We’ve previously heard declarations for unregistered churches to come into line with the official state church. In practice, this has meant, “Conform or at least shut up.” Enforcement was random and highly dependent on the will of the local party cadre. The understood agreement between local authorities and church leaders was this: “Don’t make us lose face and we’ll leave you alone.”
That’s not the current situation. The plan itself is more specific and comprehensive in scope. Since the government announced its intention to Sinicize religion, we’ve seen leaders implement the policies with far more breadth and aggression. In other words, there has been much more “follow-through” than in previous years.
Cameras have been installed in churches. Arrests have increased. A curriculum to “re-train” pastors has been written. Even the biggest churches have not been able to avoid conflict. Authorities also have plans to re-translate the Bible to suit their purposes.
As various outlets have reported, the government in Guangzhou is now ready to pay people to snitch on people who are engaged in religious activities deemed illegal (e.g., house churches, theological training, etc.). The government has even cooperated with other South Asian countries in order to track the activities of Christians who have ties to the Mainland.
While the government has always been sensitive about foreigners interacting with minority groups, it has taken more extensive measures in the past year. In Kunming, for instance, leaders have expelled or pressured out a substantial number (perhaps most) of the missionaries in the area, including entire organizations.
The rhetoric has changed a bit as well. Specifically, official propaganda is much more “anti-Western” than in previous campaigns. Sinicization is portrayed as a struggle against the oppression and imperialism of Western powers, especially the United States.
In a recent speech, Xu Xiaohong, Chairman of the Chinese Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee, stated,
In modern times, Christianity was introduced to China on a large scale along with colonial aggression by Western powers. It was called “foreign religion.” The churches anywhere in our country were merely the result of Western missions and “Christianity in China.” Many believers lack national consciousness, so people say: “One more Christian is one less Chinese.” The occurrence of many teaching plans, especially the “Boxer Movement” and the “non-Christian movement”, prompted the church to create a “self-reliance movement.”
Sinicization is the brainchild of China’s highest political authorities. Given the fact that President Xi is no longer restricted by term limits, we have little reason to expect pressure to let up when he leaves office. He will be around long enough to see the process through.
What we are seeing in China and the rest of the world is the prophesied escalating “end times” tribulation being carried out by people controlled by Satan and his minions. Christians should not be taken by surprise as Jesus warned us beforehand. More importantly, we need to be obedient to his command to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ to the whole world. Jesus is coming back and He and the Saints will rule and reign on this earth for 1000 years.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14
The Millennial Kingdom is a transition period when God fulfills the covenants He made with Abraham and David. God promised a descendant of David, Jesus will rule the nations from a restored Jerusalem.
“And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for His treasured possession, as He has promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments, and that He will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that He has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He promised.” Deuteronomy 26:18-19
Jonathan Cahn speaking at the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America Conference on July 9th, 2022.
A fired-up Jonathan Cahn reveals how God is in control of events that are playing out in America today. The events follow God’s timing according to the Shemitah (7 years) and Jubilee (50 years). God ordained the timing of events for the nation He established, Israel, but could He use this timing for controlling world events? Jonathan Cahn shows that indeed God is controlling world events according to His schedule.
You will be blown away by the information revealed by Jonathan in this video. God is indeed in control of events and answers our prayers in ways that are way above what we expect.
We indeed need to pray for revival with the same zeal as you hear Jonathan in this video. God wants to use you just as he is using Jonathan. Are you seeking His will in this hour? The darkness is great but God is greater. Let’s get in step with Him. Be bold, be courageous, the time is NOW. Start living eternal NOW.
WE RECOMMEND YOU LISTEN TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM KIM!
In these last years, so many people have left “the cruise ship” and joined “the warship”. They’ve found out that church is not just about having fellowship, but it’s about making disciples. And everyone who goes from just fellowship to discipleship, from cruise ship to warship, are seeing incredible fruit.
Kim is just one amongst many pastors, leaders, elders, and Christians who are stepping out of their comfort zone, and not just talking about, dreaming about, but OBEYING the Word of God. When they do, they see God doing amazing things but also face persecution because they are impacting Satan’s territory. Please watch this video, and join the warship with us!
Have you seen the Last Reformation free movies where they show more about this life? You can do that at the link here: https://thelastreformation.com/movies
In this Sept. 8, 2018, file photo, a drag performer by the name of Champagne Monroe reads the children’s book “Rainbow Fish” to a group of kids and parents at the Mobile Public Library for Drag Queen Story Hour in Mobile, Ala. The Drag Queen Story Hour is coming to northern Nevada. Two drag queens plan to read stories to children at the Sparks Library on July 20, 2019, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. (AP Photo/Dan Anderson, File)
If your child attends almost any university in America (or Canada or anywhere else in the English-speaking world), the odds are that your child’s decency, intellectual acuity, faculty of reason, character, and moral compass will be damaged, perhaps permanently. A good example is the teaching of evolution as fact and banning the teaching of intelligent design despite many leading Ph.D. scientists like Dean Kenyon former Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University and author of the evolutionary textbook Biochemical Predestination are now saying that the breathtaking complexity of the information on DNA (instruction manual) and the micro machinery of a single cell can only be explained by intelligent design and therefore a Creator.
The worse news is that sending your child to almost any elementary school or high school — public or private — is fast becoming equally toxic. More and more schools are being taken over by left-wing ideologues and by non ideologues who lack the courage to confront the ideologues.
Once infected with leftism, these schools teach children to hate reason, tradition, Christianity, whites, excellence, freedom, and masculinity. To cite one example, thanks to a million-dollar grant from Bill Gates through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Oregon Education Department has announced that teaching there is “one right answer” in math — yes, in math — is an expression of white supremacy. Why, then, would an Oregon parent who cares about his or her child’s mind, send that child to an Oregon school?
God commands us to call out stupidity. This is especially the case if it is stupidity that is divisive to the faith delivered, once and for all, and to human flourishing in general. Moreover, without judging, how can we expect to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission to disciple the nations?” (Matthew 28:16-20). Moreover, if mankind is to be governed at all, then it must be through the basic precepts of the Christian religion and not in accordance with his own wild speculations and base desires.
The stupidity I am speaking about has to be distinguished from raw intelligence or the lack thereof. Dietrich Bonhoeffer identified in the German people of his day (including the church’s leaders), a kind of stupidity that is independent of raw intelligence. Nevertheless, it is a stupidity that supports evil and, in doing so, is itself a kind of evil. This stupidity is, in one sense, worse than the malice spawned by those at the top of society’s food chain. It is not evil in its essence but in its effect.
Konrad Kellen, writing the introduction to Jaques Ellul’s classic treatise on propaganda, confirms Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the stupid person, who is often quite intellectual. It is the educated intellectual who becomes the primary target for and vehicle of propaganda:
A related point, central in Ellul’s thesis, is that modern propaganda cannot work without “education”; he thus reverses the widespread notion that education is the best prophylactic against propaganda. On the contrary he says, education, or what usually goes by that word in the modern world, is the absolute prerequisite for propaganda.
Ellul is clear in his analysis: the “intellectual” is the most vulnerable in society to modern propaganda. Kellen summarizes Ellul’s reasons for thinking so:
1) they [intellectuals] absorb the largest amount of secondhand, unverifiable information; 2) they feel a compelling need to have an opinion on every important question of our time, and thus easily succumb to opinions offered to them by propaganda on all such indigestible pieces of information; 3) they consider themselves capable of ‘judging for themselves.’
Thomas Sowell, in an interview on his book, Intellectuals and Society, corroborates Ellul’s analysis, coming roughly to the same conclusions as the Frenchman. Sowell presses the issue of intellectuals and the unrecognized errors of their ways, arguing that it is their public role as “intellectuals” that forces them into so many mistakes in judgment. Sowell points out that these public intellectuals have a “huge ego stake” in their theories. Being confident in their own powers of intellection, and desiring to safeguard their societal roles, they are unwilling to entertain evidence that contradicts their views. Further, as “public intellectuals,” (a relatively recent social category in the history of human affairs), they feel they must pronounce on every domain of human life. This is how they stay relevant and powerful in the eyes of the culture they claim to serve. Finally, this intellectual class is driven by novelty. They are progressives in character and disposition because to acquiesce to something like past wisdom or prior modes of thought would be to diminish their identity as the truly smart ones in society.
The Bible clearly teaches that truth is objective, eternal, and inseparable from God’s character. Anything that contradicts the truth is a lie—but, of course, to call something a “lie” is to pass judgment. To call adultery or murder a sin is likewise to pass judgment—but it’s also to agree with God. When Jesus said not to judge others, He did not mean that no one can identify sin for what it is, based on God’s definition of sin. In the end, I am not really going after the person him or herself. Rather I am pointing out a noetic effect (how sin affects the mind) of sin that we all can manifest.
Stupidity, Bonhoeffer writes, in playing a supporting role to evil, “is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.” Malice, unlike stupidity, can “be protested against” and “exposed,” and, if need be, “prevented with force.” But one cannot protest, at least not much or very directly, the stupid person. One can try to expose the stupid in their dullness of mind, but the stupid have abandoned reason for the sake of a poetic narrative (or “poetic truth” as Shelby Steele calls it). They have exchanged reason for an emotional drama and, as such, they are irrational. The lie they have imbibed, which has consumed them, possesses an emotional appeal that overwhelms any lack of logical substance or factual basis. The stupid have jettisoned rationality for a cultural story, one which is essentially rhetorical and a blatant embellishment of the truth. Bonhoeffer says that when it comes to stupidity like this, “we are defenseless [against it].”
This stupidity, he goes on, does not necessarily have to do with intellect. There are many who are intellectual (high IQ) yet still stupid. This intellectually gifted yet stupid person acts like a drone, and no matter how many facts are presented to the contrary, he boldly holds on to the “slogans” or “catchwords” that have “taken possession of him.” This stupidity has more to do with human nature in general than with IQ. People are either “made stupid” or they “allow [stupidity] to happen to them.” In America, this making stupid comes mainly through education.
It is a particular form of the impact of historical circumstances on human beings, a psychological concomitant of certain external conditions. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity.
It would even seem that this is virtually a sociological-psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other.
The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence, and, more or less consciously go with the flow.
The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.
Yet at this very point, it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person.
This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what ‘people’ really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly. The word of the Bible that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom declares that the internal liberation of human beings to live a responsible life before God is the only genuine way to overcome stupidity.
But these thoughts about stupidity also offer consolation in that they utterly forbid us to consider the majority of people to be stupid in every circumstance. It really will depend on whether those in power expect more from people’s stupidity than from their inner independence and wisdom.
Steven Curtis Chapman’s latest song “STILL” chronicles the ways God has remained faithful despite life’s twists and turns — both the good and the bad. There have been some extremely difficult times for Steven such as the following: Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, adopted their daughter Maria Sue from China in 2004. Just a few years later, when their daughter was five years old, one of the Chapmans’ sons accidentally struck Maria Sue with an SUV in the driveway, tragically ending her life.
The “Cinderella” singer-songwriter said he has been most encouraged in his faith by the biblical stories from the Old and New Testaments of people who overcame profound trials, seemingly insurmountable doubts, and unimaginable hardships yet still found solace in the presence of the Lord.
“The story of Peter, you know, walking on the water — it’s not just the story of him, ‘Man, he walked on the water,’” Chapman said. “What I’m encouraged by is the fact that he sank and he took his eyes off Jesus and he freaked out and he feared and Jesus pulled him up and he learned from that process.”
“I’m so glad that God didn’t edit out those vulnerable places in the lives of even His followers in Scripture,” he continued. “In fact, He let some of those most vulnerable failures be written right into the story, and that gives such encouragement to me. … Even as I’ve had this platform and this opportunity, it’s been very important that I stay very honest and that’s really the only thing I have to offer, anyway, is just the honesty through my music and my songs.”
Throughout his career, Chapman added, it has been “important” to be “honest and vulnerable” with his life “so that others can be encouraged by that.” It is a great song I hope you are encouraged by the lyrics as I am.
The Yatir Forest, like most of Israel’s forests, was hand-planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). Since 1964 they have planted more than four million trees here. This stunning area covers approximately 40,000 dunams (10,000 acres) and is located in the Southern Hebron Hills.
The town of Anim is located there. In the 4th Century, a massive synagogue was built here, which was in use into 7th Century. It was built on the highest point in town (in accordance with Jewish law). The synagogue’s ruins and frame are very well preserved and its built-in benches and Torah ark are still seen here.
“And in the hill country… Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim.” Joshua 15: 48-50 All cities and towns of Judah.
In the 7th century, Anim (and most of the Southern Hebron Hills) were mysteriously abandoned. This was possibly due to the breakdown of central rule at the end of the Byzantine period and early Islamic period.
Since Anim was on the edge of the desert at a time of weak governance, living in such proximity to desert warriors may have become too dangerous. The fact that the town wasn’t destroyed physically by conquest and not many material goods were found, suggests that the people who left took their movable property with them, lending credence to this theory.
In the later Islamic period (circa 13th and 14th century) a small Islamic village existed here, and a mosque was built on top of the synagogue (during excavations in the 1980s, archeologists removed the mosque, which had been inactive for centuries, and found the synagogue under it). By Ottoman times, the town was abandoned and has since laid in ruins. Until the JNF planted the forest the area was largely desert.
However, Ezekiel prophecies that when the Lord returns to rule and reign from Jerusalem, Israel will be even much better than it is now, it will be like the garden of Eden.
“And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36:35-36
A clinical look at life’s complexity, design, and ultimate causation
The universe, our planet, and life itself have the appearance of being designed. Even many atheists acknowledge this. But they are quick to dismiss it as an illusion—the product of time, chance, and the laws of nature. They say the science is settled: Everything just evolved; there was no intelligent input, and no design.
However, the scientific consensus is terribly wrong, as distinguished surgeon, David Galloway, shows in this new book about intelligent design. Drawing on extensive clinical experience with the human body, Galloway examines its complex, integrated systems, demonstrating that intelligent design is the only reasonable explanation. Galloway goes on to show how the idea that life and consciousness arose spontaneously is deeply unscientific and contrary to the evidence. He also helpfully explores the question, How can ‘science’ get things so terribly wrong?
Filled with fascinating examples (both from history, and Galloway’s own long medical experience), illustrated in full colour, and with a short ‘take home message’ at the end of every chapter, Design Dissected is an engaging read. It is written from an Intelligent Design perspective (i.e. it doesn’t directly discuss God or the Bible), and comes highly recommended by some of the biggest names in the Intelligent Design movement.
OVERVIEW (excerpt from the Introduction)
The structure of the book is built around three sections. Firstly, in Enigmata, I have outlined the means by which the great questions of science have been tackled. We will see how scientific truth has sometimes even been ridiculed before finding acceptance. We’ll discover how scientific conclusions can be contaminated by presuppositions of various kinds and consider reductionism as an enterprise to uncovering causation. To put it another way, we need to address the question of whether we can support the idea that natural processes are entirely sufficient to produce what we find in the living world, or not. I also offer a warning about the dangers of scientism – that is, the assumption that science is equipped to answer every ultimate question.
The second section, Layers of Perplexity, aims to reveal why the conventional understanding of the origin of life and of biological complexity fails to carry the intellectual weight it is required to bear. I have used examples from human systems and even considered the discipline of origin of life chemistry. Each of these demonstrates that a naturalistic understanding offers a completely inadequate explanation for the intricate and nuanced systems that underpin our existence.
The final section, Thinking about Thinking, opens the mystery of the origin of consciousness and asks the questions of ultimate reality that, for many, seem to be just too difficult and are therefore consigned to the ‘consider it later’ pile!
RECOMMENDATIONS
“[Galloway] argues that explaining the origin of such systematic organization [in the human body] as a result of purely unguided natural processes stretches the limits of credulity. Instead, he makes a compelling case that this integrated and informational complexity provides powerful evidence of real, not just apparent, design. A fresh and original discussion of the evidence of intelligent design in the living system. Highly recommended.” — Dr. Stephen C. Meyer
“By far the strongest evidence that a system was deliberately designed is the very structure of the system itself. … David Galloway regales the reader with tale after tale of the wonders of the human body—and of the disasters that result when a part fails. By the end of the book, his conclusion that the body was purposely designed becomes self-evident.”— Dr. Michael J. Behe
“I strongly recommend this most impressive and thought-provoking book.”— Prof. Frank G. Dunn
AUTHOR – David Galloway is a Scottish surgeon who trained in Glasgow, London, and New York City. He conducted original research in the causes and cellular mechanisms of some common cancers and developed a specialist practice in their surgical treatment. He was a Consultant Surgeon in Glasgow and a Former President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He is also a Fellow of numerous medical and surgical Colleges and has held academic appointments in Glasgow, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong.
Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Professor John Lennox, Oxford mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist says that we have lost our sense of real meaning and our moral compass. He also says the media is totally committed to secularism, materialism, and relativism. God is no longer relevant. He is no longer permitted at the table in discussions of how this world will be managed and controlled.
How foolish the world has become. Has this taken God by surprise? Of course not, His Word, the Bible tells us that the world will be like it was in the days of Noah (godless and lawless just as we see unfolding today) just before Jesus returns first to take His Saints to heaven to protect them from the wrath of God that is poured out on this earth. After which, Jesus returns with the Saints to rescue Israel and destroy the Antichrist’s army at the Battle of Armageddon. Jesus then begins His Millennial reign on this earth with the judgment of nations.
“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37-39
Evidence-based faith is essential says John Lennox. The universe is rationally intelligent. Just look at DNA, it is complex intelligent information that controls the machines in every cell so that we can function as intelligent beings. Creation by an omniscient Creator is the only option. Evolution by random chance is nonsense.
John Anderson (former MP Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party) is joined by Professor John Lennox for a profound conversation centered on the current and future impacts of artificial intelligence technology. They discuss the shortcomings of science in the search for universal truth, the factors behind rising secularism in the West, China’s rapid AI implementation, our growing desire for immortality through biomedicine, and the true meaning of ‘faith’.
In 2020, Lennox published 2084 – Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity, which covers key developments in technological enhancement, bioengineering, and AI. In the book, he discusses the current state of AI – its benefits, dangers, and future implications. Over the past 15 years, Lennox has been part of numerous public debates defending the Christian faith, including debates with Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer, and Richard Dawkins.
You will love this video for what you will learn and hear from such a gentle, humble but eminently wise man. You will come to love John Lennox.
Is there a connection between biblical prophecies, current events, our personal lives, and the spiritual realm? Yes, there is and Jonathan Cahn shows us how God has been in control of events throughout history. This has immense ramifications for each of us in how we should be living our lives. How much time are you spending in God’s Word? It is the only reliable source of the truth about God and the world He created.
I will follow this up with another of Jonathan Cahn’s videos, The Mystery of God and His Will for Your Life. Watch out for it. Both of these videos will change how you view the world and how you live in it. At least, I hope they will.
KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter, has used a media address in Canberra today to slam the continued persecution of Christianity, after learning the Senate Chief has proposed to ban morning prayers[i].
An enraged Mr Katter used the opportunity to hold up the Holy Bible and rattle off a plethora of recent examples of religious persecution in Australia. He showed solidarity and support to the seven Manly Sea Eagles players, who stood down to defend their religious beliefs, praising them for their conviction.
“This Book for 5,000 years has been the heartland of religious belief, a concept that there is something bigger than me, but in sharp contrast, the persecutors believe that there is nothing bigger than themselves and their opinions,” Mr Katter said.
“For 5,000 years the persecution of the people who believe in this Book have been on public record. I will not go through the persecutions that go back to the dawn of time. I’ll just mention one – just one.
“During WWII, six million people were murdered in cold blood, many in gas chambers, for no other reason than what they believed. And remember, the Torah is based on the first five Books of the Hebrew Bible.
“This continued persecution is well and truly alive today. Just have a look at what’s happened to these seven boys from Manly. They have been persecuted for no other reason than they have moral conviction and whether you agree with their convictions, or not, is irrelevant.
“The conviction shown by these seven men is heroic and every decent member of society should admire them. Whether you agree with them or you don’t, they have stood up for what they believe in at great personal sacrifice and that is truly admirable.
“This is what the people of self-righteous arrogance have done to them: they have had their jobs taken off them, taken their family security off them, taken their incomes from them, they have put the house they live in in great jeopardy, their futures, their aspirations – all in jeopardy.
“According to news reports[ii] today, these players have been confined to their houses; they have been locked up. Apparently, they are doing this to protect the players, but do you know what they said to the First Australians when they rounded them up in chains and sent them to Palm Island? They said, “we are doing this to protect you.”
“To think that this is happening in Australia today is sickening. We Christians have no illusions that we are now under persecution.
“First, they targeted the Hollingsworth and biggest church in Australia. He was torn to pieces. Having finished with the biggest church in Australia, they then started on the leader of the second biggest church in Australia. Tore him to pieces.
“Then they turned to the Evangelicals. They started on Israel Falou. They took his whole life away from him and destroyed his career because he made a quote from this Book. He was punished for his quotation of this Book. Yet for 5,000 years people have based the foundation of entire societies on its teachings. More than half the world believes in this Book, or in parts of it.
“Is it an unreasonable thing to quote from a book that more than half the population is committed to? In Australia it is!
“And now, we have been told today by some that we cannot say prayers in the Parliament. We can show allegiance to some lady in England, but we cannot say prayers.
“So, to my fellow Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and people of other religious belief, I say this to you – Please will you circulate the names of those who persecute you. We must stop this cold-hearted persecution. They got Pell, they got Hollingworth, got Folau, they have got the Manly boys, so when will they start on you?!”
God is in control of all events in His world. This nation is setting itself up to come under God’s judgement. Perhaps we are already seeing His judgement with the floods and other calamities besetting this nation.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 