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Judah_Ben_Hur
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Name: Jesse
Location: Quakertown, Pennsylvania, United States
Gender: Male
Interests: My biggest passion is for Christ. I am a student of the Bible and I believe every word of it is inspired, inerrant, and priceless. I love theology and I believe strongly in the doctrines of Biblical Christianity, which are most accurately presented in Reformed Theology. I am fascinated by history and science, especially Young Earth Creation Science.
Other interests include: homiletics (the art of preaching), pedagogy (the art of teaching), linguistics, geography...I am an all-around nerd. But I also have more specific interests: reading, art, camping, experiencing the beauty of the natural world (especially the American West), western novels and movies, hockey, shortwave radio, urban legends and folklore, mass media/popular culture, anything that is exploding or on fire, too many
Expertise: I don't think I am much of an expert at anything...I do have a superhuman sense of smell, however. I am told that I know a lot about everything, but I probably don't know enough about most things to be an expert at them. I guess I am the great generalist. I think that is a good thing...Heinlein said specialization is for insects, and he was right. What good is a Ph.D. in Art History if you can't even use a screwdriver?
Occupation: Teacher
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
4/22/2005
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| It's time for another over-the-top rant! Quick get your cell phones and email ready! Here we go.... Mission accomplished! Someone tell the UN to call off the sanctions against Iran, because the Mennonites have got it all under control. Phew! Now Sean Penn and Rick Warren won't have to go over there and take care of business. It seems all Iran wanted all this time was a really nice quilt. Who'd have thunk it? MCC delegation meets Iranian president
By Mennonite Weekly Review staff and Mennonite Central Committee | | |  | | | Ron Flaming, left, MCC’s director of international programs, presents a quilted wall-hanging to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting of a 13-member religious delegation from the United States and the Iranian leader Feb. 24 in Tehran. — Photo provided by MCC | | | | |
TEHRAN, Iran — In the first meeting of its kind since the 1979 Islamic revolution, a delegation of 13 American religious leaders, including representatives of Mennonite Central Committee, met with the Iranian president in Iran on Feb. 24.
The meeting took place at the presidential residence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and included members of the president’s staff and the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs.
The meeting was part of a Feb. 17-25 peace delegation to Iran co-sponsored by MCC. The trip also included conferences with Iranian Muslim and Christian leaders, as well as with Iranian government officials. The delegation hoped to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States by encouraging more dialogue between the countries.
In the meeting with Ahmadinejad, the group discussed a variety of topics, including the role of religion in transforming conflict, the war in Iraq, Iran’s controversial nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The meeting began around 7:45 p.m. and lasted for nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Delegation members said they were encouraged by Ahmadinejad’s pledge that Iran does not intend to acquire or use nuclear weapons, as well as by a statement that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be solved through political, not military means.
“I have no reservation about conducting talks with American officials if we see some goodwill,” Ahmadinejad said.
Concerning his country’s nuclear program, he said Islam prohibits nuclear weapons, though he admitted, “Iran has the capacity to produce nuclear fuel.”
Ahmadinejad also said the Palestinian people should be able to determine the course of their own future at the ballot box.
“Palestinians should be able to decide for themselves,” he said.
Ahmadinejad repeated some of his controversial remarks about the Jewish Holocaust. The Iranian leader has been accused of denying the Holocaust occurred.
During the meeting, Ahmadinejad said the Holocaust has been used as a “pretext” for the creation of the state of Israel.
He also deflected the issue of whether he believes the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis actually occurred — the topic of a recent conference held in Iran by Holocaust deniers.
“If it is historical fact, why is no one allowed to study it?” he asked.
The delegation held informal conversations with Iranians at universities, churches, mosques, in shops and on the street. On Feb. 22, the group visited the holy city of Qom and its Mar’ashi Najafi Library, which contains thousands of ancient Islamic texts, including one of the oldest known copies of the Book of Psalms.
On Feb. 24, before its conference with Ahmadinejad, the delegation met his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, who led Iran from 1997 to 2005.
Khatami, a moderate Shiite cleric regarded as a reformer both in Iran and abroad, told the delegation that “everyone has a role to play in resolving this conflict” between Iran and the United States.
On its return to the United States, the delegation released a statement calling for more discussions on peace between Iran and the United States. The group called for immediate face-to-face talks.
“We believe it is possible for further dialogue and that there can be a new day in U.S.-Iranian relations,” the statement said. “The Iranian government has already built a bridge toward the American people by inviting our delegation to come to Iran. We ask the U.S. government to welcome a similar delegation of Iranian religious leaders to the United States.”
The delegation included leaders from the Mennonite, Quaker, Episcopal, Roman Catholic and United Methodist churches as well as representatives of the National Council of Churches, Sojourners/Call to Renewal and Pax Christi, a Catholic peace organization.
The group included MCC Washington Office director J. Daryl Byler; Ron Flaming, MCC’s director of international programs; Edward Martin, director of MCC’s central and southern Asia program; and Patty Shelly, a professor at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., representing the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board. | | | | | | |
----Wow, the power of quilting is truly underestimated. It's a shame none of the local Iranian Christians weren't invited to this meeting of the minds. But I guess they were too busy being doused with acid or set on fire or something like that. I wonder if the Mennonites told Mahmoud that that is not peaceful. I must say though, Ahmadinejad sounded positively pleasant according to this article (I bet someone slipped him some shoo-fly pie). His tone really contrasted with his normal tone, which goes something like this... Holocaust denial "They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets." "We ask the West to remove what they created sixty years ago and if they do not listen to our recommendations, then the Palestinian nation and other nations will eventually do this for them." "The real Holocaust is what is happening in Palestine where the Zionists avail themselves of the fairy tale of Holocaust as blackmail and justification for killing children and women and making innocent people homeless." "The West claims that more than six million Jews were killed in World War II and to compensate for that they established and support Israel. If it is true that the Jews were killed in Europe, why should Israel be established in the East, in Palestine?" "If you have burned the Jews, why don't you give a piece of Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to Israel. Our question is, if you have committed this huge crime, why should the innocent nation of Palestine pay for this crime?" Threats against Israel "Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury." "Remove Israel before it is too late and save yourself from the fury of regional nations." "The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land. As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map." "If the West does not support Israel, this regime will be toppled. As it has lost its raison d' tre, Israel will be annihilated." "Israel is a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed." "Israel is a rotten, dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm." Relations with West "[There is] no significant need for the United States." "Iranians possess delicate characteristics. They introduce their merits, which are extremely attractive to whole the world." "We are ready to hold dialogue with all countries of the world except for the Israeli regime." "Those who insulted the prophet should know that you cannot obscure the sun with a handful of dust. The dust will just get back and blind your own eyes." "We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point - that is the Almighty God. My question for you is, 'Do you not want to join them?'" "There are no limits to our dialogue." "Do you think you are dealing with a 4-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?" Conspiracy theory "Could [9/11] be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services - or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren't those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?" Freedom of speech "We believe that accurate dissemination of news and information is necessary for political growth and awareness as well as effective interaction among nations in today's world.I wonder which Ahmadinejad is the authentic one? I would guess the latter. But hey, you never know. I never in a million years would have guessed that this guy would even accept a wall-hanging. I wonder what was going through his head when they gave it to him. "What IS this thing? It's too small to use as a blanket. Too big to use as a pot holder. Whatever. As long as they think I take them seriously." Where is he going to hang that thing? Maybe next to his bookcase of Holocaust denial literature. Hmmmm...do you think MCC would ever give a wall-hanging to George Bush? Probably not. He is a nationalistic oppressor; he doesn't seek peace, like Mahmoud does. | | |
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Flying high again! | | |
| For those wondering why we left... Here are some quotes that explain those views we have about the Church and doctrine that differ from those running the show. “The place for intolerance to poison is clear in the physical as well as in the theological realm. I wonder if this has application- indeed I think some people need to think it through; seriously question the validity of staying in a church that denies the Bible and distorts the Gospel. I hear so many people telling me that they are in these churches because they are going to do this and they are going to do that; they are very orthodox, although the place is unorthodox. Well they must be guided by the Spirit of God, but I want to say this: no matter how orthodox our convictions may be, to sit under the teaching of those who tamper with the Word of God and truth is to potentially compromise and weaken our own testimony. I believe that it is a fundamental responsibility of those who name the Name of Christ to sit under a solid, Bible-teaching ministry.” -Alistair Begg ------ Selected portions from the Together For the Gospel Statement signed by Drs. J. Ligon Duncan III, Mark E. Dever, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., and C. J. Mahaney in 2006: From the Preamble We are also brothers united in deep concern for the church and the Gospel. This concern is specifically addressed to certain trends within the church today. We are concerned about the tendency of so many churches to substitute technique for truth, therapy for theology, and management for ministry.
We are also concerned that God’s glorious purpose for Christ’s church is often eclipsed in concern by so many other issues, programs, technologies, and priorities. Furthermore, confusion over crucial questions concerning the authority of the Bible, the meaning of the Gospel, and the nature of truth itself have gravely weakened the church in terms of its witness, its work, and its identity. Article III
We affirm that truth ever remains a central issue for the Church, and that the church must resist the allure of pragmatism and postmodern conceptions of truth as substitutes for obedience to the comprehensive truth claims of Scripture.
We deny that truth is merely a product of social construction or that the truth of the Gospel can be expressed or grounded in anything less than total confidence in the veracity of the Bible, the historicity of biblical events, and the ability of language to convey understandable truth in sentence form. We further deny that the church can establish it’s ministry on a foundation of pragmatism, current marketing techniques, or contemporary cultural fashions. Article IV
We affirm the centrality of expository preaching in the church and the urgent need for a recovery of biblical exposition and the public reading of Scripture in worship.
We deny that God-honoring worship can marginalize or neglect the ministry of the Word as manifested through exposition and public reading. We further deny that a church devoid of true biblical preaching can survive as a Gospel church.
Article VI
We affirm that the doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian essential, bearing witness to the ontological reality of the one true God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of the same substance and perfections.
We deny the claim that the Trinity is not an essential doctrine, or that the Trinity can be understood in merely economic or functional categories.
------ We are sorry we had to go. We wish you all the best. | | |
| If by some amazing chance you have not heard, the Iraqis executed Saddam Hussein last week. And in case you forgot, he was also known as 'the Butcher of Baghdad' because he was responsible for the deaths of at least 180,000 innocent people, not including the military casualties in the numerous wars started or instigated by him . Now do not forget that little tidbit. It is important. In a stunning display of marketing ignorance, liberals around the world, especially in Europe, have used this execution as a rallying point for a renewed campaign to ban the death penalty worldwide. Now let's set aside whether or not the death penalty actually is a good thing (and it is) for a moment, and just think about how bad of a poster boy for banning the death penalty Saddam Hussein is. Now I'm no marketing guru, but I would think that if there is anyone in the world you would NOT want as the face of the anti-death penalty campaign, it is Saddam. In fact he is the ideal poster boy for the PRO-death penalty movement. Few people on this earth deserve an execution more than this genocidal monster. I would think liberals would be better served if they dug up someone who got the death penalty, but actually did not deserve it. It's truly a strange world. There are probably about a million things I would disagree with the Iraqi people about, but at least they have the common sense to see that a clearly guilty murderer needs to die. I don't know why liberals feel so compelled to stick up for the guilty (i.e. murderers, genocidal dictators) and to thwart attempts to save the innocent (i.e. third trimester unborn babies who are about to have scissors stabbed into their skulls). I guess it makes them feel compassionate or more enlightened than those of us with more "patriarchal", "heteronormative", and "absolutist" sensibilities. | | |
| I truly wonder how anyone could consider the Pope to be a Christian at all, let alone the "Vicar of Christ". Here is what he did on his recent visit to Turkey as he attempted to mend fences with Islam: "And what did the pope do in his controversial visit to Hagia Sophia? He refrained from any gesture that could be misconstrued as Christian worship and merely took in the sights of the museum. Moreover, when he was invited into the Blue Mosque nearby, he respectfully took off his shoes and prayed, eyes downcast, standing next to the the grand mufti of Istanbul like a true dhimmi — a subdued non-Muslim living under Islamic law and acknowledging Islamic superiority." [Raymond Ibrahim, LA Times, 12/5/06] Wow. Could you see the Apostles doing that? Peter (whom dear Benedict XVI is supposedly successor to) would rather have been crucified upside down than deny his Lord and participate in idolatry in such a way. Every apostle (except Judas) was martyred or imprisoned for refusing to betray Christ and worship false gods. This modern "apostle" doesn't even have to be persecuted or tortured first before he bows the knee to idols. But it's not just the incumbent pope that has done such horrible things. Check out this shot of evangelicalism's favorite pope, John Paul II kissing a Qur'an (you know, the book that says Allah has no son)! [ht- James White] 
I wish I could say it is hard to believe the world's Catholics did not rise up against JP in a rage over such behavior, but I really can't. They have been duped into believing that this man is infallible. They trust what he says over the words of Scripture. Can there really be any doubt that modern popes are just as corrupt and godless as their Medieval forebears? I really don't fault the Reformers for identifying the Papacy as Antichrist. What other figures on Earth garner such notoriety for being God's chosen leaders while denying the true faith all along? If the Pope isn't the Antichrist, he certainly comes in the "spirit of the antichrist". And every passing day, evangelicals try to find common cause with the Roman Catholic Church. What a sad state of affairs. | | |
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