Watchtower
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Dealing with Homeless People
Homelessness is an extremely complex social problem that impacts the quality of life in our community. There are no easy solutions. The SDPD and elected officials in the County and City recognize that there is a fine line between homelessness as a social issue and a criminal issue. Many homeless are on the street because of substance abuse, mental illness, or both. Often the disorder issues associated with homelessness are criminal in nature but difficult to enforce. To assist the City and County provide better service to this “at risk” population the SDPD has created the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). The team consists of police officers, County Health and Human Services specialists, and psychiatric clinicians from the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), a private non-profit organization. The HOT is available to assist the community with homeless related issues. Its phone number is (858) 490-3850.
While being homeless is not a crime, many kinds of public conduct are illegal and should be reported to the SDPD. These include being intoxicated, loitering, prowling, fighting, trespassing, aggressive panhandling, soliciting, urinating and defecating, consuming alcoholic beverages in certain public places, camping or sleeping in parks, littering, obstructing sidewalks, living in a vehicle parked on a public street, disturbing the peace by loud and unreasonable noises, using offensive words, behaving in a threatening manner, etc.
Citizen’s Arrest
Because many of the crimes involving homeless people are misdemeanors, a police officer can only arrest a person if the offense is committed in his presence. However, a person who witnesses the offense can make a citizen’s arrest by doing the following:
- Call the SDPD and provide details of the offense. Call 911 if it is an emergency, i.e., if the crime is in progress or about to happen, and involves serious personal injury, property damage, or property loss. Otherwise call (619) 531-2000 or (858) 484-3154, the SDPD non-emergency number.
- When an officer arrives to take physical custody of the suspect, sign the arrest form stating that the offense was committed in your presence and that the officer is lawfully making the arrest. You must also be willing to appear and testify in court.
Note that you do not have to physically take the suspect into custody. For your safety, such action is discouraged by the SDPD.
Avoiding Problems
The following tips will help you avoid problems with homeless people.
- Talk to the SDPD Community Relations Officer (CRO) in your area about any problems with homeless people and if warranted, file a Letter of Agency with your local Area Station. This letter authorizes the SDPD to enter your property to investigate suspicious activity and to arrest people who are trespassing or committing a crime. A copy of this form can be downloaded from the FORMS section of this website. Note that is form must be renewed every six months. SDPD Area Station addresses and phone numbers are listed under IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD on this website.
- If you do file a Letter of Agency you should also post NO
TRESPASSING signs stating that a Letter of Agency has been filed with
the SDPD and giving the address of the property, the name and phone
number of the property owner or manager, and the non-emergency SDPD
phone number to report suspicious activities, which is (619) 531-2000.
The signs should be at least 18 by 24 inches in size, have a font
visible from the nearest public street, not be accessible to vandals,
and be posted on the entrances and spaced evenly on the boundaries of
the property. A sample sign is also available in the FORMS section of
this website.
- Avoid confrontations and maintain a safe distance. Use caution is dealing with them.
- Do not offer food or money. It may encourage more panhandling. If you are inclined to help the homeless, it is better to contribute to local charities, missions, food banks, or social service organizations that assist the needy.
- Do not permit anyone to camp or loiter on your property.
- Do not allow anyone to store shopping carts, bedding, or other personal belongings on your property.
- Restrict access to sidewalk overhangs, alcoves, or other areas protected from inclement weather.
- Lock or remove handles from water spigots.
- Keep trash dumpsters locked when not being filled or emptied.
- Secure outside storage sheds or containers.
- Lock or turn off exterior power outlets.
- Lock gates after hours.
- Install motion-activated exterior lighting after hours.
- Trim landscaping to eliminate hiding places. Canopies of mature trees should be maintained at least 8 feet above the ground. Bushes should be trimmed to less than 3 feet except where privacy or environmental noise mitigation is a primary concern, or where higher plants would not block any views, lighting, or camera coverage, or provide hiding places.
- Keep property free of trash, litter, junk, etc.
- Use graffiti-resistant paint or anti-graffiti coatings on the sides of the building and any other design features that could be vandalized. (The San Diego Park and Recreation Dept. specifies the use of Vandlguard TEN non-sacrificial anti-graffiti coating with a three-coat system by RainGuard International or the equivalent on park furnishings and buildings.) Additional protection can be obtained by planting vines, bushes, etc. along the sides of the buildings. They help keep vandals away from the walls and cover areas that might otherwise be vandalized. Report graffiti and other vandalism, and clean up promptly after the officers have taken pictures, etc.
- Design public amenities to discourage misuse, e.g., shape benches and other seating to be comfortable for sitting but not for sleeping.
- Have plants at sidewalk level. If raised planter boxes are used, the sides should be at least 4 feet high or their tops should uncomfortable for seating, e.g., by making them very narrow, allowing plants to grow over them, etc.
- Establish, post, and enforce rules of conduct for public use of private property. Include signs of nighttime curfews and prohibitions of loitering, illegal lodging, drinking alcoholic beverages, drug activities, etc. The signs should state that persons engaged in prohibited conduct will be asked to leave the property, and that failure to cease the conduct or leave the property will result in a call to the SDPD.
- Install surveillance cameras to cover public areas. Have security personnel monitor these cameras and ask persons engaged in prohibited conduct to leave the property. Security personnel should also patrol the property at random times.
- If security personnel are not available or if it is not practical to monitor the cameras all the time, install video analytics or intelligent video software in your camera system. It will alert you when something suspicious occurs. Lights could be turned on at night when motion is detected, and audio announcements could warn trespassers that the police would be called if they do not leave the property immediately.
- If signs stating that security or surveillance cameras are installed are posted and the cameras are not monitored all the time, the sign should also include that caveat. This is important in keeping people from having a false sense of security and expecting help in the event they are attacked.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
"I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good... Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a Biblical duty, we are called by God, to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism."
-Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue
Quoted in The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 8-16-93
"I want to say to all you Scribes, Pharisees, heresy hunters, all of you that are going around pickin' little bits of doctrinal error out of everybody's eyes and dividin' the Body of Christ...get out of God's way, stop blockin' God's bridges, or God's goin' to shoot you if I don't...let Him sort out all this doctrinal doodoo!...I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don't even call me if you want to argue...Get out of my life! I don't want to talk to you...I don't want to see your ugly face!"
-Paul Crouch, President, Trinity Broadcasting Network
"In winning a nation to the gospel, the sword as well as the pen must be used." "Democracy is a heresy against God!"
-R.J. Rushdooney, Director of the Rutherford Institute,
which was the principal funder of Monica Lewinsky's
legal defense, and architect of "Christian Reconstructionism."
Fundamentalism Defined
Fundamentalism is variously described by various authors, but to me it really boils down to a rather simple test: In my view, a fundamentalist religion is a religion, any religion, that when confronted with a conflict between love, compassion and caring, and conformity to doctrine, will almost invariably choose the latter regardless of the effect it has on its followers or on the society of which it is a part.
Fundamentalist religions make this choice because they uniformly place a high priority on doctrinal conformity, with such force that it takes higher priority than love, compassion and service.
Indeed, many fundamentalists are so caught up in doctrinal seriousness, that love, service and compassion seem scarcely to even be a part of their thinking. As one correspondent said to me regarding a certain Christian sect's converts, "Its like they go in and surgically remove any sense of love or any sense of humor."
This emphasis on doctrinal conformity seems to be the result of the belief in the requirement of absolute conformity to doctrine to achieve salvation. Yet at the same time, many will also officially claim that simple acceptance of that sect's doctrine is sufficient for salvation. This dichotomy is often seen in the same sect; some of the fundamentalist Christian sects being good examples. The contradiction seems to go unnoticed or if it is noticed, it is ignored.
It seems that another facet of fundamentalist thinking is belief in the correctness of their thinking. Invariably, they will make the claim that they are right to the exclusion of others, even all others, and that they, and they alone offer the path to salvation.
Fundamentalist religions regard their missions with great seriousness. Many claim that the salvation of the world depends on them, and some will seriously contend that the earth will end without them.
It is this overwhelming seriousness about religion that seems to be one of the hallmarks of the fundamentalist. He is concerned not only with his own conformity to doctrine, but the conformity of the rest of society to it, too. Many fundamentalists will not hesitate to intervene in the political process to ensure that society is forced to conform to the behaviors their world view requires, if not accept that world view. The belief that they are right, without any question, justifies, in their own minds, taking upon themselves the right to impose their point of view, by force if neccessary. An example is the attempt, by some Christian fundamentalist groups to shut down, by force, abortion clinics that are operating in accordance with the law. Some have gone so far as to threaten and intimidate employees, and even murder doctors working there.
Fundamentalism isn't restricted to Christianity or Islam, the two major religions on which it has had its greatest impact, but it is found in every major religion, ranging from Judaism, to Hinduism, to Sufism, to Buddhism, to even Zoroastrianism.
In Christianity, though relatively small in numbers, it has overtaken the legitimate sects in influence, and has become the dominant force, particularly in the United States, much of Latin America, and in the Christianized African nations. Most (though certainly not all) "evangelical" Christian sects have succumbed to fundamentalism.
In Islam, which has always eschewed the separation of church and state, it has amalgamated with political forces to institute a particularly harsh set of rules as political law. Called the Sharia,this code of law is the law of the land in Iran, the Sudan, some of the sultanates of the Persian Gulf and lately in Afganistan. Its advocates threaten to institute Sharia in Algeria and Egypt as well.
In Judaism, fundamentalism represents only about 1/10th of those who call themselves Jews, but it certainly makes the most noise, especially in Israel, whose constitution and political situation almost guarantees a major voice to fundamentalist sects in parliament and government, even though they are only a small portion of the population.
Why does fundamentalism have such a broad appeal? Besides the appeal to vanity ('join us and you can be one of God's chosen'), and its appeal to fear ('you can't be saved without us'), its broad appeal is because it offers an easy way -- a fundamentalist need not think deeply about doctrine or be highly educated in it; as one Mormon leader once said to an audience of university students, "Don't think for yourself. The thinking has already been done." If you surrender your right to think for yourself and just do as the leader asks, the fundamentalist promises you a sure ticket into heaven. What could be easier?
Of course, the fallacy is that the possibility always exists that the fundamentalist leader seeking your submission could be wrong. He may not have a sure ticket into heaven to offer you after all. And if he doesn't, you've engaged in an act of self deception of massive proportions.
Indeed, I am prepared to argue that he never does. He is always wrong, at least to some degree.
"Bidstrup's Index of Fundamentalism"
It has been observed that one of the characteristics of fundamentalism is that among patriarchialistic religions, at least, chavinism is a clear, almost defining characteristic. Indeed, it has been my experience that the degree of chavinism within a religion seems to closely parallel the degree to which the organization could be charactarized as fundamentalist.
Based on that observation, I hereby propose what I'm somewhat laughingly calling "Bidstrup's Index of Fundamentalism." It is basically just a measure of the degree to which women's rights are abrogated by the religion's doctrine and the culture that the religion creates. It is scored like this: If a religious organization is characterized by each or any of the statements below, add the points indicated to the score.
* Does the religion deny to women the same religious privileges and authority it accords to men (such as denying the priesthood)? If so, add 2 points.
* Does the religion seek to deny women secular (i.e., usually political) power (e.g., the right to vote, run for office, etc.)? If so, add 3 points.
* Does the religion impose greater 'moral' burdens on women than it does men (i.e., promote a double standard)? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion seek to promote unquestioning submission of wives to their husbands? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion promote involuntary marriage arrangements (such as arranged marriages, involuntary polygamy, denial of divorce initiated by the wife, etc.)? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion discourage the participation of non-parenting wives in the workforce? If so, add 3 points.
* If the above question is no, does the religion discourage the participation of parenting wives in the workforce regardless of economic circumstances? If so, add 3 points.
* Does the religion discourage the education of women? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion encourage women to remain at home, with contact with other women and men in the community discouraged? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion accept or promote the treatment of women as property or a commodity, or treat wives as servants? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion seek to deny women their reproductive freedom (taking a "pro-life" position on abortion, or discouraging or interfering with artificial contraception)? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion seek to deny women the full right of self-determination, dignity and self respect that they accord men ("at home, barefoot and pregnant")? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion publicly humiliate women who violate the prohibitions that apply only to women? If so, add 3 points.
By applying this little index, it will help measure the degree of intolerance and bigotry associated with a fundamentalist religion. This, then, becomes an index to how dangerous a religion is, as defined below.
Why Fundamentalism Denies The Power Of God
The greatest philosophical problem of fundamentalism is that it denies the power of God.
Gott Mit Uns (God is with us) proclaimed the belt buckles of the Nazi SS storm troopers. Of course, every religious fundamentalist makes the same claim. The way that the fundamentalist justifies the exercise of his influence and power in society is that God is on his side, and needs his efforts to see that God's work is done. The famous Christian fundamentalist political technician, Ralph Reed, even says of himself, "I'm the stealth candidate... I paint my face and travel at night." How does he morally justify that kind of deceptive behavior? Does the end justify the means? Or is God simply incapable of implementing His own agenda without Ralph's help?
Does God really need the fundamentalist's efforts?
To make the claim that God needs one's efforts is a flat-out denial of the power of God. Claiming that God is omnipotent and omniscient is to imply that nothing happens in the universe that isn't happening with the knowledge and consent of God. How could it happen without the knowledge of God? It has to be that way if you accept the omniscience of God. If God doesn't allow it, how can it happen? Otherwise, God would not be omnipotent. If God allows it, it implies at least knowledge and consent.
Why, then, must God require the services of the fundamentalist to ensure that His will happens in the Universe?
If the homosexual were as abhorrent to God as most fundamentalists imply, the homosexual wouldn't last a millisecond. Otherwise, God cannot be omnipotent. Why would an omnipotent God need someone else to persecute the homosexual for Him?
If God is saying, "I'll let him live, but he's still abhorrent" it implies that God's behavior isn't consistent with what He wants. Why would God want something abhorrent to him to continue to exist?
Then there's proselytization.
There is a saying in Buddhism that where the student is ready, the teacher is provided. Such a concept certainly affirms the power of God to bring the word of God to the sincere seeker. Why then, does the fundamentalist almost always assume that God needs him to go out and spread God's word? If God is omnipotent, He doesn't need anyone to proselytize on His behalf. He's quite capable of steering the seeker in the direction of His word all by Himself.
Why Fundamentalism Appeals To The Base Tendencies In Man
The reason that fundamentalism makes the claim that God needs his services is that it flatters the fundamentalist. He gets a self-stroke out of the deal. Makes him feel good about himself and what he's doing.
But it doesn't stop there. When you figure God is on your side, you can justify almost anything. Recently a spate of bombings of abortion clinics and gay bars in North America has underlined how far this self-justification can take the fundamentalist. Even murder has been justified by those claiming the authority of God.
Of course, if God wasn't willing to allow abortion, it wouldn't happen. And if God didn't want the obstetrician-gynecologist to live, he would last even a millisecond. So why does God need the fundamentalist to carry out his will? But this does not occur to the fundamentalist, since his conception of God's word becomes his self-justification for acts he would find abhorrent in any other context.
This isn't the only base appeal in fundamentalism. Another appeal, equally damaging, is the notion that you're one of "God's chosen." Such an idea is an outright appeal to vanity and ego. Here the unspoken implication is that if you're one of God's chosen, the other fellow isn't, and that you're somehow therefore better.
This appeal to vanity can set the fundamentalist apart in his own mind from his peers. It can justify a certain arrogance in thinking he is superior. This is seen in just about any public debate involving fundamentalists and those who oppose them -- just watch the attitude of the fundamentalist when the subject of abortion rights or gay rights comes up.
Another belief common to fundamentalists is that they are somehow less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life. God will somehow protect him, because he is chosen to do God's will. Of course if that were actually true, it would be reflected in statistical analysis. Science has studied this problem extensively and has never been able to show a correlation between fundamentalist belief and any measure of well-being. To the fundamentalist who holds this view, however, it just means science is wrong.
Fundamentalism often justifies hatred in the minds of its adherents. This is undoubtedly the most dangerous aspect of fundamentalism. The idea that God hates the same people you do is particularly gratifying in that it makes the indulgence in hatred not only acceptable, but somehow approved and even encouraged by God. This is seen most clearly in many fundamentalist Islamic sects, which routinely justify terrorism and murder as being "God's will." Of course, Islamic fundamentalism isn't alone. There are plenty of Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist sects which do the same.
The results are obvious. Terrorism in Northern Ireland, which is framed in religious terms, war in the Middle East, domestic terror in Egypt, Algeria, and in countless other conflicts around the world are the results of hatred justified by the fundamentalist notion that my side is right and the other side is wrong. If the religionists involved adhered to the concept that the purpose of religion is to teach tolerance, love and compassion, such conflicts would not exist. But they are justified to the fundamentalist, because he believes that God is on his side and will reward him for his acts that in any other context, he himself would condemn.
Sincere people who come to religion often come as a result of guilt and shame. Such a motivator often leads the seeker to a fundamentalist religion which tries to assure the follower that he need not concern himself with his guilt and shame because of some doctrine which exempts him from responsibility for the situations that cause that guilt and shame. Among many Christian fundamentalist groups, that exemption is found in the doctrine of the redemption of Christ.
That sense of exemption relieves the guilt and shame, and thereby makes the follower feel good. That good feeling is then often associated with the notion that the follower has been 'saved.' Often the price the religion extracts for that 'salvation' is a requirement to contribute to the church or to proselytization its behalf, or at bare minimum, conformity to the doctrine and the advice of the leadership. Hence, the follower is made loyal to the religion which has relieved him of that guilt and shame, and a true-believer and often zealous advocate is born.
Why Fundamentalism Accepts Hypocrisy
Fundamentalism, like any other belief system, has to propagate itself in order to survive and prosper.
A method used by many fundamentalist Christian religions, is to appeal in very subtle ways to some of the baser instincts in man.
It is obvious that telling someone he is right is more likely to get him to agree with you than telling him he is wrong and should reform himself.
And so fundamentalist sects do just that; they have justified slavery to slaveholders. They have justified persecution of unpopular minorities to bigots, and war to nationalists. They have justified disregard and even oppression of the poor and dispossessed by the wealthy and powerful.
What have the fundamentalist sects gained by such behavior? Obviously it is membership and financial support among members, and an acceptance and acquiesence among its neighbors.
Yet a fundamentalist religion cannot make such base appeals openly. To do so would be to deny the principles of religion that make religion a positive force in the minds of most people. Religion must be respectable to survive for long, so fundamentalist sects will invariably pay a great deal of lip service to the ideals of true religion, all the while ignoring them in practice, and occasionally even being contemptuous of them in private. An example is the anti-abortion movement; while it makes a lot of noise about the sanctity of life, rarely do its adherents concern themselves with the lives of the babies after they're born. The reason why is that they don't really care about the infants; what they really care about is the control.
Why Fundamentalism Promotes Intolerance
The fundamentalist believes that he is right. Period.
He believes he knows the will of God. We've all seen that bumper sticker that says, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." Of course the fallacy is that there's no proof, or even reliable evidence, that God ever said anything.
When someone takes such a doctrinaire approach to religion, without being willing to accept that he may be wrong, it becomes very easy to believe that he knows what's right for everyone else as well.
When he believes that he knows what is best for everyone else, it is a very short leap to the feeling that he has the right, if not the responsibility to impose on others the point of view he is so sure is not only correct, but even infallible. After all it is for their own good, is it not?
Thus the fundamentalist has, by his conviction that he is correct, justified the extinction, by force if neccessary, of opposing points of view. This is why so many highly public fundamentalists take positions that would not only be familiar, but quite comfortable to most fascists. This is why Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, feels justified in saying that he doesn't want pluralism. It is why Ralph Reed used to describe himself as the "stealth" candidate, "painting [his] face and travelling at night."
The philosophical Achilles' heel, here of course, is that the fundamentalist can be wrong, and occasionally have to admit it. There are few Southern Baptists today who would openly argue that God meant for people of African descent to be enslaved to people of European descent. Yet that argument is precisely how the Southern Baptist Convention came into being. Now, a century and a half later, the doctrine seems to have changed, in spite of their notion that the Bible should be interpreted literally, and therefore it's meaning can't change.
Well, if the Southern Baptists were wrong about slavery, and later about segregation, those very facts beg the question, what else are they wrong about? Yet it is remarkable how few Southern Baptists ever stop to consider that question. The belief is that by asking such questions, you're somehow falling into "Satan's trap" as if logical inconsistency wasn't itself a trap.
Of course, the Southern Baptists aren't alone. A favorite example of mine is the Mormon practice of polygamy in the 19th century. For five decades, the Mormons endured considerable persecution in the practice of their belief in polygamy; yet today, a century after the official practice of polygamy ended in the Mormon church, that church is using precisely the same arguments against gay marriage that were used against them in the practice of polygamy a century ago. And the proponents of gay marriage are using the same arguments in favor of gay marriage that the Mormons used in arguing for polygamy then. Yet the ironic hypocrisy of that position is totally lost on the current generation of Mormon leadership and even many of the members.
Why Fundamentalism Contradicts The Intent Of Founding Prophets
The purpose of religion is to teach love, both for self and for others. Indeed, living in the state of self-love is "the kingdom of heaven" that Jesus and other founding prophets talked about being "within you."
When one has self-love and self-respect, one respects others, because one sees reflected in others the empathy, compassion and love one sees in oneself. It is this insight that the founding prophets of all major religions have tried to convey to their followers. It is arriving at the point of living this ideal that has been, from the beginning of time, the goal of the sincere seeker and the true, undefiled religion.
Achieving this self-love, however, can be difficult. It requires self-examination, which at times can be intensely painful. Not everyone is up to that kind of self-discipline.
A religious leader seeking to fill the pews with contributing churchgoers at some level has to know this. Yet he must fill the pews to keep the lights on, the furnace running and the maintenance paid.
The temptation is there to do what will fill the pews. And filling the pews can be really much easier, if all you feel you have to do is make the worshipper feel good about being there.
If making the worshipper feel good is all you're after, and you don't care how you do it, the easiest way to do it is to assure him his prejudices are approved by God. Make him feel that he doesn't have to change because he's already arrived at salvation, or, as in the case of the Christian doctrine of redemption, someone else has agreed to pay for his mistakes, or you or God can make the changes for him, and you have a loyal church member. It's, oh, so much easier than telling him he has to work on himself!
Yet the founding prophets never did such things. Jesus Christ and Ghatama Buddha and the prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h) and many others all knew of the fallacy of such an approach and did not advocate it. They were totally honest with themselves and their followers, that salvation requires personal effort and sacrifice.
Those who sincerely seek spiritual growth intuitively know this. This is why sincere followers are attracted to the words of the founding prophets like bees are drawn to nectar laden flowers. The sincere seeker already knows he is going to have to work on himself, and is looking for the best method by which to do it. As he seeks that path, and he finds his personal insights match those of the prophet, the seeker is drawn to the prophet's wisdom.
Unfortunately, for every sincere seeker, there are a thousand people driven to religion by fear, guilt and shame. These negative emotions are then played upon by religionists who seek to fill the pews with compliant, profitable members. It is my contention that many, if not most fundamentalist organizations have fallen into this trap.
How Fundamentalism Promotes Ignorance
Fundamentalism almost invariably has a problem with science. Science is the process of starting with the evidence and proceeding to the conclusion that best fits the evidence, regardless of what that conclusion may be.
Fundamentalism, on the other hand, starts with a conclusion and searches for evidence to support that conclusion.
Anyone who has ever been wrong knows that the latter is no way to find the truth, because it presumes the searcher has the truth to begin with, which of course may or may not be the case.
But this doesn't stop the fundamentalist; the very premise of fundamentalism presumes to start with the truth, and all the fundamentalist lacks is evidence. This false science has even become an industry in such organizations as the Institute for Creation Science, the Family Research Council, etc. There are many other examples, and from many religions besides just Christianity.
This can most clearly be seen in the Christian fundamentalist's hard-core, bedrock belief in the inerrancy of the Bible. While there are numerous contradictions, obvious errors and serious problems with doctrine in the Bible, the Christian fundamentalist simply ignores them at worst, and applies tortured, twisted logic in an effort to explain them at best. But in the final analysis, the Bible speaks for itself, and anyone who takes the time to seriously study it will be impressed at how many irreconcilable problems there are with the Bible.
How can the fundamentalist read the Bible and ignore the irreconcilable contradictions? It is done by compartmentalized thinking, a thought technique that allows two or more contradictory facts to inhabit the mind at the same time in peace and without conflict. Yet when the contradiction is directly pointed out to the fundamentalist, the reaction is to claim that such an argument is "one of Satan's traps." It really isn't, of course, it's just truth coming to call. But the notion that such nagging thoughts are the devil's tools are the way the inerrantist maintains peace in his mind.
Why Fundamentalism Is A Force For Evil In Society
By distracting otherwise sincere people from honest self-examination and the spiritual growth it makes possible, and by obstructing honest scientific inquiry and intellectual debate, fundamentalism derails the progress that society would achieve by honest, competent religious practice.
But more than that, fundamentalism all too often justifies in its adherents' minds the prejudices, the zealotry, the intolerance and the hatemongering that are all the most base of human instincts. To gain and keep adherents, these religions can do great violence to human freedom and dignity, and often are the source of much economic and social stagnation and even ruin. Much human misery owes its origins to fundamentalist religion and the spiritual corruption it fosters.
Why Fundamentalism Should Be Fought
Human progress is essentially a search for truth. To the extent that fundamentalism blocks or impedes that search for the truth, it blocks or impedes human progress. True religion is a relentless search for and acceptance of truth about yourself and the universe in which you find yourself regardless of the discomfort that truth may cause.
One of the insights of the American democracy has been the unique justice of the concept of equal protection of the law. Unfortunately, fundamentalism undermines that concept by promoting its political philosophy as superior to others, even though it is often wrong, and thereby undermines the egalitarian foundations of western democratic institutions. An example of this is the hard fight that the Southern Baptists fought in the last century to preserve the institution of slavery, and the fight to preserve segregation in this century. Those fights were all based on Biblical scripture, of course, but few fundamentalists today would still defend these positions.
Fundamentalism of any stripe is not progress, but rather, I contend, is the impedance of progress. With so many problems facing humanity, the notion that we can even afford the luxury of even tolerating politically active brands of fundamentalism is rapidly becoming impossible. The world gets continually smaller as it gets more crowded, and the imposition, by public policy, of religious doctrines on others who know better is a sure recipe for strife. It has been the cause of enormous death and suffering over the centuries.
As the world becomes ever more crowded, there are fewer and fewer places to which a refugee of conscience can escape. For this reason, it is imperative that we strive to make our nations as egalitarian as possible, affording for all the freedom of conscience to all equally and without acceding to the presumption of superior wisdom by any religious group. Environmental pressures caused by rapidly expanding human populations, make public policy decisions based on the best available information and hypotheses, elucidated by honest intellectual inquiry, increasingly urgent.
Some fundamentalist religious groups, which seek to strike down the wall of separation between church and state so that they can impose their views on others, work in opposition to this increasingly urgent need.
How Should Fundamentalism Be Fought?
Fundamentalism must be fought with education.
It is obvious that the best innoculant against any form of ignorance is education. And make no mistake, fundamentalism is a form of spectacular ignorance, ignorance of the basic principles of true religion.
It is no coincidence that fundamentalism has arisen in America at the same time that the public education system has collapsed. And it is also no coincidence that fundamentalism is strongest in America and elsewhere in the world wherever the educational system is at its weakest.
The best form of education is the teaching of critical thinking skills. It is the most important skill any educator can teach. With it, the fundamentalism's deceiving tricks are quickly exposed, and it is seen for what it is. Students need to be taught the importance of gathering the evidence and then proceeding to the conclusion, not the other way around. The best way to teach logic, reason and critical thinking skills is with the "Socratic method" of guided discussion. This should be done beginning in the earliest grade, and by the fourth year, the formal elements of logic and reason can be introduced, so that students have a guide in recognizing and rejecting fallacious thinking. Doing this with rigor and consistency throughout the educational process will lead to a generation that will think independently as a matter of habit, rather than accepting pre-digested doctrines blindly.
It would be helpful too, to teach what true religion really is. Once the student is aware of the nature of true religion, the fundamentalist doesn't stand a chance, because the logical weakness of his doctrine becomes obvious and the devious subtlety of its appeals are exposed.
The other effective way to fight fundamentalism is to teach humility.
Spiritual progress is impossible without it. Scientific progress is impossible without it.
I'm not suggesting students should be humiliated -- not at all. That's child abuse and should be fought vigorously. But the value of humility should be taught, so that students understand that they can't maintain an open mind in the absence of humility. They'll gain a lot from learning it, not just academically, but in relationships and social skills, too.
Perhaps the best way to check the progress of fundamentalism is with critical, analytical thinking. If every school taught the basics of critical thinking, learning would flourish and fundamentalism would fade.
Fundamentalist apologists lack scholarly rigor, because in their rush to ensure that they are covering all the obvious problems with the doctrines they preach, they often commit unacceptable errors in logic. To wit:
* They concentrate on their opponents' weak points, while rarely saying anything definitive about their own position. They point, for example, to the fact that an honest scientist will refuse to make a statement from a position of certainty, while they're happy to do so, claiming divine knowledge. This is an example of the straw-man fallacy.
* They exploit errors made by scholars who are making opposing arguments, implying that because a few of their opponents' conclusions were wrong, all of their opponents' conclusions must be wrong. An example here is the claim, occasionally heard, that Newton was proven wrong in some important details, Einstein was eventually proven wrong in a few details, and scientists admit that they don't have the final answers and therefore science doesn't know what it's doing, and can't be trusted. This is a non-sequitor fallacy.
* They use quotations, usually taken out of context to buttress their own position. A favorite here is the various quotations of Einstein, usually referring to God, suggesting that Einstein believed in the same sort of God they do. Einstein most emphatically did not, as will be obvious if you read his essay on the subject. This is the fallacy of suppressed evidence.
* They mistake genuine, honest debates between scholars about certain points within a field for a dispute about the existence of the entire field. For example, rather than debate the legitimacy of the interpretation of specific fossil evidence, vis a vis evolution, they often attack paleontology in general, claiming it to be an invalid science. This is the fallacy of hasty generalization.
* They focus on what is not known and ignore what is known, emphasizing data that fits and discounting data that does not fit. An example is the claim that science simply doesn't have an answer as to the age of the universe. True enough, but science has solid, reliable evidence that it is more than the seven thousand years that these same fundamentalists claim.This is again the fallacy of suppressed evidence.
Dr. Carl Sagan, in his last book, The Demon Haunted World gives us some excellent tools for the use in the process of critical thinking. In a nutshell, here they are:
* Where possible, what is claimed to be factual has to be independently confirmable by two or more sources not in league with each other.
* Debate and argument must be encouraged, not stifled.
* There's no such thing as an "authority." They've been wrong in the past and will be in the future. Which means they're wrong now.
* More than one hypothesis is needed to stimulate debate. All points of view should be examined equally and with as little bias as possible.
* Don't get emotionally attached to your own hypothesis (faith?). Doing so blinds you to better ideas.
* Quantifiable hypotheses are better than qualitative ones, because they are more testable. In other words, go for testable hypotheses first because untestable qualitative ones are of little value.
* If there's a chain of logic that supports an argument, every link in that chain must be valid and unbroken.
* Go for simplicity. Occam's Razor states that of the competing hypotheses that explain the data equally well, the one most likely to be correct is the one that makes the least number of assumptions and is the least complicated.
* Hypotheses that can't be experimentally disproven aren't worth much. For a hypothesis to be useful, it has to be testable, which means it must be capable of being disproven if wrong. Skeptics have to be able to follow your arguments, do your experiments and be capable of producing the same experimental results if your hypothesis is to be considered correct.
Resources on Fundamentalism
Books I highly recommend (which, if you wish, you can buy safely online from Amazon.com by pursuing the links here):
The Mind of the Bible Believer by Edmund D. Cohen isn't a book about the bible as much as its a psychology book. He says of it, "This is the book I wish had been available to me before I became a 'believer.'" It discusses why Christian fundamentalism has the attraction it does, and why it appeals so strongly to the seeker. He takes the view that the New Testament was written to bring believers together during a time of moral collapse and political oppression (first century Jewish Palestine), and that as such, it is "history's most successful psychological manipulation, achieving with uncanny facility what motivational researchers and psychological warfare experts can only dream about... having long outlived its original purpose." And he makes a very good case for his thesis. This book will give you some real insight into the mind of the Christian evangelical fundamentalist. Can't recommend it highly enough! If you buy only one book to try to understand evangelical fundamentalism, this should be that book.
In The Beginning - A Scientist Shows Why the Creationists Are Wrong by Chris McGowan, a zoologist, meets the fundamentalist creationists headon and systematically shows why they are clearly wrong, using genuine, credible scientific evidence.
Bible Prophesy - Failure or Fulfilment by Tim Callahan is an excellent guide to Biblical prophesy as fundamentalists describe it, and how their interpretations are usually wrong and how the prophesies themselves have provably failed.
The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy by C. Dennis McKinsey is the best survey I've yet come across of the errors, inconsistencies and doctrinal problems in the Bible. It goes on for 500 pages, and brings up thousands of problems. Many could be explained by 'miracles' but many hundreds cannot not be.
What The Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D., is a discussion, by a widely recognized Biblical scholar, of how the fundamentalist interpretation of Biblical scripture relating to homosexuality is a misinterpretation resulting from the ignorance of the cultural context in which those scriptural references were written.
The Dead Sea Scrolls And The Christian Myth by John Allegro, the sole secular scholar given access to the Dead Sea Scrolls for many years, has written this penetrating and surprising view of early Christianity, as revealed by the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh shows how a handful of fundamentalist religious scholars were to suppress the revolutionary contents of the scrolls, and how religious fundamentalists often fail to accept the truth, even when it stares them in the face.
Internet Resources
An example of the serious threat represented by Christian fundamentalism can be found at the following site, which is representative of the more extreme of the fundamentalist elements. It is typical of what can be found among the fringe groups of the right.
The Society for the Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commmandments
When these groups get together, the threat to the American political system can become serious. A coalition of these groups, called Christian Identity, is the most serious alliance, and one of the most extreme in its politics. Here is a page, by a well-known political science analyst and writer that details the political and civil threat these groups represent.
Christian Identity Politics
Here's a page that discusses in depth the problems with fundamentalism, including some of the history of it, the contradictions and errors in the Bible and the cultic aspects of Christian fundamentalism.
Fundamentalism Debunked
Here's my own essay on the problems with the Bible that can't be explained away, no matter how seriously one looks to divine intervention in the form of miracles or magic.
What the Fundamentalist Christian Doesn't Want You To Know: A Brief Survey of Biblical Errancy
For Christian fundamentalists who naively believe in the inerrancy and moral consistency of the bible, a close reading will come as quite a shock. The first link is to a fundamentalist Christian site that discusses the fundamentalists' claim to the inerrancy of the bible, followed by a site that discusses dozens of the hundreds of inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the bible, along with many of its more significant moral contradictions. Read them both, and you can be the judge of which is more likely to be true.
The fundamentalists' claims:
Is the Bible True? -ChristianAnswers.net
A scholar's response:
The Argument From The Bible
-Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue
Quoted in The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 8-16-93
"I want to say to all you Scribes, Pharisees, heresy hunters, all of you that are going around pickin' little bits of doctrinal error out of everybody's eyes and dividin' the Body of Christ...get out of God's way, stop blockin' God's bridges, or God's goin' to shoot you if I don't...let Him sort out all this doctrinal doodoo!...I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don't even call me if you want to argue...Get out of my life! I don't want to talk to you...I don't want to see your ugly face!"
-Paul Crouch, President, Trinity Broadcasting Network
"In winning a nation to the gospel, the sword as well as the pen must be used." "Democracy is a heresy against God!"
-R.J. Rushdooney, Director of the Rutherford Institute,
which was the principal funder of Monica Lewinsky's
legal defense, and architect of "Christian Reconstructionism."
Fundamentalism Defined
Fundamentalism is variously described by various authors, but to me it really boils down to a rather simple test: In my view, a fundamentalist religion is a religion, any religion, that when confronted with a conflict between love, compassion and caring, and conformity to doctrine, will almost invariably choose the latter regardless of the effect it has on its followers or on the society of which it is a part.
Fundamentalist religions make this choice because they uniformly place a high priority on doctrinal conformity, with such force that it takes higher priority than love, compassion and service.
Indeed, many fundamentalists are so caught up in doctrinal seriousness, that love, service and compassion seem scarcely to even be a part of their thinking. As one correspondent said to me regarding a certain Christian sect's converts, "Its like they go in and surgically remove any sense of love or any sense of humor."
This emphasis on doctrinal conformity seems to be the result of the belief in the requirement of absolute conformity to doctrine to achieve salvation. Yet at the same time, many will also officially claim that simple acceptance of that sect's doctrine is sufficient for salvation. This dichotomy is often seen in the same sect; some of the fundamentalist Christian sects being good examples. The contradiction seems to go unnoticed or if it is noticed, it is ignored.
It seems that another facet of fundamentalist thinking is belief in the correctness of their thinking. Invariably, they will make the claim that they are right to the exclusion of others, even all others, and that they, and they alone offer the path to salvation.
Fundamentalist religions regard their missions with great seriousness. Many claim that the salvation of the world depends on them, and some will seriously contend that the earth will end without them.
It is this overwhelming seriousness about religion that seems to be one of the hallmarks of the fundamentalist. He is concerned not only with his own conformity to doctrine, but the conformity of the rest of society to it, too. Many fundamentalists will not hesitate to intervene in the political process to ensure that society is forced to conform to the behaviors their world view requires, if not accept that world view. The belief that they are right, without any question, justifies, in their own minds, taking upon themselves the right to impose their point of view, by force if neccessary. An example is the attempt, by some Christian fundamentalist groups to shut down, by force, abortion clinics that are operating in accordance with the law. Some have gone so far as to threaten and intimidate employees, and even murder doctors working there.
Fundamentalism isn't restricted to Christianity or Islam, the two major religions on which it has had its greatest impact, but it is found in every major religion, ranging from Judaism, to Hinduism, to Sufism, to Buddhism, to even Zoroastrianism.
In Christianity, though relatively small in numbers, it has overtaken the legitimate sects in influence, and has become the dominant force, particularly in the United States, much of Latin America, and in the Christianized African nations. Most (though certainly not all) "evangelical" Christian sects have succumbed to fundamentalism.
In Islam, which has always eschewed the separation of church and state, it has amalgamated with political forces to institute a particularly harsh set of rules as political law. Called the Sharia,this code of law is the law of the land in Iran, the Sudan, some of the sultanates of the Persian Gulf and lately in Afganistan. Its advocates threaten to institute Sharia in Algeria and Egypt as well.
In Judaism, fundamentalism represents only about 1/10th of those who call themselves Jews, but it certainly makes the most noise, especially in Israel, whose constitution and political situation almost guarantees a major voice to fundamentalist sects in parliament and government, even though they are only a small portion of the population.
Why does fundamentalism have such a broad appeal? Besides the appeal to vanity ('join us and you can be one of God's chosen'), and its appeal to fear ('you can't be saved without us'), its broad appeal is because it offers an easy way -- a fundamentalist need not think deeply about doctrine or be highly educated in it; as one Mormon leader once said to an audience of university students, "Don't think for yourself. The thinking has already been done." If you surrender your right to think for yourself and just do as the leader asks, the fundamentalist promises you a sure ticket into heaven. What could be easier?
Of course, the fallacy is that the possibility always exists that the fundamentalist leader seeking your submission could be wrong. He may not have a sure ticket into heaven to offer you after all. And if he doesn't, you've engaged in an act of self deception of massive proportions.
Indeed, I am prepared to argue that he never does. He is always wrong, at least to some degree.
"Bidstrup's Index of Fundamentalism"
It has been observed that one of the characteristics of fundamentalism is that among patriarchialistic religions, at least, chavinism is a clear, almost defining characteristic. Indeed, it has been my experience that the degree of chavinism within a religion seems to closely parallel the degree to which the organization could be charactarized as fundamentalist.
Based on that observation, I hereby propose what I'm somewhat laughingly calling "Bidstrup's Index of Fundamentalism." It is basically just a measure of the degree to which women's rights are abrogated by the religion's doctrine and the culture that the religion creates. It is scored like this: If a religious organization is characterized by each or any of the statements below, add the points indicated to the score.
* Does the religion deny to women the same religious privileges and authority it accords to men (such as denying the priesthood)? If so, add 2 points.
* Does the religion seek to deny women secular (i.e., usually political) power (e.g., the right to vote, run for office, etc.)? If so, add 3 points.
* Does the religion impose greater 'moral' burdens on women than it does men (i.e., promote a double standard)? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion seek to promote unquestioning submission of wives to their husbands? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion promote involuntary marriage arrangements (such as arranged marriages, involuntary polygamy, denial of divorce initiated by the wife, etc.)? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion discourage the participation of non-parenting wives in the workforce? If so, add 3 points.
* If the above question is no, does the religion discourage the participation of parenting wives in the workforce regardless of economic circumstances? If so, add 3 points.
* Does the religion discourage the education of women? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion encourage women to remain at home, with contact with other women and men in the community discouraged? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion accept or promote the treatment of women as property or a commodity, or treat wives as servants? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion seek to deny women their reproductive freedom (taking a "pro-life" position on abortion, or discouraging or interfering with artificial contraception)? If so, add 5 points.
* Does the religion seek to deny women the full right of self-determination, dignity and self respect that they accord men ("at home, barefoot and pregnant")? If so, add 4 points.
* Does the religion publicly humiliate women who violate the prohibitions that apply only to women? If so, add 3 points.
By applying this little index, it will help measure the degree of intolerance and bigotry associated with a fundamentalist religion. This, then, becomes an index to how dangerous a religion is, as defined below.
Why Fundamentalism Denies The Power Of God
The greatest philosophical problem of fundamentalism is that it denies the power of God.
Gott Mit Uns (God is with us) proclaimed the belt buckles of the Nazi SS storm troopers. Of course, every religious fundamentalist makes the same claim. The way that the fundamentalist justifies the exercise of his influence and power in society is that God is on his side, and needs his efforts to see that God's work is done. The famous Christian fundamentalist political technician, Ralph Reed, even says of himself, "I'm the stealth candidate... I paint my face and travel at night." How does he morally justify that kind of deceptive behavior? Does the end justify the means? Or is God simply incapable of implementing His own agenda without Ralph's help?
Does God really need the fundamentalist's efforts?
To make the claim that God needs one's efforts is a flat-out denial of the power of God. Claiming that God is omnipotent and omniscient is to imply that nothing happens in the universe that isn't happening with the knowledge and consent of God. How could it happen without the knowledge of God? It has to be that way if you accept the omniscience of God. If God doesn't allow it, how can it happen? Otherwise, God would not be omnipotent. If God allows it, it implies at least knowledge and consent.
Why, then, must God require the services of the fundamentalist to ensure that His will happens in the Universe?
If the homosexual were as abhorrent to God as most fundamentalists imply, the homosexual wouldn't last a millisecond. Otherwise, God cannot be omnipotent. Why would an omnipotent God need someone else to persecute the homosexual for Him?
If God is saying, "I'll let him live, but he's still abhorrent" it implies that God's behavior isn't consistent with what He wants. Why would God want something abhorrent to him to continue to exist?
Then there's proselytization.
There is a saying in Buddhism that where the student is ready, the teacher is provided. Such a concept certainly affirms the power of God to bring the word of God to the sincere seeker. Why then, does the fundamentalist almost always assume that God needs him to go out and spread God's word? If God is omnipotent, He doesn't need anyone to proselytize on His behalf. He's quite capable of steering the seeker in the direction of His word all by Himself.
Why Fundamentalism Appeals To The Base Tendencies In Man
The reason that fundamentalism makes the claim that God needs his services is that it flatters the fundamentalist. He gets a self-stroke out of the deal. Makes him feel good about himself and what he's doing.
But it doesn't stop there. When you figure God is on your side, you can justify almost anything. Recently a spate of bombings of abortion clinics and gay bars in North America has underlined how far this self-justification can take the fundamentalist. Even murder has been justified by those claiming the authority of God.
Of course, if God wasn't willing to allow abortion, it wouldn't happen. And if God didn't want the obstetrician-gynecologist to live, he would last even a millisecond. So why does God need the fundamentalist to carry out his will? But this does not occur to the fundamentalist, since his conception of God's word becomes his self-justification for acts he would find abhorrent in any other context.
This isn't the only base appeal in fundamentalism. Another appeal, equally damaging, is the notion that you're one of "God's chosen." Such an idea is an outright appeal to vanity and ego. Here the unspoken implication is that if you're one of God's chosen, the other fellow isn't, and that you're somehow therefore better.
This appeal to vanity can set the fundamentalist apart in his own mind from his peers. It can justify a certain arrogance in thinking he is superior. This is seen in just about any public debate involving fundamentalists and those who oppose them -- just watch the attitude of the fundamentalist when the subject of abortion rights or gay rights comes up.
Another belief common to fundamentalists is that they are somehow less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life. God will somehow protect him, because he is chosen to do God's will. Of course if that were actually true, it would be reflected in statistical analysis. Science has studied this problem extensively and has never been able to show a correlation between fundamentalist belief and any measure of well-being. To the fundamentalist who holds this view, however, it just means science is wrong.
Fundamentalism often justifies hatred in the minds of its adherents. This is undoubtedly the most dangerous aspect of fundamentalism. The idea that God hates the same people you do is particularly gratifying in that it makes the indulgence in hatred not only acceptable, but somehow approved and even encouraged by God. This is seen most clearly in many fundamentalist Islamic sects, which routinely justify terrorism and murder as being "God's will." Of course, Islamic fundamentalism isn't alone. There are plenty of Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist sects which do the same.
The results are obvious. Terrorism in Northern Ireland, which is framed in religious terms, war in the Middle East, domestic terror in Egypt, Algeria, and in countless other conflicts around the world are the results of hatred justified by the fundamentalist notion that my side is right and the other side is wrong. If the religionists involved adhered to the concept that the purpose of religion is to teach tolerance, love and compassion, such conflicts would not exist. But they are justified to the fundamentalist, because he believes that God is on his side and will reward him for his acts that in any other context, he himself would condemn.
Sincere people who come to religion often come as a result of guilt and shame. Such a motivator often leads the seeker to a fundamentalist religion which tries to assure the follower that he need not concern himself with his guilt and shame because of some doctrine which exempts him from responsibility for the situations that cause that guilt and shame. Among many Christian fundamentalist groups, that exemption is found in the doctrine of the redemption of Christ.
That sense of exemption relieves the guilt and shame, and thereby makes the follower feel good. That good feeling is then often associated with the notion that the follower has been 'saved.' Often the price the religion extracts for that 'salvation' is a requirement to contribute to the church or to proselytization its behalf, or at bare minimum, conformity to the doctrine and the advice of the leadership. Hence, the follower is made loyal to the religion which has relieved him of that guilt and shame, and a true-believer and often zealous advocate is born.
Why Fundamentalism Accepts Hypocrisy
Fundamentalism, like any other belief system, has to propagate itself in order to survive and prosper.
A method used by many fundamentalist Christian religions, is to appeal in very subtle ways to some of the baser instincts in man.
It is obvious that telling someone he is right is more likely to get him to agree with you than telling him he is wrong and should reform himself.
And so fundamentalist sects do just that; they have justified slavery to slaveholders. They have justified persecution of unpopular minorities to bigots, and war to nationalists. They have justified disregard and even oppression of the poor and dispossessed by the wealthy and powerful.
What have the fundamentalist sects gained by such behavior? Obviously it is membership and financial support among members, and an acceptance and acquiesence among its neighbors.
Yet a fundamentalist religion cannot make such base appeals openly. To do so would be to deny the principles of religion that make religion a positive force in the minds of most people. Religion must be respectable to survive for long, so fundamentalist sects will invariably pay a great deal of lip service to the ideals of true religion, all the while ignoring them in practice, and occasionally even being contemptuous of them in private. An example is the anti-abortion movement; while it makes a lot of noise about the sanctity of life, rarely do its adherents concern themselves with the lives of the babies after they're born. The reason why is that they don't really care about the infants; what they really care about is the control.
Why Fundamentalism Promotes Intolerance
The fundamentalist believes that he is right. Period.
He believes he knows the will of God. We've all seen that bumper sticker that says, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." Of course the fallacy is that there's no proof, or even reliable evidence, that God ever said anything.
When someone takes such a doctrinaire approach to religion, without being willing to accept that he may be wrong, it becomes very easy to believe that he knows what's right for everyone else as well.
When he believes that he knows what is best for everyone else, it is a very short leap to the feeling that he has the right, if not the responsibility to impose on others the point of view he is so sure is not only correct, but even infallible. After all it is for their own good, is it not?
Thus the fundamentalist has, by his conviction that he is correct, justified the extinction, by force if neccessary, of opposing points of view. This is why so many highly public fundamentalists take positions that would not only be familiar, but quite comfortable to most fascists. This is why Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, feels justified in saying that he doesn't want pluralism. It is why Ralph Reed used to describe himself as the "stealth" candidate, "painting [his] face and travelling at night."
The philosophical Achilles' heel, here of course, is that the fundamentalist can be wrong, and occasionally have to admit it. There are few Southern Baptists today who would openly argue that God meant for people of African descent to be enslaved to people of European descent. Yet that argument is precisely how the Southern Baptist Convention came into being. Now, a century and a half later, the doctrine seems to have changed, in spite of their notion that the Bible should be interpreted literally, and therefore it's meaning can't change.
Well, if the Southern Baptists were wrong about slavery, and later about segregation, those very facts beg the question, what else are they wrong about? Yet it is remarkable how few Southern Baptists ever stop to consider that question. The belief is that by asking such questions, you're somehow falling into "Satan's trap" as if logical inconsistency wasn't itself a trap.
Of course, the Southern Baptists aren't alone. A favorite example of mine is the Mormon practice of polygamy in the 19th century. For five decades, the Mormons endured considerable persecution in the practice of their belief in polygamy; yet today, a century after the official practice of polygamy ended in the Mormon church, that church is using precisely the same arguments against gay marriage that were used against them in the practice of polygamy a century ago. And the proponents of gay marriage are using the same arguments in favor of gay marriage that the Mormons used in arguing for polygamy then. Yet the ironic hypocrisy of that position is totally lost on the current generation of Mormon leadership and even many of the members.
Why Fundamentalism Contradicts The Intent Of Founding Prophets
The purpose of religion is to teach love, both for self and for others. Indeed, living in the state of self-love is "the kingdom of heaven" that Jesus and other founding prophets talked about being "within you."
When one has self-love and self-respect, one respects others, because one sees reflected in others the empathy, compassion and love one sees in oneself. It is this insight that the founding prophets of all major religions have tried to convey to their followers. It is arriving at the point of living this ideal that has been, from the beginning of time, the goal of the sincere seeker and the true, undefiled religion.
Achieving this self-love, however, can be difficult. It requires self-examination, which at times can be intensely painful. Not everyone is up to that kind of self-discipline.
A religious leader seeking to fill the pews with contributing churchgoers at some level has to know this. Yet he must fill the pews to keep the lights on, the furnace running and the maintenance paid.
The temptation is there to do what will fill the pews. And filling the pews can be really much easier, if all you feel you have to do is make the worshipper feel good about being there.
If making the worshipper feel good is all you're after, and you don't care how you do it, the easiest way to do it is to assure him his prejudices are approved by God. Make him feel that he doesn't have to change because he's already arrived at salvation, or, as in the case of the Christian doctrine of redemption, someone else has agreed to pay for his mistakes, or you or God can make the changes for him, and you have a loyal church member. It's, oh, so much easier than telling him he has to work on himself!
Yet the founding prophets never did such things. Jesus Christ and Ghatama Buddha and the prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h) and many others all knew of the fallacy of such an approach and did not advocate it. They were totally honest with themselves and their followers, that salvation requires personal effort and sacrifice.
Those who sincerely seek spiritual growth intuitively know this. This is why sincere followers are attracted to the words of the founding prophets like bees are drawn to nectar laden flowers. The sincere seeker already knows he is going to have to work on himself, and is looking for the best method by which to do it. As he seeks that path, and he finds his personal insights match those of the prophet, the seeker is drawn to the prophet's wisdom.
Unfortunately, for every sincere seeker, there are a thousand people driven to religion by fear, guilt and shame. These negative emotions are then played upon by religionists who seek to fill the pews with compliant, profitable members. It is my contention that many, if not most fundamentalist organizations have fallen into this trap.
How Fundamentalism Promotes Ignorance
Fundamentalism almost invariably has a problem with science. Science is the process of starting with the evidence and proceeding to the conclusion that best fits the evidence, regardless of what that conclusion may be.
Fundamentalism, on the other hand, starts with a conclusion and searches for evidence to support that conclusion.
Anyone who has ever been wrong knows that the latter is no way to find the truth, because it presumes the searcher has the truth to begin with, which of course may or may not be the case.
But this doesn't stop the fundamentalist; the very premise of fundamentalism presumes to start with the truth, and all the fundamentalist lacks is evidence. This false science has even become an industry in such organizations as the Institute for Creation Science, the Family Research Council, etc. There are many other examples, and from many religions besides just Christianity.
This can most clearly be seen in the Christian fundamentalist's hard-core, bedrock belief in the inerrancy of the Bible. While there are numerous contradictions, obvious errors and serious problems with doctrine in the Bible, the Christian fundamentalist simply ignores them at worst, and applies tortured, twisted logic in an effort to explain them at best. But in the final analysis, the Bible speaks for itself, and anyone who takes the time to seriously study it will be impressed at how many irreconcilable problems there are with the Bible.
How can the fundamentalist read the Bible and ignore the irreconcilable contradictions? It is done by compartmentalized thinking, a thought technique that allows two or more contradictory facts to inhabit the mind at the same time in peace and without conflict. Yet when the contradiction is directly pointed out to the fundamentalist, the reaction is to claim that such an argument is "one of Satan's traps." It really isn't, of course, it's just truth coming to call. But the notion that such nagging thoughts are the devil's tools are the way the inerrantist maintains peace in his mind.
Why Fundamentalism Is A Force For Evil In Society
By distracting otherwise sincere people from honest self-examination and the spiritual growth it makes possible, and by obstructing honest scientific inquiry and intellectual debate, fundamentalism derails the progress that society would achieve by honest, competent religious practice.
But more than that, fundamentalism all too often justifies in its adherents' minds the prejudices, the zealotry, the intolerance and the hatemongering that are all the most base of human instincts. To gain and keep adherents, these religions can do great violence to human freedom and dignity, and often are the source of much economic and social stagnation and even ruin. Much human misery owes its origins to fundamentalist religion and the spiritual corruption it fosters.
Why Fundamentalism Should Be Fought
Human progress is essentially a search for truth. To the extent that fundamentalism blocks or impedes that search for the truth, it blocks or impedes human progress. True religion is a relentless search for and acceptance of truth about yourself and the universe in which you find yourself regardless of the discomfort that truth may cause.
One of the insights of the American democracy has been the unique justice of the concept of equal protection of the law. Unfortunately, fundamentalism undermines that concept by promoting its political philosophy as superior to others, even though it is often wrong, and thereby undermines the egalitarian foundations of western democratic institutions. An example of this is the hard fight that the Southern Baptists fought in the last century to preserve the institution of slavery, and the fight to preserve segregation in this century. Those fights were all based on Biblical scripture, of course, but few fundamentalists today would still defend these positions.
Fundamentalism of any stripe is not progress, but rather, I contend, is the impedance of progress. With so many problems facing humanity, the notion that we can even afford the luxury of even tolerating politically active brands of fundamentalism is rapidly becoming impossible. The world gets continually smaller as it gets more crowded, and the imposition, by public policy, of religious doctrines on others who know better is a sure recipe for strife. It has been the cause of enormous death and suffering over the centuries.
As the world becomes ever more crowded, there are fewer and fewer places to which a refugee of conscience can escape. For this reason, it is imperative that we strive to make our nations as egalitarian as possible, affording for all the freedom of conscience to all equally and without acceding to the presumption of superior wisdom by any religious group. Environmental pressures caused by rapidly expanding human populations, make public policy decisions based on the best available information and hypotheses, elucidated by honest intellectual inquiry, increasingly urgent.
Some fundamentalist religious groups, which seek to strike down the wall of separation between church and state so that they can impose their views on others, work in opposition to this increasingly urgent need.
How Should Fundamentalism Be Fought?
Fundamentalism must be fought with education.
It is obvious that the best innoculant against any form of ignorance is education. And make no mistake, fundamentalism is a form of spectacular ignorance, ignorance of the basic principles of true religion.
It is no coincidence that fundamentalism has arisen in America at the same time that the public education system has collapsed. And it is also no coincidence that fundamentalism is strongest in America and elsewhere in the world wherever the educational system is at its weakest.
The best form of education is the teaching of critical thinking skills. It is the most important skill any educator can teach. With it, the fundamentalism's deceiving tricks are quickly exposed, and it is seen for what it is. Students need to be taught the importance of gathering the evidence and then proceeding to the conclusion, not the other way around. The best way to teach logic, reason and critical thinking skills is with the "Socratic method" of guided discussion. This should be done beginning in the earliest grade, and by the fourth year, the formal elements of logic and reason can be introduced, so that students have a guide in recognizing and rejecting fallacious thinking. Doing this with rigor and consistency throughout the educational process will lead to a generation that will think independently as a matter of habit, rather than accepting pre-digested doctrines blindly.
It would be helpful too, to teach what true religion really is. Once the student is aware of the nature of true religion, the fundamentalist doesn't stand a chance, because the logical weakness of his doctrine becomes obvious and the devious subtlety of its appeals are exposed.
The other effective way to fight fundamentalism is to teach humility.
Spiritual progress is impossible without it. Scientific progress is impossible without it.
I'm not suggesting students should be humiliated -- not at all. That's child abuse and should be fought vigorously. But the value of humility should be taught, so that students understand that they can't maintain an open mind in the absence of humility. They'll gain a lot from learning it, not just academically, but in relationships and social skills, too.
Perhaps the best way to check the progress of fundamentalism is with critical, analytical thinking. If every school taught the basics of critical thinking, learning would flourish and fundamentalism would fade.
Fundamentalist apologists lack scholarly rigor, because in their rush to ensure that they are covering all the obvious problems with the doctrines they preach, they often commit unacceptable errors in logic. To wit:
* They concentrate on their opponents' weak points, while rarely saying anything definitive about their own position. They point, for example, to the fact that an honest scientist will refuse to make a statement from a position of certainty, while they're happy to do so, claiming divine knowledge. This is an example of the straw-man fallacy.
* They exploit errors made by scholars who are making opposing arguments, implying that because a few of their opponents' conclusions were wrong, all of their opponents' conclusions must be wrong. An example here is the claim, occasionally heard, that Newton was proven wrong in some important details, Einstein was eventually proven wrong in a few details, and scientists admit that they don't have the final answers and therefore science doesn't know what it's doing, and can't be trusted. This is a non-sequitor fallacy.
* They use quotations, usually taken out of context to buttress their own position. A favorite here is the various quotations of Einstein, usually referring to God, suggesting that Einstein believed in the same sort of God they do. Einstein most emphatically did not, as will be obvious if you read his essay on the subject. This is the fallacy of suppressed evidence.
* They mistake genuine, honest debates between scholars about certain points within a field for a dispute about the existence of the entire field. For example, rather than debate the legitimacy of the interpretation of specific fossil evidence, vis a vis evolution, they often attack paleontology in general, claiming it to be an invalid science. This is the fallacy of hasty generalization.
* They focus on what is not known and ignore what is known, emphasizing data that fits and discounting data that does not fit. An example is the claim that science simply doesn't have an answer as to the age of the universe. True enough, but science has solid, reliable evidence that it is more than the seven thousand years that these same fundamentalists claim.This is again the fallacy of suppressed evidence.
Dr. Carl Sagan, in his last book, The Demon Haunted World gives us some excellent tools for the use in the process of critical thinking. In a nutshell, here they are:
* Where possible, what is claimed to be factual has to be independently confirmable by two or more sources not in league with each other.
* Debate and argument must be encouraged, not stifled.
* There's no such thing as an "authority." They've been wrong in the past and will be in the future. Which means they're wrong now.
* More than one hypothesis is needed to stimulate debate. All points of view should be examined equally and with as little bias as possible.
* Don't get emotionally attached to your own hypothesis (faith?). Doing so blinds you to better ideas.
* Quantifiable hypotheses are better than qualitative ones, because they are more testable. In other words, go for testable hypotheses first because untestable qualitative ones are of little value.
* If there's a chain of logic that supports an argument, every link in that chain must be valid and unbroken.
* Go for simplicity. Occam's Razor states that of the competing hypotheses that explain the data equally well, the one most likely to be correct is the one that makes the least number of assumptions and is the least complicated.
* Hypotheses that can't be experimentally disproven aren't worth much. For a hypothesis to be useful, it has to be testable, which means it must be capable of being disproven if wrong. Skeptics have to be able to follow your arguments, do your experiments and be capable of producing the same experimental results if your hypothesis is to be considered correct.
Resources on Fundamentalism
Books I highly recommend (which, if you wish, you can buy safely online from Amazon.com by pursuing the links here):
The Mind of the Bible Believer by Edmund D. Cohen isn't a book about the bible as much as its a psychology book. He says of it, "This is the book I wish had been available to me before I became a 'believer.'" It discusses why Christian fundamentalism has the attraction it does, and why it appeals so strongly to the seeker. He takes the view that the New Testament was written to bring believers together during a time of moral collapse and political oppression (first century Jewish Palestine), and that as such, it is "history's most successful psychological manipulation, achieving with uncanny facility what motivational researchers and psychological warfare experts can only dream about... having long outlived its original purpose." And he makes a very good case for his thesis. This book will give you some real insight into the mind of the Christian evangelical fundamentalist. Can't recommend it highly enough! If you buy only one book to try to understand evangelical fundamentalism, this should be that book.
In The Beginning - A Scientist Shows Why the Creationists Are Wrong by Chris McGowan, a zoologist, meets the fundamentalist creationists headon and systematically shows why they are clearly wrong, using genuine, credible scientific evidence.
Bible Prophesy - Failure or Fulfilment by Tim Callahan is an excellent guide to Biblical prophesy as fundamentalists describe it, and how their interpretations are usually wrong and how the prophesies themselves have provably failed.
The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy by C. Dennis McKinsey is the best survey I've yet come across of the errors, inconsistencies and doctrinal problems in the Bible. It goes on for 500 pages, and brings up thousands of problems. Many could be explained by 'miracles' but many hundreds cannot not be.
What The Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D., is a discussion, by a widely recognized Biblical scholar, of how the fundamentalist interpretation of Biblical scripture relating to homosexuality is a misinterpretation resulting from the ignorance of the cultural context in which those scriptural references were written.
The Dead Sea Scrolls And The Christian Myth by John Allegro, the sole secular scholar given access to the Dead Sea Scrolls for many years, has written this penetrating and surprising view of early Christianity, as revealed by the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh shows how a handful of fundamentalist religious scholars were to suppress the revolutionary contents of the scrolls, and how religious fundamentalists often fail to accept the truth, even when it stares them in the face.
Internet Resources
An example of the serious threat represented by Christian fundamentalism can be found at the following site, which is representative of the more extreme of the fundamentalist elements. It is typical of what can be found among the fringe groups of the right.
The Society for the Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commmandments
When these groups get together, the threat to the American political system can become serious. A coalition of these groups, called Christian Identity, is the most serious alliance, and one of the most extreme in its politics. Here is a page, by a well-known political science analyst and writer that details the political and civil threat these groups represent.
Christian Identity Politics
Here's a page that discusses in depth the problems with fundamentalism, including some of the history of it, the contradictions and errors in the Bible and the cultic aspects of Christian fundamentalism.
Fundamentalism Debunked
Here's my own essay on the problems with the Bible that can't be explained away, no matter how seriously one looks to divine intervention in the form of miracles or magic.
What the Fundamentalist Christian Doesn't Want You To Know: A Brief Survey of Biblical Errancy
For Christian fundamentalists who naively believe in the inerrancy and moral consistency of the bible, a close reading will come as quite a shock. The first link is to a fundamentalist Christian site that discusses the fundamentalists' claim to the inerrancy of the bible, followed by a site that discusses dozens of the hundreds of inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the bible, along with many of its more significant moral contradictions. Read them both, and you can be the judge of which is more likely to be true.
The fundamentalists' claims:
Is the Bible True? -ChristianAnswers.net
A scholar's response:
The Argument From The Bible
[Available] Boxcar Slim to factnet-news-u.
to Resolve the Satanic threats....I have already been ADDRESSED on a
Short Wave Broadcast from DOVE NETWORKS on WWRB, 5050 KCs. By
Location, as a "enemy" of "progressive" peoples. The woman stated
"Well, can't they trace him & stop him?" I am a NEPHEW of Edward L.
Bernays, & am very familar with "Engineering Consent" and
"Propaganda." These were My Family's Contribution to Modern Society. I
am a MEMBER of a CULT! I follow a DEAD MAN who was a VERY
CONTIVERSIBLE LEADER of a FRINGE MOVEMENT considered DANGERIOUS to the
ESTABLISHED STATE RELIGION. He was KILLED by the GOVERNMENT & I have
FLED TO A FORIGN COUNTRY!
His name was JESUS CHRIST!
The "History repeats itsself" Syndrome is ACUTELY obvious to me.
& I have FLED the 4th. Reich AmeriKKKa to live in Tijuana!
I am not able to PROMISE faithful service, OTHERWISE I WOULD BE
TOTALLY WILLING, By the HOLY GHOST & My Savious Blood, to VOLENTEER my
help! Oh, Lord....The DEVIL is TRUELY the PRINCE of the POWER of the
AIR! Hence, my ROCK is to SHUN the TELEVISION.
Your's is not the ONLY free speech outlet being ATTACKED! There is
TIME between, but the FREEDOM of IDEAS is being SLAIN!
7 October 2004
Thursday morning, US authorities issued a federal order to Rackspace
ordering them to hand over Indymedia web servers to the FBI.
Rackspace, which provides hosting services for more that 20 Indymedia
sites at its London facility, complied and turned over the requested
servers, effectively removing those sites from the internet.
Since the order was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the
reasons for this action are still unknown to Indymedia. Talking to
Indymedia volunteers, Rackspace stated that "they cannot provide
Indymedia with any information regarding the order." ISPs have
received gag orders in similar situations which prevent them from
informing concerned parties about what is happening.
It is unclear to Indymedia how and why a server that is outside US
jurisdiction can be seized by US authorities.
At the same time an additional server was taken down at Rackspace
which provided streaming radio to several radio stations including one
covering the European Social Forum in London, BLAG (a linux distro),
and a handful of miscellanous services.
The last few months have seen numerous attacks on independent media by
the US Federal Government. In August the Secret Service used a
subpoena in an attempt to disrupt the NYC IMC before the RNC by trying
to get IP logs from an ISP in the US and the Netherlands. Last month
the FCC shut down community radio stations around the US. Two weeks
ago the FBI requested that Indymedia takes down a post on the Nantes
IMC that had a photo of some undercover Swiss police and IMC
volunteers in Seattle were visited by the FBI on the same issue. On
the other hand, Indymedia and other independent media organisations
were successful with their victories for example against Diebold and
the Patriot Act. Today however, the US authorities shut down IMCs
around the world.
The list of affected local media collectives includes Ambazonia,
Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles,
Marseille, Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West
Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague,
Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, and Germany.
For more information, please contact press@indymedia.org
It is ironic that that this happens now, just days before Indymedia UK
is due to participate in the European Forum on Communications Rights
being held alongside the European Social Forum and several other days
of discussions about electronic civil liberties and community media.
For more information on these events see www.efcr2004.net
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* A U.S. Government agency served a subpoena upon Rackspace,
requesting certain information (several have said FBI / some say it
was requesting hardware not information)
* We do not know what that information was.
* Rackspace handed over two computers to the agency to comply with
the subpoena (though i don't think it's clear exactly to who they gave
the hard drives – uk police / fbi reps?)
* Rackspace refuses to provide a copy of the subpoena on advice of counsel.
* Rackspace previously provided two dedicated servers to
Indymedia, which hosted a number of Indymedia and related sites,
including Nantes. The computers were located in the UK, but owned by
Rackspace, a U.S. company.
* Last week FBI asked for the Nantes post that allegedly contained
information about undercover swiss police to be removed, but admitted
no laws were violated.
Reply
factnet-news-unsubscribe
factnet-news-unsubscribe@lists.factnet.org
to Resolve the Satanic threats....I have already been ADDRESSED on a
Short Wave Broadcast from DOVE NETWORKS on WWRB, 5050 KCs. By
Location, as a "enemy" of "progressive" peoples. The woman stated
"Well, can't they trace him & stop him?" I am a NEPHEW of Edward L.
Bernays, & am very familar with "Engineering Consent" and
"Propaganda." These were My Family's Contribution to Modern Society. I
am a MEMBER of a CULT! I follow a DEAD MAN who was a VERY
CONTIVERSIBLE LEADER of a FRINGE MOVEMENT considered DANGERIOUS to the
ESTABLISHED STATE RELIGION. He was KILLED by the GOVERNMENT & I have
FLED TO A FORIGN COUNTRY!
His name was JESUS CHRIST!
The "History repeats itsself" Syndrome is ACUTELY obvious to me.
& I have FLED the 4th. Reich AmeriKKKa to live in Tijuana!
I am not able to PROMISE faithful service, OTHERWISE I WOULD BE
TOTALLY WILLING, By the HOLY GHOST & My Savious Blood, to VOLENTEER my
help! Oh, Lord....The DEVIL is TRUELY the PRINCE of the POWER of the
AIR! Hence, my ROCK is to SHUN the TELEVISION.
Your's is not the ONLY free speech outlet being ATTACKED! There is
TIME between, but the FREEDOM of IDEAS is being SLAIN!
7 October 2004
Thursday morning, US authorities issued a federal order to Rackspace
ordering them to hand over Indymedia web servers to the FBI.
Rackspace, which provides hosting services for more that 20 Indymedia
sites at its London facility, complied and turned over the requested
servers, effectively removing those sites from the internet.
Since the order was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the
reasons for this action are still unknown to Indymedia. Talking to
Indymedia volunteers, Rackspace stated that "they cannot provide
Indymedia with any information regarding the order." ISPs have
received gag orders in similar situations which prevent them from
informing concerned parties about what is happening.
It is unclear to Indymedia how and why a server that is outside US
jurisdiction can be seized by US authorities.
At the same time an additional server was taken down at Rackspace
which provided streaming radio to several radio stations including one
covering the European Social Forum in London, BLAG (a linux distro),
and a handful of miscellanous services.
The last few months have seen numerous attacks on independent media by
the US Federal Government. In August the Secret Service used a
subpoena in an attempt to disrupt the NYC IMC before the RNC by trying
to get IP logs from an ISP in the US and the Netherlands. Last month
the FCC shut down community radio stations around the US. Two weeks
ago the FBI requested that Indymedia takes down a post on the Nantes
IMC that had a photo of some undercover Swiss police and IMC
volunteers in Seattle were visited by the FBI on the same issue. On
the other hand, Indymedia and other independent media organisations
were successful with their victories for example against Diebold and
the Patriot Act. Today however, the US authorities shut down IMCs
around the world.
The list of affected local media collectives includes Ambazonia,
Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles,
Marseille, Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West
Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague,
Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, and Germany.
For more information, please contact press@indymedia.org
It is ironic that that this happens now, just days before Indymedia UK
is due to participate in the European Forum on Communications Rights
being held alongside the European Social Forum and several other days
of discussions about electronic civil liberties and community media.
For more information on these events see www.efcr2004.net
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* A U.S. Government agency served a subpoena upon Rackspace,
requesting certain information (several have said FBI / some say it
was requesting hardware not information)
* We do not know what that information was.
* Rackspace handed over two computers to the agency to comply with
the subpoena (though i don't think it's clear exactly to who they gave
the hard drives – uk police / fbi reps?)
* Rackspace refuses to provide a copy of the subpoena on advice of counsel.
* Rackspace previously provided two dedicated servers to
Indymedia, which hosted a number of Indymedia and related sites,
including Nantes. The computers were located in the UK, but owned by
Rackspace, a U.S. company.
* Last week FBI asked for the Nantes post that allegedly contained
information about undercover swiss police to be removed, but admitted
no laws were violated.
Reply
factnet-news-unsubscribe
factnet-news-unsubscribe@lists.factnet.org
[Available] Boxcar Slim to sfbay-web
show details 1/18/06
What? Has Mayor Gavin NOISOME NEWSOM the MURDERER of HOMELESS PEOPLE
put the FEAR of whatever Faggot God he serves into you? I was THE
WRITER of the PROLIFIC BULL that I posted ALL OVER my (former)
Favourite City, wherein I compared NEWSOM'S PROP N to
Condition of the Working Class in England, by Engels, 1845
The Attitude of the Bourgeoisie Towards the Proletariat
I was a "
"VEHICHULARLY HOUSED HOMELESS PERSON" in San Francisco, but in El
Centro, or Wyatt-Earp, CA. I was a "SNOWBIRD" & LIFE GOOD SAM MEMBER,
& UPSTANDING CITIZEN!
I saw PEOPLE HAULED OUT of their RVs at 4:00 am & BEATEN INTO BLOODY
SUBMISSION by Willie Brown's GOYIM SWINE PIGGIES!
I ran a FULL AM/FM & Ham Radio Station & Wi-Fi War-Drive & Mobil
Recording Studio, PLUS I WAS THE "HOBO BOXCAR" Regular Street
Guitarist with the GIBSON MK-53 at 9th. AVENUE @ IRVING, across from
the BEANERY!
NOW to ESCAPE the 4th. REICH NAZIS & the HARRASSMENT of the HOMELESS I
live in TIJUANA!
Are you people NON CAREFUL about HOMELESS FOLKS now?
THIS WAS ME, & MY ARTICLE, in YOUR San Diego Paper....
Make a quick comment on this article>>
BoxcarHobo_A1 the Folk Singing Feller
09.05.2005 17:17
Well, here I am, having been a HOMELESS HOBO folk
singer/guitar/mandolin/french harp playing rambeler, dangeler, EScapER
from Immortality & 50 LUNITIC asylems...Left up outer the OZARK
Mountians way back in 1945...seeking FAME, FORTUNE and a MOVIE STAR
life! Being a METHOD ACTTTTTER...I decided (seeins how CHARLIE CHAPLIN
were done dead...) I shold SHOULD....PerFect his FAMOUS
Charicter...The Littel HOBO! Now...60 YEARS of UNDERstudy (possessed
by Chappies GHOST!) I goits it PREfected! So when I wents up to
HOLLYWOOD to PRESENT myself at MGM...they RUN ME OVER with a
MUTSS-SHE-BEETCHI pick-up-trukk! So I come to SAN DIEGO! I come AFTER
being RELEASED from JAIL in ROME! (Rome, georgia) FER rIDING ON A
fREIGHT tRAIN wITHOUT pERMISSIONS! (this was DURING Hurrycaine IVAN!)
Being an EXPERIANCED "Rabble-Rouser/Rubbish Eater" I can BENIFIT the
folks....PRE-FORMING! Also, I am POSSESSER of a F.C.C. RADIO
LICENSE...< 10 May 2005 @ 00:01:59 UTC
Callsign: KD5MPM Class: Technician Codes: HAI USA
Name: John C Bernay, Jr
Addr1: 3260 Production Ave
Addr2: Oceanside, CA 92054
Country: USA
Effective: 01 Feb 2005 Expires: 19 Dec 2010
FRN: 0004745949 What's this?
FCC: ULS Listing
Lookups: 1290
Coordinates: 34.471685 -93.103345
State: California
County: San Diego
Grid: EM34kl
Area Code: 760
GMT Offset: -8
Time Zone: Pacific
Has DST?: Y
Birthday: 12 Dec 1492
Johnny Bernays KD5MPM
e-mail:: boxcarhobo_a1@yahoo.ca
Homepage:: boxcarhobo_a1@yahoo.ca
Homeless Sweep: 14 May...
24.05.2005 10:53
Ah, well...Saturday Night, at approx. 11:30 PM, I was lying in my
tent, listening to W6OOB on 3840 KCs (75 Meter Ham Band) in QSO with
his "cronies...(W6OBB is a HAM RADIO OPERATOR & also well known as
"ART BELL" through his AM Coast-To-Coast Xcast!) I saw LIGHTS shine
upon my domicile...and a VOICE commanding "You in the tent; ACHTUNG!
Come OUT with your HANDS in front!" (The SS/Gestapo had Discovered
ANOTHER hiding JEW!) Upon my exit, Lo & Behold! MILITARY TROOPS! In
FULL Battle Gear! Flak Suits! A Squadrion of MARINES? NO! The "River
Patrol!" I can say, We Little Old Men must be Very Dangerious
Fellers....to warrent a SWAT Team! I was NOT allowed to take ANYTHING,
the Sergant First said "We have had complaints from the Security
Guards at Kiser/Permemente that YOU THREATENED them...I replied "No,
SIR! I speak to them BOTH upon leaving & returning, at 6:30 AM the
Coloured Feller UNLOCKS & I leave, at 6:30 PM his Fellow Officer LOCKS
UP & I return." Then Sarge presented ANOTHER fantisty..."We KNOW you
have NUMBERIOUS PEOPLES in & out!" No, SIR! I replied..."You see in
here, a TOSHIBA LAP-TOP Computer, a $500.00 Canadian SeaGull CutAway
Guitar, a High Frequency Amateur Radio Transciever, BRAND NEW Icom
IC-703, 5 2 Meter & 220 MCs. Handi-Talkies, a Short Wave Reveiver & a
Number of Study Books on the shelves (Milk Cartons,) I ALLOW NO BODY
in here....some street peopole steal!" The Sarge got IRATE..."It don't
matter, WE ARE JUST DOING OUR JOB, FOLLOWING ORDERS!" PLEASE,
understand, gentle readers, I Refrained from my USUAL
rejounder..."That Defense DIDN'T Work at NUREMBERG!" Fortuneately,
upon my release, (@ 5:30 THURSDAY MORNING!!!) +++++EVERYTHING WAS SAFE
& SOUND!++++ (Halle-Jew-Yah!) & NO fines or Fees were levied....BUT, I
now FULLY understand San Diego's "WAR ON THE HOMELESS!" Here is a
QUOTATION from Engel's "Condixtion of the POOR in England" from ca.
1850's...NOTE: 150 Years AGO! NOTHING HAS CHANGED!!!!
Let no one believe, however, that the "cultivated" Englishman openly
brags with his egotism. On the contrary, he conceals it under the
vilest hypocrisy. What? The wealthy English fail to remember the poor?
They who have founded philanthropic institutions, such as no other
country can boast of! Philanthropic institutions forsooth! As though
you rendered the proletarians a service in first sucking out their
very life-blood and then practising your self-complacent, Pharisaic
philanthropy upon them, placing yourselves before the world as mighty
benefactors of humanity when you give back to the plundered victims
the hundredth part of what belongs to them! Charity which degrades him
who gives more than him who takes; charity which treads the
downtrodden still deeper in the dust, which demands that the degraded,
the pariah cast out by society, shall first surrender the last that
remains to him, his very claim to manhood, shall first beg for mercy
before your mercy deigns to press, in the shape of an alms, the brand
of degradation upon his brow. But let us hear the English
bourgeoisie's own words. It is not yet a year since I read in the
Manchester Guardian the following letter to the editor, which was
published without comment as a perfectly natural, reasonable thing:
"MR. EDITOR,-- For some time past our main streets are haunted by
swarms of beggars, who try to awaken the pity of the passers-by in a
most shameless and annoying manner, by exposing their tattered
clothing, sickly aspect, and disgusting wounds and deformities. I
should think that when one not only pays the poor-rate, but also
contributes largely to the charitable institutions, one had done
enough to earn a right to be spared such disagreeable and impertinent
molestations. And why else do we pay such high rates for the
maintenance of the municipal police, if they do not even protect us so
far as to make it possible to go to or out of town in peace? I hope
the publication of these lines in your widely- circulated paper may
induce the authorities to remove this nuisance; and I remain,-- Your
obedient servant,
"A Lady."
There you have it! The English bourgeoisie is charitable out of
self-interest; it gives nothing outright, but regards its gifts as a
business matter, makes a bargain with the poor, saying: "If I spend
this much upon benevolent institutions, I thereby purchase the right
not to be troubled any further, and you are bound thereby to stay in
your dusky holes and not to irritate my tender nerves by exposing your
misery. You shall despair as before, but you shall despair unseen,
this I require, this I purchase with my subscription of twenty pounds
for the infirmary!" It is infamous, this charity of a Christian
bourgeois! And so writes "A Lady"; she does well to sign herself such,
well that she has lost the courage to call herself a woman! But if the
"Ladies" are such as this, what must the "Gentlemen" be? It will be
said that this is a single case; but no, the foregoing letter
expresses the temper of the great majority of the English bourgeoisie,
or the editor would not have accepted it, and some reply would have
been made to it, which I watched for in vain in the succeeding
numbers. And as to the efficiency of this philanthropy, Canon
Parkinson himself says that the poor are relieved much more by the
poor than by the bourgeoisie; and such relief given by an honest
proletarian who knows himself what it is to be hungry, for whom
sharing his scanty meal is really a sacrifice, but a sacrifice borne
with pleasure, such help has a wholly different ring to it from the
carelessly-tossed alms of the luxurious bourgeois.
We have the SAME EFFITE SNOBS today...their Hideous "QUALITY OF LIFE"
Laws. They are RICH Piggies, Goyim Swine, and they CANNOT ABIDE to
SEE, SMELL or be Pan Handled by VERMIN such as We Are!
IS THERE ANYONE WHO WISHES TO DEBATE my DOGMA? I have been "Homeless"
over 30 (Thirty) Years. I am a TORAH Student, and a Chronic
Schizophreniac (They called JOHN the BAPTIST, Elijah the Tishbite &
Jesus the Christ a Lunitic....I am in GOOD COMPANY!)
show details 1/18/06
What? Has Mayor Gavin NOISOME NEWSOM the MURDERER of HOMELESS PEOPLE
put the FEAR of whatever Faggot God he serves into you? I was THE
WRITER of the PROLIFIC BULL that I posted ALL OVER my (former)
Favourite City, wherein I compared NEWSOM'S PROP N to
Condition of the Working Class in England, by Engels, 1845
The Attitude of the Bourgeoisie Towards the Proletariat
I was a "
"VEHICHULARLY HOUSED HOMELESS PERSON" in San Francisco, but in El
Centro, or Wyatt-Earp, CA. I was a "SNOWBIRD" & LIFE GOOD SAM MEMBER,
& UPSTANDING CITIZEN!
I saw PEOPLE HAULED OUT of their RVs at 4:00 am & BEATEN INTO BLOODY
SUBMISSION by Willie Brown's GOYIM SWINE PIGGIES!
I ran a FULL AM/FM & Ham Radio Station & Wi-Fi War-Drive & Mobil
Recording Studio, PLUS I WAS THE "HOBO BOXCAR" Regular Street
Guitarist with the GIBSON MK-53 at 9th. AVENUE @ IRVING, across from
the BEANERY!
NOW to ESCAPE the 4th. REICH NAZIS & the HARRASSMENT of the HOMELESS I
live in TIJUANA!
Are you people NON CAREFUL about HOMELESS FOLKS now?
THIS WAS ME, & MY ARTICLE, in YOUR San Diego Paper....
Make a quick comment on this article>>
BoxcarHobo_A1 the Folk Singing Feller
09.05.2005 17:17
Well, here I am, having been a HOMELESS HOBO folk
singer/guitar/mandolin/french harp playing rambeler, dangeler, EScapER
from Immortality & 50 LUNITIC asylems...Left up outer the OZARK
Mountians way back in 1945...seeking FAME, FORTUNE and a MOVIE STAR
life! Being a METHOD ACTTTTTER...I decided (seeins how CHARLIE CHAPLIN
were done dead...) I shold SHOULD....PerFect his FAMOUS
Charicter...The Littel HOBO! Now...60 YEARS of UNDERstudy (possessed
by Chappies GHOST!) I goits it PREfected! So when I wents up to
HOLLYWOOD to PRESENT myself at MGM...they RUN ME OVER with a
MUTSS-SHE-BEETCHI pick-up-trukk! So I come to SAN DIEGO! I come AFTER
being RELEASED from JAIL in ROME! (Rome, georgia) FER rIDING ON A
fREIGHT tRAIN wITHOUT pERMISSIONS! (this was DURING Hurrycaine IVAN!)
Being an EXPERIANCED "Rabble-Rouser/Rubbish Eater" I can BENIFIT the
folks....PRE-FORMING! Also, I am POSSESSER of a F.C.C. RADIO
LICENSE...< 10 May 2005 @ 00:01:59 UTC
Callsign: KD5MPM Class: Technician Codes: HAI USA
Name: John C Bernay, Jr
Addr1: 3260 Production Ave
Addr2: Oceanside, CA 92054
Country: USA
Effective: 01 Feb 2005 Expires: 19 Dec 2010
FRN: 0004745949 What's this?
FCC: ULS Listing
Lookups: 1290
Coordinates: 34.471685 -93.103345
State: California
County: San Diego
Grid: EM34kl
Area Code: 760
GMT Offset: -8
Time Zone: Pacific
Has DST?: Y
Birthday: 12 Dec 1492
Johnny Bernays KD5MPM
e-mail:: boxcarhobo_a1@yahoo.ca
Homepage:: boxcarhobo_a1@yahoo.ca
Homeless Sweep: 14 May...
24.05.2005 10:53
Ah, well...Saturday Night, at approx. 11:30 PM, I was lying in my
tent, listening to W6OOB on 3840 KCs (75 Meter Ham Band) in QSO with
his "cronies...(W6OBB is a HAM RADIO OPERATOR & also well known as
"ART BELL" through his AM Coast-To-Coast Xcast!) I saw LIGHTS shine
upon my domicile...and a VOICE commanding "You in the tent; ACHTUNG!
Come OUT with your HANDS in front!" (The SS/Gestapo had Discovered
ANOTHER hiding JEW!) Upon my exit, Lo & Behold! MILITARY TROOPS! In
FULL Battle Gear! Flak Suits! A Squadrion of MARINES? NO! The "River
Patrol!" I can say, We Little Old Men must be Very Dangerious
Fellers....to warrent a SWAT Team! I was NOT allowed to take ANYTHING,
the Sergant First said "We have had complaints from the Security
Guards at Kiser/Permemente that YOU THREATENED them...I replied "No,
SIR! I speak to them BOTH upon leaving & returning, at 6:30 AM the
Coloured Feller UNLOCKS & I leave, at 6:30 PM his Fellow Officer LOCKS
UP & I return." Then Sarge presented ANOTHER fantisty..."We KNOW you
have NUMBERIOUS PEOPLES in & out!" No, SIR! I replied..."You see in
here, a TOSHIBA LAP-TOP Computer, a $500.00 Canadian SeaGull CutAway
Guitar, a High Frequency Amateur Radio Transciever, BRAND NEW Icom
IC-703, 5 2 Meter & 220 MCs. Handi-Talkies, a Short Wave Reveiver & a
Number of Study Books on the shelves (Milk Cartons,) I ALLOW NO BODY
in here....some street peopole steal!" The Sarge got IRATE..."It don't
matter, WE ARE JUST DOING OUR JOB, FOLLOWING ORDERS!" PLEASE,
understand, gentle readers, I Refrained from my USUAL
rejounder..."That Defense DIDN'T Work at NUREMBERG!" Fortuneately,
upon my release, (@ 5:30 THURSDAY MORNING!!!) +++++EVERYTHING WAS SAFE
& SOUND!++++ (Halle-Jew-Yah!) & NO fines or Fees were levied....BUT, I
now FULLY understand San Diego's "WAR ON THE HOMELESS!" Here is a
QUOTATION from Engel's "Condixtion of the POOR in England" from ca.
1850's...NOTE: 150 Years AGO! NOTHING HAS CHANGED!!!!
Let no one believe, however, that the "cultivated" Englishman openly
brags with his egotism. On the contrary, he conceals it under the
vilest hypocrisy. What? The wealthy English fail to remember the poor?
They who have founded philanthropic institutions, such as no other
country can boast of! Philanthropic institutions forsooth! As though
you rendered the proletarians a service in first sucking out their
very life-blood and then practising your self-complacent, Pharisaic
philanthropy upon them, placing yourselves before the world as mighty
benefactors of humanity when you give back to the plundered victims
the hundredth part of what belongs to them! Charity which degrades him
who gives more than him who takes; charity which treads the
downtrodden still deeper in the dust, which demands that the degraded,
the pariah cast out by society, shall first surrender the last that
remains to him, his very claim to manhood, shall first beg for mercy
before your mercy deigns to press, in the shape of an alms, the brand
of degradation upon his brow. But let us hear the English
bourgeoisie's own words. It is not yet a year since I read in the
Manchester Guardian the following letter to the editor, which was
published without comment as a perfectly natural, reasonable thing:
"MR. EDITOR,-- For some time past our main streets are haunted by
swarms of beggars, who try to awaken the pity of the passers-by in a
most shameless and annoying manner, by exposing their tattered
clothing, sickly aspect, and disgusting wounds and deformities. I
should think that when one not only pays the poor-rate, but also
contributes largely to the charitable institutions, one had done
enough to earn a right to be spared such disagreeable and impertinent
molestations. And why else do we pay such high rates for the
maintenance of the municipal police, if they do not even protect us so
far as to make it possible to go to or out of town in peace? I hope
the publication of these lines in your widely- circulated paper may
induce the authorities to remove this nuisance; and I remain,-- Your
obedient servant,
"A Lady."
There you have it! The English bourgeoisie is charitable out of
self-interest; it gives nothing outright, but regards its gifts as a
business matter, makes a bargain with the poor, saying: "If I spend
this much upon benevolent institutions, I thereby purchase the right
not to be troubled any further, and you are bound thereby to stay in
your dusky holes and not to irritate my tender nerves by exposing your
misery. You shall despair as before, but you shall despair unseen,
this I require, this I purchase with my subscription of twenty pounds
for the infirmary!" It is infamous, this charity of a Christian
bourgeois! And so writes "A Lady"; she does well to sign herself such,
well that she has lost the courage to call herself a woman! But if the
"Ladies" are such as this, what must the "Gentlemen" be? It will be
said that this is a single case; but no, the foregoing letter
expresses the temper of the great majority of the English bourgeoisie,
or the editor would not have accepted it, and some reply would have
been made to it, which I watched for in vain in the succeeding
numbers. And as to the efficiency of this philanthropy, Canon
Parkinson himself says that the poor are relieved much more by the
poor than by the bourgeoisie; and such relief given by an honest
proletarian who knows himself what it is to be hungry, for whom
sharing his scanty meal is really a sacrifice, but a sacrifice borne
with pleasure, such help has a wholly different ring to it from the
carelessly-tossed alms of the luxurious bourgeois.
We have the SAME EFFITE SNOBS today...their Hideous "QUALITY OF LIFE"
Laws. They are RICH Piggies, Goyim Swine, and they CANNOT ABIDE to
SEE, SMELL or be Pan Handled by VERMIN such as We Are!
IS THERE ANYONE WHO WISHES TO DEBATE my DOGMA? I have been "Homeless"
over 30 (Thirty) Years. I am a TORAH Student, and a Chronic
Schizophreniac (They called JOHN the BAPTIST, Elijah the Tishbite &
Jesus the Christ a Lunitic....I am in GOOD COMPANY!)
THE PERSON RESPONSABLE goes back to Ollie North, MENA, ARKANSAS, Geo. H. W. Bush's COCAINE IMPORTING COMPANY...Aided & Abeted by WILLIAM JEFFERSON (Blythe) CLINTON, & the "DIXIE MAFIA!" There was a CHINNESE CARGO SHIP BUSTED in S.F. BAY-1998- Laded with COMPUTER PARTS to """LOREAL-makers of OriNoCo Gold WiFi PCMIA Cards...."""""
THE SHIP was SEARCHED, Reports in San Francisco (I WAS LIVING THERE-1998-1999) were TONS of OPIUM/HERION + THOUSANDS of FULLY AUTOMATIC AK47s (Supposedly destined to Drug Gangs?????I don't have PROOF...) BUT...IT WAS
WELL KNOWN, DOCUMENTED, And CAUSED MANY "GOOD Dea, CIA, & Boore-Crats with PRINCIPLES to QUIT their CIVIL SERVICE JOBS!!!!!!!!(A SIGN OF TRUE INSANITY or TRUE HONESTY!!!) To "TRY" to "GO PUBLIC" however...THE FIX CAME FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!!!! THE DOPE was PUT BACK, the GUNS were PUT BACK...THE CHINEESE shipment was EXPIDITED...."""ON ORDERS OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVER!!!!!
THE SHIP was SEARCHED, Reports in San Francisco (I WAS LIVING THERE-1998-1999) were TONS of OPIUM/HERION + THOUSANDS of FULLY AUTOMATIC AK47s (Supposedly destined to Drug Gangs?????I don't have PROOF...) BUT...IT WAS
WELL KNOWN, DOCUMENTED, And CAUSED MANY "GOOD Dea, CIA, & Boore-Crats with PRINCIPLES to QUIT their CIVIL SERVICE JOBS!!!!!!!!(A SIGN OF TRUE INSANITY or TRUE HONESTY!!!) To "TRY" to "GO PUBLIC" however...THE FIX CAME FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!!!! THE DOPE was PUT BACK, the GUNS were PUT BACK...THE CHINEESE shipment was EXPIDITED...."""ON ORDERS OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVER!!!!!
by Terry Watkins
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments. . ." Luke 16:23
What you're about to read is hard to believe. . .
We're going to examine the place the Bible calls hell. We'll present
documented evidence for a place called hell. Don't take what you're
going to read lightly. If what you read is true — YOU COULD BE IN
SERIOUS DANGER!
Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death's Door
by Dr. Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal
Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had
been clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, "considered all
religion "hocus-pocus" and death nothing more than a painless
extinction". But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic
change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man,
terrified and screaming — descending down into the flames of hell:
"Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient
screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help
him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed
look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression
seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer
horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling —
he looked as if his hair was "on end."
Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you
understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" . . .the
man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in
trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before."
(Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door,(Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3).
Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw
the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he
was actually in a place called hell!
The Bible continually warns of a place called hell. There are over 162
references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70
of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ!
In Luke 16, Jesus Christ gives a frightening picture of hell:
22 . . . the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and
send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool
my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now
he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf
fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither
can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest
send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest
they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:22-28)
HELL IS A PLACE OF FIRE
The man in Luke 16:24 cries: ". . .I am tormented in this FLAME."
In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: "And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF
FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting FIRE,. . ."
Revelation 20:15 says, " And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE."
THE BIBLE GIVES THE LOCATION OF HELL
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He descended into hell. In Acts
2, Peter is speaking, verse 31, " . . . seeing this before spake of
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in HELL"
When Jesus Christ died His soul went into hell.
And in Matthew 12:40, Jesus Christ says:
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's
belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the
HEART OF THE EARTH. "
The Bible is clear — Hell is inside the earth!
Ephesians 4:9, says of Jesus: "Now that he ascended, what is it but
that he also descended first into the LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH."
On page 85 of Beyond Death's Door, Dr. Rawlings writes patients who
described hell said, ". . . this place seems to be UNDERGROUND or
WITHIN THE EARTH in some way."
Scientist and Bible teacher, Henry Morris also agrees the Bible
plainly teaches that hell is in this earth:
"So far as we can tell from Scripture, the present hell, is
somewhere in the heart of the earth itself. It is also called 'the
pit' (Isa. 14:9, 15: Ezek. 32:18-21) and 'the abyss' (Rev. 9:2). . .
The writers certainly themselves believed hell to be real and
geographically 'beneath' the earth's surface. . .
To say this is not scientific is to assume science knows much more
about the earth's interior than is actually the case. The great 'pit'
[hell] would only need to be about 100 miles or less in diameter to
contain, with much room to spare, all the forty billion or so people
who have ever lived, assuming their 'spiritual' bodies are the same
size as their physical bodies."
(Henry M. Morris, The Bible Has the Answer, p. 220)
The Birmingham News, April 10, 1987 had an article entitled "Earth's
Center Hotter Than Sun's Surface, Scientists Say". The article stated
that scientists have recently discovered, "THE EARTH'S INNER CORE HAS
A TEMPERATURE OF OVER 12,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!"
Have you seen pictures of a volcano erupting, spewing a lake of fire
from inside the earth — consuming everything within miles just from
the heat? When Mount St. Helens erupted in May 18, 1980, it was
described by reporters, "when HELL surfaced upon the earth." The book,
Volcanoes, Earth's Awakening (p.91) describes an erupting volcano as
"descent into HELL".
Thousands of years ago, the Bible described a place called hell in the
heart of the earth that matches exactly what science is discovering.
YES! THERE IS A PLACE CALLED HELL!
In Numbers 16, the Bible gives the account of people falling into hell alive!
"And THE EARTH OPENED HER MOUTH, and swallowed them up, and their
houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their
goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive INTO
THE PIT, and the EARTH CLOSED UPON THEM:" Numbers 16:32-33
Caspar Peucer, a famous fourteenth century astronomer and physician,
who also researched and documented the volcanoe eruptions at Heklafell
wrote some very frightening information in his research findings.
Peucer, claims (as others) that "fearful howlings, weeping and
gnashing of teeth" could be heard "for many miles. . ." as these
volcanoes erupted:
"Out of the bottomless abyss of Heklafell, or rather out of Hell
itself, rise melancholy cries and loud wailings, so that these can be
heard for many miles around. . . there may be heard in the mountain
fearful howlings, weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Haraldur Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth, The History of Ideas on
Volcanic Eruptions, p. 73)
And Caspar Peucer is not alone. There are others who believe they have
heard "cries and screaming" coming from volcanoes. Most have tried to
ignore the obvious. Some simply explain the "sounds of hell" to some
rational meaning. But they are there. . .
"The fearsome noises that issued from some of their volcanoes were
certainly thought to be the screams of tormented souls in the fires of
hell below".
(Haraldur Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth, The History of Ideas on
Volcanic Eruptions, p. 73)
Inside this earth, this very moment, there are millions of lost,
tormented souls — burning, weeping, wailing — without any hope
whatsoever!
In Mark 9:46, Jesus Christ says about hell: "Where THEIR WORM dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched."
Jesus said explicitly — THEIR worm — not a worm, or the worm — but
THEIR worm. The Bible teaches that Christians will one day have a body
like the Lord Jesus Christ. Could it be, as some Bible students teach
— that men and women in hell take on the form of their father, Satan
(John 8:44)? In Revelation 12:3, Satan is described as a red dragon.
Could Jesus Christ be referring to the body lost men and women will
have for eternity?
The earth's crust on land is normally 50 miles thick. You'd have to go
down 50 miles before the edge of the fire. But in parts of the ocean
floor, the earth's crust is less than a mile thick.
Scientists recently discovered cracks on the ocean floor where fire
was leaking out. Do you know what they found around these
fire-breathing vents in the crust? Eight-foot long worms, found no
other place in the world! The book, The Deep Sea, by Joseph Wallace
(p.39), reads, "Perhaps the strangest of ocean creatures recently
discovered are Riftia, the giant tube WORMS. Measuring up to 8 feet in
length, the worms are ONLY FOUND NEAR DEEP SEA VENTS."
And Jesus Christ said, "Where THEIR WORM dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched."
Have you read Isaiah 66 where the Lord Jesus Christ is quoting Mark 9:46?
Look at the context and time period of Isaiah 66:22-24:
Isaiah 66:22-24:
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,
shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your
name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another,
and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship
before me, saith the LORD.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring
unto all flesh.
The "new heavens and new earth" of Isaiah 66:22 matches Revelation
21:1. This occurs AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of Revelation
20:10-15! The references to "carcases"; "their worm"; "their fire" (vs
24) — is AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of the LOST people!
The reference to ". . the men that have transgressed. . ." are the
LOST people AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement.
And at this point — they have received their NEW BODY! Notice what
Isaiah says, the saved people shall "LOOK upon the CARCASES of the men
that have transgressed. . ." It's worth mentioning that a "carcase" is
not always a "DEAD body". For instance, two times the Bible
specifically uses the term "dead carcase" (Deut. 14:8 and Ezek 6:5).
If a carcase is ALWAYS a "dead" body, then why say "dead" carcase? And
there's NOTHING in the context of Isaiah to imply these "men that
transgressed" are "dead".
In fact, Isaiah clearly says, "their worm shall NOT DIE". Even in our
language, we refer to a living body as a "carcase". For example, "Get
your carcase [body] in here". Why is that important? Because when the
saved people in Isaiah 66:24 are "looking upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed" — And do you know what they are SEEING? "Their
worm"! The "carcase" they are seeing is "their WORM that shall not
die". The end of Isaiah 66:24 is a frightening endorsement of this
interpretation. What the saved people are viewing Isaiah says is , ".
. . an abhorring unto all flesh". And my friend, that is not JUST a
normal flesh body they are looking at! It is something that will send
chills screaming through your soul at the horror. And it will happen!
And it will happen TO YOU if you die without the Lord Jesus Christ!
Even though the world tries to extinguish the cries and reality of
hell — the truth of hell echoes throughout our world. We desperately
pretend to cover our ears and igonore the "screams, the weeping, the
wailing, the gnashing of teeth" but it is there. . . And we know it.
We refuse to accept such a place exist. But it is there. And we know
it. Nothing we can do, nothing we can say, can erase the horror of
hell from our minds.
It is there. And we know it.
National Geographic magazine truthfully titled their story on
Volcanoes "Going To Hell". When PBS did a series on The Savage Earth,
one episode was titled "Hell's Crust: Our Everchanging Planet".
Everything we know. Everything we observe. Echoes the truth of a place
called hell.
It is there. And we know it.
Revelation 14:10 says, " . . . and he shall be tormented with fire and
BRIMSTONE . . ." And Job 18 describes the " . . . PLACE of him that
knoweth not God" (vs 21), in verse 15 as, " . . . BRIMSTONE shall be
scattered upon his habitation." Do you know what brimstone is? It's
sulfur. And do you know where sulfur or brimstone is found? INSIDE
THIS EARTH! According to the book Volcanoes by Pierre Kohler (p. 43),
when Mt. St Helens erupted in 1980 — 150,000 tons of sulfurous gas was
ejected! Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written over 3,000 years
ago, and yet Job knew what science wouldn't know for years — inside
this earth is BRIMSTONE!
Nature magazine recently discovered (July 2002) what the Bible knew
over 3,000 years ago. Inside this earth is "fire and brimstone":
"Volcanoes may be more like hell than anyone realized. Eruptions
disgorge streams of molten sulphur, the brimstone of evangelical
preachers, which burns up before it can be preserved for posterity,
new research in the journal Geology shows".
(Nature, Science Update, July 22, 2002)
Click here to view an incredible National Geographic Macromedia Flash
clip on Volcanoes with the intro "FIRE. . . BRIMSTONE. . . HELL ON
EARTH. . VOLCANOES" Note: You will need the ability to play MacroMedia
Flash to view
The cover of Discover magazine, August 2002, asks the question —
"What's Really at the Center of the Earth?".
I know what's REALLY in "the center of this earth". Jesus Christ
told us. Over and over. There is a lake of fire — with millions of
people burning, weeping, screaming, wailing, gnashing of teeth".
READ THE FOLLOWING!
". . . they dig into hell . . ." Amos 9:2
The following article appeared in the well respected Finland
newspaper, Ammenusastia
"As a communist I don't believe in heaven or the Bible but as a
scientist I now believe in hell," said Dr. Azzacove. "Needless to say
we were shocked to make such a discovery. But we know what we saw and
we know what we heard. And we are absolutely convinced that we drilled
through the gates of hell!"
Dr. Azzacove continued, ". . .the drill suddenly began to rotate
wildly, indicating that we had reached a large empty pocket or cavern.
Temperature sensors showed a dramatic increase in heat to 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit."
"We lowered a microphone, designed to detect the sounds of plate
movements down the shaft. But instead of plate movements we heard a
human voice screaming in pain! At first we thought the sound was
coming from our own equipment."
"But when we made adjustments our worst suspicions were confirmed. The
screams weren't those of a single human, they were the screams of
millions of humans!"
Listen to a RealAudio recording claiming to be an actual recording of
the above article. Are these the actual sounds of hell? Listen to it.
NOTE: You will need the free RealAudio player to listen. If you do not
have the RealAudio player you can download it now.
HELL IS A PLACE OF TORMENT
Jesus says of the man in Luke 16:
23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in TORMENTS. . . "
24 ". . . for I am TORMENTED in this FLAME."
28 ". . .PLACE OF TORMENT."
It is humanly impossible to comprehend the Bible description of hell.
Nothing on earth can compare with it. No nightmare could produce a
terror to match that of hell. No horror movie could describe it's
fright. No crime scene with all it's blood and gore could begin to
match it's horror.
It will be beyond anything humanly imaginable!
The Bible warns in Psalm 9:17, you will not only be in hell — you will
BE TURNED INTO HELL! You will literally BE HELL!
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Psalm 9:17
YOU will see HELL. . .
YOU will smell HELL. . .
YOU will breathe HELL. . .
YOU will hear HELL. . .
YOU will feel HELL. . .
YOU WILL BE HELL. . .
The Bible describes it as weeping (Matt 8:12), wailing (Matt 13:42),
gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:50), darkness (Matt 25:30), flames (Luke
16:24), burning (Isa 33:14), torments (Luke 16:23), everlasting
punishment! Jesus Christ says in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, ye
cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE, prepared for the devil and his angels."
In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: "And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF
FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
HELL IS FOREVER!
All who enter hell — abandon all hope!
The horror of hell — for even one second is unbearable — but FOREVER!
Jesus says in Matthew 25:41: ". . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into
EVERLASTING fire, . . ."
Rev. 14:11: "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND
EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."
Just look how the Bible warns of the eternity and permance of hell!
everlasting fire — Matthew18:8, 25:41
everlasting punishment — Matthew 25:46
everlasting chains — Jude 1:6
eternal damnation — Mark 3:29
eternal judgment — Hebrews 6:2
eternal fire — Jude 1:7
unquenchable fire — Matthew 3:12
the fire that never shall be quenched — Mark 9:43, 44, 45, 46, 48
fire unquenchable — Luke 3:17
mist of darkness is reserved for ever — 2 Peter 2:17
the blackness of darkness for ever — Jude 1:13
My friend, I have searched my Bible, from cover to cover. . . I have
studied every occurrence of hell in my Bible — and I can not find one
verse, not one word of HOPE for someone in hell! NOT ONE WORD! The
rich man in hell in Luke 16 never even asks to get out — He knew there
was no way out!
OH MY FRIEND – HELL IS FOREVER AND EVER!
What could possibly be worth eternity in hell? No wonder Jesus Christ
warned so much about hell! No wonder Jesus said in Mark 8:36, "For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and LOSE
HIS OWN SOUL?"
Jesus Christ took hell very serious. . .
Jesus Christ says in Mark 9:43-47,
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee
to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into
the fire that never shall be quenched:
45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee
to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell,
into the fire that never shall be quenched:
47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for
thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two
eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Jesus Christ took hell so serious — He could say without the slightest
hesitation — to remove your eye, cut off your hand or foot, if that
would keep you out of hell!
If hell is not real — Jesus Christ was the most deceived man that ever lived!
I'll challenge anyone to read the words of Jesus Christ and tell me
they are the words of a deceived man!
Jesus Christ knew exactly what He was talking about!
How did Jesus describe hell?
Jesus Christ spoke more on hell than any other subject.
Just look at how Jesus described hell:
WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAYS ABOUT HELL!
"fire" Matt 7:19, 13:40, 25:41
"everlasting fire" Matt 18:8, 25:41
"eternal damnation" Mark 3:29
"hell fire" Matt 5:22, 18:9, Mark 9:47
"damnation" Matt 23:14, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47
"damnation of hell" Matt 23:33
"resurrection of damnation" John 5:29
"furnace of fire" Matt 13:42, 50
"the fire that never shall be quenched" Mark 9:43, 45
"the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
"Where their worm dieth not" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
"wailing and gnashing of teeth" Matt 13:42, 50
"weeping and gnashing of teeth" Matt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30
"torments" Luke 16:23
"tormented in this flame" Luke 16:24
"place of torment" Luke 16:28
"outer darkness" Matt 8:12, 22:13
"everlasting punishment" Matt 25:46
WHAT IF JESUS IS RIGHT?
Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this THE JUDGEMENT:"
it is appointed unto man once to die . . .
and one day — YOU will die . . .
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments . . .
As you leave your body — you realize something is happening. You
hear a sound. . . getting louder and louder. . . screaming . .
.weeping. . . wailing. Terror and fear beyond anything you could
imagine overtakes you. "This can't be happening!" you scream. Your
nostrils are filling with the awful stench of burning souls. Your face
ignites from the heat. Flames are now blazing from your eyes,
nostrils, ears, mouth — every opening in your body, flames are roaring
out. Your body is sizzling and crackling from the flames.
Your body is now madly thrashing and convulsing from the horrible
pain. "Why don't I die?", you scream. You begin weeping and gnashing
your teeth with the millions. "When will this pain stop?" But you know
it will never stop. . .
The darkness is so terrifying, it begins engulfing you. You feel
something moving in the darkness. . . something horrible is happening.
"No! No! This can't be happening" you scream — as your worm is
emerging.
You begin cursing the day you were born. You scream — "Oh God, why
didn't you warn me?"— but you remember the preacher pleading with you
to receive Jesus Christ. You remember reading that gospel tract. You
cry — "God don't you care?" — but you remember John 3:16 "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,. . ." "God is a
God of love — He won't allow this", you cry — but you remember John
3:36, ". . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him."
And you soon realize, that Jesus Christ was right!
There is a place called hell.
AND YOU ARE THERE — FOREVER!
But God is a God of LOVE. . . Why would a GOD OF LOVE send me to hell?
Yes, God is a GOD OF LOVE — but God is also a HOLY GOD. A HOLY GOD
demands payment for sin. Otherwise God would NOT and could NOT be
HOLY.
Because God is holy — sin MUST be condemned. Joshua 24:19 says, ". .
he is an HOLY GOD;. . . he will NOT forgive your transgressions nor
your sins."
BUT FRIEND I HAVE GOOD NEWS!
God does NOT want you in hell
Hell was not made for man. Matthew 25:41 says, hell was, ". . .
prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Because God is a GOD OF LOVE, and He LOVED YOU so much, He sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die a cruel death on a cross to
pay the price a HOLY GOD demands for your sins.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God does not send someone to hell. You choose hell when you reject
Jesus Christ. When you refuse God's love gift of eternal life in Jesus
Christ. . .
YOU CHOOSE HELL!
Millionaire Ted Turner, said in an interview, "I'm looking forward to
dying and being cast into Hell. That's where I belong." You say — he's
a fool! But friend, when you say "No"; to Jesus Christ and His payment
for your sin — you are saying the same thing! You're telling God — I
don't need Jesus Christ — I'll pay for my sins in hell!
If you reject God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ
ONE DAY YOU WILL BE IN HELL!
Dr. Rawlings has watched as thousands of people depart into eternity.
Most people think they'll somehow "sneak" into heaven, but Dr.
Rawlings claims most people descend into the flames of hell!
Jesus Christ gave a solemn warning in Matthew 7:21-23
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven. . . MANY will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity."
If it was for a few days, a few months, a few years or even a million
years, but to be tormented — FOREVER! You will despair of ever having
any deliverance! You will beg for death itself to come and take you
away! You will curse the day you were born! Revelation 14:11 says,
"The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they
have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."
What could possibly be worth eternity in hell?
No wonder Jesus Christ said in Mark 8:36:
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?"Mark 8:36:
God has something far better than words can describe for those who
love Him. I Corinthians 2:9 says:
". . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him."I Corinthians 2:9
Friend, there is a place called hell! And, if you continually refuse
God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ — just as sure as you
live and breathe — ONE DAY YOU WILL WAKE UP IN HELL!
Don't wait until you die to find out the truth about Hell! Tomorrow
may be too late! Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow:
for thou KNOWEST NOT what a day may bring forth."
Three people die every second, 180 every minute, since you started
reading this — 2000 more people have gone into eternity! An automobile
accident. . . A heart attack. . , A stroke. . .One thing is CERTAIN —
you will DIE — today. . . tomorrow . . . a week. . . a month . . . a
year. . . 5 years. . . 10 years. . . 20 years. . . 50 years — ONE
THING IS CERTAIN —" . . .it is appointed unto man once TO DIE . . ."
DON'T BE CAUGHT DEAD WITHOUT JESUS!
You may have made some terrible mistakes in your life. There may be
some things in your life you would give anything to be able to change.
But friend, I assure you — if you die without Jesus Christ — it'll be
the worst mistake you could possibly make!
Has there ever come a time and a place in your life, when you received
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?
If not, you are on the way to hell!
Don't let anyone convince you that when you die it will be all over!
The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE
JUDGMENT." Hebrews 9:27
Revelation 20:15 says:
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the LAKE OF FIRE." Revelation 20:15
If you've never received Jesus Christ as your Savior, bow your head
this minute and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you.Don't put it off
another second!
NOTHING'S WORTH TAKING THE CHANCE!
It's simple to be saved ...
* Realize you are a sinner.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10
"... for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
* Realize you CAN NOT save yourself.
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; ..." Isaiah 64:6
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, ..." Titus 3:5
* Realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
..." 1 Peter 2:24
"... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood," Revelation 1:5
* Simply by faith receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" John
1:12
" ...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house."" Acts 16:30,31
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." John 3:16
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SAVED?
Pray this prayer, and mean it with all your heart.
Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me I am
lost forever. I thank you for dying for me at Calvary. I come to you
now, Lord the best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I now
receive you as my Savior. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.
"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;"
Hebrews 2:3
This tract and others are available in "printed" form.
To order printed tracts.
san diego craigslist politics re: Whaaaaaa????
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John Bernays utilizes various monikers; TJHobo, Rabbi Juanito Guerinets, Joanna d'Arc, Boxcarro. He disdains TV watching, PC liberalism, homosexuals, blacks, government officials, etc.
He claims a familial relationship with the wife of Sigmund Freud. He touts another with Edward Bernays, "the father of public relations". [An atypical self-revelation of John's is below.]
He's like a hermit crab; interesting to observe but annoying to interact with. [Still, they're endearing in an repulsive way.] His malapropisms rival those of Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated [e. g. "I suffer from CHIRRHIOSSISS of the LIVER
(ALCHOHOLIC YELLOW JUENDANCE...) (BUT I DONE QUIET DRINKING!)"]
Last month I dared to question his usage of the New Testament Epistle to the Romans to condemn homosexuals and was repaid with a barrage of spam...
"Here you'll learn all about me: my interests and hobbies, the people in my family, my pets, and more. I've even included a list of my favorite links to other sites. I am only lesser'n 2 years from being Hard-Core FTRA trainhopper Homeless myself; I am, trying to find some way to be ACTIVISTIC in SUPPORT of the HOMELESS & FREIGHT TRAIN RIDERING HOBOES, et al, inasmuch as WE ARE THE ONES designated as FIRST TO BE 'exterminated' in the coming 'social cleansing' programme called for in the GLOBAL 2000 Report, as being the WORST OFFENDERS by being "USELESS EATERS" I am a HARD CORE OLD SCHOOL ISRAELI ca. 1967 Mind Set SURVIVALIST, I make no bones about it, and inspite of OVERCOMING LONG TERM CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA & years upon years of STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL COMMITMENT, I still have quite a lot of my
(formerly) 148 I. Q. (I destroyed quite a bit of my mind with Meth, LSD, Peyote, and other side-effects of being a former MERRY PRANKSTER, who TOOK THE 'WOODY GUTHRIE' LIFESTYLE to HEART, and decided that, UNLIKE U. UTAH PHILLIPS, fat phoney fraud, and BOXCAR WILLY, never rode a freight, never had to ride dirty face... I DECIDED TO 'SAVE MY LIFE' by becoming TOTALLY DERANGED, and there are MANY THERE IN PORTLAND who may recollect me, I STARTED MY TRAVELING HOBO FOLKSINGER CAREER right there, in front of the OLD PUBLIC LIBRARY, when it was NOT air conditioned, playing FOlk Music on a 1928 KAYCRAFT VENTITAN-STYLE BODY VINTAGE GUITAR, using a 'Chainsaw' drop D tuning, and living in the Streets. After getting the Infamous Willimette Lung Rot, the Doctor at the Bridgeview Clinic got me a room at the Bridgeview Projects, when it was REALLY a PLACE TO HELP HOMELESS PEOPLE. I was in Portland again for the Wonderful BLUES FESTIVAL in 2000, and ENJOYED MYSELF to no end, YOUR BLUES FESTIVAL is the MOST CIVILISED & USER-FRIENDLY I have EVER been to, except for the SUDDEN THUNDER & LIGHTENING STORM during the BEST BLUES WORKSHOP on OLDTIMEY ACOUSTIC BLUES I ever saw, I saw NO IDIOT RENT-A-COPS acting out NAZI FANTISIES, only ONE person did I see ESCORTED OUT, and the PEOPLE AT THE GATE, after letting me in 3 days for 4 cans of food, just said "Boxcar, this is to benifit YOU and people LIKE YOU, you do NOT need to feel required to pay!" But, a sour note, a few weeks later, I was CRUELLY GIVEN A $150+ ticket by PIGS on HORSES in the Park by the River, down by the RAILROAD BRIDGE, for having some BEER in a COFFEE CONTAINER. If HOMELESS ACTIVISTS could somehow ELIMINATE the POLICE CHIEF that your city hired after his being FIRED IN L. A. you might restore HUMAN RIGHTS to Oregon... what's his name.... dosen't matter, under his leadership Los Angeles Cops became FAMOUS amoungst the Homeless, Convicts, Hoboes, etc. a STONE COLD KILLERS of people, their M. O. was to SHOOT FIRST, then plant a 'throw-down' special on the stiff. This was the PUNISHMENT for 'sassing' or' talking back' to LAPD, but if the 'detainee' was a Negro or Mexican, the MURDER was a means of 'ETHNIC CONTROL.' It kept the Toads & Chicos on their best behaviour, they knew that a smart mouth was a CAPITOL OFFENCE. It is AWFUL that a WONDERFUL CITY like PORTLAND has such a MASS-MURDERER and SERIAL KILLER in TOTAL CONTROL of the ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONELL. Trust me, I SPENT 5 YEARS in SAN QUENTIN PEN, when it was a LEVEL 4 Joint, and 18 Months in ATASCADERO STATE HOSPITAL for the CRIMINAL INSANE in CDC, I had a "d" number, a EARLY "d" number, and Convicts Share Information, much more effectivly than Law Enforcement Agencys. I have started a YahooGroup RE: governmental threats & harrassment of Homeless. Hobos etc. it is "FINALSOLUTIONFORUMN" webpage also another Yahoo Group I manage/own: and if I can EVER get enough money to get a scanner and a digital camera and maby a printer for this computer I'll build some REAL web sites. I also listen to Radio For Peace International a lot, and am (again) a LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR, call sign The SECRET to my SUCCESS is BEING WILLING TO SURRENDER MY LIFE TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL (not the Satan god of christianity,) AND OBEY THE JEWISH (not christian) LAW "DO UNTO THINE NEIGHBOURS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU." I also am a ARDENT BELIEVER IN KARMA- instant Karma, in my estate, GOD WILL PUT A SWIFT DEVASTATION in my life if I 'step out of' GodLaw, or steal from another homeless, or hold out when a person in need beggs me, etc. I know that, but most FOOLS never realise what causes the AWFUL THINGS that befall them. Now, AMERICA is seeking to PLACE HOMELESS PEOPLE into REHABILITATION FACILITIES, which will be the TESTING of the FINAL SOLUTION, because WHO WILL ASK "where are these people" after a few years, after they are rounded up and carted away? Who will CARE? and the LIARS on TV will have a Special with "Success Stories" of a couple of "Rehabilated Formerly Homeless" people, now working, holding a job, etc. ad nausiumn. WHO WILL CARE if thousands of "USELESS EATERS" are EXTERMINATED in Social Cleansing Camps? Do you think I am crazy? I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO THE RESEARCH I HAVE DONE! Start with Dr. John Coleman's books & monologues. His writings can be found on the Internet, or he can be CONTACTED in Carson City, Nevada. But there is not a lot of HARD EVEDENCE, yet the SIGNS are THERE for those who are AWARE. I was raised by Grandma & Greatgrandma, HOLICAUST SURVIVOURS, I was born in 1949, my family were Rich German Jews, my Great Aunt was Sigmund Freud's Wife- MARTHA BERNAYS- we Jews have a 11th. Commandment now..."WE SHALL NEVER FORGET!" And I also subscribe to the AMERICAN MOTTO " ONLY THROUGH ETERNAL VIGILANCE SHALL YOU SAVE YOUR LIVES!" Jews, Tramps, Gypsies, hoboes, mentally ill, cripples, retarded, etc. are CONSTANT TARGETS of those wishing to TRIM BUDGET in government. KILL OFF THESE USELESS EATERS then use the money saved to SPEND ON WEAPONS TO KILL MORE UNWASHED PEOPLE IN FORGIEN WARS! Kid yourself not, there is NO LOVE nor COMPASSION in the Human Race, the silly foolish young girls in the 'peace' and' environmental' movements are being used as tools by cruel, rich manipulating men. The history of the World has been CRUELITY for the sake of CRUELITY, War for the ENJOYMENT of KILLING, and TORTURE for the ENJOYMENT of inflicting pain... THIS IS NORMAL HUMAN PASSIONS. This is our RACIAL HERITAGE, and we need to REALISE THIS. Educated Barbarians in Ivy Leauge Suits, sitting on the CFR or BILDERBURG council, the ROTHCHILDS Diamond Barons, etc. are basicly SAVAGE CRUEL KILLERS in drag. Suggested reading on 'Reality History:" the writings of Daniel P. Maddox , "We Who Are About to Die, Salute You.." "Side Show", Carny" many articles published in TRUE & ARGOSOY Magazines in the late 1950's thru 1970's. One WONDERFUL 'History of Torture" and "History of Freaks" another. And lastly, BE STRONG, AND QUIT YOURSELVES LIKE MEN, because our enemies are going to kill us all, they are OMNIPOTITENT, as far as we are concerned, BUT IF WE TAKE A FEW WITH US, or CAUSE SOME MINOR ANNOYANCE THROUGH RESISTANCE, then our deaths have been worth while. POWER over the PEOPLES of the"
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"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments. . ." Luke 16:23
What you're about to read is hard to believe. . .
We're going to examine the place the Bible calls hell. We'll present
documented evidence for a place called hell. Don't take what you're
going to read lightly. If what you read is true — YOU COULD BE IN
SERIOUS DANGER!
Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death's Door
by Dr. Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal
Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had
been clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, "considered all
religion "hocus-pocus" and death nothing more than a painless
extinction". But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic
change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man,
terrified and screaming — descending down into the flames of hell:
"Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient
screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help
him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed
look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression
seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer
horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling —
he looked as if his hair was "on end."
Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you
understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" . . .the
man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in
trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before."
(Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door,(Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3).
Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw
the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he
was actually in a place called hell!
The Bible continually warns of a place called hell. There are over 162
references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70
of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ!
In Luke 16, Jesus Christ gives a frightening picture of hell:
22 . . . the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and
send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool
my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now
he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf
fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither
can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest
send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest
they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:22-28)
HELL IS A PLACE OF FIRE
The man in Luke 16:24 cries: ". . .I am tormented in this FLAME."
In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: "And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF
FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting FIRE,. . ."
Revelation 20:15 says, " And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE."
THE BIBLE GIVES THE LOCATION OF HELL
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He descended into hell. In Acts
2, Peter is speaking, verse 31, " . . . seeing this before spake of
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in HELL"
When Jesus Christ died His soul went into hell.
And in Matthew 12:40, Jesus Christ says:
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's
belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the
HEART OF THE EARTH. "
The Bible is clear — Hell is inside the earth!
Ephesians 4:9, says of Jesus: "Now that he ascended, what is it but
that he also descended first into the LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH."
On page 85 of Beyond Death's Door, Dr. Rawlings writes patients who
described hell said, ". . . this place seems to be UNDERGROUND or
WITHIN THE EARTH in some way."
Scientist and Bible teacher, Henry Morris also agrees the Bible
plainly teaches that hell is in this earth:
"So far as we can tell from Scripture, the present hell, is
somewhere in the heart of the earth itself. It is also called 'the
pit' (Isa. 14:9, 15: Ezek. 32:18-21) and 'the abyss' (Rev. 9:2). . .
The writers certainly themselves believed hell to be real and
geographically 'beneath' the earth's surface. . .
To say this is not scientific is to assume science knows much more
about the earth's interior than is actually the case. The great 'pit'
[hell] would only need to be about 100 miles or less in diameter to
contain, with much room to spare, all the forty billion or so people
who have ever lived, assuming their 'spiritual' bodies are the same
size as their physical bodies."
(Henry M. Morris, The Bible Has the Answer, p. 220)
The Birmingham News, April 10, 1987 had an article entitled "Earth's
Center Hotter Than Sun's Surface, Scientists Say". The article stated
that scientists have recently discovered, "THE EARTH'S INNER CORE HAS
A TEMPERATURE OF OVER 12,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!"
Have you seen pictures of a volcano erupting, spewing a lake of fire
from inside the earth — consuming everything within miles just from
the heat? When Mount St. Helens erupted in May 18, 1980, it was
described by reporters, "when HELL surfaced upon the earth." The book,
Volcanoes, Earth's Awakening (p.91) describes an erupting volcano as
"descent into HELL".
Thousands of years ago, the Bible described a place called hell in the
heart of the earth that matches exactly what science is discovering.
YES! THERE IS A PLACE CALLED HELL!
In Numbers 16, the Bible gives the account of people falling into hell alive!
"And THE EARTH OPENED HER MOUTH, and swallowed them up, and their
houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their
goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive INTO
THE PIT, and the EARTH CLOSED UPON THEM:" Numbers 16:32-33
Caspar Peucer, a famous fourteenth century astronomer and physician,
who also researched and documented the volcanoe eruptions at Heklafell
wrote some very frightening information in his research findings.
Peucer, claims (as others) that "fearful howlings, weeping and
gnashing of teeth" could be heard "for many miles. . ." as these
volcanoes erupted:
"Out of the bottomless abyss of Heklafell, or rather out of Hell
itself, rise melancholy cries and loud wailings, so that these can be
heard for many miles around. . . there may be heard in the mountain
fearful howlings, weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Haraldur Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth, The History of Ideas on
Volcanic Eruptions, p. 73)
And Caspar Peucer is not alone. There are others who believe they have
heard "cries and screaming" coming from volcanoes. Most have tried to
ignore the obvious. Some simply explain the "sounds of hell" to some
rational meaning. But they are there. . .
"The fearsome noises that issued from some of their volcanoes were
certainly thought to be the screams of tormented souls in the fires of
hell below".
(Haraldur Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth, The History of Ideas on
Volcanic Eruptions, p. 73)
Inside this earth, this very moment, there are millions of lost,
tormented souls — burning, weeping, wailing — without any hope
whatsoever!
In Mark 9:46, Jesus Christ says about hell: "Where THEIR WORM dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched."
Jesus said explicitly — THEIR worm — not a worm, or the worm — but
THEIR worm. The Bible teaches that Christians will one day have a body
like the Lord Jesus Christ. Could it be, as some Bible students teach
— that men and women in hell take on the form of their father, Satan
(John 8:44)? In Revelation 12:3, Satan is described as a red dragon.
Could Jesus Christ be referring to the body lost men and women will
have for eternity?
The earth's crust on land is normally 50 miles thick. You'd have to go
down 50 miles before the edge of the fire. But in parts of the ocean
floor, the earth's crust is less than a mile thick.
Scientists recently discovered cracks on the ocean floor where fire
was leaking out. Do you know what they found around these
fire-breathing vents in the crust? Eight-foot long worms, found no
other place in the world! The book, The Deep Sea, by Joseph Wallace
(p.39), reads, "Perhaps the strangest of ocean creatures recently
discovered are Riftia, the giant tube WORMS. Measuring up to 8 feet in
length, the worms are ONLY FOUND NEAR DEEP SEA VENTS."
And Jesus Christ said, "Where THEIR WORM dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched."
Have you read Isaiah 66 where the Lord Jesus Christ is quoting Mark 9:46?
Look at the context and time period of Isaiah 66:22-24:
Isaiah 66:22-24:
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,
shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your
name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another,
and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship
before me, saith the LORD.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring
unto all flesh.
The "new heavens and new earth" of Isaiah 66:22 matches Revelation
21:1. This occurs AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of Revelation
20:10-15! The references to "carcases"; "their worm"; "their fire" (vs
24) — is AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of the LOST people!
The reference to ". . the men that have transgressed. . ." are the
LOST people AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement.
And at this point — they have received their NEW BODY! Notice what
Isaiah says, the saved people shall "LOOK upon the CARCASES of the men
that have transgressed. . ." It's worth mentioning that a "carcase" is
not always a "DEAD body". For instance, two times the Bible
specifically uses the term "dead carcase" (Deut. 14:8 and Ezek 6:5).
If a carcase is ALWAYS a "dead" body, then why say "dead" carcase? And
there's NOTHING in the context of Isaiah to imply these "men that
transgressed" are "dead".
In fact, Isaiah clearly says, "their worm shall NOT DIE". Even in our
language, we refer to a living body as a "carcase". For example, "Get
your carcase [body] in here". Why is that important? Because when the
saved people in Isaiah 66:24 are "looking upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed" — And do you know what they are SEEING? "Their
worm"! The "carcase" they are seeing is "their WORM that shall not
die". The end of Isaiah 66:24 is a frightening endorsement of this
interpretation. What the saved people are viewing Isaiah says is , ".
. . an abhorring unto all flesh". And my friend, that is not JUST a
normal flesh body they are looking at! It is something that will send
chills screaming through your soul at the horror. And it will happen!
And it will happen TO YOU if you die without the Lord Jesus Christ!
Even though the world tries to extinguish the cries and reality of
hell — the truth of hell echoes throughout our world. We desperately
pretend to cover our ears and igonore the "screams, the weeping, the
wailing, the gnashing of teeth" but it is there. . . And we know it.
We refuse to accept such a place exist. But it is there. And we know
it. Nothing we can do, nothing we can say, can erase the horror of
hell from our minds.
It is there. And we know it.
National Geographic magazine truthfully titled their story on
Volcanoes "Going To Hell". When PBS did a series on The Savage Earth,
one episode was titled "Hell's Crust: Our Everchanging Planet".
Everything we know. Everything we observe. Echoes the truth of a place
called hell.
It is there. And we know it.
Revelation 14:10 says, " . . . and he shall be tormented with fire and
BRIMSTONE . . ." And Job 18 describes the " . . . PLACE of him that
knoweth not God" (vs 21), in verse 15 as, " . . . BRIMSTONE shall be
scattered upon his habitation." Do you know what brimstone is? It's
sulfur. And do you know where sulfur or brimstone is found? INSIDE
THIS EARTH! According to the book Volcanoes by Pierre Kohler (p. 43),
when Mt. St Helens erupted in 1980 — 150,000 tons of sulfurous gas was
ejected! Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written over 3,000 years
ago, and yet Job knew what science wouldn't know for years — inside
this earth is BRIMSTONE!
Nature magazine recently discovered (July 2002) what the Bible knew
over 3,000 years ago. Inside this earth is "fire and brimstone":
"Volcanoes may be more like hell than anyone realized. Eruptions
disgorge streams of molten sulphur, the brimstone of evangelical
preachers, which burns up before it can be preserved for posterity,
new research in the journal Geology shows".
(Nature, Science Update, July 22, 2002)
Click here to view an incredible National Geographic Macromedia Flash
clip on Volcanoes with the intro "FIRE. . . BRIMSTONE. . . HELL ON
EARTH. . VOLCANOES" Note: You will need the ability to play MacroMedia
Flash to view
The cover of Discover magazine, August 2002, asks the question —
"What's Really at the Center of the Earth?".
I know what's REALLY in "the center of this earth". Jesus Christ
told us. Over and over. There is a lake of fire — with millions of
people burning, weeping, screaming, wailing, gnashing of teeth".
READ THE FOLLOWING!
". . . they dig into hell . . ." Amos 9:2
The following article appeared in the well respected Finland
newspaper, Ammenusastia
"As a communist I don't believe in heaven or the Bible but as a
scientist I now believe in hell," said Dr. Azzacove. "Needless to say
we were shocked to make such a discovery. But we know what we saw and
we know what we heard. And we are absolutely convinced that we drilled
through the gates of hell!"
Dr. Azzacove continued, ". . .the drill suddenly began to rotate
wildly, indicating that we had reached a large empty pocket or cavern.
Temperature sensors showed a dramatic increase in heat to 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit."
"We lowered a microphone, designed to detect the sounds of plate
movements down the shaft. But instead of plate movements we heard a
human voice screaming in pain! At first we thought the sound was
coming from our own equipment."
"But when we made adjustments our worst suspicions were confirmed. The
screams weren't those of a single human, they were the screams of
millions of humans!"
Listen to a RealAudio recording claiming to be an actual recording of
the above article. Are these the actual sounds of hell? Listen to it.
NOTE: You will need the free RealAudio player to listen. If you do not
have the RealAudio player you can download it now.
HELL IS A PLACE OF TORMENT
Jesus says of the man in Luke 16:
23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in TORMENTS. . . "
24 ". . . for I am TORMENTED in this FLAME."
28 ". . .PLACE OF TORMENT."
It is humanly impossible to comprehend the Bible description of hell.
Nothing on earth can compare with it. No nightmare could produce a
terror to match that of hell. No horror movie could describe it's
fright. No crime scene with all it's blood and gore could begin to
match it's horror.
It will be beyond anything humanly imaginable!
The Bible warns in Psalm 9:17, you will not only be in hell — you will
BE TURNED INTO HELL! You will literally BE HELL!
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Psalm 9:17
YOU will see HELL. . .
YOU will smell HELL. . .
YOU will breathe HELL. . .
YOU will hear HELL. . .
YOU will feel HELL. . .
YOU WILL BE HELL. . .
The Bible describes it as weeping (Matt 8:12), wailing (Matt 13:42),
gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:50), darkness (Matt 25:30), flames (Luke
16:24), burning (Isa 33:14), torments (Luke 16:23), everlasting
punishment! Jesus Christ says in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, ye
cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE, prepared for the devil and his angels."
In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: "And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF
FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
HELL IS FOREVER!
All who enter hell — abandon all hope!
The horror of hell — for even one second is unbearable — but FOREVER!
Jesus says in Matthew 25:41: ". . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into
EVERLASTING fire, . . ."
Rev. 14:11: "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND
EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."
Just look how the Bible warns of the eternity and permance of hell!
everlasting fire — Matthew18:8, 25:41
everlasting punishment — Matthew 25:46
everlasting chains — Jude 1:6
eternal damnation — Mark 3:29
eternal judgment — Hebrews 6:2
eternal fire — Jude 1:7
unquenchable fire — Matthew 3:12
the fire that never shall be quenched — Mark 9:43, 44, 45, 46, 48
fire unquenchable — Luke 3:17
mist of darkness is reserved for ever — 2 Peter 2:17
the blackness of darkness for ever — Jude 1:13
My friend, I have searched my Bible, from cover to cover. . . I have
studied every occurrence of hell in my Bible — and I can not find one
verse, not one word of HOPE for someone in hell! NOT ONE WORD! The
rich man in hell in Luke 16 never even asks to get out — He knew there
was no way out!
OH MY FRIEND – HELL IS FOREVER AND EVER!
What could possibly be worth eternity in hell? No wonder Jesus Christ
warned so much about hell! No wonder Jesus said in Mark 8:36, "For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and LOSE
HIS OWN SOUL?"
Jesus Christ took hell very serious. . .
Jesus Christ says in Mark 9:43-47,
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee
to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into
the fire that never shall be quenched:
45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee
to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell,
into the fire that never shall be quenched:
47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for
thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two
eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Jesus Christ took hell so serious — He could say without the slightest
hesitation — to remove your eye, cut off your hand or foot, if that
would keep you out of hell!
If hell is not real — Jesus Christ was the most deceived man that ever lived!
I'll challenge anyone to read the words of Jesus Christ and tell me
they are the words of a deceived man!
Jesus Christ knew exactly what He was talking about!
How did Jesus describe hell?
Jesus Christ spoke more on hell than any other subject.
Just look at how Jesus described hell:
WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAYS ABOUT HELL!
"fire" Matt 7:19, 13:40, 25:41
"everlasting fire" Matt 18:8, 25:41
"eternal damnation" Mark 3:29
"hell fire" Matt 5:22, 18:9, Mark 9:47
"damnation" Matt 23:14, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47
"damnation of hell" Matt 23:33
"resurrection of damnation" John 5:29
"furnace of fire" Matt 13:42, 50
"the fire that never shall be quenched" Mark 9:43, 45
"the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
"Where their worm dieth not" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
"wailing and gnashing of teeth" Matt 13:42, 50
"weeping and gnashing of teeth" Matt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30
"torments" Luke 16:23
"tormented in this flame" Luke 16:24
"place of torment" Luke 16:28
"outer darkness" Matt 8:12, 22:13
"everlasting punishment" Matt 25:46
WHAT IF JESUS IS RIGHT?
Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this THE JUDGEMENT:"
it is appointed unto man once to die . . .
and one day — YOU will die . . .
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments . . .
As you leave your body — you realize something is happening. You
hear a sound. . . getting louder and louder. . . screaming . .
.weeping. . . wailing. Terror and fear beyond anything you could
imagine overtakes you. "This can't be happening!" you scream. Your
nostrils are filling with the awful stench of burning souls. Your face
ignites from the heat. Flames are now blazing from your eyes,
nostrils, ears, mouth — every opening in your body, flames are roaring
out. Your body is sizzling and crackling from the flames.
Your body is now madly thrashing and convulsing from the horrible
pain. "Why don't I die?", you scream. You begin weeping and gnashing
your teeth with the millions. "When will this pain stop?" But you know
it will never stop. . .
The darkness is so terrifying, it begins engulfing you. You feel
something moving in the darkness. . . something horrible is happening.
"No! No! This can't be happening" you scream — as your worm is
emerging.
You begin cursing the day you were born. You scream — "Oh God, why
didn't you warn me?"— but you remember the preacher pleading with you
to receive Jesus Christ. You remember reading that gospel tract. You
cry — "God don't you care?" — but you remember John 3:16 "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,. . ." "God is a
God of love — He won't allow this", you cry — but you remember John
3:36, ". . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him."
And you soon realize, that Jesus Christ was right!
There is a place called hell.
AND YOU ARE THERE — FOREVER!
But God is a God of LOVE. . . Why would a GOD OF LOVE send me to hell?
Yes, God is a GOD OF LOVE — but God is also a HOLY GOD. A HOLY GOD
demands payment for sin. Otherwise God would NOT and could NOT be
HOLY.
Because God is holy — sin MUST be condemned. Joshua 24:19 says, ". .
he is an HOLY GOD;. . . he will NOT forgive your transgressions nor
your sins."
BUT FRIEND I HAVE GOOD NEWS!
God does NOT want you in hell
Hell was not made for man. Matthew 25:41 says, hell was, ". . .
prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Because God is a GOD OF LOVE, and He LOVED YOU so much, He sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die a cruel death on a cross to
pay the price a HOLY GOD demands for your sins.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God does not send someone to hell. You choose hell when you reject
Jesus Christ. When you refuse God's love gift of eternal life in Jesus
Christ. . .
YOU CHOOSE HELL!
Millionaire Ted Turner, said in an interview, "I'm looking forward to
dying and being cast into Hell. That's where I belong." You say — he's
a fool! But friend, when you say "No"; to Jesus Christ and His payment
for your sin — you are saying the same thing! You're telling God — I
don't need Jesus Christ — I'll pay for my sins in hell!
If you reject God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ
ONE DAY YOU WILL BE IN HELL!
Dr. Rawlings has watched as thousands of people depart into eternity.
Most people think they'll somehow "sneak" into heaven, but Dr.
Rawlings claims most people descend into the flames of hell!
Jesus Christ gave a solemn warning in Matthew 7:21-23
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven. . . MANY will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity."
If it was for a few days, a few months, a few years or even a million
years, but to be tormented — FOREVER! You will despair of ever having
any deliverance! You will beg for death itself to come and take you
away! You will curse the day you were born! Revelation 14:11 says,
"The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they
have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."
What could possibly be worth eternity in hell?
No wonder Jesus Christ said in Mark 8:36:
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?"Mark 8:36:
God has something far better than words can describe for those who
love Him. I Corinthians 2:9 says:
". . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him."I Corinthians 2:9
Friend, there is a place called hell! And, if you continually refuse
God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ — just as sure as you
live and breathe — ONE DAY YOU WILL WAKE UP IN HELL!
Don't wait until you die to find out the truth about Hell! Tomorrow
may be too late! Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow:
for thou KNOWEST NOT what a day may bring forth."
Three people die every second, 180 every minute, since you started
reading this — 2000 more people have gone into eternity! An automobile
accident. . . A heart attack. . , A stroke. . .One thing is CERTAIN —
you will DIE — today. . . tomorrow . . . a week. . . a month . . . a
year. . . 5 years. . . 10 years. . . 20 years. . . 50 years — ONE
THING IS CERTAIN —" . . .it is appointed unto man once TO DIE . . ."
DON'T BE CAUGHT DEAD WITHOUT JESUS!
You may have made some terrible mistakes in your life. There may be
some things in your life you would give anything to be able to change.
But friend, I assure you — if you die without Jesus Christ — it'll be
the worst mistake you could possibly make!
Has there ever come a time and a place in your life, when you received
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?
If not, you are on the way to hell!
Don't let anyone convince you that when you die it will be all over!
The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE
JUDGMENT." Hebrews 9:27
Revelation 20:15 says:
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the LAKE OF FIRE." Revelation 20:15
If you've never received Jesus Christ as your Savior, bow your head
this minute and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you.Don't put it off
another second!
NOTHING'S WORTH TAKING THE CHANCE!
It's simple to be saved ...
* Realize you are a sinner.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10
"... for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
* Realize you CAN NOT save yourself.
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; ..." Isaiah 64:6
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, ..." Titus 3:5
* Realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
..." 1 Peter 2:24
"... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood," Revelation 1:5
* Simply by faith receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" John
1:12
" ...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house."" Acts 16:30,31
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." John 3:16
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SAVED?
Pray this prayer, and mean it with all your heart.
Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me I am
lost forever. I thank you for dying for me at Calvary. I come to you
now, Lord the best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I now
receive you as my Savior. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.
"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;"
Hebrews 2:3
This tract and others are available in "printed" form.
To order printed tracts.
san diego craigslist politics re: Whaaaaaa????
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John Bernays utilizes various monikers; TJHobo, Rabbi Juanito Guerinets, Joanna d'Arc, Boxcarro. He disdains TV watching, PC liberalism, homosexuals, blacks, government officials, etc.
He claims a familial relationship with the wife of Sigmund Freud. He touts another with Edward Bernays, "the father of public relations". [An atypical self-revelation of John's is below.]
He's like a hermit crab; interesting to observe but annoying to interact with. [Still, they're endearing in an repulsive way.] His malapropisms rival those of Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated [e. g. "I suffer from CHIRRHIOSSISS of the LIVER
(ALCHOHOLIC YELLOW JUENDANCE...) (BUT I DONE QUIET DRINKING!)"]
Last month I dared to question his usage of the New Testament Epistle to the Romans to condemn homosexuals and was repaid with a barrage of spam...
"Here you'll learn all about me: my interests and hobbies, the people in my family, my pets, and more. I've even included a list of my favorite links to other sites. I am only lesser'n 2 years from being Hard-Core FTRA trainhopper Homeless myself; I am, trying to find some way to be ACTIVISTIC in SUPPORT of the HOMELESS & FREIGHT TRAIN RIDERING HOBOES, et al, inasmuch as WE ARE THE ONES designated as FIRST TO BE 'exterminated' in the coming 'social cleansing' programme called for in the GLOBAL 2000 Report, as being the WORST OFFENDERS by being "USELESS EATERS" I am a HARD CORE OLD SCHOOL ISRAELI ca. 1967 Mind Set SURVIVALIST, I make no bones about it, and inspite of OVERCOMING LONG TERM CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA & years upon years of STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL COMMITMENT, I still have quite a lot of my
(formerly) 148 I. Q. (I destroyed quite a bit of my mind with Meth, LSD, Peyote, and other side-effects of being a former MERRY PRANKSTER, who TOOK THE 'WOODY GUTHRIE' LIFESTYLE to HEART, and decided that, UNLIKE U. UTAH PHILLIPS, fat phoney fraud, and BOXCAR WILLY, never rode a freight, never had to ride dirty face... I DECIDED TO 'SAVE MY LIFE' by becoming TOTALLY DERANGED, and there are MANY THERE IN PORTLAND who may recollect me, I STARTED MY TRAVELING HOBO FOLKSINGER CAREER right there, in front of the OLD PUBLIC LIBRARY, when it was NOT air conditioned, playing FOlk Music on a 1928 KAYCRAFT VENTITAN-STYLE BODY VINTAGE GUITAR, using a 'Chainsaw' drop D tuning, and living in the Streets. After getting the Infamous Willimette Lung Rot, the Doctor at the Bridgeview Clinic got me a room at the Bridgeview Projects, when it was REALLY a PLACE TO HELP HOMELESS PEOPLE. I was in Portland again for the Wonderful BLUES FESTIVAL in 2000, and ENJOYED MYSELF to no end, YOUR BLUES FESTIVAL is the MOST CIVILISED & USER-FRIENDLY I have EVER been to, except for the SUDDEN THUNDER & LIGHTENING STORM during the BEST BLUES WORKSHOP on OLDTIMEY ACOUSTIC BLUES I ever saw, I saw NO IDIOT RENT-A-COPS acting out NAZI FANTISIES, only ONE person did I see ESCORTED OUT, and the PEOPLE AT THE GATE, after letting me in 3 days for 4 cans of food, just said "Boxcar, this is to benifit YOU and people LIKE YOU, you do NOT need to feel required to pay!" But, a sour note, a few weeks later, I was CRUELLY GIVEN A $150+ ticket by PIGS on HORSES in the Park by the River, down by the RAILROAD BRIDGE, for having some BEER in a COFFEE CONTAINER. If HOMELESS ACTIVISTS could somehow ELIMINATE the POLICE CHIEF that your city hired after his being FIRED IN L. A. you might restore HUMAN RIGHTS to Oregon... what's his name.... dosen't matter, under his leadership Los Angeles Cops became FAMOUS amoungst the Homeless, Convicts, Hoboes, etc. a STONE COLD KILLERS of people, their M. O. was to SHOOT FIRST, then plant a 'throw-down' special on the stiff. This was the PUNISHMENT for 'sassing' or' talking back' to LAPD, but if the 'detainee' was a Negro or Mexican, the MURDER was a means of 'ETHNIC CONTROL.' It kept the Toads & Chicos on their best behaviour, they knew that a smart mouth was a CAPITOL OFFENCE. It is AWFUL that a WONDERFUL CITY like PORTLAND has such a MASS-MURDERER and SERIAL KILLER in TOTAL CONTROL of the ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONELL. Trust me, I SPENT 5 YEARS in SAN QUENTIN PEN, when it was a LEVEL 4 Joint, and 18 Months in ATASCADERO STATE HOSPITAL for the CRIMINAL INSANE in CDC, I had a "d" number, a EARLY "d" number, and Convicts Share Information, much more effectivly than Law Enforcement Agencys. I have started a YahooGroup RE: governmental threats & harrassment of Homeless. Hobos etc. it is "FINALSOLUTIONFORUMN" webpage also another Yahoo Group I manage/own: and if I can EVER get enough money to get a scanner and a digital camera and maby a printer for this computer I'll build some REAL web sites. I also listen to Radio For Peace International a lot, and am (again) a LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR, call sign The SECRET to my SUCCESS is BEING WILLING TO SURRENDER MY LIFE TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL (not the Satan god of christianity,) AND OBEY THE JEWISH (not christian) LAW "DO UNTO THINE NEIGHBOURS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU." I also am a ARDENT BELIEVER IN KARMA- instant Karma, in my estate, GOD WILL PUT A SWIFT DEVASTATION in my life if I 'step out of' GodLaw, or steal from another homeless, or hold out when a person in need beggs me, etc. I know that, but most FOOLS never realise what causes the AWFUL THINGS that befall them. Now, AMERICA is seeking to PLACE HOMELESS PEOPLE into REHABILITATION FACILITIES, which will be the TESTING of the FINAL SOLUTION, because WHO WILL ASK "where are these people" after a few years, after they are rounded up and carted away? Who will CARE? and the LIARS on TV will have a Special with "Success Stories" of a couple of "Rehabilated Formerly Homeless" people, now working, holding a job, etc. ad nausiumn. WHO WILL CARE if thousands of "USELESS EATERS" are EXTERMINATED in Social Cleansing Camps? Do you think I am crazy? I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO THE RESEARCH I HAVE DONE! Start with Dr. John Coleman's books & monologues. His writings can be found on the Internet, or he can be CONTACTED in Carson City, Nevada. But there is not a lot of HARD EVEDENCE, yet the SIGNS are THERE for those who are AWARE. I was raised by Grandma & Greatgrandma, HOLICAUST SURVIVOURS, I was born in 1949, my family were Rich German Jews, my Great Aunt was Sigmund Freud's Wife- MARTHA BERNAYS- we Jews have a 11th. Commandment now..."WE SHALL NEVER FORGET!" And I also subscribe to the AMERICAN MOTTO " ONLY THROUGH ETERNAL VIGILANCE SHALL YOU SAVE YOUR LIVES!" Jews, Tramps, Gypsies, hoboes, mentally ill, cripples, retarded, etc. are CONSTANT TARGETS of those wishing to TRIM BUDGET in government. KILL OFF THESE USELESS EATERS then use the money saved to SPEND ON WEAPONS TO KILL MORE UNWASHED PEOPLE IN FORGIEN WARS! Kid yourself not, there is NO LOVE nor COMPASSION in the Human Race, the silly foolish young girls in the 'peace' and' environmental' movements are being used as tools by cruel, rich manipulating men. The history of the World has been CRUELITY for the sake of CRUELITY, War for the ENJOYMENT of KILLING, and TORTURE for the ENJOYMENT of inflicting pain... THIS IS NORMAL HUMAN PASSIONS. This is our RACIAL HERITAGE, and we need to REALISE THIS. Educated Barbarians in Ivy Leauge Suits, sitting on the CFR or BILDERBURG council, the ROTHCHILDS Diamond Barons, etc. are basicly SAVAGE CRUEL KILLERS in drag. Suggested reading on 'Reality History:" the writings of Daniel P. Maddox , "We Who Are About to Die, Salute You.." "Side Show", Carny" many articles published in TRUE & ARGOSOY Magazines in the late 1950's thru 1970's. One WONDERFUL 'History of Torture" and "History of Freaks" another. And lastly, BE STRONG, AND QUIT YOURSELVES LIKE MEN, because our enemies are going to kill us all, they are OMNIPOTITENT, as far as we are concerned, BUT IF WE TAKE A FEW WITH US, or CAUSE SOME MINOR ANNOYANCE THROUGH RESISTANCE, then our deaths have been worth while. POWER over the PEOPLES of the"
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Posting ID: 263473672
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