Excerpt from A. W. Tozer

In our constant struggle to believe we are likely to overlook the simple fact that a bit of healthy disbelief is sometimes as needful as faith to the welfare of our souls.

I would go further and say that we would do well to cultivate a reverent skepticism. It will keep us out of a thousand bogs and quagmires where others who lack it sometimes find themselves. It is no sin to doubt some things, but it may be fatal to believe everything...

Faith never means gullibility. The man who believes everything is as far from God as the man who refuses to believe anything.

Faith engages the Person and promises of God and rests upon them with perfect assurance. Whatever has behind it the character and word of the Living God is accepted by faith as the last and final truth from which there must never be any appeal... Thus faith honors God by counting Him righteous and accepts His testimony against the very evidence of its own senses. That is faith, and of such we can never have too much.

Credulity [gullibility], on the other hand, never honors God, for it shows as great a readiness to believe anybody as believe God Himself. The credulous person will accept anything as long as it is unusual, and the more unusual it is the more ardently he will believe. Any testimony will be swallowed with a straight face if it only has about it some element of the eerie, the preternatural, the unearthly. The gullible mentality is like the ostrich, that will gulp down anything that looks interesting: an orange, a tennis ball, a pocketknife open or closed, a paper weight or a ripe apple. That he survives at all is a testimony not to his intelligence but to his tough constitution.

I have met Christians with no more discrimination that the ostrich. Because they must believe certain things, they feel that they must believe everything. Because they are called upon to accept the invisible they go right on to accept the incredible. God can and does work miracle; ergo, everything that passes for a miracle must be of God. God has spoken to men, therefore every man who claims to have had a revelation form God must be accepted as a prophet. Whatever is unearthly must be heavenly; whatever cannot be explained must be accepted as divine; the prophets were rejected, therefore everyone who is rejected is a prophet; the saints were misunderstood, so everyone who is misunderstood is a saint. This is the dangerous logic of the gullible Christian. And it can be as injurious as unbelief itself.

The healthy soul, like the healthy blood system, has it's proper proportion of white and red blood cells. The red corpuscles are like faith: they carry the life giving oxygen to every part of the body. The white cells are like discernment: they pounce upon dead and toxic matter and carry it out to the drain. Thus the two kinds of cells working together keep the tissues in good condition. In the healthy heart there must be provision for keeping dead and poisonous matter out of the life stream. This the credulous person never suspects. He is all for faith. He accents the affirmative and cultivates religious optimism to a point where he can no longer tell when he is being imposed upon.

Along with our faith in God must go a healthy disbelief of everything occult and esoteric. Numerology, astrology, spiritism, and everything weird and strange that passes for religion must be rejected. All this is toxic matter and has no place in the life of a true Christian. He will reject the whole business without compunction or fear. He has Christ, and He is the way, the truth and the life. What more does the Christian need?

 

http://www.acts17-11.com/snip_tozer_credulity.html

 

Jer 5:22 (NIV) "Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence?"

In Hebrew, yirah (Jon 1:16, Ps 90:11), yare (above, Mal 3:16) and pachad (Job 3:25a, Ps 119:120) mean reverent fear, terror, or dread, normally translated simply fear. There are other words in Hebrew for mere respect, reverence, or honor, such as kabad (Ex 20:12). In Greek fear/terror is phobo (Mat 28:4,1 Pet 2:17c), where reverence or honor is timao (1 Pet 2:17a/d).

With this distinction in both Hebrew and Greek, some still assert that "fear merely means reverence." As if God through His Spirit could not select the right word hundreds of times! Some would prefer to believe this than to understand that God really ought to be feared.

Why is it we will not accept the fear of God? Why do we try to "explain away" the fear of God in Scripture? What is it in our unconscious minds that creeps up when the Spirit leads us into the revelation of the fear of God?

Consider The Wizard Of Oz

The needy pilgrims are encouraged to follow a "yellow brick road", or is it a gold street (Rev 21:21)? In any case, it is a narrow path (Mt 7:14) with distractions aplenty, which finally leads to an Emerald City on a hill, complete with a gate keeper (popular Christian myth). All this to see the great and fearful Oz. Oz, of course, turns out to be a fake. The only real power is wielded by the witches, and once the endearing old Oz is dispatched in a balloon, the real battle begins between the good witches and bad witches. Hmmm...

Is The Wizard of Oz a harmless children's story, or a satire of Christianity? (Job 1:1) Consider the mockery of the praise songs, even the "needs" of the pilgrims (Mr 12:30). Even if Christians have lacked discernment, the world hasn't: Elton John sings, "Good-bye yellow brick road, where the dogs of society howl."; America sings, "Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin-man; that he didn't, didn't already have."

Small wonder we try to "explain away" the fear of God when we have such lies rattling around in our heads! Something deep within us says, "It's all an illusion." "Surely, behind the curtain over there, there must be a cute little man pulling levers to make all the smoke and flames." "If we really knew, we'd see that God is just a gentle con-man, who means well, but is really harmless."

Do we know the revealed God of Scripture, or do we believe in a God who is kind of like Oz? We must realize how effective Satan is at lying, and repent, or our knowledge of God will remain flawed. Will we fear God? We must take these thoughts captive with the weapons given us.

Destroying False Notions & Encountering God... Really

2 Cor 10:4-5 (TEB) The weapons we use in our fight... destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. [Isa 11:2-3]

2 Tim 3:16-17 (TEB) All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instructions for right living, so that the man who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good work.

2 Cor 5:11 (NIV) Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men...

Ps 34:11 (NEB) Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Ps 89:7 (NIV) In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared.

Satan, The Bogey Man

Ps 76:4,7 (NIV) You [O God] are resplendent with light... You alone are to be feared.

If we fear anything other than God, we are deceived. God is the only thing in the universe worthy of fear. Satan, of course, would disagree and has made an industry out generating bogus fear. His weapons are horror movies, anxieties, worries, nightmares, phobias, panic attacks, demons, etc. Satan wants the fear due God. To be sure, Satan is truly a terrifying master to those under his care, but those "in Christ" have been purchased from his mastery and need not fear him any longer. Whenever it is in our power, we should cut off any access Satan has to our minds or hearts to plant bogus fear.

Isa 8:12-13 (NIV) ...Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.

Mat 10:28 (NIV) [Jesus] "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Luke 12:4-5 (Jer) "To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear; fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him."

Fear And Sovereignty

In Scripture and experience, the fear of God is closely linked to the revelation of His sovereignty.

Job 23:13-16 (NIV) "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me."

Fear And Wisdom

Ps 111:10 (NEB) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding...

Prov 9:10 (NEB) The first step to wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Fear And Sin

John 15:2 (TEB) "He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit."

2 Cor 7:1 (Jer) With promises like these made to us, dear brothers, let us wash off all that can soil either body or spirit, to reach perfection of holiness in the fear of God.

Prov 8:13 (NIV) To fear the Lord is to hate evil.

Fear And Repentance

Prov 16:6 (NEB) ...the fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil.

Job 28:28 (NEB) ..."The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding."

Fear And Blessings

Ps 25:12-14 (NEB) If there is any man who fears the Lord, he shall be shown the path that he should choose; he shall enjoy lasting prosperity, and his children after him shall inherit the land. The Lord confides his purposes to those who fear him, and his covenant is theirs to know.

Prov 14:26-27 (NIV) He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Ps 34:9 (NEB) Fear the Lord, all you his holy people; for those who fear him lack nothing.

Prov 19:23 (NEB) The fear of the Lord is life; he who is full of it will rest untouched by evil.

Fear And Punishment

Rom 11:22 (Phi) You must try to appreciate both the kindness and the strict justice of God.

One of the ways we fear God is to fear punishment. This kind of godly fear will taper off as we are perfected in love. But for now, the fear of God will keep us from evil.

1 Jn 3:2 (NIV) Dear friends, now we are children of God...

Prov 22:15 (NIV) Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Prov 3:11-12 (NEB) My son, do not spurn the Lord's correction, or take offense at his reproof; for those who he loves the Lord reproves, and he punishes a favorite son.

Ps 23:4 (NIV) ...your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Fear And Love

The fear of the Lord may be the beginning of wisdom, but the end is love. Love is our hope, our goal, our sure destiny as believers. If we are obedient, we will get close to it while still in this world. In the meantime, we fear now, because none of us is yet without sin or perfect in love.

1 Jn 4:17-18 (Jer) Love will come to its perfection in us when we can face the day of Judgment without fear; because even in this world we become as he is. In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love.

1 Pet 1:17 (RSV) And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.

Ps 118:4 (NIV) Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."

The Wrong Kind Of Fear: Shrinking Back

"Too good to be true," we say. This saying illuminates a deep human wound, for we have been burned by every one of our false gods and false loves and false hopes, or soon will be. Since everything else but God really is a sham, our instincts have been trained into suspicion. We hold back, we hedge, we plot our retreat, we lower our expectations. So when we encounter God--who alone is worthy of our trust--we shrink back in the one moment, with the one person, in the one hope that we should abandon ourselves to. Indeed, our wound is serious. Who will heal us?

The Terrifying Love Of God

Phil 2:12-13 (NIV) ...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

We should not fear that God will let us down, or that He is not faithful, or just, or forgiving. In fact, His intense determination to make us holy (so that we can be with Him forever) is cause for the right kind of godly fear: that He will NOT quit sanctifying us when, in our opinion, we are good enough. God is the ultimate perfectionist, and He will get what He wants. And if that is us, it is fearful to realize just how far He will go. He is the potter, and He intends vessels of holiness. No, we need not fear that God will fail us or give up on us, but rather that He is indeed faithful to finish what He has started.

Heb 10:31 (KJV) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

To Encounter The Living God, Then And Now

Heb 12:18-24 (Phi) You have not had to approach things which your senses could experience as they did in the old days--flaming fire, black darkness, rushing wind and out of it a trumpet-blast, a voice speaking human words. So terrible was that voice that those who heard it begged and prayed that it might say no more. For what it had already commanded was more than they could bear... So fearful was the spectacle that Moses cried out, "I am terrified and tremble!" No... You have drawn near to God, the judge of all, to the souls of good men made perfect, and to Jesus, mediator of a new agreement, to that cleansing blood which tells a better story than the blood of Abel.

Heb 12:25-29 (Phi) So be sure you do not refuse to hear the voice that speaks. For if they who refused to hear those who spoke to them on earth did not escape, how little chance of escape is there for us if we refuse to hear the One who speaks from Heaven. Then his voice shook the earth, but now he promises: "Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven." This means that in this final "shaking" all that is impermanent will be removed, that is, everything that is merely "made", and only the unshakable things will remain. Since then, we have been given a kingdom that is "unshakable", let us serve God with thankfulness in the ways which please him, but always with reverence and holy fear. For it is perfectly true that our God is a burning fire.

Ps 19:9 (NIV) The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

Mike Yaconelli: "We have defanged the tiger of truth. We have tamed the lion... The tragedy of modern faith is that we no longer are capable of being terrified."

Acts 5:13 (NIV) No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.

Mike Yaconelli: "I would like to suggest that the Church become a place of terror again; a place where God continually has to tell us, "Fear not"; a place where our relationship with God is not a simple belief or a doctrine or theology, it is God's burning presence in our lives. I am suggesting that the tame God of relevance be replaced by the God whose very presence shatters our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within. The Church needs to become a gloriously dangerous place where nothing is safe in God's presence except us. Nothing--including our plans, our agendas, our priorities, our politics, our money, our security, our comfort, our possessions, our needs.

"Our world is... longing to see people whose God is big and holy and frightening and gentle and tender... and ours; a God whose love frightens us into His strong and powerful arms where He longs to whisper those terrifying words, 'I love you.'"

http://www.acts17-11.com/fear.html

 

Excerpt from A. W. Tozer

A truth fully taught in the Scriptures and verified in personal experience by countless numbers of holy men and women through the centuries might be condensed thus into a religious axiom:

• No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God.

The first announcement of God's redemptive intention toward mankind was made to a man and a woman hiding in mortal fear from the presence of the Lord. The Law of God was given to a man trembling in terror amid fire and smoke, and quaking at the voice of thunder and the sound of the divine trumpet. When Zacharias' tongue was loosened by the mysterious operation of God "fear came on all that dwelt round about." Even the famous annunciation, "On earth peace, good will toward men," was given to shepherds who were "sore afraid" by reason of the sudden overwhelming presence of the heavenly host.

We have but to read the Scriptures with our eyes open and we can see this truth running like a strong cable from Genesis to Revelation. The presence of the divine always brought fear to the hearts of sinful men. Always there was about any manifestation of God something that dismayed the onlookers, that daunted and overawed them, that struck them with a terror more than natural. This terror had no relation to mere fear of bodily harm. It was a dread consternation experienced far in toward the center and core of the nature, much farther in than that fear experienced as a normal result of the instinct for physical self-preservation.

I do not believe that any lasting good can come from religious activities that do not root in this quality of creature-fear. The animal in us is very strong and altogether self-confident. Until it has been defeated God will not show Himself to the eyes of our faith. Until we have been gripped by that nameless terror which results when an unholy creature is suddenly confronted by that One who is the holiest of all, we are not likely to be much affected by the doctrine of love and grace as it is declared by the New Testament evangel. The love of God affects a carnal heart not at all; or if at all, then adversely, for the knowledge that God loves us may simply confirm us in our self-righteousness.

The effort of liberal and borderline modernists to woo men to God by presenting the soft side of religion is an unqualified evil because it ignores the very reason for our alienation from God in the first place. Until a man has gotten into trouble with his heart he is not likely to get out of trouble with God. Cain and Abel are two solemn examples of this truth. Cain brought a present to One whom he assumed to be pleased with him. Abel brought a sacrifice to One who he know could not accept him as he was. His trembling heart told him to find a place to hide. Cain's heart did not tremble. Cain was well satisfied with himself, so he sought no hiding place. The fear of God would have served Cain well in that critical moment, for it would have changed the whole character of his offering and altered the entire course of his life for the better.

As indispensable as is the terror of the Lord, we must always keep in mind that it cannot be induced by threats made in the name of the Lord. Hell and judgment are realities, and they must be preached in their Biblical context as fully as the Bible teaches them, no more and no less; but they cannot induce that mysterious thing we call the fear of the Lord. Such fear is a supernatural thing, having no relation to threats of punishment. It has about it a mysterious quality , often without much intellectual content; it is a feeling rather than an idea; it is the deep reaction of a fallen creature in the presence of the holy Being the stunned heart knows is God. The Holy Spirit alone can induce this emotion in the human breast. All effort on our part to super-induce it is wasted, or worse.

Because the fear of God is a supernatural thing it can never be raised by repeated warnings about war or Communism or depressions. The current trick of frightening people into accepting Christ by threatening them with atom bombs and guided missiles is not scriptural, neither is it effective. By shooting off firecrackers in the face of a flock of goats you could conceivably succeed in herding them into a sheepfold; but all the natural fear in the world cannot make a sheep out of a goat. And neither can fear of a Russian invasion turn impenitent men into lovers of God and righteousness. It just does not work that way.

Whence then does the true fear of God arise? From the knowledge of our own sinfulness and a sense of the presence of God. Isaiah had an acute experience both of his personal uncleanness and of the awesome presence of Jehovah: the two were more than he could stand. On his face he cried out a confession of his own sinfulness, make all the more intolerable because his eyes had seen the King, even the Lord of Hosts.

A congregation will feel this mysterious terror of God when the minister and the leaders of the church are filled with the Spirit. When Moses came down from the mount with his face shining the children of Israel were afraid with a fear born out of that supernatural sight. Moses did not need to threaten them. He had only to appear before them with that light on his face.

http://www.acts17-11.com/snip_tozer_terror.html

 

Excerpt from A. W. Tozer

Probably nothing else bothers the earnest Christian quite so much as the problem of those dry spells that come to him occasionally, no matter how faithfully he tries to obey God and walk in the light. He can never predict them and he cannot always explain them. And there lies the difficulty.

It might comfort one who finds himself in the middle of an emotional desert to know that his experience is not unique. The sweetest and holiest saints whose feet have graced this earth have at some time found themselves there. The books of devotion which have come to us from the past almost all have at least one chapter dealing with what some of them call "aridity" in the Christian life. The very word itself tempts us to smile in sympathy, for it so perfectly describes the experience so many of us know only too well. Our heart feels "arid" and nothing we can do will bring the rain. It is good to know during such an internal drought that is has been a common experience with the saints.

One reason for our distress at such times is the knowledge that sin is one cause of aridity in the life; we naturally reason that if sin brings drought and we are suffering from a dry spell, then we must have been guilty of sin whether we know it or not. The way to deal with the problem is to remember that sin is not the only cause of dryness. It after an honest examination of our lives we are sure that we are not living in a state of disobedience and that no past sin is unforgiven, we may dismiss sin as the cause of our dry condition. We do God no honor and ourselves no good by assuming that we have sinned if we have not...

"Religion", say the theologians, "lies in the will." What our will is set to do is what really matters at last. Aridity has nothing to do with the will. "If any man will," said Jesus; He did not say "If any man feel." Feeling is the play of emotion over the will, a kind of musical accompaniment to the business of living, and while it is indeed most enjoyable to have the band play as we march to Zion it is by no means indispensable. We can work and walk without music, and if we have true faith we can walk with God without feeling.

Normally we may expect some degree of spiritual joy to be present most of the time. Fellowship with God is so delightful that it cannot but provide a large measure of joy; but we are talking now about those times when our joy fades out and the presence of the Lord is felt only feebly or not at all. Such times demand that we exercise faith. Moments of great spiritual delight do not require much faith; if we never came down form the mount of blessing we might easily come to trust in our own delights rather than in the unshakeable character of God. It is necessary therefore that our watchful Heavenly Father withdraw His inward comforts from us sometimes to teach us that Christ alone is the Rock upon which me must repose our everlasting trust.

http://www.acts17-11.com/snip_tozer_dry_spells.html

 

Excerpt from A. W. Tozer

The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men.

The cross of the Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, by slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross and completely dead when they took him down six hours later. That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history.

After Christ was risen from the dead the apostles went out to preach His message, and what they preached was the cross. And wherever they went into the wide world they carried the cross, and the same revolutionary power went with them. The radical message of the cross transformed Saul of Tarsus and changed him from a persecutor of Christians to a tender believer and an apostle of the faith. Its power changed bad men into good ones. It shook off the long bondage of paganism and altered completely the whole moral and mental outlook of the Western world.

All this it did and continued to do as long as it was permitted to remain what it had been originally, a cross. Its power departed when it was changed from a thing of death to a thing of beauty. When men made of it a symbol, hung it around their necks as an ornament or made its outline before their faces as a magic sign to ward off evil, then it became at best a weak emblem, at worst a positive fetish. As such it is revered today by millions who know absolutely nothing about its power.

The cross effects its ends by destroying one established pattern, the victim's, and creating another pattern, its own. Thus it always has its way. It wins by defeating its opponent and imposing its will upon him. It always dominates. It never compromises, never dickers nor confers, never surrenders a point for the sake of peace. It cares not for peace; it cares only to end its opposition as fast as possible.

With perfect knowledge of all this Christ said:

Luke 9:23 (NIV) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

So the cross not only brings Christ's life to an end, it ends also the first life, the old life, of every one of His true followers. It destroys the old pattern, the Adam pattern, in the believer's life, and brings it to an end. Then the God who raised Christ from the dead raises the believer and a new life begins.

This, and nothing less, is true Christianity, though we cannot but recognize the sharp divergence of this conception from that held by the rank and file of evangelicals today. But we dare not qualify our position. The cross stands high above the opinions of men and to that cross all opinions must come at last for judgment. A shallow and worldly leadership would modify the cross to please the entertainment-mad saintlings who will have their fun even within the very sanctuary; but to do so is to court spiritual disaster and risk the anger of the Lamb turned Lion.

We must do something about the cross, and one of two things only we can do--flee it or die upon it. And if we should be so foolhardy as to flee we shall by that act put away the faith of our fathers and make of Christianity something other than it is. Then we shall have left only the empty language of salvation; the power will depart with our departure from the true cross.

If we are wise we will do what Jesus did: endure the cross and despise its shame for the joy that is set before us. To do this is to submit the whole pattern of our lives to be destroyed and built again in the power of an endless life. And we shall find that it is more than poetry, more than sweet hymnody and elevated feeling. The cross will cut into where it hurts worst, sparing neither us nor our carefully cultivated reputations. It will defeat us and bring our selfish lives to an end. Only then can we rise in fullness of life to establish a pattern of living wholly new and free and full of good works.

The changed attitude toward the cross that we see in modern orthodoxy proves not that God has changed, nor that Christ has eased up on His demand that we carry the cross; it means rather that current Christianity has moved away from the standards of the New Testament. So far have we moved indeed that it may take nothing short of a new reformation to restore the cross to its right place in the theology and life of the Church.

 

http://www.acts17-11.com/snip_tozer_cross.html

 

The Rush

You've always wanted to skydive, but the thought scared you too much to try it. That is, until you met someone who had made over 100 jumps. He talked you into it by explaining how safe it was. His enthusiasm was contagious. He spoke of the freedom of falling through the air ...the adrenaline rush...the unspeakable exhilaration. Now you are standing on the edge of a plane, looking down on the earth far, far be-low.

Everything has been checked. Double-checked. This is safer than driving on the freeway—a thought that helps you deal with the fear. Modern parachutes are state-of-the-art. Besides, there is a backup chute. Still, your heart is beating with apprehension. Suddenly, you jump! You have trained so much for this moment, you instinctively spread your hands and legs. The speed is unbelievable. The power of the air forcing itself against your body is incredible. It's like a dream. You are defying the law of gravity, racing through the air at more than 120 mph!

The earth is coming closer. All normal sense of time lost. Speed, thrust of air, unspeakable joy. You glance at the altimeter on your wrist. Only another ten seconds and you will pull the rip cord and feel the jolt of the parachute opening. All that you had been told was true. The adrenaline rush is like nothing you have experienced. If only it could last a little longer. Reluctantly, you pull the cord. It opens, but there is no jolt!

You tilt your head back to see a horrifying sight: the parachute has twisted and is trailing like a flapping streamer. Your heart races with fear, pounding in your chest. Your eyes bulge in terror. Your chest heaves as you gasp for air. You try to keep a clear mind and remember your training...pull the second cord. Nothing happens! You pull again. Again! Harder. Harder! Nothing. Your throat lets out a scream, a groan of panic. Your heart is pounding so hard you think your chest will burst. Sweat breaks through your skin. A thousand thoughts speed through your mind. Your family! Your fate!...Safer than driving on the freeway! You whisper, "What a fool I was ...to think that I could defy the law of gravity." Now a merciless law waits for the moment of impact. The ground accelerates toward you. No words can describe the terror gripping your mind.

A voice is speaking to you. It is the voice of good sense. It is the voice you ignored so often: "You have played the fool. You have given up your life, your most precious possession, for a cheap thrill. You have exchanged your loved ones for a rush of adrenaline. What a fool ...what a fool!" One word stands alone to describe how you feel about what you've done. One word screams within the corridors of your terrified mind as the earth races toward you, as death readies to embrace you. One word, a word that you have never understood fully until this moment. That terrible word is remorse!

The world, the flesh, and the devil whisper to you about how pleasurable sin is. That God isn't angry at sin. God is love. It is safe to jump into the arms of iniquity and abandon yourself to a free fall through its vast domain. You go where angels fear to tread. But it is worth it. The rush is everything sin promised. You drink in iniquity like water. You love the darkness. Conscience speaks again and again, but you ignore its warning. You are defying the Moral Law and loving every minute.

Now you stand before the Judge on Judgment Day. You pull your first line by telling God what a good person you are. Nothing happens. The Moral Law rushes at you. In panic, you pull the second line and tell God that you believed in Him. Again, nothing happens. It is no use. Your mouth is stopped. The Moral Law accelerates toward you even faster, promising to so impact you that it will "grind you to powder" (Luke 20:18). Death and hell wait to embrace you. Unspeakable terror fills your heart. Conscience speaks so clearly now: "What a fool you have been. You rejected the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. You have given up your loved ones in exchange for the joys of a sinful lifestyle. You relinquished your most precious possession, your very life, for the cheap thrill of sin. What a fool! What a fool!" One word will stay with you for eternity. One word alone will echo forever within your tormented mind. Remorse! You whisper the word, "Remorse...remorse."

Suddenly you are staring at the ceiling of your bedroom, still mouthing the word through dry lips. Remorse! The sheets are soaked with sweat. It was just a dream. You look out the window and see the sun breaking through the green trees. It was just a dream! It's morning now. A peaceful new day. Today's the day you go skydiving. It will be your first time.

~Author Unknown

Lech Lecha – ?? ?? : "Go out"
Torah : Genesis 12:1–17:27
Haftarah : Isaiah 40:27–41:16
Gospel : Matthew 5–7

Adapted from Torah Club Volume One : Unrolling the Scroll

The Quarrel with Lot

Thought for the Week

Abraham encountered God, and it changed his life. We have all sorts of different names for this experience. Some call it a conversion. Others refer to it as being "born again." To others it is a "spiritual awakening." Regardless of what we call it, it is pure joy. It is a conversion of the heart, a spiritual awakening of the soul; it is a new birth.

Commentary

So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. (Genesis 13:8)

Abraham and his nephew Lot both had herds and flocks. In the land of Canaan, water was limited, and the two kinsmen found it impossible to stay together. Their herdsmen quarreled over grazing territory and water rights.

In this relationship, Abraham was Lot's senior. He was clearly in a position of authority over Lot. He could have sent Lot away, sent him back to Haran, or assigned him to any scrap of ground he chose. Instead, Abraham elected to give Lot the first choice of territory and to be content with whatever remained.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4)

This can be compared to a man who started a business that prospered from the man's sharp financial prowess and business acumen. When he saw that his young cousin was struggling financially, he brought him into the business as a kindness. After some time the young cousin demanded that the business be split between them. What did the man do? He said, "You take whatever customers you like and as many assets as you want, and I will continue on with whatever is left."

People don't ordinarily behave that way. They usually look out for their own interests, and when a quarrel rears up, they do their best to come out on top. Looking out for "number one" is human nature, but it's not godly nature. Yeshua taught an attitude of self-effacement:

Do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:39–42)

By giving Lot the first choice of the land, Abraham exemplified the spirit of humility and heart of love that Yeshua described. To Abraham, preserving peace between brothers was more important than success or prestige. Predictably, Lot chose the best land for himself. Lot was not wicked. He was a normal sort of person, self-serving and looking out for his own interests. Abraham was not normal. "The disciples of Abraham, our father, are generous, poor in spirit and humble." ]m.Avot 5:19.[

Middot U'Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

Holding Marriage Sacred

God takes marriage very seriously. In the Bible, adultery is a sin punishable by death. Today, people change partners and spouses more often than their apartments and houses. Nevertheless, God has not changed how He feels about marriage. He still holds the marriage union as sacred.

Pharaoh abducted Abraham's wife Sarah for his harem, but he never did get around to consorting with his new bride. Rather than let Sarah's marriage be defiled, God struck the unsuspecting Pharaoh and his household with a painful, disabling disease. This is a good example of how something seemingly bad can actually be meant for good. Pharaoh probably could not see any good in the fact that he was sick with some awful disease, but that disease spared him from committing a great sin.

Pharaoh probably consulted with his wise men and priests, who identified the phenomenon as some sort of divine disfavor. They determined that Sarah, the new addition to the household, must be the source of the problem. They put two and two together and realized she must have been a married woman. Pharaoh's affliction was a punishment for attempting to transgress the bounds of marriage.

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B'reisheet - ?????? : "In the beginning"
Torah : Genesis 1:1–6:8
Haftarah : Isaiah 42:5–43:10
Gospel : Matthew 1, 2

Where Are You?

Thought for the Week

Adam and Eve had choices: The tree of life or the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Choosing is an essential part of being human. We can choose good, which is the way of life, or disobedience, which results in death. We choose between the two trees countless times every day.

Commentary

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8–9)

Once there was a Chassidic teacher, a great rabbi, who was observing the children playing hide-and-seek. One child covered his eyes and counted while the other children scattered and hid. Then he went and began to find the children, one after another. As he found them the others join the search.

After watching the children play for a while, the rabbi returned to his books. Time passed, and the voices of the children faded away. He was eventually disturbed from his studies by the sound of a lone child's voice crying in the schoolyard. He went out to see what had happened, thinking perhaps the child might be hurt. He asked the child, "Son, what is it? Why all this weeping?" The boy explained, "We were all playing hide-and-seek. I was hiding, and they didn't find me. They quit looking for me, and they all went home." He began to sob. The rabbi realized that this child's sorrow was like God's sorrow. God has, in a sense, concealed Himself and bid us to look for Him, but no one is looking for Him.

In the garden of Eden humans experienced God directly. In the paradise of Eden, human beings lived in simplicity and innocence, without sin, guilt, shame or knowledge thereof. God was present; He was immediate; He was revealed. He spoke with them. Walked with them. They knew His presence; they recognized His voice. He was not hidden. There was no seeking after God. God was everywhere; His voice carried through the orchard.

What has happened since then? Why has God removed himself? Why has He hidden Himself away?

Let's look at the story. Who hid from whom? The Torah says, "The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). In the story, it is God who calls out to man. God did not hide Himself. God searched for man. He called out to the human beings, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9). Abraham Joshua Heschel took the title of his famous philosophy of Judaism from this narrative: God in Search of Man.
We are the ones who have hidden ourselves from the presence of God. In our fallen and rebellious state, in our place of sentience, self-awareness and self-determination, we are unable to bear the presence of God.

Where is God? This is the wrong question. The real question is, where are we?

Middot U'Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

Sex and Monogamy

The Torah says that "the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). This is the Torah's view of sexuality. God does not see sex as something sinful, shameful or perverse. He made it. He designed it to be a beautiful and fulfilling part of paradise. Consider the simple innocence of our first mother and father in the midst of Eden, the garden of delight.

Today it is common for people to go through several sexual partners before committing to marriage. It is also common for marriages to end in divorce. Things are completely out of kilter. God wants us to experience and enjoy sexuality within a committed, monogamous marriage, just like our first father and mother. When that happens, we experience a small portion of the joy of Eden. When we take sex out of that context, we twist it into something ugly and destructive.

The Torah says that husband and wife, when joined together in marriage, are "one flesh." In the Bible, the term "flesh" means "human body." This is the amazing mystery of marriage. When a man and a woman are married, they are spiritually and physically united. They in essence become one new human body. Henceforth, neither one is complete without the other. That's why marriage can be so wonderful. That's why divorce is traumatic and tragic. This also explains why infidelity and sexual relationships outside of marriage are so damaging. The apostle says, "Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4).We are not designed for multiple partners. We are physically and spiritually designed for a committed, monogamous relationship.

ffoz.org

Noach - ?? : "Noah"
Torah : Genesis 6:9-11:32
Haftarah : Isaiah 54:1-55:5
Gospel : Matthew 3–4

Excerpts from Torah Club Volume One: Unrolling the Scroll

Fixing a Broken World

Thought for the Week

Human evil grieves God's heart. God is not peering down on the planet making observations like a dispassionate astronaut. Neither is He watching us like a man sitting on a sofa watching a football game. Rather, He is like a Father who observes the behavior of His children. He is like a king taking note of how events unfold in his kingdom. When a father sees his children involved in self-destructive behaviors, it grieves him. When a king sees his subjects living in open rebellion against him, it angers him. As God observed humanity in the days of Noah, He was saddened to see the rampant wickedness of His creations. He saw that every human heart harbored evil. "The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart" (Genesis 6:6).

Commentary

Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:13)

The Bible says that the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). Sin affects the world around us. It affects others around us. For example, an alcoholic might suppose that his drinking problem is his own business. But when he abuses his wife and children, it is their problem. When he can't perform at work, it is his employer's problem. When he loses his job, it is his creditors' problem. When he can no longer afford to take care of his family, it is the community's problem. Our sins touch the lives of everyone around us. They pollute the spiritual environment of our world.

Human beings are naturally selfish creatures. We rarely consider the consequences that our choices have on others. In the days of Noah, the violent man never stopped to say to himself, "My violence is making this world worse. My sins are hurting the whole of humanity." Each time we sin, no matter how private and personal we imagine the sin to be, we contribute to the destruction of the world.

God punishes sin. For Him to leave sin unpunished would be unjust.

Think of it this way. Suppose there was a murder trial. The defendant was proven guilty. The jury returned a guilty verdict, but the judge, being a kindly fellow, dismissed the verdict, saying, "Well, the poor bloke is probably sorry. I don't think we need to punish him." Everyone would be outraged at the travesty of justice.

Yet people want to imagine God like that. We don't like to think of God as a punisher of sin. We want Him to just look the other way, like a kindly old grandfather who winks at the misdeeds of his grandchildren. The Bible says, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [God's] throne" (Psalm 89:14). In other words, God's kingdom is founded upon justice. Since God is the very standard of justice, He cannot be unjust.

This is the problem with sin. It begets judgment. In the days of Noah, the sin of humanity was so great that justice demanded God take action against it. The easiest thing for God to do would have been to simply will the universe out of existence. He could have just shut the entire thing down and started over with a new creation. Instead, He chose to try to fix the world.

In Judaism, "fixing the world" (tikkun olam, ???? ????) is an important concept. The world is broken, and it needs to be fixed. Whenever we apply our efforts to doing good by alleviating human suffering, standing up for justice, making peace in the midst of strife and choosing to do right instead of wrong, we are fixing the world. As we make the world a better, more godly place, we are restoring it to God's original intent.

Middot U'Mitzvot (Character and Deeds)

Covering Sin

But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father's nakedness. (Genesis 9:23)

Noah was a godly, righteous man. But even godly, righteous men make mistakes. Abusing alcohol is a sure way to make serious blunders. Noah's drunkenness brought him shame and family trouble. Worse than getting drunk and making a fool of himself, Noah did so in view of his sons. There comes a time in every child's life when he realizes that his father and mother are not perfect people. Our parents make mistakes. Sometimes lots of them. That's to be expected, since parents are also human beings. When we see our parents make blunders or behave badly, how do we as their children respond? God commands us to honor our father and mother. How can we honor them when they behave dishonorably?

The Torah shows us two alternatives. Noah's son Ham "saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside" (Genesis 9:22). The other two sons, Shem and Japheth, took a blanket and covered their father. Ham's choice was to sneer at his father. The other two sons honored him. In fact, they would not even look on his nakedness as they covered him.

People do and say foolish things all the time. The natural human inclination is to expose their folly by pointing it out to others. The godly thing to do, however, is to look away from the foolishness of others and try to cover their shame.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

ffoz.org

Sukkot : "The Feast of Booths"
Torah : Leviticus 22:26–23:44
Haftarah : Zechariah 14
Gospel : Luke 2

The Feast of Tabernacles

Thought for the Week:

The Apostle John uses a verb form of the same Greek word that is used to translate the Hebrew word for "booth" (sukkah) when he wrote, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us." (John 1:14) He tabernacled among us, and He will tabernacle among us again in the messianic future. The celebration of the Festival of Booths (Sukkot) celebrates the Messiah who once tabernacled among us, now tabernacles within us, and in the future will again tabernacle among us.

Commentary:

The last appointment on God's Leviticus 23 calendar is the Feast of Booths, a seven-day harvest celebration. The Hebrew name of the festival is Sukkot, a word that means "shelters, stables or huts." These temporary, tent-like structures are often translated as "tabernacles" in our English Bibles. The festival is so named because Israel is commanded to annually build such dwelling places as a reminder of the post-exodus years when they lived in huts and booths, following God in the wilderness.¹ Sukkot is a time of joy and celebration, a time to celebrate the harvest and revel in God's goodness.

Many beautiful traditions are attached to the annual Festival of Booths. For example, it is traditional to invite guests into one's booth for a festive meal each night of Sukkot. Among the list of invitees are some auspicious names: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Each are specially invited to come into the booth and pull up a chair at the table. Obviously, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David are unlikely to actually attend the meal, since they are all dead. That, however, is the point of the ritual. The Feast of Booths anticipates the Messianic Age, when the dead will be raised to life again and we will all sit at the table with the aforementioned in the kingdom of heaven.

When Messiah comes, He will bring in the final harvest of God's kingdom and institute an age of peace and prosperity upon the earth. The prophets relate that day to the festival of Sukkot, a day when every man will sit beneath his own vine and fig tree.² Isaiah 4:6 tells us that God will spread a tabernacle of glory over Jerusalem.

According to the prophets, the Feast of Booths celebrates a time when all nations will ascend to Jerusalem bearing tribute to King Messiah and celebrating the festival. In that day, all nations will ascend to His throne in Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Festival of Booths (Tabernacles). Obviously, this is a very important festival for disciples of Messiah today.

Sukkot is the great festival, the culmination of all the appointed times. Sukkot is to the other festivals what the Sabbath is to the other six days of the week. As such it is a fitting foreshadowing of that great celebration of creation when the entire world will live in peace and brotherhood under the reign and rule of the righteous Messiah King. Just as the weekly Sabbath foreshadows the millennium, Sukkot also looks forward to that great age. Therefore, the festival of Sukkot, like all the festivals, foreshadows Messiah.

Endnotes

1. Leviticus 23:42–43
2. Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10

 

ffoz.org

Yom Kippur
Torah : Leviticus 16:1-34
Haftarah : Isaiah 57:14-58:14
Gospel : Matthew 25

Holiest Day of the Year

Thought for the Week:

According to the writer of the book of Hebrews, Messiah has become our High Priest. He entered into the Holy of Holies in heaven—the actual throne room of God—and applied His own blood for atonement. He entered into the presence of God for us so that He might usher us in as well (Hebrews 9:11–12). Messiah is our High Priest, "a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the LORD pitched, not man" (Hebrews 8:2). Therein He applied His atoning blood. Therefore, the ceremony of the Day of Atonement uniquely patterns the work of Messiah: His death, His sacrifice and the atonement of His blood. We boldly enter the presence of God because the blood of Messiah covers us. Today He stands interceding on our behalf before the throne of God, just like a high priest.

Commentary:

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat." (Leviticus 16:2)

After the deaths of the two sons of Aaron, the LORD warned Aaron not to enter the Holy of Holies but once a year. On that day, Aaron alone (or the high priest after him) was to enter in order to make atonement for Israel, the holy place and the altar. The day on which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies was called the Day of Atonement. Even then, Aaron was to enter only with blood and under the cloud of incense. Leviticus 16, the Torah reading for the Day of Atonement, describes the Tabernacle/Temple ceremony of the Day of Atonement: the two goats—the sin offering and the scapegoat—the incense, the sprinkling with blood and the high priest's entrance into the Holy of Holies. In Leviticus 16 we read about the intersection of three spheres of holiness. On the holiest day of the year (the Day of Atonement), the holiest man in the world (the high priest of Israel) goes into the holiest place in the world (the Holy of Holies). The high priest had to enter in order to make atonement for Israel, atonement for the Holy of Holies, atonement for the Tabernacle and atonement for the altar. Because these things remained continually in the presence of God, they needed to be atoned for. Without atonement they could not remain in the presence of God.

The Day of Atonement is the holiest day of the year. All of God's appointed times are holy to the LORD, but the Day of Atonement is the holiest of all. It is set apart even from the other holy days.

All other Sabbaths and holidays are times of feasting and celebration. However, on the Day of Atonement, everyone is commanded to afflict himself through fasting and abstinence. The LORD says, "If there is any person who will not afflict his soul on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people" (Leviticus 23:29).

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1. Why Did The People Of Jerusalem Want To Kill Paul? 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5951 ] 
 
 
--- 
 
2. How Badly Was Jesus Beaten? 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5952 ] 
 
 
--- 
 
3. Student Mind Clearing 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5953 ] 
 
 
--- 
 
4. Have You Done Your 'Yoga Devotions?' 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5954 ] 
 
 
--- 
 
5. Weaning Evangelicals Off the Word - Part 3 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5958 ] 
 
 
The previous two parts of this series (TBC, 2/07 [173857] , 3/07 
[173858] ) made some observations that should be of great concern to 
those who consider themselves Bible-believing Christians. 
[173857] 
http://www.thebereancall.org//node/2427%5C%22+target%3D%5C%22_blank 
[173858] 
http://www.thebereancall.org//node/2554%5C%22+target%3D%5C%22_blank 
 
--- 
 
6. September 2007 Quotable 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5960 ] 
 
How sadly possible it is to take delight in conferences and 
conventions, to feast on all the good things that are brought before 
us, and yet to be unprepared to go out from them to self-denying 
efforts to rescue the perishing; to delight in the rest of faith while 
forgetful to fight the good fight of faith; to dwell upon the cleansing 
and the purity effected by faith, but to have little thought fo 
 
--- 
 
7. September 2007 Q & A 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5961 ] 
 
 
QUESTION: 
 
--- 
 
8. September News Alert 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5962 ] 
 
MSNBC News Services, 7/10/07 [Excerpts]: Pope Benedict XVI has 
reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, 
approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches are 
defective and that other Christian denominations are not true churches. 
 
--- 
 
9. September 2007 Letters 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5963 ] 
 
 
Hi there, 
 
--- 
 
10. September 2007 TBC Notes 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5964 ] 
 
 
Be a Berean 
 
--- 
 
11. September 2007 TBC Extra 
[ http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5965 ] 
 
EMERGING APOSTASY 
 
"...There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring 
in damnable heresies..." 
[2 Peter 2:1 [173859]a] 
 
[173859] 
http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=KJV&passage=2+Peter+2%3A1.." 
title=.."Bible Gateway 

WorldWide Religious News
www.wwrn.org

Email: wwrn@wwrn.org

Africa:

"Christianity vs. the old gods of Nigeria"
(AP, September 4, 2007)

Achina, Nigeria - Born in a family of traditional priests in southeastern Nigeria, 52-year-old Ibe Nwigwe converted to Christianity as a boy. Under the sway of born-again fervor as a man, he gathered the paraphernalia of ancestral worship — a centuries old stool, a metal staff with a carved wooden handle and a carved god figure — and burned them as his pastor watched.

"Students burn 'witch' women alive"
(Reuters, September 05, 2007)

Johannesburg, South Africa - TWO South African women were burnt to death by a group of students who suspected the victims had bewitched their high school with evil spirits, the South African Press Association reported today.

"African Anglicans try to transform US church"
by Michael Paulson ("Boston Globe," September 5, 2007)

Nairobi, Kenya - The subject of Sunday's sermon at St. Stephen's Anglican Church was repentance, and the preacher found an obvious example of the sinfulness of contemporary culture within the branch of his own denomination an ocean away in the United States.

Asia/Pacific:

"Airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god"
(Reuters, September 4, 2007)

Kathmandu, Nepal - Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.

Europe:

"Swedish Muslim group plans to sue newspaper for Prophet Muhammad drawing"
(AP, September 5, 2007)

Stockholm, Sweden - A Swedish Muslim group on Tuesday said it plans to sue a local newspaper for publishing a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog's body.

"Cardinal calls to rein in Poland's radical cleric"
by Natalia Reiter (Reuters, September 5, 2007)

Warsaw, Poland - Poland's most prominent Cardinal called on the Church to take immediate action against a radical priest who is accused of spreading anti-Semitism and meddling in politics.

"Pope marks anniversary of Mother Teresa's death, calls her 'real disciple of Christ'"
(AP, September 5, 2007)

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, calling her a "real disciple of Christ" and urging her fellow missionaries to continue her work among the world's poor.

North America:

"U.S. churches find financial transparency"
by Ed Stoddard (Reuters, September 4, 2007)

Dallas, USA - The growth of megachurches in the United States has spawned mega revenues, leading many to find the financial light and embrace transparency to assure their congregations that their offerings are well spent.

"U.S. churches go high tech to raise cash"
by Ed Stoddard (Reuters, September 4, 2007)

Grapevine, USA - While many U.S. churches still raise funds through time-honored methods like bake sales and bingo nights, increasingly, they are going high-tech.

"Muslim sues O.C. over right to wear head scarf"
by H.G. Reza ("LA Times," September 5, 2007)

Los Angeles, USA - A Muslim whose religious practice requires that she cover her head in public sued the Orange County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday, alleging her rights were violated when jail officials forced her to remove a head scarf while locked up for about eight hours.

"Megachurch leader D. James Kennedy dies"
by Kelli Kennedy (AP, September 5, 2007)

Fort Lauderdale, USA - The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering megachurch pastor who became one of the nation's most prominent Christian broadcasters and a key figure in the rise of the religious right, died Wednesday, a church spokesman said. He was 76.

Russia and the CIS:

"UZBEKISTAN: Spies and videotape"
by Felix Corley ("Forum 18," September 5, 2007)

Tashkent, Uzbekistan - "Two secret police officers sit in each church across the country – but not just churches, they are there in mosques and in other places of worship," one Protestant who preferred not to be identified for fear of reprisals told Forum 18 News Service. "I'm not worried, but it makes us think about everything we do."

South America

"Not even the dead are safe in Caracas"
by Chris Kraul ("LA Times," September 5, 2007)

Caracas, Venezuela - Skulking in the dead of night in the remote and overgrown Las Pavas section of the Southern Municipal Cemetery, robbers armed with crowbars and sledgehammers first shattered the tomb's concrete vault and the granite marker that read, "To our dear wife and mother in heaven, Maria de la Cruz Aguero."

THE INSIDER

IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES

US, Japan, India & Australia announce military alliance against China
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2598

Russia and Syria strengthen military alliance
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2595

US regime planning to destroy Iran's entire military infrastructure in
apocalyptic '3-day blitz'
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2596

US regime escalates tension with Iran: Bush announces he has ''authorised
our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous
activities''
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2591

Columbia requests extradition of Israeli caught supporting terrorists and
drugs-traffickers
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2593

UN admits Israeli expansion undermines the 'peace' process
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2597

Scientists trying to stop Apophis asteroid hitting Earth in 2029
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=2592

WorldWide Religious News
www.wwrn.org

Email: wwrn@wwrn.org

Africa:

"Kenyan police arrest members of sect blamed for murders"
(AFP, September 4, 2007)

Nairobi, Kenya - Kenyan police have arrested 17 members of the banned Mungiki sect, blamed for a string of murders and beheadings, while they were on their way to an oath-taking ceremony, an official said Tuesday.

"5 sentenced for Christian doctrine preaching and public order offences"
("El Khabar," September 3, 2007)

Algiers, Algeria - Five people were sentenced earlier in June for charges related preaching Christian doctrine and public order offences by virtue of the law on the religious practice in Algeria approved by the government in 2006. The sentences vary between one year sentence with no remission and one year suspended sentence with a 5000 AD fine.

"Over 6,000 Churches Awaiting Registration"
("East African Standard," September 4, 2007)

Nairobi, Kenya - The Registrar General is overwhelmed by increasing demand for the registration of churches.

Asia/Pacific:

"Dozens injured in Dera-Sikh clash in Punjab"
("ANI," September 3, 2007)

Mansa, India - At least 20 people were wounded after followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect clashed with a group of Sikhs in a small village in Punjab's Mansa District today.

"Beijing, critic of religion, to build religious worship center in Olympic Village"
(AP, September 4, 2007)

Beijing, China - Beijing 2008 organizers say they plan to build a multi-faith worship center in the Olympic Village, a striking move in a country that heavily restricts all religious activity.

"Thai temple makes lucky charms of infants' ashes"
(Reuters, September 4, 2007)

Bangkok, Thailand - A Thai Buddhist temple has been reprimanded by religious authorities for selling amulets containing the ashes of cremated infants to raise money for a plot of land and a crematorium, an official said on Tuesday.

"Thailand's frenzy for amulets"
by Jonathan Head ("BBC News," September 3, 2007)

Bangkok, Thailand - For advertisers in Thailand, the most spectacular location to promote their products is on the side of the country's tallest building, the Baiyoke Tower in Bangkok.

Europe:

"Serbian police to step up fight against sects following ritual killing"
(AP, September 3, 2007)

Belgrade, Serbia - Serbian police will step up the fight against sects following an apparent ritual killing of a boy and his uncle, the Interior Minister said Sunday.

"Scientologists risks criminal charges after 10-year Belgian probe"
(AP, September 4, 2007)

Brussels, Belgium - A Belgian prosecutor on Tuesday recommended that the U.S.-based Church of Scientology stand trial for fraud and extortion, following a 10-year investigation that concluded the group should be labeled a criminal organization.

"Religion not race segregates city"
("BBC News," September 4, 2007)

London, England - London is far more segregated on religious grounds than by race, new research reveals.

"Egypt wades into Swedish cartoons row"
by Gwladys Fouché ("Guardian," September 3, 2007)

London, England - Egypt has added its voice to the chorus of protests against Sweden, following the publication of a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad in a local Swedish newspaper.

North America:

"Apology for 'hurt and pain' at private school"
by MIchael Valpy ("Globe and Mail," September 1, 2007)

Grenville, Canada - Ontario's Grenville Christian College, which has closed amid allegations of cult practices, was an emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically abusive place that caused "hurt and pain" to staff and students, a former senior administrator of the elite private school acknowledged yesterday.

"Abandon Stereotypes, Muslims in America Say"
by Neil MacFarquhar ("NY Times," September 4, 2007)

Rosemont, USA - It is time for the United States to stop treating every American Muslim as somehow suspect, leaders of the faith said at their largest annual convention, which ended here on Monday.