I’ll Tell You What…

The Christian Research Institute has addressed this issue in the following perspective.

The Metropolitan Community Church claims to be an evangelical Christian church. There’s only one problem: they endorse homosexuality. What does the Bible have to say about homosexuals?

Those who advocate homosexuality use passages such as 2 Samuel 1:26 to support their position. It states that David and Jonathan had a relationship that surpassed the love of women. This is not referring to sexual love, however, but to a special friendship they had which exceeded or was different from any kind of sexual relationship. David and Jonathan would have been stoned under Levitical law had they been homosexuals (Lev. 18:22; 20:13).

God also condemns homosexuality in Genesis 19. Pro-homosexuals respond that the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality, but rape. However, the Sodomites did not initially force Lot’s male guests to have sex with them, but just by them mentioning it, Lot urged them not to do such a “wicked” thing (19:4-8). Other ancient sources such as Josephus and the New Testament (Jude 7) confirm that the sin of Sodom was homosexuality.

Additionally, Romans 1:21-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 clearly condemn lesbianism and homosexuality (cf., 1 Tim. 1:9, 10). Homosexual advocates reply that Romans 1 refers only to phallic cults who committed idolatry. Along with 1 Corinthians 6, they claim that God is simply condemning excessive and promiscuous sex, not a dedicated relationship between two homosexuals.

First, let me say that if it were true that God is only condemning promiscuity, 90 to 99 percent of all homosexuals would fall into this category! According to recent studies, only about 1 out of 7 homosexuals have had fewer than 50 partners in their lifetime, and 99 percent of the male homosexuals interviewed have had sex with complete strangers! Nevertheless, the context of Romans and Corinthians affirm that homosexuality is completely unnatural (Rom. 1:26, 27). When categorized with the other sins mentioned in these passages, there is no such thing as a moderate form of homosexuality any more than there could be moderate form of murder or adultery. Finally, the Bible condemns all types of fornication which would therefore include homosexuality (Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21; John 8:41; Acts 15:20, 29; Gal.?5:19-21; 1 Thes. 4:3; Heb. 13:4).

On the problems of homosexuality, that’s the CRI perspective. I’m Hank Hanegraaff.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

We recommend a tape series by Walter Martin entitled “Homosexuals and the Bible” (C049, two cassettes/$12), Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth by Jeffrey Satinover, M.D. (B342/$20). For those struggling with the homosexual lifestyle, we recommend Coming Out of Homosexuality: New Freedom for Men and Women by Bob Davies and Lori Rentzel (B340/$11) and Desires in Conflict by Joe Dallas (B234/$10). For those with a loved one who is homosexual, we recommend Someone I Love is Gay: How Family and Friends Can Respond by Anita Worthen and Bob Davies (SB902/$11). These resources are available through CRI’s Resource Center and Web site. For additional recommendations, please see our bibliography on homosexuality (DH060/$0.25). For shipping and handling information, to place a credit card order, or to receive a free copy of our Resource Catalog Listing, please call our Resource Center toll-free at (888) 7000-CRI. You also may fax us at (714) 858-6111 or write to us with your request at the address listed above.

What is Christmas? it’s easy to get caught up in the history of the various symbols. Some of which go back several thousand years. To really understand this holiday (or holy day) one need not go any further than the name, Christmas or Christ’s Mass. HolyCross.edu defines Christmas this way:

Christmas is the feast commemorating the birth of Christ. It is fixed in the liturgical year as December 25 and is preceded by four week of fast called Advent. The Gospels recount a census that compelled Joseph and Mary to journey to “the town of David which is called Bethlehem” and while they were there she was delivered of a child. “And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the in.” (Luke 2:4-7).? The birth was heralded by angels who announced to Jewish shepherds that their Messiah had come.? Later, wise men from the east, gentiles, arrived to acknowledge Christ’s birth.? In the Middle Ages, Christmas was not an extremely important feast; it was far less solemnly celebrated than Easter.? For Kempe, however, with her frequent references to Christ and a child, and her imagining that she was present as a handmaiden to the Virgin, the moment had particular resonance.

The most commonly read account of the birth of Christ can be found in Luke chapter 2.

Who was Saint Nicholas and who was Santa Claus? Are they the same? I found a website (StNicholasCenter.org) that explains it all very well.

Elaine Donnelly has written a very good on article exposing the US Army trying to force women into combat roles despite the fact that it is against current regulations and the fact that, by law, Congress must be notified ahead of time.

Center for Military Readiness FAQ on Women in Combat

Calls on blacks to celebrate Christmas, reject artificial holiday

Now that’s a headline (WorldNetDaily.com)! I didn’t really know anything about Kwanzaa until this article prompted my study.

While commonly viewed as an “African” holiday, observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, Kwanzaa actually was created in the U.S. in 1966 by Dr. Maulana “Ron” Karenga, the head of a violent black-power group, United Slaves Organization, which was a rival to the Black Panthers.

I encourage you to read the full article and study this false holiday.

In a 1978 interview quoted in the Washington Post, Karenga said, “People think it’s African, but it’s not. I came up with Kwanzaa because black people in this country wouldn’t celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I knew that’s when a lot of bloods (blacks) would be partying.”

All I can say is “wow”…

In another WorldNetDaily.com commentary from 2002, Joseph Farah gives a little more detail about Karenga (a convicted felon and Marxist).

He is a convicted felon sentenced five years after inventing Kwanzaa for torturing two black women by whipping them with electrical cords and beating them with a karate baton after stripping them naked. He placed in the mouth of one of the victims a hot soldering iron, also scarring her face with the device. He put one of her big toes in a vise, and detergent and running water in both of their mouths.

You have got to read these articles. And while you reading about the true beginnings of Kwanza, head on over to La Shawn Barber’s Corner (lashawnbarber.com) for some really good insight.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

– John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

I just received this email from Air1 Radio (Air1.com) asking for operational, spiritual and general prayers…

Air1 Prayer Partner Update
December 2004

Thank you for your continued commitment to join us in praying for Air1.

“For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayer.”
1 Peter 3:12

Operational Prayer Points:
Please pray for our technology department staff as they begin implementing new systems which will allow our ministry to run more efficiently.

Ask God to grant wisdom and direction to our management team as they look for the right people to fill important positions on our staff.

Spiritual Prayer Points:
Many of our staff have expressed their sense that Air1 is encountering great resistance from the “powers of this dark world and…the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). Please pray that God would surround us with His comfort and protection, and that our team would be encouraged by the promise that “He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4).

General Prayer Points:
As we head into the Christmas season, please join the Air1 staff in praying for those who don’t know the One who is “the reason for the season.” Pray that Christians would take advantage of the opportunities that this season brings to share God’s light and love to a dark and hurting world.

I’m not sure where this originated but I think it’s a rather pointed example of how out of control political correctness is in corporate America today. And since I work in a company that is very large (75,000+ employees), I thought it was especially funny…

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
RE: Christmas Party
DATE: December 1

I’m happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23, starting at noon in the banquet room at Luigi’s Open Pit Barbecue. No-host bar, but plenty of eggnog! We’ll have a small band playing traditional carols … feel free to sing along. And don’t be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 P.M. Exchange of gifts among employees can be done at that time, however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone’s pockets. This gathering is only for employees! Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time!

Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Patty

*******************

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: December 2
RE: Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday’s memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Chanukah is an important holiday that often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on we’re calling it our “Holiday Party.” The same policy applies to employees who are celebrating Kwanza at this time. There will be no Christmas tree. No, Christmas Carols sung. We will have another type of music for your enjoyment. Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Patty

*******************

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: December 3
RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table ~ you didn’t sign your name. I’m happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, “AA Only,” you wouldn’t be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody? Forget about the gift exchange; no gifts are allowed since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and executives believe $10.00 is very little for a gift. NO GIFT EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.

Patty

*******************

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
To: All Employees
DATE: December 7
RE: Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20 begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees’ beliefs. Perhaps Luigi’s can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party ~ the days are so short this time of year ~ or else package everything for take-home in little foil swans. Will that work? Meanwhile, I’ve arranged for members of Overeaters Anonymous to sit farthest from the dessert buffet and pregnant women will get the table closest the restrooms. Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men. Each will have their own table. Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men’s table. To the person asking permission to cross dress, no cross-dressing is allowed. We will have booster seats for short people. Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet. We cannot control the salt used in the food we suggest for those people with high blood pressure problems to taste first. There will be fresh fruits as dessert for Diabetics, the restaurant cannot supply “No Sugar” desserts. Sorry! Did I miss anything?

Patty

*******************

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: December 8
RE: Holiday Party

So December 22 marks the Winter Solstice … what do you expect me to do, a tap-dance on your heads? Fire regulations at Luigi’s prohibit the burning of sage by our “earth-based Goddess-worshipping” employees, but we’ll try to accommodate your shamanic drumming circle during the band’s breaks. Okay???

Patty

*******************

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
To: All Employees
Date: December 9
RE: Holiday Party

People, people, nothing sinister was intended by having our CEO dress up like Santa Claus! Even if the anagram of “Santa” does happen to be “Satan,” there is no evil connotation to our own “little man in a red suit.” It’s a tradition, folks, like sugar shock at Halloween, or family feuds over the Thanksgiving turkey, or broken hearts on Valentine’s Day. Could we lighten up? Please????????? Also the company has changed their mind about making a special announcement at the gathering. You will get a notification in the mail sent to your home.

Patty

*******************

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All #%&$**@ Employees
DATE: December 10
RE: The %#*&^%@*%^ Holiday Party

I have no #%&*@*^ idea what the announcement is all about. What the %#&^!@ do I care? I KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO GET!!!!!!!!!!!! You change your address now and your are dead!!!!!!!!!!!! No more changes of address will be allowed in my office! Try to come in and change your address. I will have you hung from the ceiling in the warehouse!!!!!!!!!!! Vegetarians!?!?!? I’ve had it with you people!!! We’re going to keep this party at Luigi’s Open Pit Barbecue whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the “grill of death,” as you so quaintly put it, and you’ll get your #$%^&*! salad bar, including hydroponic tomatoes. But you know they have feelings, too. Tomatoes scream when you slice them. I’ve heard them scream. I’m hearing them scream right now! HA! I hope you all have a rotten holiday! Drive drunk and die, you hear me!!!!!!!!??

*******************

FROM: Terri Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: December 14
RE: Patty Lewis and the Holiday Party

I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery from her stress-related illness, and I’ll continue to forward your cards to her at the sanitarium. In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay.

For the second time I’m having to ban AllResearch.com from crawling my site. The first time I contacted them about the excessive crawling they sent a generic email. We’ll see what they do with this second email. Read on for the emails…

Sent on 9-12-2004:

Subject: Hits on eSnider.net
Date: September 20, 2004 7:30:40 AM EDT
To: support@allresearch.com

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

My name is Larry Snider and I am the webmaster at eSnider.net. Lately, I have noticed an incredible number of hits originating from 38.144.36.16. The frequency is about 1 hour and occurs on or around the top of the hour. Here is an example from my logs:

38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:02:02 -0500] “GET /backend.php HTTP/1.1″ 200 1895 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.12; Mac_PowerPC)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:16 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=268 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23135 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:18 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=269 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23472 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:19 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=270 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23953 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:20 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=271 HTTP/1.1″ 200 24328 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:21 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=272 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23827 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:30 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=273 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23139 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:31 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=274 HTTP/1.1″ 200 22954 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:33 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=276 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23107 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:34 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=275 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23114 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”
38.144.36.16 - - [19/Sep/2004:23:03:36 -0500] “GET /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=267 HTTP/1.1″ 200 23648 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98)”

The first hit seems to originate from a Mac and then 10 hits from a Windows 98 machine. This sort of behavior is highly suspicious. Why someone would disguise a crawler in such a misleading way is beyond me.

I would like an explanation as to the purpose of such crawling. If none is given I shall be forced to exclude that IP from all future access.

Thank you.

Their response:

From: support@allresearch.com
Subject: [AllResearch #LUY-50829-924]: Hits on Snider.net
Date: September 27, 2004 1:54:10 PM EDT
Reply-To: support@allresearch.com

Thank you for contacting us regarding the traffic to your site.

We have recently developed a search engine that indexes RSS feeds. Your feed has been selected to be included in our index.

Our search engine is very careful to not request an RSS or RDF page more than necessary. When we fetch an RSS page, we very carefully look for any possible clue about when to re-visit. Our system will utilize all of the techniques outlined by protocol, including:

1) XML tags in your rss page: updateFrequency, updatePeriod, updateBase, ttl, skipDays, skipHours
2) The “e-tag” HTTP header.
3) The “Last-Modified” HTTP header.

If NONE of the above methods give us a clue as when to revisit, then we will re-fetch your RSS page again in one hour.

For more information about the RSS or RDF protocol, we suggest you visit the following links:

http://web.resource.org/rss/1.0/
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
http://www.w3.org/RDF/

Thank you for your understanding,

The WebClipping Team

It was at this point that I banned 38.144.36.16 in my .htaccess file. But on 12-3-2004, they must have changed their IP address from which they do their crawling. From 12-3-2004 to 12-14-2004 I received almost 2,700 hits from them (38.144.36.19) with ZERO hits on robots.txt. Their bot doesn’t even identify itself in the HTTP_USER_AGENT variable. That alone is very suspicious but what they do is resell MY information to businesses. How are they presenting my data? I have to subscribe to find out…

Sent on 12-14-2004:

Subject: Hits on eSnider.net
Date: December 14, 2004 4:52:20 PM EST
To: support@allresearch.com, noah@webclipping.com

It would be very much appreciated if your ill-behaved bot would stop crawling my site (www.esnider.net). I say ill-behaved because it does not check robots.txt for permission to crawl my site like all other legitimate crawlers, it evidently does not check my backend.php to see if anything has changed since the last time it checked before it downloads everything in the feed, and your bot does not properly identify itself in the HTTP_USER_AGENT variable.

Your current model is flawed especially when you consider that many personal websites have either hit limits or bandwidth restrictions or both. Most of these people do not code their own websites as in the case of a CMS package used as a weblog so there really is no way to modify their RSS feed code.

I have contacted AllResearch.com before about this and know the 3 methods you employ to check for changed articles so I’d rather not get the generic “We have recently developed a search engine” email. Please just remove my site from your list of websites.

Thank you.

Let me introduce you to a wonderful new husband and wife Christian group called Dirt Poor Robins. If you like contemporary christian music you will just love these guys. Even if you don’t, you’re sure to love the quality of the music. A lot went into making this fantastic CD.

I plan on writing a review soon of their first CD but for right now let me just recommend their new CD simply called Volume One. It is absolutely awesome!

Click here to listen to the songs and purchase the CD.

I was looking through my logs today and noticed that my site shows up on a search for x-rated christmas songs. I about fell out of my chair! If you were the Charter Communications customer (68.112.28.XXX) who found me that way, thanks for the laugh. I also hope you find Jesus in your searches as well.