored..

But the muse left him long ago. And all that has remained are the scars.

I have no idea how I would have turned out with his abuse and talent. My demons and skill both pale in comparison. Part of me is jealous. Part of me thanks God.

Life is complicated.

Death is sad.

–
Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus.
Everyone wants to be lead singer in the band.

riverroads

Posts: 2

Registered: 6/25/09

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 10:10 PM

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Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t blame drugs (he had mental problems (ignored because of his stardom) ) – was him and society

Cricket

Posts: 5,943

From: Illinois

Registered: 1/11/06

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 10:17 PM

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> As a man, he was most certainly dysfunctional.
>
> Musically, he was a genius.
>
> Neither can be ignored.
>
> But the muse left him long ago. And all that has
> remained are the scars.
>
> I have no idea how I would have turned out with his
> abuse and talent. My demons and skill both pale in
> comparison. Part of me is jealous. Part of me thanks
> God.
>
> Life is complicated.
>
> Death is sad.
>
> –
> Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus.
> Everyone wants to be lead singer in the band.

Well said Bob.

–
Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.

Thomas Paine

riverroads

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 10:19 PM

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Talent is nothing compared to HURTing others – selfish reeks/good riddance – his talent wasn’t that good any way

42h6Fh62h

Posts: 9,811

From: upper right

Registered: 8/3/08

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 25, 2009 10:40 PM

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> Talent is nothing compared to HURTing others -
> selfish reeks/good riddance – his talent wasn’t that
> good any way

So the abuse he SUFFERED as a child is meaningless?

As for talent, I guess YOU have MORE hit records?

One dimensional, simple minded, self-appointed gods are SOOOOOOOOO ………………………………………………………………………………………….. insignificant and meaningless.

I’ll bet you would justify ANYTHING because of “slavery”. You DO realize that being BEATEN and playing STRIP JOINTS on SCHOOL NIGHTS at the age of NINE is probably akin to “slavery”.

–
Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus.
Everyone wants to be lead singer in the band.

williedixon

Posts: 1,795

From: Gasping for air

Registered: 8/30/02

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 26, 2009 12:12 AM

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He was indeed the epitome of the mentally scarred, human freakshow. Also, his Thriller video defined the 1980’s captivation with MTV. I remember it’s release. Those that watched will remember where they were that evening.

Large screen, bottom floor of Who’s on First, Boston, MA

somewhere between that strange juxtaposition was a person with a history, I wonder how history will treat him ?

FredRW

Posts: 7,105

From: Lawrence Frackin’ Kansas

Registered: 2/28/01

(11 of 52)

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 26, 2009 12:14 AM

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West Side Story + The Day After = Thriller.
F

–
If it’s called “Common sense,” why is it so rare?

42h6Fh62h

Posts: 9,811

From: upper right

Registered: 8/3/08

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 26, 2009 12:16 AM

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somewhere between that strange juxtaposition was a person with a history, I wonder how history will treat him ?

I suspect a “wash”. He has already been mostly forgotten.

I see similarities to Howard Hughes, in a sad sort of way.

–
Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus.
Everyone wants to be lead singer in the band.

42h6Fh62h

Posts: 9,811

From: upper right

Registered: 8/3/08

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 26, 2009 12:20 AM

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Thriller exposed another generation to Vincent Price.

And the part was SOOOOOOOOO Vincent.

Even Weird Al couldn’t pull that off.

–
Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus.
Everyone wants to be lead singer in the band.

FredRW

Posts: 7,105

From: Lawrence Frackin’ Kansas

Registered: 2/28/01

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 26, 2009 12:23 AM

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Very true. I’ll give ya that.

My father was into horror flicks, so I knew about Vincent WELL before then.
F

–
If it’s called “Common sense,” why is it so rare?

kill6958

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Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Jun 26, 2009 12:29 AM

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jackson was a child molester and he deserved a slower death…. for those of us who were molested as kids, him and his kind should not be celabrated and to do so harms us all. it takes years often for these memories to come out and it kill us to see this monster adored by the public. the news channels worship his every song but forget the pain that a few brave young boys had to go through in vain only to have there greedy parents accept money for there dignity that they and us will never regain… those who honor his memory sicken me, and make me ask the question… to whom of those mindless THRILLER lovers has a kid right now that is or has gone through the hell that these monsters have put us through… and for those who know and those that will find out I send my true remorse to..“

Pages: 4 – [ 1 2 3 4 | Next ]

Jackson Jury To Hear Police Interview Of Accuser

Friday May 27, 2005

Judge Rodney Melville ruled that prosecutors can show the jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial a 2003 videotape of his teenage accuser’s original police interview, but also ruled that the jury will not be allowed to see photographs of Jackson’s genitalia.

As the judge was making his decision on admitting the videotape, defense lawyers threatened to recall to the stand the accuser, his mother, a psychologist who interviewed the accuser, and the family’s former attorney, Larry Feldman.

Most courtroom observers believed the defense threat to recall the accuser and his mother to the stand was a bluff. The last thing the defense wants to do is appear they are beating up on the young former cancer victim, who also claims to be the victim in this case.

The jury has not heard from the teenager accuser since March, on the day that Jackson turned up for court wearing pajamas.

In another ruling, Judge Melville would not allow the prosecution to use evidence from the 1993 Jackson case. They wanted to show the jury a sketch the 1993 accuser made of Jackson’s genitalia and compare it to actual photographs to prove that the singer’s relationship to young boys is not casual.

Witness: Jackson Employees Feared For Safety

Tuesday May 17, 2005

Michael Jackson’s defense team put on a series of witnesses to counter the testimony of prosecution witnesses about the conspiracy to keep his accuser’s family at Neverland Ranch, but one of the witnesses backfired on the defense.

When Detective Russell Birchim brought up allegations about the 1993 accuser, who was paid more than $20 million by Jackson in a settlement, it opened the door for the prosecution to explore details of the 1993 case.

Birchim testified under cross examination that two of Jackson’s former bodyguards told him in 1994 they they had information about Jackson fondling a young boy and performing oral sex on him, but they were afraid to come forward.

Kassim Abdul and Ralph Chacon told Birchim, he testified, that they would not come forward because they could not be guaranteed they could enter a witness protection program.

“They expressed concern for their own safety and that of their families,” Bircham said. Both Abdul and Chacon testified during the prosecution’s case.

1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson

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In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of abuse by Evan Chandler, on behalf of his then-13-year-old child, Jordan Chandler. Jackson and Jordan had become friends in May 1992, to the father’s disapproval and concern. The friendship became well known, as the tabloid media reported that Jackson became a member of the Chandler family unit. Under the influence of a controversial sedative administered by Evan Chandler, his son said that Jackson had touched his penis.^[1]^[2] and engaged Jackson in unsuccessful negotiations to resolve the issue with a financial settlement.^[3] Jordan Chandler then told a psychiatrist and later police that he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation, and oral sex, as well as giving a description of what he alleges were the singer’s genitals.^[4]^[3] Evan Chandler was tape-recorded threatening to damage the singer’s music career,

Jackson’s home, Neverland Ranch, was searched, even though other children and family members had stated that Jackson was not a pedophile. Jackson’s older sister, La Toya Jackson, accused her brother of being a pedophile, but later retracted her statement.^[5] Jackson became dependent on drugs as the stress of the allegations mounted,^[6]^[7] and canceled the remainder of his tour. He went into rehabilitation Lisa Marie Presley. On his return to the US, Jackson agreed to a 25-minute strip search, which was required to see if the description of his genitals provided by Jordan Chandler was accurate. Doctors concluded that there were some strong similarities but it was not a definitive match. Jackson proclaimed his innocence, and criticized the media coverage. Jackson’s friends and legal advisers took over his defense and finances, persuading him to settle the allegations out of court. overseas, and began a relationship with

Tabloid reaction to the allegations were negative towards Jackson,^[8] and complaints about the coverage included bias and accepting stories of criminal activity for money, and engaging in illegal activities themselves.^[9] Public polls at the time reported that a large majority of people believed Jackson was innocent.^[10] On January 1, 1994, Jackson settled a civil suit out of court with the Chandler family and their legal team for $22 million. Jordan Chandler refused to testify in the criminal proceedings, the state closed its criminal investigation citing lack of evidence, and Jackson was not charged with a crime. Jackson’s support amongst the public then began to waver, and Jackson’s own career and image was significantly damaged, which became a recurring theme in Jackson’s future music. Prosecution evidence from the 1993 allegations would also be used against the entertainer in the 2005 People v. Jackson child sexual abuse trial, where he was acquitted on all counts.^[11]^[12]

Friendship, tape recording, allegations and negotiations

By the summer of 1993, it was revealed that Jackson allowed children to sleep over at his Neverland ranch, a fact which came under much media scrutiny when child sexual abuse^[13]^[14] Jackson became firm friends with Jordan Chandler and his family after a meeting in May 1992, as he was a fan of Jackson.^[9] Their friendship became so close that the National Enquirer ran a featured story with the title “Michael’s New Adopted Family”, which implied that Jackson had “stolen” the family from the father, Evan Chandler, who was admittedly jealous over Jackson’s influence on his son.^[15] Communications between Jackson and the father broke down further when Chandler asked, “Look, are you having sex with my son?”. The father’s opinion of Jackson then changed, to the extent that he invited Jackson to build an extra wing on their home so that the singer could move in with them permanently.^[15] Chandler’s concerns about the close friendship returned, and he tried to prevent Jackson from seeing his son, using a prior custody agreement.^[9] allegations were brought against him.

Once incorrectly labeled a “Truth Serum”, sodium Amytal has long been discredited by the medical profession. It is now considered a mind-altering sedative.

On July 2, 1993, in a private telephone conversation, Chandler was tape recorded as saying,

“There was no reason why he [Jackson] had to stop calling me…I picked the nastiest son of a bitch I could find [Evan Chandler's lawyer, Barry Rothman], all he wants to do is get this out in the public as fast as he can, as big as he can and humiliate as many people as he can. He’s nasty, he’s mean, he’s smart and he’s hungry for publicity. Everything’s going to a certain plan that isn’t just mine. Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. I’ve given him full authority to do that. Jackson is an evil guy, he is worse than that and I have the evidence to prove it. If I go through with this, I win big-time. There’s no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever…Michael’s career will be over.”^[2]

—Evan Chandler

In the same conversation, when asked how this would affect his son, Chandler replied, “That’s irrelevant to me…It will be a massacre if I don’t get what I want. It’s going to be bigger than all us put together…This man [Jackson] is going to be humiliated beyond belief…He will not sell one more record”.^[2]^[2] The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson’s defense against the upcoming allegation made against him. He and his supporters argue that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from the singer.

In early August, Chandler, a registered dentist, extracted a tooth from his son’s mouth, and was later forced to admit that he used the controversial sedative sodium Amytal during the procedure.^[1] Under the influence of the drug, Jordan alleged that Jackson had touched his penis. Experts state that the drug sodium Amytal “makes patients extremely susceptible to suggestions”.^[1] Dr Lewis Strong, a Los Angeles psychiatrist stated, “You can’t trust it, I never use it in my practice. I have found it to be unreliable. It’s certainly not a truth serum“.^[1] Dr Kenneth Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist who has used the drug, stated, “I would never want to use a drug that tampers with a person’s unconscious unless there was no other drug available, and I would not use it without resuscitation equipment in case of allergic reaction”.^[1]

Over the next couple of months both parties engaged in unsuccessful (out of court) financial negotiations, with Chandler and his legal team asking for $20 million, or the issue would be taken to criminal court.^[3] Jackson declined the offer, saying, “No way in Hell”. A few weeks later, Jackson’s legal team gave a counter-offer to the value of $1 million, which was declined by Chandler.^[3] The father then lowered his request to $15 million; Jackson rejected this and lowered his original counter-offer to $350,000. With both sides unable to reach an agreement, Chandler decided he would take it to court.^[3] Chandler then took his son to see a psychiatrist called Dr. Mathis Abrams, and during the three-hour session with the doctor, Jordan Chandler said he had had a sexual relationship with Jackson that included incidents of kissing, masturbation and oral sex that went on for months.
– He then repeated these allegations to police and gave a detailed description of what he alleged was Jackson’s penis.

Allegations made public, investigation and La Toya Jackson

On August 18, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. The same day, Jordan Chandler’s mother told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son.^[4]

^[13]^[14]^[16] On August 21, a search warrant was issued, allowing police to search Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Police questioned 30 children who were friends of Jackson, with all denying that the singer was a child molester.^[13]^[16] A police officer involved in the investigation told The Los Angeles Times that no evidence (medical, photographic or video) could be found that would support a criminal filing.^[16] The same day the allegations were made public, Jackson began the second leg of his Dangerous World Tour in Bangkok. On August 24, Jackson’s investigator held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort $20 million from the singer, although the investigator failed to mention that Jackson had given several counter-offers.^[13]^[16] On August 25, Jackson’s young friends Brett Barnes and Wade Robson held a press conference where they stated that they had slept in the same bed as Jackson, but nothing sexual in nature had occurred.

^[8]^[17] Jackson’s family soon held a press conference of their own to show support, saying it was their “unequivocal belief that Michael has been made a victim of a cruel and obvious attempt to take advantage of his fame and wealth.”^[8]^[17] The police then began an investigation into Evan Chandlers’s prior actions and found that he was $68,400 behind in his child support payments, even though he was well-paid as a dentist.^[9] On November 8, police searched the jackson family home, Hayvenhurst, but found nothing of importance to add to their investigation.

In the winter of 1993, despite not seeing or speaking to Jackson for a number of years, La Toya Jackson claimed that her brother was a pedophile and that she had proof, which she was prepared to disclose for a fee of $500,000. A bidding war between US and UK tabloids began, but fell through when they realized that her revelations were not what she had claimed them to be.^[5] Then in Israel, she stated, “I cannot and will not be a silent collaborator in his crimes against young children… Forget about the superstar, forget about the icon. If he was any other 35-year-old man who was sleeping with little boys, you wouldn’t like this guy”.^[5] She also claimed that checks had been made out to several boys and that Jackson’s own physical abuse as a child had turned him into an abuser.^[5]^[18] She would later claim that Jackson had tried to kidnap and kill her.^[18] The rest of the family disowned her, and in subsequent years she would insist that she was forced to make the allegations by her then husband for financial gain.^[5]^[19] By the turn of the millennium Jackson had forgiven his sister. Just prior to making the allegations, her husband was arrested for striking her in the face, arms and legs with a chair.

Ya Don't Know God? Well, Quit yer Cry'n, & Learn, Already!

deltaflt1189 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:19:34 +0000

The Expression: “Baptism By Fire“

By Andrew Friedman

Question:

“What is the “baptism of fire“?“

Answer:

The “baptism of fire” is only mentioned in two places in the Bible:

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11)

“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”” (Luke 3:16)

John the Baptist said that Jesus will baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and there are several interpretations of what this might mean:

Some people believe that Christians will automatically be “baptized with fire” at the same time that they are baptized with the Holy Spirit (such as the “tongues of fire” that came onto the disciples at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4). In other words, being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire is essentially one act (one baptism).
Another interpretation is that Christians need to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit after salvation, but we also need to receive a separate “baptism of fire” which will “set us on fire” for the Lord (or for evangelism, etc.). In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate baptisms for Christians. A similar view says that Christians will be refined by “fire,” which would also mean that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate baptisms for Christians.
A third interpretation is that Christians will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, but non-Christians will be “baptized with fire” (i.e. the “lake of fire” in Revelation 20:15). In other words, Christians will never receive the “baptism of fire.”

Let’s look at view #1 first. Notice that when the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost it was accompanied by “tongues of fire“:

“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”” (Acts 1:4-5)

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-4)

One problem with view #1 is that the “tongues of fire” at Pentecost are never referred to as “the baptism of fire.” In addition, there is never any mention of fire when other people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit:

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers [Jews] who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 10:44-48)

“As I [Peter] began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” (Acts 11:15-17)

“But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.. … When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:12-17)

“While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” (Acts 19:1-6)

“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord–Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here–has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized” (Acts 9:17-18)

The New Testament describes the “tongues of fire” at Pentecost, but this is never referred to as the “baptism of fire.” Further, in all of the other descriptions of people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, there is never any mention of a “baptism of fire” happening at the same time. Therefore, we have no Scriptural support for the idea that people are always baptized with fire when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. In addition, we can’t point to any Scripture passages which show that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are meant to be interpreted as a single baptism.

Now let’s look at view #2. Perhaps John the Baptist meant that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate and distinct baptisms for Christians. If that’s the case, then it is strange that there is no record in the entire New Testament of anyone receiving both of these baptisms. The New Testament describes Christians receiving water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but it never describes any Christians receiving a separate “baptisms of fire“

Some people might point out that our faith will be refined by fire, and that our earthly works will be tested in the fire:

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire –may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

“If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

While it’s true that these passages describe certain kinds of “fire,” notice that the above situations are never referred to as “baptisms of fire.” Therefore, we can’t dogmatically claim that these situations are, or are not, the “baptisms of fire.“ If we say that the above passages are describing the “baptism of fire” then we’re simply making an assumption without any Scriptural support.

The third view of the “baptisms of fire“ is that it refers to sinners being cast into the “lake of fire“ on Judgment Day:

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

The “lake of fire“ is never referred to as the “baptisms of fire“ in the New Testament, but it turns out that there is Scriptural evidence which supports the idea that the “baptisms of fire“ refers to the fire of judgment. To see why, let’s look at the context in which John the Baptist mentioned the “baptism of fire“:

Matthew 3:4: “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.“

Matthew 3:5: “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.“

Matthew 3:6: “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.“

Matthew 3:7: “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?“

Matthew 3:8: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.“

Matthew 3:9: “And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.“

Matthew 3:10: “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.“

Matthew 3:11: ““I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.“

Matthew 3:12: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.””

Notice what this passage says in the context of the “baptism of fire.” First we see one group of people who confessed their sins, and then we see another group of people whom John referred to as a “brood of vipers,” so in John’s audience there were two kinds of people (righteous people and unrighteous people). With that in mind, consider the parallelism in this passage. Notice that we see righteous people and then unrighteous people (verses 6-10), followed by descriptions of a baptism for righteous people and a baptism for unrighteous people (according to view #3) (verse 11), followed by the separation of righteous people and unrighteous people (verse 12), all in the same context. Based on this consistent parallelism between righteous people and unrighteous people, the most likely meaning of “baptism of fire” is that it refers to the fire of judgment for unrighteous people.

Now let’s look at the word “fire” in the above passage. John specifically pointed out that every “tree” which does not produce “fruit in keeping with repentance” will be thrown into the fire. So here we have the fire of judgment (verse 10) followed by the “baptism of fire” (verse 11) followed by the unquenchable fire of judgment (verse 12), all in the same context. Again, this parallelism argues in favor of the “baptism of fire” being the fire of judgment. Since the word “fire” is used in the sense of judgment in verses 10 and 12, the most reasonable meaning of “fire” in verse 11 is for judgment as well. It would be unreasonable to suggest that the second occurrence of the word “fire” has a different meaning than the first and third occurrences without any clear explanation from John. In fact, in verse 12 John gave us an explanation of the word “fire,” and he specifically said that it is the fire of judgment.

Some people argue that if the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a blessing, and the baptism of fire is a curse, then it is strange that John the Baptist changed course in the middle of his sentence when he said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” However, the parallelism concerning righteous people and unrighteous people, plus the parallelism concerning the fire of judgment, demonstrates that John was not suddenly changing course in the middle of his sentence. Rather, he was simply being consistent in his use of these parallels. What would be strange is if John used the word “fire” in the sense of a curse in verse 10, and then he changed course and used the same word “fire” in the sense of a blessing in verse 11, and then he changed course again and used the same word “fire” in the sense of a curse in verse 12. This would not make sense. Therefore, if we interpret the baptism of fire as being a blessing then we are creating an inconsistency in John’s use of the word “fire.” This type of inconsistency in our interpretation of Scripture tends to happen when we are trying to force certain passages to fit our own preconceived ideas.

Now let’s look at the “baptism of fire” in context again:

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:11-12)

We can see that John the Baptist was very careful to give us the exact meaning of the “fire” that he was referring to. In this context, fire is a reference to the judgment of sinners. In fact, John used the symbolism of sinners being burned up like “chaff” (such as straw or husks of grain), and notice that this very same symbolism is used in the Old Testament, as in these examples:

“Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel..” (Isaiah 5:22-24)

““Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up. You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you. The peoples will be burned as if to lime; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.” You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power! The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”” (Isaiah 33:10-14)

Again, John the Baptist used the word “fire” in reference to the judgment of sinners, and this view of the “baptism of fire” is supported by various Bible scholars:

“[John's] baptism is water baptism, but the Coming One “will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire.” “Life in the coming age is in the sphere of the Spirit. Spirit and fire are coupled with one preposition as a double baptism” (McNeile). Broadus takes “fire” in the sense of separation like the use of the fan..” (Robertson’s Word Pictures of the New Testament , emphasis added)

“And with fire. The term fire is used in verse 10, and there means a destroying agency; it is used again in verse 12 in the same sense; it is used in verse 11, also, the intervening verse, and must be used in exactly the same sense as in the other two verses. It cannot mean a curse in verses 10 and 12, and a blessing in verse 11, without a word of explanation. It is strange, therefore, that all commentators should not agree that the baptism of fire is a baptism of trial and suffering. There were two classes before John. Some would repent and be baptized finally in the Holy Spirit; there were others who would remain impenitent, and be baptized in the awful trials that would come upon Israel. The next verse explains this. John says in it that there is the wheat and the chaff; one shall be gathered into the garner and the other burned.” (People’s New Testament , emphasis added)

“With fire – This expression has been variously understood. Some have supposed that John refers to the afflictions and persecutions with which men would be tried under the Gospel; others, that the word “fire” means judgment or wrath. According to this latter interpretation, the meaning is that he would baptize a portion of mankind – those who were willing to be his followers – with the Holy Spirit, but the rest of mankind – the wicked – with fire; that is, with judgment and wrath. Fire is a symbol of vengeance. See Isa_5:24; Isa_61:2; Isa_66:24. If this is the meaning, as seems to be probable, then John says that the ministry of the Messiah would be far more powerful than his was. It would be more searching and testing; and they who were not suited to abide the test would be cast into eternal fire.” (Barnes, from http://www.e-sword.net/commentaries.html , Matthew 3:11, emphasis added)

“He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire;“ referring, either to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, to be bestowed on the disciples on the day of Pentecost, of which the cloven tongues, like as of fire, which appeared unto them, and sat upon them, were the symbols; which was an instance of the great power and grace of Christ, and of his exaltation at the Father’s right hand. Or rather, this phrase is expressive of the awful judgments which should be inflicted by him on the Jewish nation; when he by his Spirit should “reprove” them for the sin of rejecting him; and when he should appear as a “refiner’s fire”, and as “fuller’s soap”; when “the day of the Lord” should “burn as an oven“; when he should “purge the blood of Jerusalem“, his own blood, and the blood of the Apostles and Prophets shed in it, “from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning”; the same with “the Holy Ghost and fire” here, or the fire of the Holy Ghost, or the holy Spirit of fire; and is the same with “the wrath to come”, and with what is threatened in the context: the unfruitful trees shall be cut down, and cast into the fire”, and the “chaff” shall be burnt with unquenchable fire”. And as this sense best agrees with the context, it may the rather be thought to be genuine; since John is speaking not to the disciples of Christ, who were not yet called, and who only on the day of Pentecost were baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire, in the other sense of this phrase; but to the people of the Jews, some of whom had been baptized by him; and others were asking him questions, others gazing upon him, and wondering what manner of person he was; and multitudes of them continued obdurate and impenitent under his ministry, whom he threatens severely in the context.

Add to all this, that the phrase of dipping or baptizing in fire seems to be used in this sense by the Jewish writers. In the Talmud (k) one puts the question, In what does he (God,) dip? You will say in water, as it is written, “who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?” Another replies, בנורא טביל, “he dips in fire”; as it is written, “for behold the Lord will come with fire”. What is the meaning of טבילותא בנורא, “baptism in fire?” He answers, according to the mind of Rabbah, the root of “dipping in the fire”, is what is written; “all that abideth not the fire, ye shall make go” through the water. Dipping in the fire of the law, is a phrase used by the Jews (l). The phrases of “dipping, and washing in fire”, are also used by Greek (m) authors.” (Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, from http://www.e-sword.net/commentaries.html , Matthew 3:11)

“The baptism “with fire” referred to the judging and cleansing of those who would enter the kingdom, as prophesied in Malachi 3. This symbolism was carried through by John who spoke of the separation that occurs when a winnowing fork tosses up grain, wheat is then gathered into the barn, and chaff is burned up. John was saying that the Messiah, when He came, would prepare a remnant (wheat) for the kingdom by empowering and cleansing the people. Those who reject Him (chaff) would be judged and cast into eternal unquenchable fire (cf. Mal. 4:1).” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, p.25)

What it boils down to is that the Scriptural evidence points to the fire of judgment as the most likely meaning of the “baptism of fire.” However, we can’t really be dogmatic about this because there just isn’t that much information about it.

Conclusion

None of the three main views of the “baptism of fire” has overwhelming Scriptural support, but in my opinion the third view has the most evidence to back it up.

Occasionally I receive emails from people who say that they have had experiences of the Holy Spirit in which it felt like a “fire” had come upon them, or that they were “set on fire for the Lord” after having a special experience of the Holy Spirit, and they interpret this as being the “baptism of fire.” I have had similar experiences myself, and they are awesome. But are these things really the baptism of fire? Since the Bible doesn’t give us much evidence, we can’t be dogmatic in saying that those experiences are, or are not, the baptism of fire. Consider that there is no description anywhere in the New Testament of people receiving “the baptism of fire,” so we can’t compare our special experiences of the Holy Spirit with any hard evidence in Scripture concerning such a baptism. We should be careful about allowing our doctrines to be dictated by our experiences, and if we say that what we were “feeling” was “the baptism of fire” then we would be making an assumption without any Scriptural support, and we would be using a label which “sounds” Biblical but which might not be accurate. Personally, I would want to be cautious about grabbing a label from Scripture and then applying that label to an experience when the Bible never applies that label to anyone’s experiences in the New Testament. I would want to have stronger Scriptural support before teaching that a “special experience of the Holy Spirit” is actually the baptism of fire.

Again, the evidence that I see in Scripture points to the fire of judgment as the most likely meaning of the “baptism of fire.”

I hope this has been helpful, and may the Lord abundantly bless you as you study His Word!

Sincerely,

Andrew Friedman

DELTA_flt.1189@yahoo.com

Was Queens College Favoured?

David — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:27:11 +0000

Submitted by GoWEB Blog Queens College Secondary School The recently concluded Junior Duelling Chal

How Much To Send Barbados Environment Minister & Team To Greenland? What Will Be Accomplished... REALLY Accomplished?

BFP — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:17:07 +0000

Hey… we’re all for meeting with the world. That’s why Barbados is a member of the United Nations.

You know… so we can vote FOR the hanging of 16 year old girls in Iran who have sex outside of marriage. (Yup… Barbados voted to support Iran in the execution of juveniles.)

So… we came across an article that says Barbados Environment Minister is in Greenland for an “informal” meeting with a few other environment ministers.

Lies Before Election: Environment Minister Denis Lowe & David Thompson Promising Freedom of Information & Accountability Legislation

Okay, Dr. Lowe… Let’s have a report…

1/ How much did it cost to send you and your assistants to Greenland?

2/ What was accomplished? What ACTIONS will Barbados take as a DIRECT RESULT of the meeting?

OH! …Wait a minute!

We forgot… without a Freedom of Information Act, Bajans have no right to ask you for any justification at all – not how much you spent or what was accomplished.

Please, forgive us, oh Holy One.

More on the web…

Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy – Greenland Dialogue provides political guidance to climate negotiations

Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy – Greenland dialogue: Chair’s Conclusions

Should I Obtain A Masters In Cricket Studies or Basket Weaving? Decisions, Decisions!

BFP — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:13:37 +0000

The Editor,
Barbados Free Press

Dear Sir/madam,

I recently came across a brochure, put out by the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.), offering a Master of Science program in Cricket Studies. The number of faculty or facilitators for this program, according to the brochure is twelve. I consider this to be a waste of resources, which could be better spent, as I will show below.

Barbados is a developing country. It therefore suffers from most of the ailments associated with developing societies. These ailments are briefly, lack of trained professionals in the sciences and the ancillary equipment and instrumentation needed to implement any meaningful developmental thrust in these area. An in depth examination of all countries, which are developed or are on the verge of being called developed, will reveal, that science and technology, form the backbone of their developmental thrust (eg. Singapore).

There is a need to develop a cheap source of rations for animal husbandry in the region. Processed products from our agricultural commodities, as well as from the fishing industry are needed. There is also a need, to develop new products for export if this island and the region are to survive.

The morass in a country like Barbados is further compounded by the proliferation of non-productive or virtual reality occupations (e.g. law, public sector reform, political science, public administration, accountancy and management – the latter two are really forms of legalized thievery- etc.). U.W.I. seems very adept at graduating lots of persons in these disciplines. If there is one thing that, the credit crunch has demonstrated, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the fact that, agriculture and engineering form what are called the real economy. The service sector and investment banking among others, the virtual reality economy. Without the former the latter cannot exist.

Like most developing countries, Barbados suffers from a lack of resources. I used to play cricket for U.W.I., St. Augustine and my two sons played cricket. I have a problem, at this juncture in Barbados’ development, with money being spent on this cricket venture. I wonder, if this program, which is being implemented by U.W.I., is a one-man venture or the collective will of a number of persons. If the latter is the case, it would seem that , we are a society, in which individuals lack independency of thought as well as vision.

Sincerely

Robert D. Lucas, Ph.D.
Food biotechnologist.

Barbados

Secret Withdrawal Of Bribery Charges Against Barbados Cop Stinks Of Corruption At The Highest Levels

BFP — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:19:24 +0000

Unholy Alliance: Sergeant Paul Vaughan (left) & Charles Leacock - Barbados Director Of Public Prosecutions

Barbados News Media Remains Silent

On September 16, 2008, Barbados Police Sergeant Paul Emmanuel Vaughn (sometimes spelled Paul Vaughan) was charged with corruptly accepting $56,500 in bribes between December 1, 2004 and April 30, 2007 from Evadney Cindy Bushell in return for protecting her from prosecution for selling pirated DVDs.

We said at the time that the Director of Public Prosecutions Charles Leacock would eventually withdraw the criminal charges against his old friend, Sergeant Vaughn, because the two corrupt public employees had previously been involved together in the Ronja Juman scandal. In short, Charles Leacock had Sergeant Vaughn and his goon squad arrest Ronja Juman in the middle of the night and subject the terrified woman to a vaginal search – over back rent she owed Charles Leacock. There was no way the DPP was going to continue the prosecution of a man who was his friend and a co-conspirator in the illegal activities and abuses that happened to Juman – and we said so.

See our article Corrupt Director Of Public Prosecutions Must Now Prosecute His Corrupt Police Friend For Accepting Bribes!!!

Well surprise, surprise! The Director of Public Prosecutions recently ordered the withdrawal of the bribery and perverting the course of justice charges against his friend, Sergeant Vaughn. No public explanation was given – and the cowardly lapdogs in the Barbados news media never asked a single question even though the whole thing stinks to high heaven.

As our friend from GBL Blog pointed out, the original charges stated that $56,500 had been paid by Evadney Bushell to Sergeant Vaughan between certain dates. The police who laid the bribery charges didn’t just pull that figure out of a hat, you know! Here is what our friend said…

“Yesterday, prosecutor, Sergeant Trenton Small informed the court that acting on the instructions of the DPP, Charles Leacock, QC, the two charges were being withdrawn by the prosecution.”

- Daily Nation, June 23, 2009, Pg 17.

This stinks to me. I wish I had the original court report so I could point how ‘dead to rights’ this guy was. The 56K figure which seemed connected to him had to come from somewhere. As far as I am aware, an influx of cash of that amount for a civil servant will raise eyebrows, as civil servants are not allowed to work outside of the civil service whilst still employed by the civil service.

There is also the evidence against the accused Evadney Bushell. Did that just disappear into thin air? What brought the charges in the first place?

The article does not say that the case was dropped for lack of evidence, the procedure was not improperly followed, so I am left to ask WHY?

The boys in blue look after their own. That’s why. From the beat cop to the DPP.

… from The Good, The Bad & The LOL article Charges Against Sergeant Discontinued

Police Commissioner Dottin… Why Do You Think The Barbados Police Enjoy So Little Public Respect?

As we said when we predicted the charges would fade into nothing without any explanation…

I love Barbados – but I hate the corrupt and incestuous cartel that seems to run everything.

Tiling

lsjonline — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:51:27 +0000

www.lesliestjohn.com

The Fear Of The Growing Ethnic Factor, Real or Imagined?

David — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:15:31 +0000

Submitted by Yakubu While we must be a tolerant society, Bajans must understand that Hindu immigrant

The agreements are published on the official journal of the EU

bluechilli — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:52:11 +0000

The agreements between EC and 6 islands are published on the official journal of the European Union on June 30th 2009.

Credit "The Council of the European Union"

The agreements were signed in Brussels on May 28th 2009 by the minister of foreign affairs of Barbados, Maxine McClean, the ambassadors of Antigua and Barbuda H.E. Dr Carl Roberts , Bahamas H.E. Paul Farquharson, Mauritius H.E. Mr. Sutiawan Gunesse, Saint Kitts and Nevis H.E. James E. Williams, Seychelles H.E. Barry Faure and for the EC side, by european commissioner Jacques Barrot and the Czech republic minister of foreign affairs Helena Bambasová.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:169:SOM:EN:HTML

barbados sunset

loopylocks — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:07:29 +0000

Postcard of the Day:

Top Ten Dead Movie Star Cigarette Advertisements

BFP — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:59:15 +0000

Starting with our Barbados Sweetheart: Claudette Colbert

There was a time not so long ago when smoking was considered “calming” and “healthy for the nerves”. The criminals who ran the tobacco companies knew for decades that smoking was killing millions of people through cancer, heart and lung diseases – but the almighty dollar was far more important than mass murder (for that is what they did).

Through advertising, cigarette placement in movies, the embracing of smoking as women’s liberation (“You’ve come a long way, baby.”), political activism and distributing “kiddy packs” of cigarettes to minors, the tobacco companies made new addicts and staved off product and advertising bans until the tide turned in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Here are some fabulous movie star tobacco advertisements we found at the Stanford School of Medicine’s exhibit “Not a Cough in a Carload“. Many of these folks died of lung disease, heart failure and cancer – but some lived to 90 and 100 years old. Here is Shona’s list of the Top 10 Dead Movie Star Cigarette Advertisements…

Number 10 – Barbados Sweetheart Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert – Lived 92 years, died in Speightstown, Barbados in 1996.

Number 9 – Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball – Died aged 77 of a ruptured aorta

Number 8 – Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow – Lived 26 years, Died of Renal failure (kidney failure)

Number 7 – Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson died at age 59 of AIDS

Number 6 – Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper – Died of lung cancer at age 60

Number 5 – Bob Hope

Bob Hope – Died aged 100 years old

Number 4 – Betty Grable

Betty Grable – Died age 56 of lung cancer.

Number 3 – Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra died at age 82 of a heart attack.

Number 2 – Robert Taylor

Robert Taylor died at 57 years old of lung cancer. Taylor was a chain smoker.

Number 1 – Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan – Died at age 93 with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Barbados Business Could Face Immigration Backlash Throughout Caribbean

BFP — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:48:30 +0000

Dear Barbados Free Press:

I will just state for the record that my job involves extensive travel throughout the Eastern Caribbean and I have been in the same job for over 11 years. Let me also state that I am for managed migration, however, I must admit that I have a soft spot for my Caribbean brothers and sisters having made genuine friends in all the EC countries that I visited, so much so I have the choice to stay at a friend’s home as opposed to a hotel when I visit my neighbours. Similarly I entertain at least 8 of my EC mates or their family every year for a week at a time.

Prime Minister Thompson’s announcement of am amnesty for all Undocumented CARICOM Nationals (I do not subscribe to the view that a human should ever be referred to as ILLEGAL) has not gone down well in any of the Caribbean countries I have visited since May 15th. Bajans have come in for a tongue lashing from all walks of the EC’s society – e.g. the taxi driver, the home helper, the call in programs, the politicians, the business people and others. I have found myself on the receiving end more often than not and I am beginning to sense that a dislike for Bajans like me and you is rapidly brewing and it genuinely concerns me.

In a nutshell I am hearing from OUTSIDE OF BARBADOS that the backlash is rooted in the following –

1. The amnesty sets unrealistic requirements. A radio call in host in St. Lucia noted that PM Thomson’s conditions (I suspect with time spent in Barbados) would disqualify more than 90% of Undocumented Immigrants here in Barbados. Therefore it is being suggested that PM Thompson’s amnesty was never intended to facilitate the Undocumented Immigrant to regularize his/ her stay in Barbados, rather it is believed by the wider Caribbean that it is more so intended to justify the mass deportation of Undocumented CARICOM Nationals come January 1, 2010.

2. Barbados and Bajans encouraged many of these same very Undocumented Immigrants to come to Barbados to work over the last 16 years. As a result some of Guyana’s and St, Vincent’s most talented artisans left their home for greener pastures in our then booming construction sector; additionally others were readily employed by our middle and upper classes as maids and gardeners. How often you were at a cocktail party in the late 90s and the work ethic or roti making skills of the Guyanese maid was being praised? Others came to our shores as plantation workers while others were recruited as sex workers. However, now that the party is over these Undocumented guest of ours are expected to drop everything – including chattel and family and jump on the next plane home.

3. The politicians, especially the PMs of St. Vincent and Guyana, are stirring up the flames of anti-Bajan sentiment in their respective countries. I have little doubt that such a move is meant to distract from their impoverished economies, respectively.

4. A middle class Grenadian business man reminded me in no uncertain terms that Barbados depends on her CARICOM neighbours for almost 60% of our exports. And how we are ungrateful “sycophants”. And if we don’t watch it our exports were going to suffer. He and others were of the opinion that we should go easy on our CARICOM brothers/ sisters because our manufacturing sector could not survive without CARICOM.

5. A St. Lucian taxi driver reminded me that CO Williams Construction, SAGICOR and Almond Resorts St. Lucia were Barbadian companies who were making lots of money in St. Lucia while there were no St. Lucian companies of note that were allowed to exist in Barbados. Again he thought that PM Thompson was undermining and taking for granted the good bilateral relationship that existed between St. Lucia and Barbados for years by announcing “such a callous immigration policy”.

6. The Caribbean media have reported the Gestapo like raids on undocumented immigrants quoting individuals who stated that they were awoken in the middle of the night by Sergeant PC Brooms and a very caustic immigration officer not caring what was to happen to their belongings once they were escorted off the premises.

7. Many are accusing us as being short sighted pointing out that in the early half of the 20th century Bajans travelled without restrictions throughout the Caribbean in search of gainful employment.

PLEASE DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER / OBSERVER.

If we don’t bring a more realistic and human face to dealing with our Undocumented CARICOM neighbours Barbados could face a serious irreversible and potentially economically crippling backlash.

I would be first to admit that I have a vested interest in Barbados being perceived as being a kinder and gentler nation. My livelihood in intricately connected to doing business with our Eastern Caribbean neighbours, however, I must point out that if I fail to meet my targets over 30 Bajans could be on the bread line adding to the drain on our social security services. While my failure will in turn affect over 100 persons (including immediate family members), however, with my limited knowledge I can see our recently announced immigration policy resulting in:

1.    Possibly 1000s of Bajan manufacturing jobs being threatened
2.    A reduced number of CARICOM nationals choosing Barbados as their holiday/ shopping destination
3.    Reduced opportunity for our professionals – e.g. accountants, quantity surveyors, engineers, lawyers, pilots – getting jobs in the Eastern Caribbean
4.    Reduced business opportunities for our companies and businesses in the Eastern Caribbean. Right now the Williams group of companies have recently completed a water desalination plant in St. Kitts.
5.    Reduced number of CARICOM nationals travelling to Barbados for Crop Over/ Jazz Festival/ Cricket/ etc.
6.    Reduced number of EC Governments paying for their nationals to come to Barbados for medical test and care
7.    Reduced number of EC countries coming to our rescue in the face of a national disaster/ crisis – e.g. hurricane, tsunami, social disturbance (Prison riots)
8.    Our fishermen may be increasingly harassed if they ventured into the territorial waters of our increasingly unfriendly CARICOM neighbours.
9.    We may no longer be a hub for air transport into the EC.
10.    Our nominees for UN/ OAS/ FAO/ PAHO/ CCJ and other appointments may no longer be guaranteed the support of the EC
11.    UWI Cave Hill may see less and less EC nationals entering its doors.
12.    Our regional companies – Goddards and Cave Shepherds – may find it increasingly difficult to do business in the EC

I was once told for every action one should always be prepared for an equal and opposite reaction. I do think that most Bajans supporting PM Thompson’s immigration policy are unaware of the possible consequences of the reactions by our EC neighbours who rightly or wrongly feel hurt that a CARICOM brother/ sister in Barbados would devise a policy that on the surface, at least, seems inhumane and unjust.

A Very Concerned Bajan

Zimbabwe $950m Loan From China

BGR — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:26:49 +0000

Zimbabwe has won 950 million dollars in credit lines from China, the largest loan secured by the

The Water Debate: Opposition Party Advises Government To “Hold Strain”

David — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:37:50 +0000

It is interesting to listen to the current debate triggered by the government’s decision to hike wat

barbados « WordPress.com Tag Feed

White Mother Fuckers

President Obama Slams African Leadership - West, Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism "Cannot Be Blamed For African Catastrophe Of Last 20 Years"

Internet Searches For Sir Charles Williams of Barbados Explode: What Is Happening With COW Williams?

Comelec automation wala nang pag-asa

**EXPOSED! - America's Phony, Apostate "Churches"!**

Constituency Councils Of Barbados Take Root

**EXPOSED! - Kittredge Cherry Is A LIAR, False Prophet, & A Filthy Lesbian Snake!**

Barbados In 2025: More Cars, More Roads - Or Light Rail Transit, Fewer Private Vehicles?

Stop Spending On New Roads – Start Spending On New Forms Of Public Transit

**Behold: The Mystery Of The Bride!**

The Mystery of the Bride

The Mystery…

With This Ring.....

Barbados 4H Tree Planting - Volunteer Efforts Much Appreciated - Money Wisely Spent

**EXPOSED! - Michael Jackson, The Secret Wealthy Pedophile!

Judge will allow testimony that Michael Jackson previously molested five boys; victims said to include Macaulay Culkin, noted choreographer

“Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

Re: Child Molester Michael Jackson is dead! GOOD RIDDENCE!

1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Friendship, tape recording, allegations and negotiations

Allegations made public, investigation and La Toya Jackson

**Ya Don't Know God? Well, Quit yer Cry'n, & Learn, Already!**

Was Queens College Favoured?

How Much To Send Barbados Environment Minister & Team To Greenland? What Will Be Accomplished... REALLY Accomplished?

Should I Obtain A Masters In Cricket Studies or Basket Weaving? Decisions, Decisions!

Secret Withdrawal Of Bribery Charges Against Barbados Cop Stinks Of Corruption At The Highest Levels

I love Barbados – but I hate the corrupt and incestuous cartel that seems to run everything.

Tiling

The Fear Of The Growing Ethnic Factor, Real or Imagined?

The agreements are published on the official journal of the EU

barbados sunset

Top Ten Dead Movie Star Cigarette Advertisements

Barbados Business Could Face Immigration Backlash Throughout Caribbean

If we don’t bring a more realistic and human face to dealing with our Undocumented CARICOM neighbours Barbados could face a serious irreversible and potentially economically crippling backlash.

Zimbabwe $950m Loan From China

The Water Debate: Opposition Party Advises Government To “Hold Strain”

EXPOSED! - America's Phony, Apostate "Churches"!

EXPOSED! - Kittredge Cherry Is A LIAR, False Prophet, & A Filthy Lesbian Snake!

Behold: The Mystery Of The Bride!

Ya Don't Know God? Well, Quit yer Cry'n, & Learn, Already!