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December 20th, 2010
10:42 AM ET
Police: American tourist's body found in IsraelThe American woman whose body was found outside Jerusalem was a longtime traveler to Israel with a "beautiful and gentle spirit," her employer said Monday. Authorities launched a search for Kristine Luken after the woman with whom she had been hiking arrived at a picnic spot with multiple stab wounds. That woman, Kay Susan Wilson, said the two were hiking in a forest near Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, when two men attacked them, tied them to a tree and stabbed them, according to police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. Luken was in Israel both to visit Wilson and also professionally in her new role running tour operations for the Christian ministry CMJ UK, the group's CEO, Robin Aldridge, said in a statement on the organization's website. Read the full story of the American tourist killed in Israel here.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Check this....
http://www.realzionistnews.com/?p=156
Al-Anaam sura 06:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
He is the Irresistible (watching) from above over his worshippers, and He sets guardians over you. At length, when death approaches one of you, Our angels take his soul, and they never fail in their duty. (61).
Al-Rad sura 13:
He knoweth the Unseen and that which is open: He is the Great, the Most High. (9) It is the same (to Him) whether any of you conceal his speech or declare it openly; whether he lie hid by night or walk freely by day. (10) For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession, before and behind him: they guard him by command of Allah. Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls). But when (once) Allah willeth a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, nor will they find, besides Him any to protect. (11)
Saving Muslims is quite easy!!!
The Five Steps To Deprogram 1400 Years of Islamic Myths:
( –The Steps take less than two minutes to finish- simply amazing, two minutes to bring peace and rationality to over one billion lost souls- Priceless!!!)
Muneef are you ready?
Using "The 77 Branches of Islamic "faith" a collection compiled by Imam Bayhaqi as a starting point. In it, he explains the essential virtues that reflect true "faith" (iman) through related Qur’anic verses and Prophetic sayings." i.e. a nice summary of the Koran and Islamic beliefs.
"1. Belief in Allah"
aka as God, Yahweh, Zeus, Jehovah, Mother Nature, etc. should be added to your cleansing neurons.
"2. To believe that everything other than Allah was non-existent. Thereafter, Allah Most High created these things and subsequently they came into existence."
Evolution and the Big Bang or the "Gi-b G-nab" (when the universe starts to recycle) are more plausible and the "akas" for Allah should be included if you continue to be a "crea-tionist".
"3. To believe in the existence of angels."
A major item for neuron cleansing. Angels/de-vils are the mythical creations of ancient civilizations, e.g. Hitt-ites, to explain/define natural events, contacts with their gods, big birds, sudden winds, protectors during the dark nights, etc. No "pretty/ug-ly wingy thingies" ever visited or talked to Mohammed, Jesus, Mary or Joseph or Joe Smith. Today we would classify angels as f–airies and "tin–ker be-lls". Modern de-vils are classified as the de-mons of the de-mented.
"4. To believe that all the heavenly books that were sent to the different prophets are true. However, apart from the Quran, all other books are not valid anymore."
Another major item to delete. There are no books written in the spirit state of Heaven (if there is one) just as there are no angels to write/publish/distribute them. The Koran, OT, NT etc. are simply books written by humans for humans.
Prophets were invented by ancient scribes typically to keep the un-educated masses in line. Today we call them for-tune tellers.
Prophecies are also invali-dated by the natural/God/Allah gifts of Free Will and Future.
"5. To believe that all the prophets are true. However, we are commanded to follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) alone."
Mohammed spent thirty days "fasting" (the Ramadan legend) in a hot cave before his first contact with Allah aka God etc. via a "pretty wingy thingy". Common sense demands a neuron deletion of #5. #5 is also the major source of Islamic vi-olence i.e. turning Mohammed's "fast, hunger-driven" hallu-cinations into horrible reality for unbelievers.
Walk these Five Steps and we guarantee a complete recovery from your Islamic ways!!!!
Al-Hadid sura 57:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: that is truly easy for Allah: (22) In order that ye may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favours bestowed upon you. For Allah loveth not any vainglorious boaster― (23) Such persons as are covetous and commend covetousness to men. And if any turn back (from Allah's Way) verily Allah is free of all needs, Worthy of all praise. (24).
@Ykcyc – I completely understand your statement yet I am still utterly confused.
@GSA
People argue that their thought or believe or their God is the true one, but in Reality none of them are. They come and go. There is nothing to die or kill for. God gets what God wants. God help us all.
Peace.
@Reality
People believe God is all knowing. Some say god deliberately limits his omniscients, so that humans might have free will. This is silly. Even if I have not seen a movie, it has the same ending. It is still set.
God being able to see the future also limits gods actions.
Believers often talk of god's great plan. God has a plan for each of us. If this is true, then there is no free will.
Some say that god exists outside of time and space. He can see the future, but humans still have free will. It really doesn't matter where god resides. If the future can be seen, then it cannot be changed.
Any system of reward and punishment is bogus.
The 6 point Calvinists believe god knows who will someday be be saved and who will burn forever, even before they are born. Note that the damned are allowed to be born, to someday burn in eternal torment.
Fortunately, I don't believe in god, so I also don't believe the future is set.
Cheers!
@David Johnson
Agreed! And as a service to believers, here's a gentle (no "all caps") reminder: There are no gods, not even just one, no supernatural jc, nor zeus, pink unicorns, leprechauns or satan. And December 25 is *not* jc's birthday, if he ever existed.
Happy Holidays!
@HotAirAce
Sing it Preacher! Amen!
Cheers!
People create God in their own image. Even you, David Johnson. Some worship money, idols, rituals, etc. In Reality (not you, Reality) peple don't know anything, they only think that they do. And that, most of the time, has nothing to do with Reality. ;0))
Then there is Edward Schillibeeck's take on god and interactions with humankind:
Church: The Human Story of God,
Crossroad, 1993, p.91 (softcover)
"Christians must give up a perverse, unhealthy and inhuman doctrine of predestination without in so doing making God the great scapegoat of history" .
"Nothing is determined in advance: in nature there is chance and determinism; in the world of human
activity there is possibility of free choices. Therefore the historical future is not known even to God; otherwise we
and our history would be merely a puppet show in which God holds the strings.
For God, too, history is an adventure, an open history for and of men and women."
@Mike, not me
Death is not being protected by god. You are trying to rationalize the fact that god does nothing to alleviate suffering. The death of this woman, you can't deny. So, you try to spin it. Pfui!
A child was kidnapped. The monster made her last moments alive a nightmare and then buried her alive. She was 8 years old.
At first I wondered, why god didn't send a lightening bolt, to destroy the monster. A heart attack. An out of control bus.
Then I realized I was being too dramatic. Why couldn't god have made a policeman see some odd thing, and investigate? Why couldn't the child have gotten a stomachache and spent the day safe in her bed?
But no. The child died, buried alive.
You might say, god has given humans free will. The monster chose to do this to the child. But my answer would be, "What about the child's free will? Did she have a choice?
Some gift god gave. It does not apply equally, to everyone.
6 million Jews were murdered. 6 million of god's chosen people. Where was god? How would the outcome have been different if there were no god?
Christians in Iraq are being killed. Where's god?
Your god is a fail, Mike. You believers make excuses. You rationalize. You ignore.
Your god either does not care, or He does not exist.
Happy Holidays!
@David, your god is too small.
grace and peace,
-jeff
@jeff
Explain to me, how your god is larger. Tell me your spin on a god that is all good, and all powerful, and cannot or chooses not to eliminate suffering/evil.
Curious in Arizona
@David, I don't have any spin, my large view of God comes from what time I've spent reading scripture, and from reading what theologians have been wrestling with and writing about for centuries. I find many chapters, but not all, of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology quite helpful. I do believe God lives in the eternal present, ("I AM") essentially outside of time as we know it. Call me silly, but that resolves a number of things for me. In this life, all flesh is like grass, and the grass withers and the flower fades... Mike, not me, referenced the afterlife above – I believe there is divine justice, and there is divine grace and I thank God for that. Scripture tells us again and again that there will be troubles in this world, but that "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." Also promised in scripture, I believe there will be a time when "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." I believe that I make "free choices" for which I am held accountable, but I also believe that God's perfect will is such that my free choices are aligned with His will for me. I imagine that to be difficult for most, but I liken it to knowing my children well enough that I can often get them to choose to do what I want them to do, and I know that my Father's knowledge of me is perfect… I believe He knew me before the foundations of the world, and yet I believe that He created the universe ex nihilo, quite probably in a blinding explosion some 14 billion years ago. I believe that Christ's death on the cross was an atonement for all sins, past, present, and future, for those who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead. I do believe that there are those who will never confess with their mouths or believe in their hearts, and that gives me sadness, but I also don't know who those folks are, as I thought I was one myself for the middle 30+ years of my life. I believe I am called to participate in this kingdom of His, to help relieve pain and suffering, to share the good news of the free gift of grace, and in so doing, to somehow be an instrument of grace. The more I ponder God, the bigger He gets, and it is not He that is limited, but my finite inability to grasp the infinite.
grace and peace,
-jeff
@Jeff
You stated: "The more I ponder God, the bigger He gets, and it is not He that is limited, but my finite inability to grasp the infinite."
You have pointed out something here, that is profound. It is easy to imagine and grow a god to infinite proportions, when you don't require any evidence for your imaginings. This is the key to the to understanding the gods! Imagination!
Our ponderings may well lead to a god that grows larger and larger with each passing thought, but that would be strictly in the realm of the imagination. Just because we can imagine something does not mean that it has any basis in fact or reality.
I can imagine fairies living in my left shoe, but that doesn't mean they exist. Can you prove my fairies do not exist?
Could I not boast that my fairies "get bigger" as I ponder their magnificents?
Your god grows larger, because your delusion grows larger. LOL
For your beliefs to have merit, they must be in the company of evidence.
You said: "I know that my Father's knowledge of me is perfect… I believe He knew me before the foundations of the world"
If your statement is true, then there is no free will. "Perfect knowledge" would imply what you will do in the future. If god can know the future, then you have no free will. Your part in the script is already written. If god has perfect knowledge of each of us, what is the point of us our existence? See my post to Reality.
Remember when Jesus told Judas he would betray Him and Peter would deny Him? Do you think Judas and Peter had a choice? If either of them hadn't done as Jesus predicted, then Jesus/God would not be all knowing.
If there was free will, biblical predictions would be impossible. God could not have a plan.
Reality pointed out, that is there was free will, even the whole Christian religion might have been rejected. Yet, god "planned it". Hmmm...
There is so much wrong with your comments, but I grow bored.
You god exists only in your mind.
Cheers!
@David, to me, the answer to the point of our existence is in the question you asked. I hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas!
grace and peace,
-jeff
so blind to see death as not taking care of someone, read acts.
Wouldn't you think god would have taken care of her? Protected her?
I know, god works in mysterious ways. But, wouldn't you think god would have taken care of her? Protected her?
Robin Aldridge from the article said: "It is a tragedy that such a lively, caring and faith-filled person should have been struck down in such a way,"
God has a plan for each of us. Evidently this woman's plan, called for her to be stabbed to death, while tied to a tree.
If there was not a god, how would this have been different? Would the woman, have been killed? LOL
If you can't tell the difference between god and no god, then what good is god?
Cheers!