Barack Obama has released his first federal budget proposal as president, and it is a monster. Obama's budget proposal is a whopping 3.55 trillion dollars, and it contains an astonishing $1.75 trillion projected federal deficit that would be nearly four times the highest in history.
The era of big government was definitely back under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Now we are entering the era of REALLY REALLY big government.
The following are some highlights from Obama's budget proposal.....
*A tax increase on Americans making more than $250,000 a year, but tax cuts for those making less than that.
*A 634 billion dollar first step toward a universal health care system.
*Despite America's deep economic crisis, Obama is seeking to double U.S. foreign aid to other countries.
*Obama's new budget also includes a new "global warming" tax. It would be the biggest tax increase in American history, and it would hit consumers with considerably higher utility bills.
*The Pentagon budget would get a 4 percent boost - to $534 billion next year.
Will all of this massive government spending fix the economy?
Well, it will help in the short term - just like going out and spending a thousand dollars on your credit cards will help you feel better in the short term too.
But what would happen to you personally if you went out and ran all your credit cards up to their maximum?
Financial disaster is what would happen.
And that is exactly what is happening to the United States government now.
The federal government of the United States is now over 10 TRILLION dollars in debt.
10,000,000,000,000 dollars in debt!
Will the current generation of Americans repay that?
No, the current generation seems determined to go even deeper in debt.
So, that means that Americans are dumping this debt on to their children and their grandchildren and to generations beyond that.
What America has done is they have sold their children and grandchildren into economic slavery forever. How would you feel if you were a little child and you discovered that your parents had left you with a debt that you could never, ever repay and that you would be making interest payments on for the rest of your life?
America's children and grandchildren will ALL be working all of their lives to pay interest on this ridiculous debt. Their labor will go into serving the owners of this debt, and there is no escape.
The goal should be to pass on a better world to America's children. How immoral is it to pass on such a debt to future generations?
Imagine if your parents came up to you and handed you a million dollar credit card bill that they had racked up and that was now in your name and you had to make payments on for the rest of your life?
America has had the greatest party of all time and has fueled the party on massive amounts of debt, but there is bad news.....
The party is almost over.
The reserves of America's local banks are gone. The financial institutions have borrowed an insane amount of money from the Federal Reserve this year just to stay afloat. America's financial system has never experienced a crisis of this magnitude in modern times.
The biggest debt bubble in the history of the world is starting to burst.
For decades Americans have lived like kings and queens.....enjoying the biggest party the world has ever known.....but financed with ever increasing amounts of debt.
Once upon a time, the United States was the biggest creditor in the world. But those days are long gone. Now America is the biggest debtor nation to ever exist on the earth.
America was the richest nation in the world, but that was never enough. Americans always had to have a bigger car, a bigger house and an endless supply of "stuff". So the American government piled up debt, American companies gorged on debt, and Americans made using credit cards into a national pastime.
If you include the future liabilities that America's government has already committed to such as future Social Security and Medicare payments, then the total debt of the federal government is over 65 TRILLION dollars.
65 TRILLION dollars!
Now that many of America's jobs have gone overseas, the price of gasoline is shooting through the roof, and tons of people are losing their homes, do we find that Americans are learning their lesson?
No.
Instead Americans are squeezing everything they can out of their credit cards. Total credit card debt in America is now over 790 billion dollars, and it is increasing at a rate which is four times faster than earlier this decade.
Instead of showing restraint, Americans have jammed the accelerator to the floor.
And did you know that Americans actually have a NEGATIVE savings rate?
Do you know the last time when that happened?
The Great Depression.
Prices are increasing dramatically while wages are not. Jobs are being outsourced and factories are being closed. America's largest banks and financial institutions are teetering on the brink of failure. Homes are being foreclosed at record rates. Personal bankruptcies recently hit an all-time high. And what is the answer that the politicians give America? Wasting even more money and getting us into even more debt.
America is truly reaping what they have sowed.
The Scriptures talk about those who would hoard wealth in the last days. Instead of feeding the poor and taking care of those who couldn't take care of themselves, Americans spent their money on mini-mansions, luxury SUVs and as much entertainment as they could pack into our lives. Now Americans will suffer the consequences just as the Scriptures say in James 5:1-5.....
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter."
If you switch over to "God's team" won't He do everything that He can to fill up your life with happiness and riches?
Does receiving Christ make all of your problems go away?
Those are great questions, aren't they?
Unfortunately, there are many "preachers" and "ministers" out there today who try to convince people that if they become Christians their lives will become so much easier than they are now.
They make it sounds like everything is going to be rainbows, lollipops, ponies and endless goodies.
As a result, a lot of the same people who have tried Tony Robbins, the "Secret", and every other self-improvement course that they can get their hands on figure that they will try out this "Jesus thing" for a while as well.
But many of these people find out that being a Christian can be really, really hard! When you decide to become a Christian, people may look at you weird, people may start making fun of you, and possibly even your own family members may turn on you.
That doesn't sound "fun" at all.
The truth of the matter is that if you decide to become a Christian you should expect to be persecuted.
This is what Jesus had to say about this in the Scriptures....
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." -John 15:18
The truth is that if you do decide to become a Christian you may get a whole NEW set of problems that you never had before. Following Christ is not always easy and it is full of challenges.
But there is nowhere else I would rather be.
Along with all of the challenges, God will give you more love, joy, peace, passion and purpose than you can possibly imagine.
When you become a Christian, God will forgive all of your sins and will give you eternal life.
Just imagine living forever!
Life is NOT always going to be easy as a Christian, but if you are tired of your sins and your rundown life, and if you want a life of passion and purpose beyond anything you can imagine, then I would encourage you to turn to God while you still have time.
Fortunately Christians in North America do not yet have to pay the same kind of price for being a Christian that believers in other areas of the world do.
Can you imagine having your head nearly cut off for serving Yahshua (Jesus)?
Is that something that you could handle?
The following amazing story of a heroic Christian man from Indonesia is originally from a book entitled "Extreme Devotion" which documents many of the stories of Christian persecution around the globe. May stories such as this challenge us and encourage us to deepen our devotion to the Lord.....
----
The twenty-year-old Bible student was asleep when he was awakened by shouts of "Allah-u-ahkar!" (Allah is Almighty) Radical Muslims entered his room and beat him nearly unconscious. As Dominggus fought to escape, a sickle came down on the back of his neck, nearly severing his head. The attackers left him in a growing pool of his own blood, assuming he would soon die.
Dominggus said that his spirit left his body and was carried by angels to heaven, and he witnessed his own corpse lying motionless on the ground. He no longer felt fear or pain, but rather peace as he awaited his new life with Christ. Then he heard, "It is not time for you to serve me here."
The next voices Dominggus heard were those of Indonesian emergency medical workers. Since they did not know whether he was Christian or Muslim, they were discussing where to take his body.
Dominggus prayed to God for strength to speak. Finally, the words "I am a Christian" came out. One can only imagine the look on the workers' faces as the "dead" student answered their question.
Today, Dominggus has fully recovered. He physical scars remain, but his spirit has a renewed faith and a message of forgiveness. Dominggus stated that he is closer to God, and now, he is actively praying for his Muslim neighbors - even those who attacked him.
After having their faces rubbed in the dirt for decades, some state governments are now deciding to start pushing back. Fourteen state legislatures have now either passed or have introduced bills to publicly declare their state's sovereignty as set out in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
Analysts expect anywhere from another ten to twenty states to introduce similar measures by the end of this year.
Can individual American states declare their sovereignty and tell the federal government to back off?
You bet they can. In fact, the Constitution was designed to give the individual states enormous power.
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states the following:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
House Joint Resolution 1003 was passed on Feb. 18 by a vote of 83 to 13. The text of the resolution reads as follows:
"That the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States."
In other words: "Federal government - step off!"
But Oklahoma is far from being alone. The state sovereignty movement is literally sweeping across the United States.
Let's take a look at what some of the resolutions say in the various states where they have been introduced.....
The preface to the resolution in Montana expresses concerns about attacks on the 2nd Amendment:
“An Act Exempting From Federal Regulation Under The Commerce Clause Of The Constitution Of The United States A Firearm, A Firearm Accessory, Or Ammunition Manufactured And Retained In Montana.”
Missouri's version takes aim at the Federal Freedom of Choice Act:
"Whereas, the Federal Freedom of Choice Act would nullify any federal or state law enacted, adopted or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment and would effectively prevent the State of Missouri from enacting similar protective measures in the future...the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fifth General Assembly, hereby declare our sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all power and hereby declare our sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States."
The Arizona version of the resolution is very broad:
"That this Resolution serves as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers. That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed."
The resolution that has been introduced in New Hampshire (Concurrent Resolution 6) may be the most forceful of all:
"...any Act by the Congress of the United States, Executive order of the President...which assumes a power not delegated to the government of the United States of America by the Constitution...shall constitute a nullification of the Constitution for the United States of America by the [Federal] government."
So is this just the latest political fad?
Will the resistance of the states amount to anything more than symbolic gestures?
Is this the beginning of a Constitutional crisis?
Could some states actually consider secession in the future?
Only time will tell, but it will be interesting to watch.....
The future of the Internet has never been as dark as it is today. In response to unprecedented security breakdowns, some government officials are proposing a "FEMA for the Internet" at the same time as the Clean Slate project at Stanford University is building the architecture for a completely new Internet where you will give up your Internet freedom and anonymity for increased security and safety.
A "FEMA for the Internet"?
Is that really true?
Yes, it is.
Former White House cybersecurity official Paul B. Kurtz, one of the leading candidates to become President Obama's "cyber czar", is proposing that a "FEMA for the Internet" be created.
Under Kurtz's plan, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Communications Commission would oversee "the security of the Internet" under the direction of a newly created national cybersecurity center.
Already your Internet anonymity is almost totally gone as the NSA is establishing the infrastructure to track what every single American does on the Internet. One can only imagine how much more power a "FEMA for the Internet" would wield.
Of course what they are referring to is the current effort to build a faster, more secure Internet called Internet 2. The following quote from the New York Times article is particularly chilling.....
What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a “gated community” where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety.
Do you think all of this is far off?
The Clean Slate project at Stanford University is currently creating a system to make it possible to slide a more advanced network (Internet 2) quietly underneath today’s Internet. By the end of this upcoming summer, this new Internet will be running on eight campus networks around the United States.
But the United States is not the only government seeking greater control over cyberspace.
Governments around the world have gotten a taste for Internet censorship and they like it. Through the use of mandatory filters and new "cybercrime laws", Internet freedom is being crushed around the world like never before.
*In February, New Zealand will implement Section 92 of their Copyright Amendment Act which allows the government to immediately disconnect someone from the Internet if they are even accused of illegal file sharing.
*The new mandatory Internet filter being imposed on the people of Australia is so restrictive that it is being called "The Great Firewall of Australia".
*In China, the new year has brought a severe crackdown on websites and search engines that offer material that the Chinese government decides is "too vulgar" or "too subversive" for the Chinese people to see.
*Internet activists in Thailand are getting increasingly upset by efforts of that government to censor the Internet in that country.
*A new set of laws in India is so brutal that it will allow a government official to break in to someone's home to check if they were surfing porn, and it will allow the government of India to block any website they want for any reason.
The Internet has truly been one of the greatest advances in communication in the history of the world. For the past few years, we all have experienced an era of unlimited, high speed Internet with the freedom to say almost anything we have wanted to. It has been a golden age for the Internet, but every golden age ends, and the golden age of the Internet is now being crushed by repressive governments all over the globe.
So will we see such restrictive measures in the United States soon?
While such repressive measures as a mandatory filter have not been imposed yet, we have been seeing more limits and restrictions on Internet usage.
Many of these subtle restrictions are very quietly being put into place.....
On November 1st, AT&T, the largest U.S. Internet provider, began testing limits that would curb Internet usage for customers whose video and music downloads are flooding their network.
Are fundamental changes to our beloved Internet on the horizon? Are we about to face increased restrictions regarding what we can say on the Internet even in the U.S.? Unfortunately, the answer to all of these questions is very clearly yes, and the following are ten reasons why the golden age of the Internet is ending:
#1) Once one or two large Internet providers get away with putting a cap on Internet use all of the other providers will follow very quickly. Now that Comcast has announced a hard cap on Internet use, it is only a matter of time until more Internet providers follow suit.
#2) Bandwidth is very expensive. With the explosion of online gaming and the massive increase of Internet users downloading video and music files, there has been a huge increase in the average bandwidth utilized by the average consumer. Bandwidth costs money, and those costs have to be passed on to the consumer somehow.
#3) There has never been a greater information tool than the Internet in the history of the world. The free flow of information that has resulted has given a lot of power to the people of the world. Many governments around the world, including the Western establishment, do not like this one bit. Increased censorship and other types of "Internet reform" are being introduced in order to curtail our freedom of speech to a more acceptable level.
#4) Greed. Every single day health insurance companies deny healthcare to sick people in the United States and they make billions of dollars doing it. Why? Because they can. Now that we have all become addicted to the Internet do you think Internet providers will not get greedy? The reality is that they already are getting greedy.
#5) This is all part of the plan to transition us over to Internet 2, which will be much more heavily restricted and controlled.
#6) Canada's new Internet subscription model appeals to a lot of powerful interests. What some Internet providers in Canada are getting ready to do is to provide Internet service on a subscription model similar to how cable television service is provided. In other words, your "package" will include 400 or 500 of the top websites, and if you want more than that you will have to pay for it.
#7) Up until now, the Internet has largely avoided taxation. However, with governments increasingly looking at significant shortfalls, it is only a matter of time before some politicians look at the Internet as a great source of tax revenue.
#8) The world is heading for incredibly difficult economic times, and when the economy crashes you won't get anything "for free".
#9) Giant media companies are sick and tired of giving away their media for free. Huge newspapers are going broke, movie companies are losing revenue, news organizations have lost control over the flow of information and the "small guy" is finding a way to carve out a bigger piece of the pie. Giant media organizations desperately want their power and control back.
#10) Most people in modern society are sheep, and they will pay whatever someone tells them to pay, and they will passively accept whatever controls and restrictions are put on them without even a whimper.
Hopefully this last point is wrong and more people will stand up and will have the backbone to fight for their rights.
Most Americans still do not get it. Almost a year into the financial collapse, most people still seem to think that this is just a "temporary downturn" and that good times and prosperity will be here again as soon as soon as the politicians and the bankers "fix" things.
But this is not just a temporary economic downturn.
This is the collapse of the pyramid of debt that the United States has been building for decades.
The truth is that the very foundational structures of the world financial system are crumbling, and once they fall they will not be able to be put back together again the same way.
But most Americans still believe the myth that America is the "richest, most powerful" nation on earth.
If that was true, would Hillary Clinton need to plead with China to continue buying U.S. Treasury bonds? The reality is that China and other nations have been lending us obscene amounts of money, and they are getting tired of funding our outrageous national debt.
There are some media outlets that are starting to wake up a bit. The San Francisco Chronicle is now saying that this economic crisis "is as bad as they come". But most in the media are still content to call this crisis a "recession" or to talk about how "temporary" these problems are.
Meanwhile, the Feds have come up with yet another new plan to save the banks. You mean the trillions of dollars they have already committed haven't fixed the problem?
The reality is that we have a gigantic mess on our hands, and people are hurting because of it.
Some areas have been hurt more than others. For instance, Las Vegas has edged Detroit for the title of America's most abandoned city.
Some housing markets have seen almost a free fall in prices. The median price of a house in Southern California is now back to $250,000, which is a 50 percent decline from the peak in 2007.
And every day while this goes on the citizens are getting angrier and less content.
In fact, things have gotten so bad economically in the U.K. that police fear mass protests and a "summer of rage" as citizens get even angrier about the current economic crisis.
Hopefully things can get stabilized and that we won't see that type of thing happen either in the U.S. or the U.K.
The truth is that the massive "bailouts" we are seeing in the U.S. and the U.K. will stabilize things for the short term, but they are all being funded by borrowed money, so they will make our long term problems even worse.
Sometimes to understand what is coming you have to unlock ancient secrets. Today we are starting a new category here on the Final Hour called "Ancient Mysteries" which will be for articles where we investigate Christian mysteries of the past that may hold clues about what is to come.
One of the ancient mysteries that has always fascinated us is the mysterious Los Lunas Decalogue Stone.
The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a huge flat stone on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, approximately 35 miles south of Albuquerque.
This huge stone has the Ten Commandments inscribed on it in ancient paleo-Hebrew script with a few letters of ancient Greek mixed in.
In 1996, Professor James D. Tabor of the University of North Carolina - Charlotte interviewed the late Professor Frank Hibben (1910-2002), a retired University of New Mexico archaeologist. According to Tabor, Hibben was "convinced that the inscription is ancient and thus authentic. He reports that he first saw the text in 1933. At the time it was covered with lichen and patination and was hardly visible. He was taken to the site by a guide who had seen it as a boy, back in the 1880s."
The scholars who have studied this mysterious stone date it anywhere from 500 years old to 3000 years old. That almost assuredly means that the stone pre-dates the arrival of Christopher Columbus to North America.
So how is it possible that a copy of the Ten Commandments in the ancient Hebrew language got to North America before Christopher Columbus arrived?
Perhaps the key to this mystery is in studying the Phoenicians.
The "Phoenicians" were THE great seafaring people of the ancient world. Most scholars agree they were originally from the coastal areas of Israel and Lebanon, but they founded a vast array of settlements all around the Mediterranean during the course of their travels. In fact, the great ancient city of Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians. It is historically documented that the Phoenicians got as far as Spain, and many scholars believe that the Phoenicians eventually were able to cross the Atlantic and arrive in North America. If any ancient culture would have been able to cross the Atlantic ocean, it would have been the great seafaring Phoenician people.
So, you may ask, exactly who were the Phoenicians? The Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 A.D.) referred to the Israelites as the "Phoenicians". It is also a fact that the ancient Hebrew language and the ancient Phoenician language were virtually identical. In addition, if you look at many maps of the ancient middle east, you will see that the great ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were situated just north of ancient Israel.
Throughout the "Old Testament", the Scriptures speak continually of cooperation between Israel and the cities of Tyre and Sidon. In fact, there is so much in the Scriptures about the cooperation between the two that it would take another full article just to document the scriptural references.
And did you know that the Phoenicians also founded the Etruscan civilization in Italy? Scholars have found that some of those "Phoenicians" actually brought the worship of the Lord with them:
Early 19th century noted antiquarian scholar, Sir William Betham, studied the Celtic origins of Europe, and his studies of early Italy were published in a two-volume work, "Etruria Celtica." Betham reproduced ancient coins from the kingdom of Utruria, in Italy, known as the Etruscan civilization. Interestingly, several of the Utrurian coins discovered were minted in honor of their deity, which was none other than Yahweh, God of the Hebrews!
----
So just how did the 10 Commandments inscribed in the ancient Hebrew language show up in New Mexico? Nobody knows the answer for certain. But it seems that the most reasonable answer is to say that the greatest seafaring people by far of the ancient world, the "Phoenicians", came to North America and brought the covenant of their God with them.
What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments section, and if you enjoy articles such as this, please subscribe to this blog using one of the subscription links.
Some people have asked if this stone has anything to do with Mormonism, and the answer is that it most definitely does not. Mormonism is a very dangerous deception, and we need to pray that anyone trapped in the Mormon religion will wake up and find the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
What this stone does give us is a clue. It is another clue about what happened to the lost 10 tribes of Israel, known in the Bible as the northern kingdom of Israel or "Ephraim". Just as God said in His Word, He scattered the northern kingdom literally all over the face of the earth. This stone indicates that they may have even been scattered all the way to North America.
For more information on the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone, please watch the YouTube clip posted below that we produced on this topic a while back:
The number of people in western society who are totally rejecting Christianity is absolutely skyrocketing. In fact, as we have detailed in previous articles, outright animosity towards the Christian faith is reaching alarming levels.
But what is the truth?
Is there evidence that Christianity is real?
Can anyone give us some real answers?
Wouldn't it be nice if some people could actually go visit heaven and visit hell and tell us that they really exist?
Well, some people actually have.
Posted below are eyewitness testimonies from individuals who have seen heaven or who have seen hell. We would encourage you to view these accounts with an open heart and an open mind.....
To Hell and Back - Terrifying Accounts from Individuals Who Have Actually Been to Hell:
There is a perception out there today that it is atheists and skeptics who have the intellectual high ground when it comes to matters of faith, logic, reason and science. Christians are commonly portrayed in the media as basing their beliefs on "blind faith" without having any evidence to back them up.
The reality, as many of you already know, is the complete opposite of that.
But still many skeptics and atheists run around as if they are the "enlightened ones" and all the Christians are a bunch of uneducated, illiterate idiots.
Well, the next time you run into such a skeptic, take a few questions from the following list and see how that person handles them.....
-----
How do you explain the high degree of design and order in the universe if there is no God?
How do you account for the vast archaeological documentation of Biblical stories, places, and people?
Since absolutely no Bible prophecy has ever failed (and there are hundreds), how can one realistically remain unconvinced that the Bible is of divine origin?
How do you explain David's graphic portrayal of Jesus' death by crucifixion (Psalm 22) 1000 years before Christ lived?
How do you explain that the prophet Daniel prophesied the exact YEAR when the Christ would be presented as Messiah and also prophesied that the temple would be destroyed afterwards over 500 years in advance (Daniel 9:24-27)?
How could any mere human pinpoint the birth town of the Messiah seven full centuries before the fact, as did the prophet Micah?
How do you account for the odds (1 in 10 to the 157th power) that even just 48 (of 300) Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ?
How was it possible for the Old Testament prophet Isaiah to have predicted the virgin birth of Jesus (Isaiah 7:14) 700 years before it occurred?
How can anyone doubt the reliability of Scripture considering the number and the proximity to the originals of its many copied manuscripts?
In what sense was Jesus a "good man" if He was lying in His claim to be God?
If the Bible is not true, why is it so universally regarded as "the Good Book"?
Did you know that the Bible has been the number one bestseller almost every single year since the 1436 invention of the Gutenberg printing press?
If God does not exist, then from where comes humanity's universal moral sense?
If man is nothing but the random arrangement of molecules, what motivates you to care and to live honorably in the world?
Can you explain how personality could have ever evolved from the impersonal, or how order could have ever resulted from chaos?
If Jesus' resurrection was faked, why would twelve intelligent men (Jesus' disciples) have died for what they knew to be a lie?
How do you explain the fact that a single, relatively uneducated and virtually untraveled man, dead at age 33, radically changed lives and society to this day?
Why have so many of history's greatest thinkers been believers?
Have you ever wondered why thousands of intelligent scientists, living and dead, have been men and women of great faith?
If time never had a beginning, but rather goes backwards infinitely or has gone through an infinite number of cycles, then how is it possible that we are here today?
How can something as small as a brain understand extremely complicated aspects of the universe, even though it is (supposedly) just a bunch of chemical reactions and electrical signals? But at the same time, this brain can’t create another brain like itself, so how can nature, that has no brain, create a brain?
Everyone knows Mount Rushmore was the result of intelligent design. Do you think the human body is the result of intelligent design?
When you look at a lot of creatures such as zebras, turtles, butterflies, bees, lady bugs, leopards, etc., you will notice amazing color patterns designed into them. Who came up with those? Does nature have a “taste” in colors , and does it know which colors go together nicely?
How do you account for the origin of life considering the irreducible complexity of its essential components?
How can the Second Law of Thermodynamics be reconciled with progressive, naturalistic evolutionary theory?
How do you reconcile the existence of human intelligence with naturalism and the Law of Entropy?
How come there are some things on our planet seem that they are especially designed for us? For example, the 2 most comfortable colors are blue and green , which happen to be the color of the sky and most of the nature around us. Who chose those colors to be there , before earth even existed?
Why does the Bible alone, of all of the world's holy books, contain such detailed prophecies of future events?
Is it absolutely true that "truth is not absolute" or only relatively true that "all things are relative?"
Is it possible that your unbelief in God is actually an unwillingness to submit to Him?
Does your present worldview provide you with an adequate sense of meaning and purpose?
How do you explain the radically changed lives of so many Christian believers down through history?
Are you aware that every alleged Bible contradiction has been answered in an intelligible and credible manner?
What do you say about the hundreds of scholarly books that carefully document the veracity and reliability of the Bible?
Why and how has the Bible survived and even flourished in spite of centuries of worldwide attempts to destroy and ban its message?
Have you ever considered the fact that Christianity is the only religion whose leader is said to have risen from the dead?
How do you explain the empty tomb of Jesus in light of all the evidence that has now proven essentially irrefutable for twenty centuries?
If Jesus did not actually die and rise from the dead, how could He (in His condition) have circumvented all of the security measures in place at His tomb?
If the authorities stole Jesus' body, why?
Why would they have perpetrated the very scenario that they most wanted to prevent?
If Jesus merely resuscitated in the tomb, how did He deal with the Roman guard posted just outside its entrance?
How can one realistically discount the testimony of over 500 witnesses to a living Jesus following His crucifixion (see 1 Corinthians 15:6)?
If all of Jesus' claims to be God were the result of His own self-delusion, why didn't He show evidence of lunacy in any other areas of His life?
Is your unbelief in a perfect God possibly the result of a bad experience with an imperfect church or a misunderstanding of the facts, and therefore an unfair rejection of God Himself?
How did 35-40 men, spanning 1500 years and living on three separate continents, ever manage to author one unified message, i.e. the Bible?
Because life origins are not observable, verifiable, or falsifiable, how does the theory of "evolution" amount to anything more than just another faith system?
What do you make of all the anthropological studies indicating that even the most remote tribes show some sort of theological awareness?
If every effect has a cause, then what or who caused the universe?
How do you explain the thousands of people who have experienced heaven or hell and have come back to tell us about it?
How do you explain the countless people who have received miracles from God?
Is there any evidence that would satisfy you and persuade you to become a believer, or are you just going to believe what you WANT to believe?
Do you know what is in your food? Most Americans simply do not know that the FDA actually allows bug parts, maggots and rat excrement to be put into their food. The FDA only allows a small amount, but they do explicitly allow it.
Here are some examples of the allowable levels of "natural contaminants" that the FDA lists in the pamphlet.....
Canned Citrus Juices (such as orange juice) - 5 or more Drosophila and other fly eggs per 250 ml or 1 or more maggots per 250 ml
Cornmeal - Average of 25 or more insect fragments per 25 grams
Cranberry Sauce - Average mold count of 15%
Fig Paste - 13 or more insect heads per 100 grams of fig paste
Macaroni And Noodle Products - Average of 225 insect fragments or more per 225 grams
Mushrooms - Average of over 20 or more maggots of any size per 100 grams of drained mushrooms
Crushed Oregano - Average of 300 or more insect fragments per 10 grams
Peanut Butter - Average of 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams
Spinach - Average of 50 or more aphids, thrips and/or mites per 100 grams
Tomato Paste, Pizza And Other Sauces - Average of 30 or more fly eggs per 100 grams OR 15 or more fly eggs and 1 or more maggots per 100 grams
Wheat - Average of 9 mg or more rodent excreta pellets and/or pellet fragments per kilogram
Are you starting to get the idea?
I don't know about you, but I don't want ANY insect heads in my fig paste.
But, oh boy, if you get that 14th insect head into 100 grams of fig paste THEN you get into big trouble.
No wonder so many people are getting sick.
Even the ingredients in our food that are supposedly safe have been found to be quite the opposite.
Remember all those commercials recently that told us how safe and wonderful high fructose corn syrup is?
Well, it turns out that isn't the case after all.
In one stunning new study, almost half of the tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup contained significant levels of mercury. In addition, the same study found mercury in almost a third of 55 popular brand name food and beverage products where high fructose corn syrup is the first or second listed ingredient.
If you are not familiar with high fructose corn syrup, you should be. It is in thousands of food and beverage products. Just dig into your refrigerator and see how many products you find it in.
And it is chock full of mercury.
Mercury is a toxic heavy metal.
Among other things, mercury can cause serious brain damage, deafness and blindness. It is incredibly bad for you.
But high fructose corn syrup tastes so good!
And who cares if there are insect fragments in our peanut butter? After all, it tastes so good on a piece of toast!
The reality is that we live in a society where we can trust very few things any longer.
While many of us in the past enjoyed our food without any worries, the truth is that we are moving into a time when we are going to have to be careful what we eat.
The total liabilities of the United States government, including future social security and medicare payments that the U.S. government is already committed to pay out, now exceed 65 TRILLION dollars, which is more than the entire GDP of the whole world.
So why did the Congressional Budget Office report that the federal budget deficit was only 455 billion dollars (which is certainly a total disaster) in 2008?
The difference lies in accounting. The CBO's figures are based on cash accounting, while the 2008 Financial Report of the United States Government is based on GAAP accounting. GAAP accounting is what is used by all the major firms on Wall Street and it is regarded as a much more accurate reflection of financial reality.
So why is there such a big difference?
Well, what the Congressional Budget Office does is some really bad accounting. When you pay social security taxes, the federal government takes that money and instead of putting it away to pay your social security benefits in the future, it takes that money and spends it however it wants.
So what about the future social security and medicare benefits that the government owes you?
There is no money there for those payments.
The government is using that money right now to make the budget look better.
That's right, you have been conned.
And as bad as the numbers from 2008 look, they do not reflect any significant money from the monstrous financial bailouts that Congress has passed.
So 2009 is going to look MUCH worse.
Pretty picture, eh?
The reality is the the United States of America is a total financial disaster.
But that doesn't mean that the federal government is going to give up trying to help. It seems a new "bailout" or a new "stimulus" is being passed almost weekly now.
Instead of accepting the fact that we must adopt a lower standard of living and deal with the reality of our massive debt, the politicians are trying to crank up the debt spiral one more time.
The truth is that all of this government spending will help the economy in the short term, but it will make the long term problems of the U.S. government far worse.
So who is going to buy all of this new government debt? China has serious doubts about who is going to buy all of America's new debt. The reality is that the only way that the government can "bailout" anyone or pay for any "stimulus" bill is to borrow.
So America borrows and borrows and borrows and borrows.
If your own personal finances were like that, how do you think it would end?
Ah, you are starting to get the picture.....
The "American Dream" is quickly becoming the "American Nightmare" and most of the politicians don't have a clue.
What are you going to do when the economy collapses and everything you ever worked for starts coming apart?
It is time for all of us to start thinking about what is truly important.....
In the U.K., you are going to be "environmentally friendly" whether you like it or not. Under a new government plan, energy experts in the U.K. are going to visit every home in the country in order to "help them go green".
It is being called "The Great British Refurb" and it is part of a sweeping U.K. government plan to reduce carbon emissions.
Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, has announced that teams of "energy advisers" will go "house by house, street by street" to tell people what they must do in order to become eco-friendly.
It looks like Big Brother's cousin, "Green Brother", has arrived in the U.K.
So who is expected to pay for all of these improvements?
The homeowners.
Well, yes, there are going to be "loans" and "tax incentives", but in the end it is the homeowners who will be expected to foot the bill.
While becoming more "eco-friendly" is a goal that many people have, it is troubling the degree to which governments in the western world are now controlling our lives.
They tell us what kind of light bulbs we can use, how much tomato must be in our tomato sauce and increasingly even what we can say and think.
The truth is that those of us in the western world don't live in "free" societies any longer. We are regulated and controlled in a thousand different ways.
Even though it is now the year 2009, the reality is that every day we take one more step towards 1984.
What happens to those people who never hear about Jesus Christ?
Is God actively reaching out to them?
What if there are some people that never do hear about Jesus?
Have you ever heard questions like these when you talk to someone about Christ?
They are actually some really great questions!
What does happen to those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Or, for that matter, what happens to children who die at birth?
What about someone who is severely mentally impaired from birth and can't even communicate at all?
What is their standing before God?
Well, for starters, we know God is a God of perfect love AND of perfect justice. The Scriptures tell us that God only holds us responsible for what we know:
"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin." -John 15:22
God also tells us that it is apparent from what has been made that He exists:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." -Romans 1:18-22
So that tells us a couple things.
First of all, you don't have to worry about the 2 year old baby who dies.
God is perfectly just and we don't have to worry at all that he will ever be unjust. When all is said and done, we will see that the judgment of God has been absolutely perfect.
Secondly, if you are reading this, you are without excuse.
The reality of God is completely apparent to you.
You need to make a decision about Jesus Christ.
Heaven and hell are real.
God does judge people, and if you are reading this, then you will stand before God to be judged someday.
The truth is that if people are truly reaching out for God, then God will find a way to reach out to them.
Even in countries where there are no churches and where there is very little knowledge of Jesus, God is actively reaching out to those who earnestly seek Him.
In some of the least Christian areas of the world, it has almost become commonplace for Christ to appear in dreams and visions to those who are truly seeking him.
Here are some amazing stories from some Muslims who have come to Christ in extraordinary ways:
For someone who has not had extended exposure to Muslim-background believers in Christ, probably the most striking surprise is the powerful role that dreams and visions have played in drawing people to Jesus. Though dreams may play an insignificant role in the conversion decisions of most Westerners, over one-fourth of those surveyed state quite emphatically that dreams and visions were key in drawing them to Christ and sustaining them through difficult times. Rick Love, International Director of Frontiers, has recognized the pattern as well. He writes that, "Just as God used a vision to convert Paul, in like manner He reveals Himself to Muslims through dreams and visions. Just as God prepared Cornelius to hear the Gospel through a vision, so God is preparing a multitude of Muslims to respond to His good news."
One believer from Guinea recounts the dream of a figure whom he later believed to be Christ. The figure was in a white robe, calling the man to come to Him. In a related dream, he recalls that the same figure's arms were extended, beckoning him. Dreams of this type have become recognized as a pattern of work among Muslims. Though there are variations, Christ appearing in a white robe is a recurring image among those who have had dreams and visions. Similarly, a Muslim Malay woman was drawn by a vision she had of her Christian parents who had died. She saw them rejoicing with others in heaven. Jesus, appearing in a white robe, said, "If you want to come to me, just come." Feeling that she had tried her entire life to reach God without success, she now saw God initiating the effort to reach her through Jesus.
A convert from the Middle East who had been afflicted with severe headaches was lying on his bed after having prayed for his sick son. A man with a beautiful, peaceful face appeared. Dressed in white, the figure walked to the head of the man's bed and touched him three times on the head. The next morning his headaches were gone. His son, too, was fully healed. Understandably, he now recounts with confidence, "I believe in prayer in the name of the Christ."
The great majority of dreams seem to fall into one of two broad categories. The first could be considered the preparatory dream. Like Christ appearing in a white robe, the vision confirms thoughts or conversations one has been having about Christ or the Christian faith. The second could be called the empowering dream. Here the dream or vision commonly gives the believer strength in the face of persecution. Short of persecution, it may embolden believers, strengthening the nature of their witness.
Preparatory
One Sunni woman from the Arabian Peninsula had a figure appear to her in a dream, telling her to visit a Christian woman she knew. The figure, who she was later convinced was Christ, told her this woman would teach her.
In a fascinating twist on God's use of dreams and sleep, one Algerian recounted how she heard her sleeping Muslim grandmother say, "Jesus is not dead. I want to tell you He is here."
A West African man recounts a succinct, yet powerful vision he had prior to conversion. He saw a devout Muslim in hell and a poor Christian who couldn't afford to give alms in heaven. A voice explained to him that the difference was belief in Jesus.
Empowering Dreams
A North African believer found the needed strength to face his imprisonment from a dream he had while imprisoned for his faith. In it, he saw thousands of believers pouring through the streets of his city, openly proclaiming their faith in his restricted country. While in prison, he was tortured, suspended upside-down naked for hours, beaten with electrified rods and repeatedly threatened with execution. His vision of a day when people of his country would openly proclaim their faith in the streets gave him great strength to persevere through this most difficult time.
Encounter
Though not strictly a dream or a vision, a number of Muslim-background believers have had a significant supernatural encounter that was instrumental in drawing them to Jesus. One Egyptian Muslim was reading the Injil (Gospel), when he came to Luke 3, where the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. God said, "This is my son, in whom I am well pleased." As he read those words, a stormy wind broke into his room. A voice spoke to him saying, "I am Jesus Christ, whom you hate. I am the Lord whom you are looking for." He recalls that he "wept and wept, accepting Jesus from that time."
Whatever personal perspective one has on dreams and visions and the Christian walk of faith, it is difficult to consider engaging in ministry to Muslims without a recognition of and an openness for God to continue drawing people to Himself through what may be viewed as unconventional means.
Reading that book and watching that film will radically redefine how you view these issues.
The reality is that God will reach out to anyone that is truly searching for Him, even if it means doing it in supernatural ways.
Anyone who doubts that simply does not understand how big our God is.
If you do are not born again yet, then God may be reaching out to you through this article right now.
The good news is that you can have your sins forgiven and begin a relationship with Jesus Christ right now. The following site has more information on how you can become a Christian:
This story is not science fiction although it sure sounds like it. Russian scientists have actually created genetically engineered goat-human hybrid creatures that produce the same milk as a human mother.
Think about the ramifications of that for a moment.
These creatures are part goat and part human. Now, they are only a tiny part human, but they are still part human.
Of course the scientists try to make all of this tinkering with nature sound so noble.....
Dr Pyotr Vitsyaz of the Belarussian National Academy of Sciences said the following about the program: "The new programme will be aimed at producing milk with the human protein, as well as making medicines from it."
Apparently these "medicines" will be used to treat cancer and other various illnesses.
But is that any excuse for playing God?
How much human does a creature have to be before we consider it to be human?
Not that North American scientists aren't doing the same thing the Russians are doing.
Did you know that "spider goats" are actually being produced and "milked" as you read this?
If you do not believe us now, you will believe by the end of this article.
The Canadian company Nexia has produced goats that are genetically modified to be part spider.
The genetic modification causes these spider goats to produce spider silk protein in their milk that is collected, purified and spun into super strong fibers.
These fibers are apparently more durable than Kevlar, more stretchable than nylon, and stronger than steel.
This company sees nothing wrong with messing with nature to harvest a substance that has very valuable industrial and military applications.
But we don't expect you all to take our word for it. The Telegraph, one of the leading newspapers in the U.K., featured this major article about spider goats, and according to them this has been going on for quite some time.
The funny thing is that these scientists are not even trying to hide it anymore. The following YouTube video is of a television report where you can see these "spider goats" and where scientists describe exactly how they create these spider goats and what they are doing with them:
The "science" of genetic engineering has become so advanced that now people can create new lifeforms in their own kitchens and living rooms.
If governments around the world had any sense, they would outlaw this type of activity immediately.
Who knows what kind of plagues or environmental devastation one of these "amateur bio engineers" could cause by creating a new life form?
The truth is that whether it is professionals or amateurs, science has crossed a threshold that should not have been crossed.
Once the genie is out of the bottle it can never be put back. The dangers from all of this bioengineering will only be known as time moves forward, but we have the feeling that everyone is very much going to wish that humanity had never gone down this road.
How long is God going to put up with this kind of great evil?
Did y0u know that this kind of thing was going on before the Great Flood?
The book of Jasher, which is referred to in the Bible but which is not in the Bible itself, actually describes what men were doing in those days.....
"...and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth, all men and all animals..." -Jasher 4:18
So according to the book of Jasher, wicked men were mixing different species together and this was provoking the Lord.
Nature itself had become incredibly corrupted, and it took the Flood to wipe this corruption off the face of the earth.
A major Japanese corporation is ordering their employees to send their families back to Japan because they believe that there is a very real possibility that a bird flu pandemic is about to break out.
Wow.
A Panasonic spokesperson said that family members of employees in parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Latin America will fly back to Japan by the end of September.
The spokesperson said that they decided to do this "well ahead of possible confusion at the outbreak of a global pandemic."
Do they know something that we don't?
We have previously reported on the outbreaks of bird flu that have been popping up all over Asia lately.
Instead of going away, the bird flu seems to be getting worse than ever.
Not that many people are talking about the bird flu these days, but from our research this is one of the key dangers that we all need to be keeping an eye on.
When this thing does become a pandemic, we will see panic and death like the world has not seen in a long, long time.
Newsweek has a shocking new article out entitled "We Are All Socialists Now". While the magazine probably just intended for this headline to stir debate and get attention, the reality is that Newsweek is right.
We have become socialists and many of us don't even know it.
The truth is that United States government is almost 40 percent of GDP.
The truth is that when you add up all of the taxes that the average American pays out in one form or another, they total over 50 percent of what the average American makes.
So more than half of your money goes to the government.
Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone state and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Toll Bridge Taxes
Toll Tunnel Taxes
Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer registration tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Pretty frightening, eh?
But the reality is that America is becoming more socialist by the day.
After all, who is the biggest "business owner" in the United States?
The government.
Who is the biggest "spender" in the United States?
The government.
Who does everyone expect to "fix" and "run" the economy?
The government.
During this latest economic crisis, the federal government of the United States has "bailed out", nationalized or taken ownership interests in a vast array of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and large corporations.
That doesn't sound anything like "capitalism" to me.
The reality is that a new generation of Americans has arisen that expects the government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave. They expect the government to fix all their problems and to provide them with a great life.
Haven't we learned anything from the dramatic failure of other socialist regimes throughout history?
Apparently not.
It is not just in the United States either - all around the world people are clamoring for socialism.
And the truly frightening thing is that wherever there is a move towards socialism or communism there is almost always a corresponding move towards atheism.
And wherever atheism rises, persecution of Christians soon follows.
But we should not expect the world to love us.
In John 15:19, Jesus said this.....
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
The truth is that in these last days, no matter what form governments around the world take the reality is that they are going to ultimately turn against Christianity. The Scriptures tell us that there will be brutal persecution of Christians in the end times, and that is a reality that we are going to have to be ready for.
In our previous article entitled "The NSA's Black Widow Is Watching ALL Your Calls & Emails", we discussed how the NSA literally has a supercomputer that scans millions of calls, emails and other electronic communications each day.
Aquaint ("Advanced QUestion Answering for INTelligence") is being designed to pull information from your phone calls, credit card receipts, social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, GPS devices, cell phones, Google searches, Amazon book purchases and even E-Z Pass toll records to give users of the system information on where you are, what you are doing and what you are thinking.
Oh, you didn't think that the government could do that?
Oh, you didn't think that the government was ALLOWED to do that?
Guess again.
Welcome to the 21st century - the century of Big Brother.
Someday technologies such as this will not only be able to determine what you are doing, saying and thinking, but they will also be able to control you as well.
The reality is that we are moving into times that science fiction writers never even dreamed of.
Our previous article entitled "It Has Become Fashionable To Mock Christians" examined the rising tide of Christian persecution in western countries such as the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. If you have not read that article yet, please do so. Hatred towards Christianity is rising and it is rising fast.
But most people are not aware that already Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the entire world. It is illegal or severely restricted in 51 different countries. Fundamentalist Muslim nations, fanatical Hindu countries and hardline Communist regimes are not shy about their hatred for Christianity.
Christians in the United States do not realize how easy they have had it. In many areas of the world following Christ means paying a high price - and often the price a believer must pay is with their life.
For example, Iran's parliament has passed a new law which makes it illegal for a Muslim to become a Christian, and that any Muslim that does become a Christian must be executed.
In many areas of India, Christians who try to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ are regularly attacked by Hindu extremists.
The following is a recent example of this persecution that was emailed to us by The Voice Of The Martyrs:
-----
On April 25, Pastor Mohan Babu and two other believers were severely beaten by 35 Hindu extremists for holding a Vacation Bible School (VBS) near Bangalore City, in Karnataka State. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in India, the three-day VBS was organized by Ragigudda Baptist Church. VOM sources said, "Around 60 children from different backgrounds were attending the VBS. As they were worshiping, about 35 people belonging to a Hindu extremist group forcefully entered the hut chanting slogans and demolished the hut. The extremists mercilessly beat Mohan, Samuel and Krishna, alleging forceful conversion. The perpetrators chased the children without any courtesy and tore the Bibles. Mohan was severely injured on his lips and was profusely bleeding. The believers are living in fear and did not lodge complaint with the police." Pray for healing for all those injured in this attack. Pray they forgive their attackers and for the children who were attending VBS to continue growing in their faith despite the attack.
But it is not just in a few areas where Christians are persecuted. It is truly a worldwide phenomenon.....
* It has been estimated that more Christians were martyred in the 20th Century than in the previous 1,900 years combined.
* There were more than 26 million documented cases of martyrdom in the 20th century alone.
* More than 200 million Christians in over 60 nations face persecution each day, and it is estimated that over half of these are children.
* It is estimated that between 150,000 and 165,000 Christians are martyred each year.
The following is a partial list of countries where Christians are currently being persecuted:
China Religious Freedom Rating: 6 (7 is worst) Widespread persecution of church leaders and members, especially those in unregistered (underground) churches, which may represent as many as 100 million believers.
Indonesia Religious Freedom Rating: 5 (7 is worst) Militant Muslims have waged periodic Jihad (‘Holy War’) against Christian communities in the Molucca Islands and Sulawesi. Over 600 churches have been destroyed since 1996.
Nigeria Religious Freedom Rating: 5 (7 is worst) The imposition of Islamic Sharia law in more than 10 states has caused thousands of Christians to flee, and has exacerbated differences between the predominantly Christian south and the Islamic north.
North Korea Religious Freedom Rating: 7 (7 is worst) Over 100,000 people, including many Christians, are believed to be imprisoned in North Korea’s barbaric death camps. The brutal dictatorship of Kim Jong Il suppresses all religious activities, and imposes a personality cult based around the ‘Great Leader’.
Pakistan Religious Freedom Rating: 6 (7 is worst) Pakistan’s poorly-drafted 295c blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty for ‘blaspheming Mohammed’, have been misused against Christians and other minorities. Militant Muslims are increasingly attacking churches and Christian organizations.
Sudan Religious Freedom Rating: 7 (7 is worst) Famine and the long-running civil war between the Muslim North and Christian/animist South have led to over two million deaths in the last two decades. Thousands of Southern Sudanese have been literally enslaved after being seized in government raids.
Cuba Religious Freedom Rating: 6 (7 is worst) The church was initially persecuted by the Communist regime of Fidel Castro, when church leaders were sent to labour camps. Christians now enjoy greater freedom, although house churches are still subject to repression.
Colombia Religious Freedom Rating: 4 (7 is worst) Pastors have been targeted by guerrilla movements such as FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), with 400 churches being forced to close in areas under the control of armed groups. Christians have also been killed for speaking out against violence and the widespread drug trade.
Morocco Religious Freedom Rating: 4 (7 is worst) Anyone converting to Christianity can face charges of treachery and illegal contact with foreign missions. A small Moroccan church is emerging, estimated to number some 500 indigenous believers in 2000.
Mauritania Religious Freedom Rating: 6 (7 is worst) Islam is the state religion, and conversion from Islam is strictly forbidden. The Catholic Church is the only recognised religious group outside of Islam. Sharia law is intermittently applied.
Algeria Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) In recent years Christians have been attacked by the Islamic Salvation Front, and Islamic fundamentalists are pushing for the implementation of Sharia law.
Libya Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Sunni Islam is the state religion, but secular influences are strong. There are very few Libyan Christian believers. There is a limit of one church per denomination per city.
Egypt Religious Freedom Rating: 5 (7 is worst) The constitution gives preference to Muslims, and Christians are often treated as second-class citizens, denied political representation and discriminated against in employment. The Egyptian Coptic Church is by far the largest body of Christians in the Middle East.
Somalia Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) The small Somali church has been driven underground, and exists mainly in the south. A number of believers have been martyred, others have been publicly named as targets for execution.
Turkey Religious Freedom Rating: 5 (7 is worst) The Christian Population has declined from 22 per cent in 1900 to 0.32 per cent today. There is increasing openness by the government to recognise Turkey as a multi-cultural, multi-religious country. Periodic acts of violence against non-Muslim institutions.
Syria Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Christian minorities are tolerated and have freedom to worship and witness within their own community, but all activities that could threaten the government or communal harmony are carefully watched.
Kuwait Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Christians are free to live and work in Kuwait, but must worship in a recognized location. Evangelism to Kuwaitis is forbidden.
Saudi Arabia Religious Freedom Rating: 7 (7 is worst) Saudi Arabia is the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. Any citizen who converts from Islam to another religion faces the death penalty. Islamic Sharia law is the main source of legislation.
Qatar Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Criticism of the ruling family monarchy or Islam is a crime. However expatriate believers are allowed to practice their faith.
Yemen Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) It is illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity, and those Yemenis who do face many social pressures. Most Christians in the country are expatriates, many being Ethiopian refugees.
Oman Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Churches and church activities for expatriates are allowed, but evangelism of Muslims is forbidden. There is a handful of indigenous believers.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Islam is the state religion. Expatriate Christians, representing many different language groups, have freedom to worship and witness to their faith.
Iran Religious Freedom Rating: 7 (7 is worst) Shi’a Islam is the state religion. Conversion from Islam to another faith is a capital crime. There is a ban on the printing of all Christian literature, and constant surveillance of churches and those who attend them.
Iraq Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) After the fall of Saddam Hussein, members of underground churches are struggling to practice their faith. The Christian community is largely Assyrian, with some Armenians. About one-third of all Christians fled Iraq in the 1990s.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Religious Freedom Rating: 4-7 (7 is worst) The CIS comprises Russia and 11 other republics that were formerly part of the Soviet Union, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Christians face harassment and repression from both old-guard Communists, and Islamic militants.
Afghanistan Religious Freedom Rating: na (7 is worst) Public persecution of Christians has once again emerged, and Christians still face constant harassment from militant Muslims.
Nepal Religious Freedom Rating: 5 (7 is worst) Militant Hindus are targeting Christians with hostile propaganda and violence; while Maoist guerrillas, who control one-fifth of the country, have also attacked Christians.
India Religious Freedom Rating: 5 (7 is worst) States such as Orissa and Gujarat have been racked by violence as radical Hindus have attacked Christian communities. Six Indian states have passed anti-conversion laws that impose prison terms and fines against anyone using force, fraud or allurement to convert another.
Bangladesh Religious Freedom Rating: 6 (7 is worst) Islam is the state religion, and radical Muslims are pushing for the introduction of full Islamic Sharia law. Hindus, Christians and Buddhists have all experienced religious discrimination and attacks by militant Muslims.
Sri Lanka Religious Freedom Rating: 4 (7 is worst) Buddhism is given the ‘foremost place’ in the Constitution. Militant Buddhists have increasingly instigated mob violence against evangelical Christians in rural areas. 65 churches were attacked in 2003.
Bhutan Religious Freedom Rating: 6 (7 is worst) All public worship and evangelism by non-Buddhists is illegal. The king wields absolute power, and there are no legal guarantees on freedom of religion.
Burma (Myanmar) Religious Freedom Rating: 7 (7 is worst) The State Peace and Development Council attempts to control every religious activity. All gatherings of five or more people are illegal. Ethnic minorities, such as the Karen, have been targets of repression.
Malaysia Religious Freedom Rating: 4 (7 is worst) Although the constitution guarantees religious freedom, fundamentalist Muslims do everything in their power politically to inhibit Christian evangelism. Ethnic Malays are not allowed to have a Christian place of worship.
Laos Religious Freedom Rating: n/a (7 is worst) Communist leaders in some districts have implemented a program called ‘New Mechanism’ in which anyone who does not convert to Buddhism or animism is forcibly removed from their district. Christian villagers have been forced to sign documents renouncing their faith.
Eritrea Religious Freedom Rating: n/a (7 is worst) Evangelical Christians have come under increasing pressure. Only four religious groups are allowed to hold public meetings: Muslims, Catholics, Orthodox and Lutheran. Evangelical Christians have been imprisoned.
Maldives Religious Freedom Rating: n/a (7 is worst) This popular holiday destination in the Indian Ocean hides a repressive regime. Free speech is not respected for the press or non-Muslim religions. In 1998 all known Maldivian Christians were arrested.
Tibet Religious Freedom Rating: 7 (7 is worst) Christians find themselves caught between pressure from both Buddhism and Chinese communism. In 1999 the Chinese Communist Party in Lhasa decreed that atheism is necessary to promote economic development in the region, and to assist the struggle against the Dalai Lama (who fled in 1959).
Most Western Christians truly have NO IDEA what life has been like for some Christians in other areas of the world.
Pastor Florescu couldn't bear to watch his son being beaten by the Communist officers. He had already been beaten himself, and he had not slept for two weeks for fear of being attacked by the starving rats the Communists had forced into his prison cell. The Romanian police wanted Florescu to give up other members of his underground church so that they, too, could be captured.
Seeing that the beatings and torture weren't working, the Communists brought in Florescu's son Alexander, only fourteen years old, and began to beat the boy. While Florescu watched, they hammered his son's body unmercifully, telling the pastor that they would beat his son to death unless he told them the locations of other believers.
Finally, half mad, Florescu screamed for them to stop.
"Alexander, I must say what they want!" he called out to his son. "I can't bear your beatings anymore."
His body bruised, blood running from his nose and mouth, Alexander looked his father in the eye. "Father, don't do me the injustice of having a traitor as a parent. Stand strong! If they kill me, I will die with the word Jesus on my lips."
The boy's courage enraged the Communist guards, and they beat him to death as his father watched. Not only did he hold on to his faith, he helped his father do the same.
-----
But perhaps you don't think it could happen in the United States?
Just check out this stunning footage of a mob assaulting a Christian woman and stomping on a cross:
Barack Obama has released his first federal budget proposal as president, and it is a monster. Obama's budget proposal is a whopping 3.55 trillion dollars, and it contains an astonishing $1.75 trillion projected federal deficit that would be nearly four times the highest in history.
by Don Richardson or the documentary film entitled 
which details some of the extraordinary supernatural experiences that Muslims around the world are having with Christ.
