The Da Vinci Code and the Jews

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

The controversial book highlights the
fundamental differences between
Judaism and Roman Catholicism.

{{{C~B~N's comments enclosed--
Theologically, we are VERY different
from the Catholic faith. But that
not withstanding, Evangelical
Christians do not support this book
or its premises. }}}
† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

It's commonly called "the runaway
best seller of the 21st century."
The numbers are staggering.
Forty million copies sold round
the world. Translated into 44
languages. Soon to be released
as a movie starring Tom Hanks.
Critics agree: There hasn't been
anything like Dan Brown's The
Da Vinci Code in publishing history.

And that, truth be told, hasn't made
the Catholic Church very happy.
This, after all, isn't just an exciting
mystery novel. Woven into a story
of the aftermath of a murder in
the Louvre Museum is a tale of
Christian conspiracies, high level
cover-ups, and ancient secret
societies that the author repeatedly
hints is more fact than fiction.

Written in breezy roman-a-clef style,
the reader is introduced to Catholic
orders that really exist, prominent
holy sites that can readily be visited,
and famous people of past and
present -- all of whom share in
what is presented as the greatest
theological falsification of history.

"Almost everything our fathers
taught us about Christ is false,"
laments one of Brown's characters.
"Faith," he has one of his heroes
tell us, "is based on fabrication."
{{{LIES OF SATAN}}}

Mingling fact with fiction in a
combustible mixture that leaves
readers perplexed by the boundaries
between one and the other, Brown
leads us to believe -- with more
than an author's wink -- that an
incredible hoax has been played
on millions of pious Christians
who've never been told the truth
about the Holy Grail.

For centuries, pious Christians
have been taught that the Holy
Grail is the cup from which Jesus
drank at the Last Supper. But for
Brown's all-knowing art critic and
alter-ego Robert Langdon, that isn't true.

"The Grail," Langdon tells us in
a scholarly voice that appears to
echo the author's personal
conviction, "is symbolic of the lost
goddess. When Christianity came
along, the old pagan religions did
not die easily.

{{{Yet die they did. And yet Christianity
has survived 2000 years. That
tells me right there that the Bible
and Christianity can and DO
survive the test of time
AND truth.
Mark 4:30-32 The Parable of the
Mustard seed. While the mustard
seed is one of the smallest seeds,
it grows into one of the largest
plants. Just as Christianity
started small...it has grown
world-wide. Within the first
generation of believers, it had
spread to Ethiopia, India and
Europe.}}}

Legends of chivalric quests for
the Holy Grail were in fact stories
of forbidden quests to find the
lost sacred feminine. Knights who
claimed to be 'searching for the
chalice' were speaking in code
as a way to protect themselves
from a Church that had subjugated
women, banished the Goddess,
burned non-believers, and forbidden
the pagan reverence for the sacred
feminine."
(The Da Vinci Code, pages 238-239)

{{{What a bunch of new age lies.
Satan is having a field day with this.}}}

And there is more. A woman's body
is symbolically a container, and the
most famous of these has a name
every Christian will immediately
recognize. Brown claims that the
Holy Grail was actually Mary
Magdalene. She was married to
Jesus and was the vessel that bore
his children.

The secret that could not be
revealed since the birth of
Christianity is that Jesus' bloodline
continues to flourish to this day.
The Grand Masters of the Priory
of Sion (an actual Christian
organization), among whom
Brown lists Leonardo Da Vinci,
Isaac Newton and Victor Hugo,
have -- according to the book's
premise -- kept to their oath
never to reveal any of this to the
public and the Roman Catholic
church is committed to suppressing
this information. Brown strongly
hints that only the fortunate
readers of this "documentary
disguised as fiction" may at
last share in this incredible
revelation.

Small wonder the Church is
profoundly disturbed. Brown's
book is for the Vatican blasphemy
masquerading as history. If the
Da Vinci Code premise is true --
and the entire book is replete with
suggestions that the reader is
permitted entree to secret truths
merely couched in a fictionalized
framework -- Rome needs to revise
its faith and its past, its beliefs as
well as the story of its beginnings.

Chilling Effects

But what strikes me, as a rabbi,
is the remarkable irony that the
very theories about Jesus presented
by Brown that make the book
blasphemous to Christians are
concepts that make Jesus far more
comprehensible to Jews.

So Jesus was married! Well why
shouldn't he have been? Reared
as a Jew, celibacy would have
almost certainly been an idea
totally foreign to him. "Be fruitful
and multiply" was the biblical
creed that all Jews considered
sacred. Celibacy as a Christian
ideal wouldn't become law until
the Council of Elvira (300-306)
decreed (Canon 33): It is decided
that marriage be altogether
prohibited to bishops, priests,
and deacons, or to all clerics placed
in the ministry, and that they keep
away from their wives and not
beget children; whoever does
this, shall be deprived of the
honor of the clerical office.
Christian scholars explain the
reason: The Church wanted to
insure that the wealth of its
leadership would not be dissipated
by way of family inheritance.
A non-married clergy would
always return their possessions
to Rome. {{{Protestants have always
thought this was nuts. A man is a
better preacher who can identify
with the troubles and temptations
of his parishioners.}}}

Historians have pointed out the
chilling effects of this doctrine.
The "best and the brightest" were
invariably encouraged to enter the
prestigious life of the priesthood.
That effectively condemned their
genes to hereditary oblivion. Jews,
on the other hand, turned those
with the greatest intellectual
potential to rabbinic lives of
learning and teaching combined
with an emphasis on large families.
That, claims Will Durant in his classic
The Lessons of History, is what in
all probability accounts for the
statistically unbelievable
preponderance of Jewish Nobel
Prize winners and achievements.
{{{In Support of Israel }}}

More troubling for Christians, a
married Jesus is far too much a
human figure instead of a god to
be worshipped. Christianity can't
conceive of their object of divine
reverance as a sexual being -- or
even as one conceived by the sexual
act.

{{{Most of us are NOT quite that
prudish. Envisioning Jesus as having
sex does not disturb me as much
as the fact that Jesus my Savior,
a Messiah who is going to die for
MY sins, so I can someday join God
in Heaven, cannot be a corrupted
Savior. Jesus and God both
knew/know that sex is one area
of human existence that is so easily
corrupted. Just look at all the
references that deal with this subject
and the many perversions that result
in this area, then tell me it is not
important! }}}

It is a troublesome relationship
with physical pleasure that turned
Christian teachings away from
their Jewish biblical source. But
Jews have no problem with a
married Moses.

{{{But Moses is not God, nor
the Messiah and never claimed to
be!}}}

It is the Torah that Moses brought
to us that not only commands
marriage but calls it Kiddushin
-- an ideal state of holiness.

Here is the crux of a crucial concept
that has separated Judaism from
Christianity throughout the centuries.
Jews spared no effort to insure that
their greatest leader never be
confused with God; Moses was always
to be viewed as human, mortal,
less than divine, even capable of sin
for which he was punished and denied
entry into the Promised Land.
His very burial site was to remain
hidden so that it not become revered
beyond measure. The greatness of
Moses rests precisely on his human
qualities. He represents mankind's
potential. In him we see what we fellow
human beings are capable of becoming.

Christians, on the other hand, insisted
that Jesus be viewed not as man but
as god; {{{Think it is GOD who has
insisted on this.....not Christians!}}}
his human form could never be allowed
to overshadow his divinity. Jesus was
not elevated man but a god descended
to earth. Physical frailties and human
weaknesses couldn't possibly be part of
his makeup.

And that is what Brown has breached
in revealing, albeit in an ostensibly
fictionalized account, a " human" truth
about Christianity's founder. A
married Jesus with children is,
for the Church, nothing less than
a diminished god.

That's why Jews shouldn't be upset
about the success of The Da Vinci
Code. After all, it's responsible for
making more than 40 million people
question what Jews have long
recognized about Christianity's
founder:

Jesus was not God; he was human.

{{{This is why having only
HALF of the inspired word of
God doesn't work:

Divinity of Jesus: Luke 5:21;
Colossians 1:15-16; 1 John 2:22-23}}}


And perhaps the day will come
when the world will acknowledge
what Judaism teaches: It isn't
God who became man, but man
who must strive to become more
like God.

{{{This philosophy is
dangerously close to secular
humanism--anathema to
GOD.

Jesus IS divine. Otherwise how can
a Jesus who is not divine, die for
MY sins if HE is sinful? It won't
work. What is not covered here
is the "sacrificial" aspect of Jesus.
To be the sacificial lamb, according
to the Torah, He had
to be without blemish or spot.
This rules out marriage.

As a Christian, we have to take
a lot of slaps from others: Muslims,
Buddhists, Agnostics, Athiests;
but now from our Jewish brethran
as well??????

I'm not easily offended. You can't be
and still be a Christian...at least in
this day and age. But this article
did offend.}}}


Top of Page

Money

A man trying to understand the
nature of God asked him:
"God, how long is a million years
to you?"
God answered:
"A million years is like a minute."
Then the man asked:
"God, how much is a million
dollars to you?"
And God replied:
"A million dollars is like a penny."
Finally, the man asked:
"God, could you give me a penny?"
And God said, "In a minute."


Now that you have had a laugh...on to the
lesson!

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

The Issue of Money
===================

Shortage of money is the number one
common factor in the hundreds of prayer
requests that we receive each week at
Mountain Wings #3248

If money is not the central issue, a
money shortage is usually present in
both marriage difficulties and health
problems.

A sizable percentage of MountainWings'
readers deal with money shortage issues.

Some think it doesn't belong in an
inspirational email but let your money
get tight and get an unexpected check
and see if that doesn't inspire you.

I want to address the issue of money as
briefly as I can. For a few, my experience
may shed a new light on your situation.
Some may have a radically different
opinion, that is expected; but for many,
this will help change your view and
possibly your approach to your money
situation.

I deal with more money shortage
situations than most people simply
by virtue of being a Pastor of a church
and a businessman. People come to me,
both for advice and money in both the
church and business worlds.

Hopefully the eight principles below
will help someone reading Mountain
Wings.

Principle #1 - Hardly anyone has enough
money.
----------------------------------------------
At a recent meeting in my company,
some thought I was bragging when I said
that I had enough money. I was absolutely
serious.I have always had enough money,
but I have not always made a lot of money.

When I earned less than minimum wage,
I had enough money.When I earned minimum
wage, I had enough money. I have enough
money now.

Someone asked the multi-billionaire John
D. Rockefeller the question of "How much
money is enough?"

His answer was, "One more dollar than I have."
He therefore, would never have enough,
no matter how many billions he had.

I have seen people earn more than double
what they were earning in the previous year
and they still did not have enough money.

Money is one of those things where unless
the spirit gets right, you never have enough.
Having enough money is primarily a matter
of spirit, not amount, understand this.

Principle #2 - You are rich when you
have enough.
-------------------------------------------
Don't be like Rockefeller or else you
will forever be dissatisfied.

Often our change from poor to rich is
more spiritual than financial. It is why
Paul could say if you have food and
clothing then you should be content.

Perhaps we should realize that
instead of struggling so hard to get
more that we should simply want less.
The problem with wanting more is
that it never stops, and most find that
even when they get "the stuff," it's
not what they thought in terms of real
contentment.

Jesus said:
a. The Kingdom of God is within
b. It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God.

Everyone wants the kingdom, yet
everyone also wants to be rich.

I preached a sermon called, "The
Roughest Verse in the Bible." It was
concerning this basic principle.
You can listen to it onWMA (best) Listen

Just maybe, for many of you, you have enough already.

Principle #3 - Neither The New
Testament of the Bible or any of the
teachings of Jesus promise nor
promote material wealth.
-------------------------------------
Some will argue against this to an extreme,
but I have looked for it over and over in
the New Testament of the Bible. It
simply is not there unless you take
a scripture and twist it to mean what
it really didn't say or you must make
speculations about things
that aren't written in scripture.

No words in the New Testament promote
wealth when looked at in context.

NONE!

"What about when Jesus told the
disciples where to fish and they had
the great haul of fish?" you ask.

Read what they did with the increase
after they got it. The disciples ate from
the fish then left the fish to follow Jesus.
When you read exactly what they did,
the pattern becomes clear.

We can sometimes be masters at making
scripture say what it never meant because
it is what people want to hear and it often
justifies our own agenda.

Jesus NEVER pointed us towards material
wealth; he did quite the opposite when
you read what he actually said.

Many passages plainly point you away
from riches but none plainly point you
towards it, not in the New Testament.

And no, the verse, "Beloved, I wish above
all things that thou mayest prosper and
be in health," is not talking about riches.

Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8, that if you
have food and clothing you should be
content. I thought about that verse as I
was alone one day. I had a BIG problem
with it then, and I still struggle to
fully understand and accept it.

"What about shelter?" I thought. How
in the world does God expect you to be
content with no house? That just didn't
make any sense to me.

So I asked God in a quiet moment, "How
can a person be content with no house?"
God answered me and though I didn't like the
answer, the minute I heard it, I recognized
the truth of it.

The answer was, "Did my son have a house?"
"Whoa!"

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds
of the air have nests, but the Son of Man
has no place to lay his head."(Mat 8:20 NIV)

Not only are we NOT happy with food and
clothing, we often aren't happy even in
medium or large houses. We want mansions
and guess what? Given enough time,
we often aren't happy in those either.

Principle #4 - Rich and poor are relative
terms.
----------------------------------------
I went to the Amazon jungle. I wanted to
see the rain forest before man destroyed
it. The children in the jungle were
excited to see an ink pen.

We trekked through the jungle all
day with a native guide. He said our
hike would culminate by visiting the
rich man's house.

I was expecting a huge mansion
overlooking the river. When we got
to his house, it indeed sat on a hill,
but it was hardly a mansion.
It was more like a shack on a hill.

His house was distinguished by the
fact that it had a generator. The rich
man had electricity. When the rest of
the village was dark, he had light,
therefore everyone in the village
considered him"The Rich Man.

"I learned a great lesson from that.
He had no indoor plumbing, no air
conditioning, no marble counters or
carpeted floors. His house would not
even meet minimum building codes in
the poorest neighborhoods in America.
However, he had electricity when
everyone else was in the dark,
therefore he was rich.

In many parts of the world, what we
consider poverty is considered great
wealth. We have so much food in
America that eating too much causes
America's biggest health problems.

Principle #5 - Happiness is not dependent
on money.
------------------------------------------
The Amazon jungle was perhaps the poorest
area that I have ever visited. There was
no industry. The huts did not even have
doors. Yet, in the midst of what many
would consider extreme poverty by
American standards, again I saw something.

The people were quite happy.

The ability to sense spirit is something
God gave me long ago.When I sold
newspapers as a boy through many of the
neighborhoods in Atlanta, the minute
people opened the door, I could sense
whether the house was happy or sad.

I sold newspapers in the richest and
poorest of neighborhoods. Both had
their share of happy and sad homes.

The guide told us as we walked through
the village with the doorless huts, "We
marry around 13 or 14."

"13 or 14?" I repeated, amazed at
such a young marrying age.

"What is the divorce rate?" I asked.
"Less than 5%," he replied.

Again I saw that material possessions
don't guarantee happiness.We have
relatively huge wealth along with a relatively
huge divorce rate.

Principle #6 - One American family has
contributed to morefinancial disaster
than any other.
-----------------------------------------
The Joneses.

Because we often try to keep up with the
Joneses, it strains our finances to the
limit and beyond. My father, often quoted,
"If your outgo exceeds your income then
your upkeep will become your downfall.

"Too often we live way above our means.
I have always had enoughmoney because
I have always kept my expenses well below
my income. Whether you earn millions or
minimum wage, the principle applies.

Years ago my wife began selling a nutritional
system. The system had a cassette tape
explaining it. She went throughout several
Atlanta upper income neighborhoods
putting the tapes in mailboxes.

She only selected the fancy houses as
she only had a limited number of tapes.

Six people responded wanting the system.
The system cost $100.

Of the six people who responded, not ONE
had $100.

Each had a story of why they had to wait
until payday or could only pay a part now
but none had $100. "How could that be?"
my wife asked.

"I specifically only put these tapes in BIG
houses. They all had two fancy cars and
$200,000 plus houses. How could their
finances be so tight that they don't have $100?"
she kept asking me.

Because they lived next to The Joneses,
who lived next to The Joneses,
who lived next to The Joneses,who lived next to ...

Principle #7 - Lack of a budget.
--------------------------------------------------
At the church, I have a financial expert
teach a class each month. It is a six-part
series that we repeat each six months.
It teaches people how to manage their money.
We often tell people in the church to give
10% of their money to the church,
but we give them no knowledge on
how to manage the other 90%.

People came to me with testimonies
about how the class changed their financial
lives. The first thing the expert did was to
have everyone create a budget.

NO ONE had a budget. No one could
say exactly how much they were spending.
Sure, they all knew what the rent or mortgage
was, but it was often the "other" stuff
that sunk them. No onecould tell you
with any degree of accuracy exactly what
they were spending as a total.

The expert told the story of how one
lady had come to him for a loan.
She wanted to buy a car. She was going to
pay for the car by the week at one of those
"pay by the week" places.

She got angry at him when he would
not lend her the money. He had her to
do a budget. When she did, she was
shocked to see that the weekly
payments plus what she was spending
on other stuff added up to more than
what she was earning. If he had
loaned her the money for the down
payment on the car, it would
have been sure financial disaster.

WRITE IT DOWN exactly how much
you spend each month on EVERYTHING.
You may be surprised. Just something as
simple as a two pack a day cigarette habit
is $200.00 per month.

Principle #8 - Learn the principle of
giving.
-------------------------------------------------
I cannot logically explain this, but I
know it is true. It is no accident that
the U.S. is the most prosperous country on
the face of the earth, but we also give
more than any other country on earth.

Yes, I know the U.S. has flaws but that
doesn't change the principle or the result.
We benefit from our benevolence;
we suffer for our malice.

God spoke a Word of Wisdom to me
personally concerning money.

"Anything beyond sufficiency is insignificant."

It has taken me a long time to understand
that but the longer I live, the more
convinced I am of that truth.

Money is similar to food. You need it;
if you run short, it gets very uncomfortable
and even unhealthy. Yet excess consumption
has great dangers.

Having excess food is wonderful if you do
the right thing. The problem is not in
having the excess; the excess is a blessing.
The challenge is in doing the right thing
with the excess.

Even the Old Testament of the Bible
listed lack of both money and food as a
curse and its abundance a blessing.
The problem was that it wasn't long
after the abundance that the people became
corrupt. It is very hard to keep abundance
in balance.

That's why Jesus said it was HARD
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Money has always been and always will be
an issue. It traps most in this world;
it even traps most of us preachers.

"No servant can serve two masters.
Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both
God and Money. "The Pharisees,
(ministers and priests) who loved
money, heard all this and were sneering
at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones
who justify yourselves in the eyes of men,
but God knows your hearts. What is
highly valued among men is detestable
in God's sight. (Luke 16:13-15 NIV)

The messages of this week have presented
you with the principles for abundance
and some guidance for using the abundance.

I wrote an issue on what God specifically
spoke to me concerning how to handle the
blessing of money.

Click here to Read it

Remember that a golden chain binds
just as tight as an iron one.

Top of Page

Which are you?

A family had twin boys whose only
resemblance to each other was
their looks.

If one felt it was too hot, the other
thought it was too cold. If one said
the TV was too loud, the other
claimed the volume needed to
be turned up.

Opposite in every way, one was
an eternal optimist, the other a
doom & gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen,
on the twins' birthday their
father loaded the pessimist's
room with every imaginable
toy and game.

The optimist's room he loaded
with horse manure.

That night the father passed
by the pessimist's room and
found him sitting amid his
new gifts crying bitterly.

"Why are you crying?" the
father asked.

"Because my friends will be
jealous, I'll have to read all these
instructions before I can do
anything with this stuff.
I'll constantly need batteries,
and my toys will eventually get
broken." answered the
pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin's
room, the father found him
dancing for joy in the pile of
manure.

"What are you so happy
about?" he asked.

To which his optimist twin
replied,

"There's got to be a pony in here
somewhere!"



Top of Page

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe

You cannot blame yourself, never mind
persecute yourself for how you feel.

But you can rejoice in the battle of
controlling and sublimating those
feelings.

Every small victory within yourself
is a major triumph over the darkness
of this world.

Indeed, this is why this darkness was
placed within you, in order that you
may transform it into great light.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the
Rebbe

-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Menachem Av 24, 5767 * August 8, 2007

Top of Page

I Do

My sister, went to the department store to check out the bridal registry of our niece whose wedding was coming up soon. When my sister returned from the store, she tossed the gift list on a table and declared, "I think she's too young to get married." "Why do you say that?" I asked. "Because," she said, "they registered for Nintendo games."

Now that you have laughed....here is the lesson.

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

I stood at the altar in front of the couple.

I have witnessed many weddings.

The dresses, tuxedos, the church decorations,
and the food are what most focus on.

I was enamored by the word,...that one word.

The one word answer to the question,"...do
you take this woman to be your lawfully
wedded wife?

"I expected the typical, "I do."

Those two words made both famous and
infamous.

I was not expecting his answer.

A voice loud and clear rang out with one word.

It reverberated from the ceiling as his one
word, filled with resolve, carried his answer
throughout the church.

"Absolutely!"

It was A Mountain Wings Moment.

Far too often, "we do" but not absolutely.

Our commitment is filled with ifs, ands,
and buts.

We do as long as it's convenient.
We do as long as it benefits us.
We do as long as it's not painful.
We do as long as they remain beautiful
or handsome.
We do as long as they keep their figure.
We do as long as the bills are paid.
We do as long they stay healthy.
We do as long as no one more exciting
looks our way.
We do as long as it suits us.

What things or people in life are we
truly committed to?

To whom have we really said and meant,
"Absolutely."

Is this the way a man and a woman
should enter into marriage?

Should they feel that level of commitment?

Should they really believe that the only way
they would ever separate is by death?

Did Mr. and Mrs. Rudy Loney actually
believe that?

Absolutely!

Top of Page

Optional

Pain is inevitable.
Suffering is optional.

Change is inevitable.
Growth is optional.

Death is inevitable.
Eternal Life is optional.

Choose ye this day which way ye will go.

from #7200 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
Mountain Wings


Top of Page

RUSSIA'S NEW ARMS DEAL WITH IRAN

By Joel C. Rosenberg
July 31, 2007
[C~B~N's comments enclosed]

Russia and Iran continue to strengthen their military ties, while Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to draw closer as strategic allies.

In December 2005, Russia sold Iran $1 billion worth of missiles, after years of selling submarines and other advanced weapons systems to the radical Islamic regime. The latest reports indicate that "Russia plans to sell 250 advanced long-range Sukhoi-30 fighter jets to Iran in an unprecedented billion-dollar deal."

What's more, the Jerusalem Post indicates that "in addition to the fighter jets, Teheran also plans to purchase a number of aerial fuel tankers that are compatible with the Sukhoi and capable of extending its range by thousands of kilometers." Israeli defense officials say the deal will give the radical Iranian regime enhanced "long-range offensive capabilities."

The U.S., meanwhile, has offered Israel some $30 billion in new weapons over the next ten years, an increase in military aid from $2.4 billion to $3 billion a year. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says the U.S. is also offering military aid packages to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and several Gulf states (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) to "bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran" she said. [Not sure that Saudia Arabia, Egypt and others are AGAINST Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran!!!!]

Israeli officials, however, are concerned by the U.S. offer of $20 billion in weapons to the Saudis. They note that should there be an overthrow of the current Saudi regime, such advanced weaponry could fall into the hands of radical Islamic jihadists. [Uh, yeah.....]

Russia's arms sales to Iran should raise alarms inside the White House and among Congressional leaders. Russia under Putin's leadership has joined the "Axis of Evil," selling dangerous weapons systems not just to Iran but to North Korea in recent years as well. But is something else happening, too?

As we explain in the new Epicenter DVD, a growing number of evangelicals are concerned [Concerned? Not sure that is the correct description. More like wow, that's awesome!] that the intensifying military and political alliance between Russia and Iran could be a sign of the approaching fulfillment of the prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39, what Bible scholars describe as the "War of Gog and Magog."

After all Ezekiel 36-37 foretold the rebirth of the State of Israel in the "last days," the Jewish people returning to the Holy Land after centuries of exile, and the rebuilding of the ancient ruins in the Promised Land. Sure enough, all of this has come true in the past six decades, thus raising the possibility that Ezekiel 38-39 could come true in our lifetime as well.

Let me be clear: I believe it is too soon to draw such a definitive conclusion that the fulfillment of these prophecies are immiment. Still, it is true that until now, Russia and Iran have not had an alliance of the sort the Bible foretold in the 2,500 years since Ezekiel wrote the prophecies.

It is also true that this alliance is heating up quite quickly now. It is not surprising, therefore, that interest in these prophecies are growing. It's a story worth watching closely.

[I can think of no other time in history as exciting as these OTHER than when Jesus actually walked the earth!

Rev. 22:20 ...Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

C~B~N]

Top of Page

It's not your mother's magazine anymore

Which magazine. Well, no doubt most of them. But for today, it is most definitely REDBOOK.

I remember it being a great magazine back in the seventies when I read mom's monthly mag. It had some wonderful short stories in it. In fact, I seem to remember that it was chocked full of short stories. I guess as a kid I thought that was its primary purpose.

But not anymore.......

Read Marcia Segelstein's article "Readers beware!"
C~B~N

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

from One News Now
August 7, 2007

(Before you read this column, be warned that it may contain material you find offensive. But what you might find truly shocking is that all the potentially offensive material comes straight from the pages of the July issue of Redbook magazine.)

I've referred in the past to modern-day women's magazines as a bellweather of cultural decline, but I think it's worth repeating. Sitting in a doctor's waiting room leafing through magazines, as I was recently, can end up being an eye-opening experience. And even if you can handle it ... or just decide to stop reading ... imagine your young teenage daughter picking up that innocent-looking women's magazine. What behavior will she end up believing society condones?

When I was a child, I remember looking through the magazines my mother had around the house. I don't think she ever gave a second thought to what I might come across, nor should she have. My, how things have changed.
But back to Redbook's July issue ...

In a section titled "Handbook: Your Sex Life," there are 56 suggestions for how to "feel sexy in a flash!" Here's the subheading: "Whether you've got a free hour and a hot partner in crime to share it with or just a precious few moments to yourself, it's a snap to unleash your inner vixen with these steamy to-do's."

Here are some samplings, categorized by how much time you have:

If you've got 10 seconds:
"Alone? Sneak a peak at yourself!"
"Make eye contact with a cute stranger."

If you've got 30 seconds:
"Clench your g___ muscles."
"Spray a dollop of whipped cream on your chest and ...."

Got ten minutes?
"Swap your coffee break for a visit with your v______r."

I don't know about you, but I find it all pretty crude and distasteful. This is a long way from health and beauty tips, or advice on child-rearing, or the cover story on Faith Hill. Considering that I picked up a women's magazine off the rack -- not a sex manual -- it's inappropriate, to put it mildly.

The next section is called "Handbook: The Hard Stuff." It's a Q&A with the magazine's "advice guru." The first question is from a woman having an affair with a married man. Should she wait patiently until he gets a divorce or give him an ultimatum?

The "advice guru" demonstrates the quintessence of our 21st century "who are we to judge" attitude in her response: "This is one of those excruciating situations that ensures someone will get his or her heart stomped on -- which is one reason why conventional wisdom says not to get involved with a married person."

Forget about marriage as the foundation of society and fidelity as foundational to marriage. Forget about the fact that this woman is helping this man cheat on his wife ... helping him break his promises. Forget what it says about his character. And hers. Forget about empathy and whether she'd like this done to her. Most of all, forget about right and wrong. The real -- new -- conventional wisdom is that there's no such thing as right and wrong.

Here's the advisor's "best solution": "Tell him you love him but need to get on with your life, and that if and when he leaves his wife, he knows where to find you." But the most outrageous line of all is what follows: "Of course, doing this requires the strength and fortitude of a 19th century heroine."

Somehow my image of 19th century heroines doesn't include their helping to break up marriages. I'm no literature expert, but I'm pretty sure those characters would be known as the villains. Of course, it's an easy mistake to make considering that our society doesn't have villains anymore -- only victims.

Not surprisingly, among the magazine's top 10 picks for summer reading is "The Infidelity Pact," described this way: "When four bored, privileged L.A. wives team up to cheat on their hubbies, the result is catty high drama." Sounds positively charming.

I contacted the PR person at Redbook asking whether they'd like to make any comment about my contention that women's magazines have shifted dramatically toward more graphic adult-oriented material, and that so much of it is non-kid-friendly.

After inquiring where this column would appear, she pulled up the website while I waited. I can honestly and without exaggeration say that her voice dripped with disdain when she asked if this were some kind of "Christian activist website."

I explained that it was, indeed, a Christian website ... and I was, indeed, a Christian. As of this writing, I haven't heard back.

Sex, titillation, and yawning at immoral behavior have always sold magazines. But they used to be the kind that came in brown wrappers, not the kind that sit on kitchen tables and in doctors' waiting rooms.

So beware of wolves in sheep's clothing -- or in this case, vulgarity and immorality all wrapped up as "great news and information you need," to quote Redbook's editor-in-chief.

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

Visiting Redbook's website under their "Love life" tab is some pretty gruesome articles.

Having read the first page of their "What I learned in sex school" (& needing to go no further) I then read the reader's comments.

MOST were appalled at Redbook's demise and have opted to stop their subscription if they had one and to inform friends and families of this moral decline as well.

At any rate, if you want to contact Redbook and let them know how disappointed your are, go to AFA's site and sign their petition.



Note: these issues are time sensitive

Top of Page