The Rev. Carlton Veazey, the president of Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, gave the closing speech at a Capitol Hill rally. In the speech, he said that not only is abortion a constitutional right, it is a “God given right.”

While it would be nice to think of his group as a simple fringe group, a perusal of the member organizations page shows ever more evidence of the corruption coming from within the church. All the usual suspects are there. Episcopal, Presbyterian, and all the Uni-churches are represented.

While it’s sad, it’s not surprising. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

People will seek out people like Carlton Veazey because he will tell them what they want to hear. In the true style of “cafeteria Christian”, those parts of the Bible that can be mangled and word twisted to get at his point will be consumed by those who are looking to have their ears tickled. However, Rev. Veazey will have a much higher standard to answer to. James 3:1 says. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” This is a strict warning to those who would lead us down the wrong path.

I would be trembling in fear knowing what is in store for me if I was Rev. Veazey. I will continue to pray for him that he will come to know the true God who made himself known to us through His word.

Finally, my last book for the Fall Into Reading Challenge 2009.  I made very good time despite adding two more books to the list.  But early as it is, I’ll have to wrap up as the Holidays draw near and my chances to read more books decrease as things are starting to get hectic.

I’ve wet my feet in breadmaking and I’m experimenting on perfecting scrumptious cinnamon rolls and ensaimadas (Filipino brioche) for gift-giving.    As I’ve never baked anything except for the occasional brownies, I forsee myself ambitiously wrestling with bread recipes, baking my day away, and snatching up my book only in between rising times.  So, let’s see how many more reviews I can dish out.

This book was a great finale to the challenge, albeit  a dark and brooding one.

Author :  Tobsha Learner

Publication Date :  January 2, 2007  (Mass Market Paperback)

Publisher :  Tor Books

ISBN-10: 0765350467

ISBN-13: 978-0765350466

No. of pages :  480

The Story :

Ruth bas Elazar Saul is daughter of the chief rabbi of the Jewish quarter of Cologne and a very good midwife with very unconventional methods.  Her  advanced  midwifery skills coupled with her studies in Kabbalah, taints Ruth’s reputation with suspicions of witchcraft in an era paranoid about heretics and devil worshippers.

She becomes the unfortunate target of the malevolent obsession of a Spanish friar and head of the Inquisition to Cologne.  Solitario takes his vengeance on an unknowing Ruth simply because she is the daughter of the woman who had jilted him and shredded his pride many years back.  Ruth is tried for witchcraft; but in the process gains the interest of the cleric, Detlef  von Tennen, cousin and close aide to the Archbishop of Cologne.

Detlef falls madly in love with Ruth and does everything in his power to avert her fate.  He succeeds and both start a love affair that in its time,  was unforgivable to both Jews and Catholics alike.  Amid this difficult union, Ruth and Detlef must struggle to live in a dangerous century at war with new philosophies threatening to overthrow its established beliefs, power and social structures.

The Review :

The book opens with “a woman writhing in labor”  which gave me the correct impression that I’d have a toe curling time with this one.

Learner is  an intense,  graphic writer who writes with a sensuality that is both raw and elegant.  Her torture scenes feel  horrendously realistic ; her descriptions of everyday life and her characterizations are rich and intimate, full of vivid details of seventeenth century Cologne, its lifestyle, its predominant psyche, and its prevailing social and religious atmosphere.

This novel is first and foremost a microcosmic representation of  a Europe inexorably marching toward the Age of Enlightenment, torn at one end by traditional society clinging tenaciously and fearfully to established institutions of power, thoughts, and morals and on the other, by radical philosophies and emerging new acceptances by free thinkers or the libertines of that time.

Solitario, the Spanish  Inquisitor, is the embodiment of the 17th century Roman Catholic Church, an institution reacting dangerously to threats to  its centuries-old European dominance by the emergence of new thoughts, values, mores and the new Protestant religion.  He is obsessed about bringing onto the Inquisition table  the Jewess, Ruth, and the breakaway cleric, Detlef, both of whom represent radical opposition to the faith which have begun to erode the Church’s right to absolute power.

Stories like these make me glad I was born in the 20th century, where we have education, modern conveniences, good medical knowledge and practices, and in most parts of the world, respect and freedom for all sorts of religions and ideas.  Imagine living in fear of torture and death because your ideas are heretically opposed to the prevailing beliefs of a Church which hold both  secular and spiritual domains in its grip.

It was also interesting for me to find out that Judaism has its own brand of occultism.  It has its own demons, grimoire, incantations, spells, and talismans.  The Kabbalah is practiced by a certain Jewish sect which does not find ready acceptance in the general Jewish populace; but nevertheless is a recognized albeit esoteric branch of the Jewish religion.

To Read Or Not To Read :

I have read reviews that slam this book for its love angle and gratuitous sex (which I didn’t find unwarranted at all).  The romance here is simply a support angle to the overall story of the book and is not the author’s point at all.  So if you are looking for a nice historical romance,  pass this up; this novel would be way out in left field.

However,  if you just want a well written story with a good historical background, The Witch of Cologne will be just the thing.  Although, be prepared for a very dark and somber tone (well matched with the era) throughout its entirety and for a substantial amount of graphic elements assiduously detailed in this book.

In A Nutshell :

Learner’s unconventional writing style marries quite well with her  objective of presenting a glimpse of medieval Europe in the cusp of social change, a dark and fearful transition for many,  when institutions of power, both political and religious, clawed desperately to maintain the status quo.  The story poses intelligent questions, some of which must have influenced how modern Europe evolved.

Don’t let the suggestive cover fool you into thinking this book is a shallow, sleazy read.  The book has the complexity and depth that makes it interesting and well worth your while — a perfect example  to heed the the adage:   “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

My Mark  :  Outstanding

]]> http://eelkat.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/nanowrimo-re-none-of-my-friends-support-my-nanoing-__-i-just-overheard-my-family-complaining-about-me/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:30:54 +0000 EelKat http://eelkat.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/nanowrimo-re-none-of-my-friends-support-my-nanoing-__-i-just-overheard-my-family-complaining-about-me/ http://realitybloger.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/the-protection-of-the-sanctity-of-marriage-act/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:18:01 +0000 realitybloger http://realitybloger.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/the-protection-of-the-sanctity-of-marriage-act/ http://aogs.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/comment-by-ruby-james/ Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:08:10 +0000 aogs http://aogs.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/comment-by-ruby-james/

Comment by Ruby James on post  “Brian Houston visits Planetshakers”

 I thank God that there are people who still believe in repentance, humility, reverence, honesty. This prosperity gospel is so wicked, so destructive. And if you question it, you’re thrown out. Yes, once the gospel was free, but to find Christ cost you everything. Now, it just costs you money, but you don’t have to lay anything else at the altar of God according to them, you just have to focus on money. The love of money is the root of all evil.

I have just started Frank Viola’s (and now George Barna’s) book “Pagan Christianity?” I have few friends who have been jacked by the “church” after spending decades there, and this book is striking a chord with them. So I thought I should read it as I am becoming increasingly convinced by holding what passes for the American Church up to scripture, that… well… it ain’t.

I got through the introduction, but on the page before the preface, Viola has placed this question from Christ to the Pharisees:

Matthew 15:3
“Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? “

I don’t think that is one that I have internalized before. But it is an idea that my husband and I had gotten close to in a letter to our former pastor about the corruption there. I thought I would share that passage here:

“Over and over during our dealing with Bel Air on this problem, we ran into the same ethos. The lie that one can disobey Jesus for the sake of the ministry of Jesus and still be in a relationship with Jesus.”

In both cases, those being confronted have used service to their religion/traditions/methods/process ostensibly as justification for their sin. But as soon as religion/traditions/methods/processes oppose, ignore and trample the word of God, they no longer serve or please God.

They become just another one of man’s worldly ambitions going after his worldly goals, no different than disobeying God for the sake of ones bank account or political career or popularity. Either a process or a ministry approach or a worship method obeys and serves God or it doesn’t. Once it doesn’t any more, it does not matter in what respect it doesn’t, it just matters that it doesn’t.

To disobey Christ to serve tradition, or to serve ministry goals, or to serve the homeless, or to serve your greed, or to serve career ambitions, or to serve your moment of anger, or to serve any end, no matter how lofty or how base you may consider it, is to still to disobey Christ. Why you are doing it is irrelevant.

Chris Rock confronts such a moral dilemma much more plainly:

“You know what they say, “There’s no reason to ever hit a woman.”… There’s a reason to hit everybody. You just don’t do it… there’s a reason to kick an old man down a flight of stairs. You just don’t do it.

It doesn’t matter if you think you have a good reason to sin… just don’t do it.

You cannot disobey Him and glorify Him at the same time. You cannot rebel against Him and be in a right relationship with Him.

And I think possibly the silliest thing that professing Christians do is to justify disobedience to Christ for the sake of the Gospel. “I have to win people to Christ, so I will disobey His direct commands in order to make the gospel more appealing, and thereby win converts”.

“But if we discipline the pastor whom so many come to hear speak on his personal sin, attendance will go down, donations will go down and we won’t be able to rent insert name of massive local venue for our Easter Service and won’t be able to make our city the Greatest City for Christ in America™!”

Because God needs our help to save people?

Because the Holy Spirit is insufficient to convict people of their spiritual bankruptcy and make them long for God’s forgiveness?

Bottom line, we want to do what we want to do to satisfy our desires and ambitions, so we do it. And when we use the traditions and methods that we have invented to supposedly honor God to justify doing what we want to in Christ’s direction, we merely prove our wicked nature, and defend ourselves against having to repent and give up our will to the will of God.

Sin’s circular reasoning.

We are a creative bunch of sinners, aren’t we.

Matthew 18 gives us the clearest direction on what to do when tradition or ministry goals or personal reputation or our job or our relationships or anything causes us to sin. If something has to give, it is not obedience to God, it is the thing that we sinned for.

Matthew 18:8-9

If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.

If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

A graphic word picture to be sure, but pretty clear that when the believer feels he has to sin in the service of his job, his only choice is to quit his job.

And it is an absolutely clear instruction for this in church leadership that if their ministry requires them, to disobey scripture, the “ministry” has to end.

Because it really was only a ministry to the one supposedly ‘ministering’ and not a ministry to God anyway.

There is much to write about when discussing corruption in the American “church”. Big “churches” with big budgets operating like big businesses and occasionally like big mafia.

The gross sin is certainly important to expose, but usually when you attend a church, you don’t see a sign on the door that says, “Our pastor cheats on his wife with male prostitutes and has a meth problem”. What you may be able to see is that there is sin peppered all over the place, seemingly “lesser sin” that is not just tolerated, but encouraged and directed by the church leadership.

When really examining the health of a church, these are often more interesting, because they are closer to the moment of the spiritual death, if you will. You see the corruption at its early stages. No church is healthy Tuesday, and Wednesday the congregation finds out that the assistant pastor has taken off with the church’s money and it’s secretary. No, the corruption began long before that, as just a little sin that was tolerated, which became bigger sin that was unaddressed, and after a time, fully blossomed into systematic corruption.

But that corruption was born when someone (usually in a power position) stepped off the path that Christ had set, and the church didn’t make him either get back on or leave.

Since leaving a “church” where corruption was fully in bloom, I have become fascinated with the anatomy of how a church becomes corrupted. It happens much the way cancer happens.

It is estimated that 90% of the population has “cancer” at any given time. Cancer is merely cells that have divided incorrectly resulting in two dysfunctional cells. In those with healthy immune systems, those errant cells are recognized and destroyed. In those with broken immune systems, the cancer cells go unrecognized and unaddressed are allowed to keep dividing until they eventually form a tumor and metastasize, killing the body.

So by the time someone is diagnosed with cancer, they have actually had it for many months or even years, but the symptoms were not seen on the surface.

So too, when a church is discovered to be corrupt, it can be traced back months and years to a time when the actual break down in the system of accountability. When confronting sin and exercising church discipline stops, the cancer starts to grow, and it is only a matter of time before the body is dead, and just becomes a social club, civic organization or entertainment arena.

So while there are endless examples out there of full blown apostasy, let’s look at a more subtle example of outright sin that gets skipped over. Usually because this kind of thing is now ubiquitous in the “church” as it has become deaf to God’s wisdom and replaced it with the wisdom of the world.

One of the most obvious phenomenons, when you start paying attention, is how “churches” are promoting themselves.

Here is Christ’s direction for believers:

Matthew 6:2-4

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Spend an hour on you tube and see how many “churches” have disobeyed Christ in his direction to serve in secret, instead making videos of their good works and posting them on the internet for all to see. Missions trips, building projects, food drives, and on and on. Videos that serve no other purpose than to say, “Look what we did!”.

Here are two videos that inspired this post (in the interest of full disclosure, this our former “church”):

In this video the leader of a group video tapes himself going to donate blood at a drive that they held after the serious injury of a parishioner.

In this local CBS affiliate news story, the press is actually called in to video tape the Thanksgiving food drive and they have been provided with the exact dollar amount that was spent on food for the needy and how many needy it will feed.

“Bel Air Presbyterian Donates $40,000 In Food
The Church is donating the food, just in time for Thanksgiving, to 115 needy families and 60 non-profit organizations. Mia Lee reports“

These weren’t even videos that went out before or during the events so that others could be notified and participate, they were done after the fact, purely for publicity.

Let me be clear, in no way am I criticizing them for doing these good works, on the contrary. But they didn’t do them in secret.

In complete contradiction with “not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing”, the right hand has become a public relations firm for it’s own good works. Right Hand Publicity, Inc.

They have chosen the way of the world, issuing press releases that show them doing things that make them look good, and turned their back on the way of Christ, to do good in secret.

And this is not a people that didn’t know any better. In the case of both of these videos, the subjects have been completely briefed on Christs “press blackout” command. The guy in the first video I have known for two decades. He grew up in a Christian home, attended bible college and been in and out of church leadership positions since he was a teenager. He has read Matthew 6. In the second case, the pastor of the church has a Ph.D. in biblical studies and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary, so it is fair to assume that he either is ignoring Matthew 6, or is an absentee shepherd who is not teaching his staff and doesn’t know what they are doing.

This is not a case where well meaning, over enthusiastic, newbie converts just didn’t know about the right hand/left hand policy.

And as both of these were posted last year, and are still up, (along with the many dozens of others you will find on You Tube) we can see that the accountability system that God set up to teach and hold his disciples accountable is broken. None one has gone to these people and reminded them of, and held them accountable to, Matthew 6.

So if the easy sin to address, self-promotion of good works, is being practiced openly, how likely is it that they will address the difficult sins of lying, adultery, spousal abuse, drug abuse, sexual harassment and assault, fraud, stealing and the like.

If this were a church I didn’t know anything about, I would chance that their immune system is broken and say that it is a pretty safe bet that there is a serious cancer growing there. But as I have reported elsewhere, we have already been witness to the fact that the cancer there has metastasized and the corruption is in full bloom.

But if you showed up to church there on Sunday, you will not see the big tumor (you don’t really get a good look at it until you get involved in leadership and see how problems are handled behind the curtain), but you can see the smaller symptoms, the sin like this that has risen to the surface and remains unaddressed.

So learn from this. Look for the smaller sin that is going unchecked and unaddressed both in your life and in your church. See if the immune system is functioning and attacking the individual cancer cells or the tiny tumors. If not, then it is only a matter of time until the Spirit is gone and the body is dead.

Revelation 3:1-6
Message to Sardis

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

And it may have already happened.

So what is thanksgiving about? Im australian, I wouldnt know. -MegaMizer31

We give thanks that the Native Americans hadn’t discovered gunpowder and were so easily toppled.

What’s the most cliche movie scene you can think of? I’d say bad guys missing clips of shots.  -fg11

For me its damsels in distress turning into super heroes with black belts after being saved, or children being the wisest and most resourceful people in the movie.

Favorite Christmas movie? Mine’s The Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Nothing else is even close. -Da-Centre45

Cant decide, so here’s my top 5; 1.)A Christmas Story 2.)Emmit Otters Jugband Christmas 3.)Elf  4.)Christmas Vacation 5.)Scrooged

Presented my marketing project to the class earlier with the two other group members today.  At the end of it, instead of his usual tearing people to shreds with questions and poking holes in their presentation he said “Excellent job guys, that was the most innovative and thoroughly enjoyable presentation ive seen in my 14 years teaching here, I wouldnt be surprised if you guys come out on top of this class.”  The look of smug could not be wiped from my face. -King-Of-Thing

I can’t tell if you are subtly bragging about this, or really care that much of what someone thinks of you.  Either way, you fail.

What is your opinion of pharmacists? Respected? Trusted? Drug abusers? -blurnahn

All the ones I know seem to take themselves waaaay too seriously, actually. They all go into the field because you make bank, because if you mess up, some old guy dies. But Doctors never mess up, so they just have to count pills and their cash. And they all have some serious complex about it. “I have peoples LIVES in my hands!”.  As a cook, I probably had more responsibility not to kill anyone. With their white coats and work stage, fuck pharmacists.

How come a lot of people like Toby from The OFfice so much? -SickTartan

I like how he brings out the best in Michael.

I use to love Christmas, then all of sudden it was like F*** presents, wheres the food. Thanksgiving is just magic, everybody’s legitimately happy and eating and there’s pies and sweet potatoes littering the stove, and big huge turkeys and there’s football and and awesomely made pies. Did I mention the pies? Then as the holiday ends turkey sandwichs are being eaten like they’re candy and the leftovers just make every meal great, its awesome. Pie. -Jesper13

Amen, Captain. I’m in your boat.  Playing Zonk during the Parade, Foot, football, family, long weekend.  I’m not guaranteed a long weekend with Christmas like I am Thanksgiving, plus I usually feel obligated to spend any Christmas time with Family that have come in instead of doing what I want to do with my days off.  I feel no such pressure on Thanksgiving.

NASA has randomly selected you for a Mars colonisation mission. The trip will take approx. 6 months.  There will be 9 other colonists, making an equal number of males and females.  Once you arrive, you will have to spend an indefinite amount of time on Mars, however NASA will be sending supplies and future colonists constantly. Oh yeah, and there’s a  50% chance of death.  Do you accept? -Sax-kolod

I’m going to assume that the 50% chance of death is  a 50% chance we all show up, instead of the 100% chance that 4 colonists show up.  So, being the chance of me getting selected was .0000000000000000000001%,  I’d wager the math gods were on my side and do it.

I fucking hate it when a pretty girl thinks she ugly, WTF is that about? What do you say to a girl like that!? -Fudge-Hend

You capitalize on her low self esteem.  Unless she just fishing for compliments, then you tell her that makes her seem ten times uglier.

So my grandma pass away and we payed all this money to this church so our family could have a wake there and have mass as well. Apparently the damn church schedule us during their regular Mass, so in other words a bunch of people we don’t know will be at our personal Mass that we paid for and at my grandmothers wake…..  That church ripped us off, we paid for privacy. -Nights-in-Malta

God needs that money to pay off sex abuse victims so priests don’t have to face the laws made by man.  Quit being so selfish.

What is the American expression to “sell your soul?” what happens to you when you sell your soul? i dont get it -frezzdrety

It’s an expression used as a perception of someone accepting money in exchange for their dignity, respect, or honour. To believe one thing and get paid to say another.  It’s not meant as a compliment.

why do some red sox fans want jason varitek back? you do realize that if he hit like .250 this year, sox would have won the world series, right? -Pay-Per-Clip

Pitchers love the way he calls games. Plus his clubhouse presence is important.  With a lineup like Red Sox have, you can have a guy hitting .180 that brings a lot of other things to the table, and still be very successful.  Loyalty is very rare in sports these days, and I commend the Red Sox management and their fans for seeing past batting average.

So why DOES the term “lisp” have an “s” in it? Seems fucked up if you ask me. -Bellenion

It’s pronounce “lithp”.  Thanks.