Pilipinas, Sana Matauhan Tayo Dito.

Reposted from my dear friend JC's bulletin.

Sana matauhan tayo kasi puro lang tayo reklamo. Yan tuloy, narebuke tayo ng isang Korean.

Mahiya naman tayo.

He/she said everything I always wanted to say to all the complainers. Including my former self.

As you know, we have plenty of Koreans currently
studying in the Philippines to take advantage of
our cheaper tuition fees and learn English at the
same time.
This is an essay written by a Korean student i
want to share with you. (Never mind the grammar;
it's the CONTENT that counts) Maybe it is time to
think about this in the midst of all the confusion
at present.
MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in
the Philippines . Do you really think the corruption
is the problem of the Philippines ? I do not
think so. I strongly believe that the problem is
the lack of love for the Philippines .
Let me first talk about my country, Korea .
It might help you understand my point.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one
of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans
had to start from scratch because entire country was
destroyed after the Korean War, and we had no
natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines , for
Filipinos were very rich in Asia . We envy Filipinos.
Koreans really wanted to be well off like
Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine.
My father & brother also died because of famine.
Korean government was very corrupt and is still very
corrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea was
able to develop dramatically because Koreans really
did their best for the common good with their heart
burning with patriotism.
Koreans did not work just for themselves but also
for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired
young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the
government to reform Korea . He tried to borrow money
from other countries, but it was not possible to get a
loan and attract a foreign investment because the
economic situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had
only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that
they could send money to Korea to build a factory.
They had to go through horrible experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow
money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the
airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw
the President Park . They asked to him, "President,
when can we be well off?" That was the only question
everyone asked to him. President Park cried with
them and promised them that Korea would be well
off if everyone works hard for Korea , and the President
of Germany got the strong impression on them
and lent money to Korea . So, President Park was
able to build many factories in Korea . He always
asked Koreans to love their country from their heart.
Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA
came back to Korea to help developing country
because they wanted their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did their
best for Korea . They always hoped that their children
would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where
poor and physically handicapped people live. They
wanted me to understand their life and help them..
I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army..
The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we
have to love our neighborhood. And, I have loved my
neighborhood. Have you cried for the
Philippines ? I have cried for my country several
times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid
prison. What made me sad in the prison were the
prisoners who do not have any love for their country.
They go to mass and work for Church. They pray
everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines . I
talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound,
and both of them said that they would leave the
Philippines right after they are released from the
prison.

They said that they would start a new life in other
countries and never come back to the Philippines .
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that
we were able to share our wealth with our neighborhood.
The owners of factory and company were distributed their
profit to their employees fairly so that employees could
buy what they needed and saved money for the
future and their children.
When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith and
wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines ,
I completely lost my faith.
I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable
situations in the Philippines . Street kids always make me sad,
and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic
country in Asia , but there are too many poor people here.
People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has
been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week and
saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer
than the present Philippines when they
were young. They are so sorry that there are so
many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan,
I forced my parents to take a boat because
it would fun. However, they were not happy after
taking a boat. They said that they would not take the boat
again because they were sympathized the
boatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it.
But, my parents did not enjoy it because of love
for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church
since I was very young told me that if we just go to
mass without changing ourselves, we are not
Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action.
She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things
for them because all of us are same and have received a great
love from God. I want Filipinos to love their
neighborhood and country as much as they love God
so that the Philippines will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos
should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once.
It should start from person. Love must start in everybody,
in a s mall scale and have to grow. A lot of
things happen if we open up to love. Let's put away
our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be
loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible.
Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and
relationships. It changes the world. Please love your
neighborhood and country.
Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we
do to Him. In the Philippines , there is God for people who
are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love.
If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines .
Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.
You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others.
That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.

-reportedly written by a Korean man/woman

Inspiring Story of Change

Ex-convict moves from darkness to light

After spending half of his life in prison, can 44-year-old Alfredo still have a second chance at life? Will he still find light in the dark?

Yes, he can still have a second chance. And yes, he did find the light.

Last March 11, 2008, Alfredo Cassanova graduated from his Practical Electricity course offered by the Mobile Out of School Training (MOST) program of Operation Blessing.

He was one of the 90 graduates of the program offered to qualified residents of Brgy. Gregoria de Jesus, Gen. Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite, and adjacent areas.

MOST is a free mobile job skills training school that provides training to out-of-school youths and unemployed people. It offers four job skills training courses: Cosmetology, Dressmaking, Practical Electricity, and Air-conditioning/Refrigeration.


Dark, Tragic Days

Alfredo was imprisoned twice. The first is for murder and kept him behind bars for 14 years. The second is for illegal possession of drugs which he paid for in prison for 9 years.

The second time in jail in the mid-1990s, he finally came to know Jesus Christ and accepted Him as his Lord and Savior. Then, the changes started to manifest in his life.

His addiction to vices and drugs stopped. He became calm and coolheaded making him less prone to trouble.

“Before, I got angry easily so I got into trouble many times,” he said.


Then Came the Light

After finishing his term in 2000, he and his family settled down at San Pedro, Laguna. They made a living by selling goods in a nearby market.

His search for a church brought him to Maranatha Full-Gospel Church where he met Pastor Fernando “Ding” Brimbuela.

When Pastor Ding informed him of Operation blessing’s MOST program, he initially hesitated. After all, he only finished fourth grade. But after OB assured him that he can pass, he enrolled in practical electricity.

Through MOST, Alfredo discovered not just new skills but also lessons on life values and the Bible.

His Second Chance

During the graduation rites, her mother’s joy was evident. Her son was a changed person! She was very supportive of his dreams.

Alfredo plans to accept home service jobs to help in the financial needs of their family. If he earns enough money for capital, he will put up a repair shop and buy a passenger jeepney and/or tricycle that he can rent out to his friends who may also want to earn a living.

He was grateful that God has protected him while in jail.

“I was grateful that no tragedy happened to me there. I didn’t get killed when there were riots, and I also did not suffer any serious illness,” Alfredo said.

He prays that his walk with the Lord would be sustained and that their life would be continually blessed.

Through the MOST program of Operation Blessing, people like Mang Alfredo can still have a second chance at life, and be able to live again from darkness to light.

Yes! Homeschool is Cool!

Homeschool is Cool

They say mothers know best. And that every child should receive the right amount of attention during the early development period. But these days, where there are more working moms than stay-at-homes, some children end up growing up with yayas or other relatives, away from the supervision of mommy.

Not for Felichi Pangilinan-Buizon who enrolled her children in homeschool. Her lessons are based on the curriculum developed by the School of Tomorrow in the U.S. and is now being used in the Living Heritage Academy in Las Piñas.

Being the hands-on mom that she is, Felichi makes sure that her children understands and enjoys the curriculum. She teaches not only the basic subjects like Math, English and Reading but life skills as well.

For Felichi, homeschooling is a more complete way of raising their children through individualized instruction. “What’s important is you’re able to give them focused attention,” she explains.

Homeschooling is a way of teaching children inside of their homes rather than in a regular private or public school. Usually, motivations for homeschool include the kind of learning environment, the religion, the location and convenience of studying at home, or family reasons, among others.

It is widely accepted in countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. In the Philippines, it is slowly making its way in. In fact, homeschooling is accredited by the Department of Education.

Teacher mommy!

Felichi’s eldest daughter Tahnee is now in high school. She graduated from homeschool and is now helping out her mom in teaching her younger siblings.

“The advantage of homeschooling is you get to be close to your family more,” Tahnee says.

“I enjoy doing Math with my mama because it’s fun like playing,” daughter Kyla quips.

Felichi also gets very creative in her lessons. She involves her children in role playing for Bible lessons. “We do true-to-life dramatization of our stories.”

She adds, “At home in the kitchen we learn fractions when we bake. I also teach them how to take care of their own things, how to do chores.”

More than the curricula

“Mama taught me how to treat people equally…how to be a good kuya to my younger siblings and to pray to God everyday,” Josh boasts.

“The best lesson my mama taught me is to fear the Lord,” Tahnee affirms.

Felichi desires more than what the lesson plan can offer for her children. “I want my children to put God first, that they will love him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength,” she reveals.

Felichi is married to Dr. Jojo Buizon for 16 years. They are gifted with 4 beautiful children – Tahnee, Joshua, Kyla and Ryan. She also serves as co-host of The 700 Club Asia’s A.C.T.S, every Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. on Q Channel 11.

I had started having a desire to home-school my kids since I started just falling in deeper love with Jesus.. It comes with the territory of realizing that some influences are just not good for one's kids.

Wonder how this could really work?

In light of the recent Victory Pioneer Victory Weekend...

Yes, I am spamming your inbox. Yes I think this is important, and yes....

Congrats my beloved cellmates, for crossing over the bridge to Victory!

Recently, VCF Pioneer finished its first set of Victory Weekend for the church, and boy, I feel the release in the air!

While I certainly had not taken part in the "main action," I was still nudged by God near midnight, and He gave me this:

Psalm 149

1 Praise the LORD. ^[a]
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.

3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.

4 For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.

5 Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.

6 May the praise of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,

7 to inflict vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,

8 to bind their kings with fetters,
their nobles with shackles of iron,

9 to carry out the sentence written against them.
This is the glory of all his saints.
Praise the LORD.

I don't recall exactly when I had my epiphany for the fact that PRAISE is the only bulldozer/cannon/extra-strength battering ram/mega over-battle-tank against Satan and his cohorts, but I did realize it, and I realized that that is surely the only thing we Christians should hold onto.

Ahh, now I remember: from the podcast/preaching/teaching by Misty Edwards. She said that while she surely believes in binding demons (also implying the casting out part), there is no other weapon that is so potent as praising JESUS!

So now, as I share with you Rick Joyner's treatise on spiritual warfare and deliverance, remember: all the other weapons will be paltry things to use; let us use these as needed, but let us flood and overwhelm this world with PRAISE! No more of the limp, wimpy church! Let us praise JESUS, and we shall see our nations turn around and praise God!

Surely, He will save the Middle East, Austria, Latin America, the Philippines, and even Israel!

Let us praise Jesus and rock the very foundations of this earth!

Woohoo!!!

We Have Met The Enemy The famous quote from Walt Kelly is, "We have met the enemy, and he is us!" I think that is true for a lot of people who want to blame everything on the devil, or want a one-time deliverance session and expect to be totally set free from their carnal nature and be instantly made perfect. However, in this case, we have met the enemy, and he is the enemy. There are people who blame things on the devil for which they should be repenting, and there are others who are repenting for things which they need deliverance. We need to be able to distinguish when it is either. I think in our last conference some of the greatest wisdom on deliverance that I have ever heard came forth. Many people said that any one of the teachings would have been worth the whole conference, and it was remarkable, but now we want to apply it. There are real demonic forces arrayed against almost every Christian who is in true pursuit of their purpose and calling, which we can expect to encounter and will have to overcome to make true and lasting progress. The Lord lets them oppose us for our own good and strengthening. When a Christian begins to overcome instead of be overcome, as the Scriptures state, the devil will not only leave them, but will flee from them! That should be the story of every Christian, and will be before the end comes. As we are told in James 4:7-8, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (NKJV). Here we see that resisting the devil is sandwiched between submitting to God and drawing near to God. This is what we are endeavoring to do. Let me explain how. Since we began hosting conferences in 1990, we have been under a special grace where each one has gone to an even higher level than the previous ones of that type. However, this year it seems we have gone from a special grace in this to a great grace. Even though the recent conference we held on Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare was the first of that type, it started off at a usually high level and just kept going higher. I have never heard so many testimonies of people being truly set free and their lives changed. If those who attended go back to their families and churches and become the "freedom fighters" they are called to be, that one conference will have had a major impact in the body of Christ. I personally don't think I have ever seen conference people so different on the first day to the last day. This was far more effective than we had even hoped (the CDs and DVDs from this conference are available on this website at a special price—these include some of the best practical teachings on this subject I have heard). We are thankful for this freedom for so many, but we must keep this momentum going. There was a lot of genuine deliverance at this conference. We are told in the Scriptures that a demonic power which is displaced will try to return. If we do not fill the void, the demons will return and bring back seven more friends even meaner than themselves (see Matthew 12:43-45). Therefore, we must fortify ourselves in any area that we displace a demon from our lives. We fortify ourselves by filling that void with the Lord. In the very place where you may have been the weakest, you are called to be strong. By the Lord's grace His strength is made perfect in weakness, and we need to diligently pursue His grace by first humbling ourselves and acknowledging that we have a problem. This is called repentance. It does not matter how strong the devil may have gotten into our lives, that is how deeply the Lord can fill us once the enemy is driven out. We also need to understand that when the demon leaves, sometimes it is like getting rid of the gopher but the holes are still there. By this I mean that you can kick the devil out, but you still have the old habit patterns that must be filled with the grace of God. Regardless of what you have been trapped in, you can be free, and you can walk in "the beauty of holiness," or we might say "the beauty of wholeness." True holiness is simply being wholly God's. The Grief of a Shepherd Studies over the last few decades detail a terrible and devastating slide into debauchery by evangelical Christians. Of course there is an increasing slide into lawlessness and debauchery by almost all people groups, but this should not be the case with Christians. Presently, there is no distinguishable behavior between Christians and non-Christians when there should always be a radical difference that stands out brightly. This must and will change, and it is happening now. As a father, I know that if I left my children in the care of a friend and came back and they had been raped, beaten, abused, were sick, and starving, I don't want to think about what I might do to that "friend." So how does the Lord take it when this is precisely the condition of His children, who He entrusted into our care? This is happening on our watch! What do we do about it? This burden has deeply provoked and challenged me for a long time now, and many of my prayers for answers to how we can turn this around have been given in our own conferences. We do not host a single conference without believing we have been given a mandate for it, that we have learned some things which can be helpful to others, and that we can learn some things that will be helpful to us. Lately, this has gone to a dramatically higher level, but we also have a long way to go. We need to see the momentum not only continued, but increased, just as it does now seem to be doing, but let's pray for even more. I have been so encouraged lately that I have a real hope now that we can see the bride of Christ made pure and spotless even in our own time. I have real hope that those in our local congregations will be radically different than those who are sliding into a deepening darkness. I have real hope that they will not only be free, but will be freedom fighters setting other captives free wherever they go. We learned far more in the last conference than we can review in just a bulletin. We were reminded of many other things that we already knew, but need to focus on with even more resolve. We were encouraged by how easily some demonic strongholds were broken over people's lives, which it seemed not long ago would have taken much longer—even hours and hours of battling. We don't have to do that. A deliverance session does not have to be like swimming upstream. A major strategy of the devil is to wear out the saints, and we must not fall into that trap again. This is not spooky business either, but normal Christianity. It should be, and will be, an easy thing for every Christian to be able to deliver others from demonic oppression in any form, after we have been set free. As a shepherd, I often ponder why the worst judgments were not upon false teachers or false prophets, but upon the shepherds who fed themselves while the Lord's sheep went hungry and were abused. None of us want to fall into that category when the great judgment day comes. If we are shepherds, we must consider the great privilege that we have been given to watch over the Lord's own household, but also the great responsibility that it is.

Rick Joyner, 4/20/2006

More Support Against Dan Brown's Great Piece of Fallacy.. Err, Novel.

I love it when someone agrees with me. :) Especially someone I've always admired. :)

Recently, I had my faith in the pureness and deity of Christ, and even the Bible questioned again when I had discussed Theology with someone. I finally had to turn over the matter of Mary of Magdala's relationship with Jesus in my head, and realized quite a few truths. Today I am thankful for my High School Values teacher, for telling me that Logic was what helped her ground her faith in God. Because of Logic, I was able to reaffirm and reassure myself that my Jesus did not marry Mary Magdalene.

But to tip the scales further for the confused, do read Rick Joyner's reactions to that accursed novel, the hearsay of which has attempted to shatter my faith time and again.

Enjoy!

The Da Vinci Code and The Gospel of Judas The Da Vinci Code is an important book that we need to understand. This book may be a well-written suspense thriller, but for historical accuracy it is hard to imagine one that has so twisted and distorted the facts. Even though it is a compelling read, it is taken too seriously by many, which is a statement about our times that we need to understand. In this book, the author very cleverly uses characters who are supposed to be esteemed experts and historians to make bold and authoritative declarations about the church, its history, and the Bible which are not only false, but are either extreme exaggerations or outright fabrications. Is this acceptable just because it is a novel? Usually even novels that are based on historic events are held to a high standard in its representation of them. Why isn't this one? There is an obvious agenda in The Da Vinci Code that we need to understand. What is it? Why does it matter? There is a reason why this book is regarded by an increasing number of people to be one of the most demonically-inspired books of our times, with a profoundly evil agenda. This book is a regurgitation of the ancient Gnostic doctrines, as well as the promotion and glorification of paganism, while undermining Christianity and faith in the Bible. This is not a new deception, but is actually rooted in the original deception of the serpent in the Garden. Gnosticism was a heresy that arose in the first few centuries A.D. when Christianity was spreading throughout the world, and it claimed to be Christian, but was not. It was rather a very basic departure from Christian truth, and promoted a salvation that was more of an elevation of the soul, through a secret knowledge rather than through the atonement of the cross. Gnosticism was considered by some to have been the very deception that the Lord prophesied would seek to deceive even the elect (see Matthew 24:24). For the first few centuries of Christianity, this deception was effective in deceiving many new or unstable believers and even some of the leaders. It seemed especially prone to pick off those who were on either the extreme of having a low self-esteem or the opposite extreme of being driven by selfish ambition, because it fed on the pride of its converts that these two kinds of people are especially prone to embrace. It is important for us to understand why this same heresy is surfacing again today in The Da Vinci Code, and the timing of the discovery of The Gospel of Judas, which is no accident. It is probable that The Gospel of Judas manuscript discovered is probably authentic as far as being old, but it was not written by Judas, as it is being promoted. We know that this "gospel" existed because it is referred to a number of times by the early church fathers, but always as a heresy, just like the other Gnostic gospels that painted a very different picture of Jesus than the biblical testimony. Just because something is old does not make its teaching true. With a brief scan of the web, you will find a growing number of studies that have and are being done on The Da Vinci Code by serious historians and even art critics. From just a cursory examination of these, they all seem to be united in declaring the assertions in this book to be anywhere from inaccurate to outrageous. In fact, I could not find one that verified the implications made by this book. The author does not even get the architecture correct on the prominent buildings used in the novel, which could have easily been done with a little research through the Internet. We will look at a few examples of the kind of distortion of history that is found in the assertions of this book, especially those which are used to attack Christianity or the Bible. Because Gnosticism is obviously being resurrected in our times, we should keep in mind that there have always been the two main assaults of Gnosticism: To undermine Christianity by attacking its most basic truths—the deity of Jesus, His death, resurrection, and exaltation. To attack the validity of the Scriptures. The very first lie of Satan was an attempt to get Eve to doubt God's word. This is why there is such a massive and continuous assault on the validity of the Scriptures. If the "scientific" methods and standards used to determine authenticity of ancient writings are applied to the Scriptures, there are almost certainly no writings on the planet that pass these tests better than the Bible. However, science almost always uses a double standard when it comes to the Bible, accepting as fact that which attacks it even if it is the most flimsy of evidence, and rejecting a mountain of verification if it confirms the Bible. We need to understand that Gnosticism seems to be an especially interesting parallel to the first forbidden fruit that brought all of the death into the world in the beginning. Satan seduced Adam and Eve into eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil by asserting that this knowledge would make them "like God." Gnosticism comes from a root word that means "knowledge," and it actually purports to lead those who acquire the secret knowledge to become like God. This perverted doctrine did much damage to the early church, and it is obviously being resurrected to do the same in our time. The Da Vinci Code seeks to make heroes out of secret societies and groups like the Templars, but you can be sure that secret societies, or groups that have secret rituals, will be used for evil. If we are abiding in the light then anything we do should be able to be exposed to the light or openness. There have been societies, or orders, in church history that have done much good for the faith, but they were never secret orders, and were always very open about what they did. One of these would be The Order of the Mustard Seed that was founded by early Moravians and was instrumental in the conversions of John and Charles Wesley. We should beware of any secret society or order, and can assume that if something has to be kept secret it is in darkness. This book also asserts through its characters, who are supposed to be esteemed and celebrated intellectuals and historians, that the Roman Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicea (in the early fourth century) forced on the church the doctrines of the deity of Jesus, and his own desired canon of Scripture. The facts are that the canon of Scripture was not even on the agenda at this council, and the "close vote" on the deity of Jesus was 300 to 2. Does that sound like a "close vote" to you? This may actually reflect the degree of accuracy that the rest of the "facts" stated in The Da Vinci Code actually have. The characters in this book also state that this council threw out the "80 some" additional "gospels" that disputed His deity, keeping only the four that confirmed Jesus' deity, which Dan Brown states (always through his characters) that neither Jesus nor His first disciples held to. Again, the canon of Scripture was not even addressed at this council, and the "80 some other gospels" mentioned in this novel are another exaggeration. There were others, but the actual number is about 20, so the exaggeration of this was only by a factor of 4 to 1, which seems pretty good by the standards of accuracy set throughout the rest of this book. The canon of Scripture was established centuries later. The reasons given for epistles or "gospels" that were not canonized varied. Some were not canonized because they had been written later than the first century, and therefore were not considered eyewitness accounts. Even the standard of justice established in the Law demanded that the testimony of any witness had to be an eyewitness account, not hearsay, and it was expected that the New Covenant should not have a lower standard than the Old Covenant. Some were not canonized because it was believed that they were redundant to the four gospels that were chosen. Others were not acceptable because they contained obvious Gnostic heresies. Contrary to the statements of the "experts" in this novel, these heresies were almost universally understood by faithful believers to be heresy, and a diversion from the truth of the gospel. These Gnostic heresies were not corroborated by any of the writings of the early church fathers (leaders of the church who lived between 70 A.D.and 150 A.D.), but are disputed vehemently by them all. Contrary to the assertions made in The Da Vinci Code, the New Testament actually has an abundance of "scientific proof" backing up both its authenticity and its dating. The fact that the writings of the early church fathers took place between 70 A.D. and 150 A.D. is well established and is not disputed in its dating. The early church fathers included some who were direct disciples of those who walked with the Lord Himself such as Peter, John, and the other apostles. From these writings, there are some 30,000 references to what is now considered the canon New Testament. From these well-established authentic writings, you can reconstruct the entire New Testament with the exception of just eleven verses! This testifies quite overwhelmingly that what we have in our New Testament today is the same which was actually penned by the authors, though of course some translations may differ on some phrasing. Even so, epistles that were not mentioned by the early church fathers were not necessarily considered spurious, or fraudulent, or that they contained false teaching. Many of these writings were considered good and edifying, but that did not pass the high test required to be considered canon Scripture. The many errors that later entered the church were not the result of rejecting epistles that should have been included in the canon, as The Da Vinci Code purports, but were the result of neglecting the canon Scriptures. In any case, the evidence that what we have in our New Testament today is that the authenticity of the writings is quite overwhelming, in contrast to the assertion of Dan Brown through his authoritative characters that the New Testament was repeatedly changed, and modified, and is very different from the original. This is not true, and there is abundant evidence that it is not true. Other glaring flaws in The Da Vinci Code really include almost every statement about the Bible or early Christian practices including the fact that neither Constantine nor the Council of Nicea were responsible for changing the Christian meeting day to Sunday or establishing the celebration of Christmas. That Christians had begun to meet on the first day of the week rather than the Jewish Sabbath is apparent in the New Testament, as well as the writings of the early church fathers. The celebration of Christmas also began well after Constantine. There is also not a single Christian writing included in the Dead Sea Scrolls, nor even a mention of Christ in them. Brown's biggest distortion of the truth is the assertion that neither Jesus, nor the first Christians, considered Jesus to be deity. The Gospel of John begins by asserting His divinity, as does the first two chapters of Hebrews, the first chapter of the Gospel of John, and an abundance of other statements such as Romans 1:1-4: Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (NKJV). There have now been books written on the inaccuracies, misstatements, and exaggerations of The Da Vinci Code, and it does seem that every single point about Christianity in this book was not just distorted, but greatly distorted. Even other minor details that had nothing to do with faith were also amazingly inaccurate, such as the one that I'm sure irritated every pilot—a B-58 Baron is not a turboprop, but a light twin piston powered plane, which no one could walk around in as asserted in this strange novel. From a Christian perspective, his agenda of attacking Christianity, promoting pagan worship and other rituals that are associated with satanic worship are quite obvious. When one serves Satan, the "father of lies," you will become like the one you worship. This book is full of lies. Historical novels are generally held to a very high standard of conforming to the truth when it comes to actual historic events. Why isn't this one? The publisher of this book, and Hollywood, will obviously defend the book by saying that it is a novel, and Dan Brown is just taking some artistic liberty. However, this book crosses some very basic lines with its flagrant distortions of history obviously intended to be an attack on Christianity, and it should offend every true Christian. I would not encourage anyone to be slimed by reading this novel, or watching the movie, regardless of how entertaining it may be. There are lines that we, too, as Christians need to draw, and this is one of them. Even with this being a very well-written and exciting suspense thriller, that its bizarre premises and message would allow it to be the bestseller that it has become says a lot about the present state of the world in our times. Truth, and the love for truth, is certainly becoming rare. Just as these same Gnostic heresies deceived and led astray many weak and unstable Christians in the first few centuries, we can be sure that it will do so again if the true shepherds do not protect those they are entrusted to watch over by warning them of these things. The good that has come from this novel is that many Christians have been provoked into checking out some of the attacks made on basic Christian truth in this novel, as well as historic facts, and have resolved to strengthen their own foundations. We are coming to the time of the ultimate conflict between good and evil, between light and darkness, between truth and error. Good will always win over evil, light will always cast out darkness, and truth will always prevail over every lie. This we can be sure of.

Rick Joyner, 5/1/2006 5

Funny Thoughts: Why Mary Magdalene IS NOT Jesus' Wife, etc

Sometimes I find it funny that "Christian Forums" are so much less edifying than "secular forums."

Sheesh.

On the other hand, I find it amazing how Ruth could embrace her mother-in-law's homeland, customs, family, and God. Reminds me of someone I love..

On still the other hand, I could not believe how some people could actually believe that Mary of Magdala was the wife of JESUS, MY LORD, MASTER and SAVIOR!

It's been two nights that I had been pondering how to answer that argument. While fixing my dishes earlier this evening, I came up with:

• God is a God of love. If Jesus impregnated Mary of Magdala even as He knew He was dying on the cross in a few months' time, that would be a pure act of selfishness. Why leave a widow, in a country like Israel, where, in those times, widows were social anathemas?! If Jesus cared even a tenth of how He loves the rest of us, surely He wouldn't leave a wife destitute and scorned like that!
• God is a HOLY God. If even MARRIED espiritistas could not have sex the night before they healed someone (source: Jaime Licauco's book, back when I was "searching," filched from memory), why would a HOLY God defile himself, even with a marriage to a woman who was a prostitute?! He knows that the woman would still pass on physical DNA that would still contain issues. That is just plain crazy if Jesus really did marry Mary Magdalene.
  
• Jesus, again, is a God of Love, a God of Justice. Would He allow us, and the women of His time to bicker if He chose a woman as a wife, supreme in position over the disciples and the rest of us?! If Peter could question Jesus about John's place in the Lord's heart, would they not question Mary of Magdala's position as the Lord's widow?! Then would Jesus actually allow that?!
  
• Also, a wife has her own interests to look after. Women tend to guard their children and their own properties. If Paul and Peter could still have personal issues even as they are the pioneer apostles of their time, even with the gift of the presence of the Counselor in them, would a wife, choked by the cares of this world, not nag Jesus? Would a widow not produce bitter children as bitterness would sometimes creep into her heart when her flesh makes her forget His role and His sovereignty? "Why did my husband leave me?! To save the human race! What foolery! What will I feed these children now?!"

Seriously. Thing about it, you guys. Dan Brown should be clubbed. And those who believed him should be jolted out of their deception. SHEESH.

For Missionaries: TWITTER May Well Be A Big Help

If you are a missionary in a critical region, and you may be at risk for getting yourself in deep doo-doo, maybe this story will inspire you.

Let's use technology in the way that would glorify God.. And save our necks in the process. Heheh. :p

Student 'Twitters' his way out of Egyptian jail

• Student James Karl Buck sent one-word text from detention about his arrest
  
• Twitter message allowed college to get word, hire a lawyer for him
  
• Now Buck's quest is to find translator Mohammed Maree, who was arrested with him
  
• Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows users to update their status
  

By Mallory Simon
CNN

(CNN) -- James Karl Buck helped free himself from an Egyptian jail with a one-word blog post from his cell phone.

Buck, a graduate student from the University of California-Berkeley, was in Mahalla, Egypt, covering an anti-government protest when he and his translator, Mohammed Maree, were arrested April 10.

On his way to the police station, Buck took out his cell phone and sent a message to his friends and contacts using the micro-blogging site Twitter.

The message only had one word. "Arrested."

Within seconds, colleagues in the United States and his blogger-friends in Egypt -- the same ones who had taught him the tool only a week earlier -- were alerted that he was being held.

Twitter is a social-networking blog site that allows users to send status updates, or "tweets," from cell phones, instant messaging services and Facebook in less than 140 characters.

Hossam el-Hamalawy, a Cairo-based blogger at UC-Berkeley, was one of the people who got word of Buck's arrest.

"At first I was worried about his safety," el-Hamalawy said.

Then, el-Hamalawy took to the Web and wrote regular updates in his own blog to spread the information Buck was sending by Twitter. Nobody was sure how long Buck would be able to communicate.See Buck describe what he saw and captured on film during the protests

But Buck was able to send updates every couple of hours saying he was still detained, he had spoken to the prosecutor, he still had not been charged, and he was worried about Maree.

"Usually the first thing the police go for is the detainees' cameras and cellular phones," el-Hamalawy said. "I'm surprised they left James with his phone."

Twitter is normally used to keep groups of people connected in less urgent situations.

But Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, said he and others knew that the service could have wide-reaching effects early on, when the San-Francisco, California-based company used it to communicate during earthquakes.

Stone said that as the service got more popular, they began to hear stories of people using Twitter during natural disasters with a focus on activism and journalism.

Buck's urgent message is proof of the value of Twitter, Stone said. Buck's entry set off a chain of events that led to his college hiring a lawyer on his behalf.

"James' case is particularly compelling to us because of the simplicity of his message -- one word, 'arrested' -- and the speed with which the whole scene played out," Stone said. "It highlights the simplicity and value of a real-time communication network that follows you wherever you go."

Initially, the Twitter message was a precaution -- something people could trace in case anything went wrong, Buck said.

"The most important thing on my mind was to let someone know where we were so that there would be some record of it ... so we couldn't [disappear]," Buck said. "As long as someone knew where we were, I felt like they couldn't do their worst [to us] because someone, at some point, would be checking in on them."

Buck began using Twitter as a way to keep up in touch with the bloggers at the heart of his project and the events going on in Egypt that he intended to cover. Buck was working on a multimedia project on Egypt's "new leftists and the blogosphere" as part of his master's degree thesis.

Buck found out from a Twitter message that a planned protest against rising food prices and decreasing wages in Mahalla had been shut down by Egyptian authorities April 6.

The next day, tensions rose as family and friends of protesters who had been detained took to the streets, eventually throwing Molotov cocktails and setting tires on fire, he said.

On April 10, Buck returned to Mahalla, where protests continued.

"I was worried about getting arrested, so I made sure to stay at a distance from the protest so there was no way I could be accused of being part of it," Buck said. "Mohammed and I had a bad sense; it was really tense."

When the men tried to escape, they were detained. That's when Buck thought of Twitter and sent out his message.

Buck and Maree were interrogated, released and then detained again by the same police officers.

"We are really worried that we are off the radar now," Buck said.

Eventually Buck was released, but Maree was transferred to another police station.

As he left the station, Buck reached into his pocket, as he did less than 24 hours earlier.

Another one-word blog entry said it all: "Free."

As happy as he was to be free, Buck said, his biggest frustration was leaving behind the translator who helped protect him during the riots.

Although the Twitter message helped him find contacts to get out of prison, he says it was more the power of the network he had as an American that enabled him to be released so quickly.

"Mohammed was sitting next to me," he said. "But he didn't have the network to call. I tried to use my network to shield him until they tore us apart."

Twitter may not have been able to secure Maree's release, but Buck hopes his initial reason for using Twitter will help find his missing friend.

"It was my big hope that people would get [the message] right away and at least put a thumbtack on the map as far as our location," Buck said.

There has been no official confirmation regarding Maree's whereabouts.

Attiya Shakran, press counsel for the Egyptian Consulate in San Francisco, said Maree was released April 13.

Maree's brother Ahmed Maree said that he had not heard from his brother and that he believes he is still in jail.

Government officials in Egypt could neither confirm nor deny Maree's release, despite repeated requests for comment.

Buck is now using his story and Twitter page as a way to rally people looking for answers about Maree's status. He's gone as far as publishing the phone number of the press counsel of the Egyptian Consulate in San Francisco and posting a petition for Maree's release.

For Buck, the main story is no longer about his quest for freedom from jail; it's a quest to find answers and, eventually, find his friend.