Murder in Connection With the British Referendum?
Britain is in mourning and in shock because of the terrible murder of Labour’s pro-Europe politician, Jo Cox. She has been praised, by political supporters and opponents alike, as a “great star” and as “one of the brightest and most popular MPs.” The situation in Britain has been described by Bild Online as similar to the time of the death of “Lady Di.” Connections have been drawn between the murder and the “tone” of the two camps regarding the Referendum, but quite a different picture emerges upon further scrutiny, as we point out in our italicized comments at the end of the article, titled, “The Story Behind the Story.”
The Independent wrote on June 17:
“Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, has died after being shot and stabbed in West Yorkshire…
“A former aid worker, she campaigned in economically deprived and war-torn countries across the world on issues such as discrimination and poverty. Before entering politics, Ms Cox… worked with charities such as Save the Children, acted as a senior advisor to the anti-slavery charity the Freedom Fund and as an advisor to Sarah Brown. Ms Cox was a vocal advocate for those affected by the Syrian crisis and abstained in the contentious vote on allowing British military action in Syria. She backed the Dubs amendment before it was defeated in the House of Commons that would have allowed the UK to accept 3,000 child refugees stranded in camps in Europe…
“A rising star within the Labour Party, Ms Cox had been in Parliament for just over a year but there was already talk of her having a future as a minister…”
Connection With “Ugly Tone” of Referendum Debate?
AFP wrote on June 17:
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday urged British politicians to moderate the language used in their campaigns ahead of the Brexit vote… ‘The exaggerations and radicalisation of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect,’ she said, in response to a question on the killing of the British lawmaker Jo Cox… ‘Otherwise the radicalisation will become unstoppable,’ warned the German leader…
“Some commentators questioned whether the killing could be linked to a campaign that has stoked tensions by touching on issues of national identity and immigration…”
Deutsche Welle wrote on June 17:
“Britain was soul-searching on Friday after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in West Yorkshire… Her death has also prompted questions about the tenor of the political debate in the UK…
“The UK is in the throes of a referendum on EU membership. Both the Leave and Remain camps suspended campaigning until Saturday… Prime Minister David Cameron has cancelled a pro-EU speech that he was scheduled to deliver in Gibraltar. ‘I think it’s right that the campaigns have been suspended,’ teacher James Bride told DW. ‘It’s been a depressing campaign full of lies and personal rivalries. Given the tragedy and enormity of losing Jo Cox, I’d like to see all sides behave with a little more dignity when campaigning resumes.’
“With pollsters saying in recent days that the battle is too close to call, the tone of the debate has stepped up in ferocity. Politicians on both sides believe that this is the political fight of their lives and have been pulling out all the stops. The debate has increasingly focused on immigration. For many, this was summed up by a controversial poster released by the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on the day that Cox was murdered. It shows lines of dark-skinned refugees with the caption ‘Breaking point: the EU has failed us all.’ It caused widespread outrage on social media, and Unison, the public sector workers’ union, reported it to the police for inciting racial hatred. Boris Johnson, head of the official Vote Leave campaign, said that the poster was ‘not my politics.’
“In a widely praised column for the Spectator magazine, journalist Alex Massie summed up the relationship many see between this vicious political debate and the murder. ‘When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you don’t get to be surprised when someone breaks. When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don’t be surprised if someone takes you at your word. You didn’t make them do it, no, but you didn’t do much to stop it either. Sometimes rhetoric has consequences.’
“This view is shared by many in Britain… Yet so soon after the attack, there is caution about drawing conclusions. Labour MP Neil Coyle, who represents the London constituency of Bermondsey and Southwark, directly linked the rhetoric of the Leave campaign to the murder… He was sharply criticised on social media for ‘politicising’ Cox’s death.
“But many analysts are reflecting on the relationship between the wider tone of the political conversation in the UK, and the tragic death of Cox. ‘This attack on a public official cannot be viewed in isolation,’ said Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee. ‘It occurs against a backdrop of an ugly public mood in which we have been told to despise the political class, to distrust those who serve, to dehumanize those with whom we do not readily identify.’’
The World’s Reaction
The Telegraph wrote on June 17:
“Tributes and condolences poured in following the news from all corners of the world and across the political spectrum. In Britain the news of the Labour MP’s death dominated the front pages of the newspapers. The story was also featured on some foreign publications.
“The story featured prominently in Italy’s La Repubblica, where the headline reads: ‘Brexit, blood on the referendum as Labour’s politician killed.’ Belgium’s Le Soir’s coverage of the tragedy reads, ‘Brexit debate turns into tragedy.’ Spain’s El Mundo also features the killing on its front page saying ‘Blood stains Brexit.’… ‘It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance,’ Mrs Clinton said…
“Christine Lagarde, director of the International Monetary Fund, said the killing is time for ‘reflection’ about the nature of Britain’s referendum debate… Swedish PM Stefan Löfven called it ‘an attack on democracy’…
“Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter newspaper noted the uncanny parallels with the murder of Sweden’s foreign minister Anna Lindh in the last week of Sweden’s Euro referendum in 2003. ‘It’s hard to resist making connections to the murder in Sweden’s foreign minister Anna Lindh in September 2003,’ wrote EU correspondent Annika Ström Melin. ‘Just like Jo Cox, Anna Lindh was a young, successful politician, and both were the mothers of two children. Both were also participating in campaigns for the EU when they were murdered.’… Sweden in 2003 voted against joining the Euro, despite the fact that the murdered foreign minister had been campaigning in its favour…”
Was It Really an “Act of Political Intolerance”?
Breitbart London wrote on June 17:
“A friend, fellow Labour Party campaigner, and eyewitness to the murder of Member of Parliament Jo Cox has told Breitbart London that he does not believe her murder should be used as a ‘token’ for ‘political ego’ in the referendum campaign…
“Mr. Hicham Ben Abdallah – one of the men who was originally used to back up the claim that murderer Thomas Mair shouted ‘Britain First’ before he clarified that he did not hear it – has told Breitbart London that Mrs. Cox’s death should not be used for political campaigning. But much of the British public is already incensed about the mainstream media as well as politicians using the tragedy to make the case for remaining in the European Union (EU).
“Today, Prime Minister David Cameron and leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn travelled to the site of the attack, where they both made overtures about the ‘well of hatred’, ignoring the overwhelming evidence about Mr. Mair’s mental health status. This occurred while police investigations into Mr. Mair are ongoing, and there is no current clear motive behind the attack allegedly perpetrated by this mental health patient…
“Earlier today Breitbart London columnist James Delingpole wrote on how the Remain campaign is exploiting the death of Mrs. Cox. ‘Is there any depth to which you will not stoop in order somehow to snatch victory in this EU referendum?’ he wrote, following a Breitbart London expose of how Remain campaigners were tweeting the blame at the Brexit camp just minutes after the incident was first reported.
“Additionally, the European press seized on the issue, calling Brexit a ‘campaign of blood’. An EU Commissioner tweeted that Mrs. Cox was ‘murdered for her dedication to European democracy and humanity’, and the Guardian’s Polly Toynbee and the Spectator’s Alex Massie both attempted to lay the blame at the feet of UKIP leader Nigel Farage for the killing. The headline of the Daily Star newspaper called Mr. Mair a ‘Brexit gunman’.”
The Story Behind the Story
Daily Mail wrote on June 17:
“The man suspected of killing Labour MP Jo Cox previously bought a book on how to make a handgun, it was claimed this morning. Gardener Thomas Mair… has been described as a loner who was ‘socially isolated and disconnected from society’ as a result of long-term mental illness…
“Rosemary Surman, 61, who is a friend of Mair’s mother, Mary… denied that the attack was ‘politically motivated’, adding: ‘We’ve been talking to him and asking him about whether we should be in or out of the EU and he always said there were good arguments for both sides. He had never mentioned Jo Cox before ever, I don’t think he even knew who she was.
“Duane St Louis, age 41, the suspect’s half-brother… said Mair had obsessive compulsive disorder and cleaned himself with Brillo pads because he was ‘obsessed with his personal hygiene’. ‘He couldn’t even stand the sight of blood, when he cut his finger or something he couldn’t look at it.’
“Mother-of-two Mrs Cox was punched and kicked to the ground by her attacker before being shot three times – once in the head – with what was described as an ‘antique gun’ outside a West Yorkshire library yesterday afternoon. The married 41-year-old, a dedicated and popular MP, died from the catastrophic injuries she sustained in the attack, after the killer ambushed her as she walked to her constituency surgery at about 1pm… Witnesses said a man in a baseball cap grabbed her, pulling her hair as he punched and kicked her to the ground. As bystanders attempted to intervene, he pulled out a large hunting knife and repeatedly stabbed the MP, also catching a 77-year-old man in the stomach as he tried to intervene. He then pulled out what appeared to be an antique gun which he fired three times from just a few feet away, aiming the final shot at her head. Some witnesses claimed he looked ‘full of rage’ as he shot her at close-range…”
So, was this horrible crime by a mentally ill person really politically motivated? What we are seeing here described is further evidence of Satan’s and his demons hatred and rampage. First, last week’s brutal and senseless mass murders in Orlando, Florida, in addition to further individual murders (including the previous and last week’s killing of two performers in the TV show, “The Voice,”), and now the senseless murder of Jo Cox by a perpetrator who was in all likelihood demon-influenced.
Subsequently, it emerged that an illegal alien from Great Britain tried to assassinate Donald Trump, and that a German caused a mass shooting at a cinema near Frankfurt, Germany, and was killed by the police. Deutsche Welle reported on June 24 that the heavily armed man barricaded himself and took hostages in the cinema before the police stormed the building. His motives are still unknown.
From all of this we see that Satan’s wrath is great, and that he knows that he has but a short time. While true Christians view such violent events in the world with horror and disgust, they must realize that Satan’s wrath is foremost directed against God’s people, and they must be very careful that they are not oblivious and do not give in to his evil devices, not being unaware of what he has in mind.
America’s Nuclear Ambitions
Salon wrote in June 18:
“The U.S. is currently in the process of planning for the construction of a new fleet of nuclear submarines loaded with new intercontinental nuclear missiles, while simultaneously creating a new land-based intercontinental missile, a new strategic nuclear bomber, a new land-and-sea-based tactical nuclear fighter plane, a new long-range nuclear cruise missile (which, as recently as 2010, the Obama administration explicitly promised not to develop), at least three nuclear warheads that are essentially new designs, and new fuses for existing warheads. In addition, new nuclear command-and-control systems are under development for a fleet of satellites (costing up to $1 billion each) designed to make the business of fighting a nuclear war more practical and manageable.
“This massive nuclear buildup, routinely promoted under the comforting rubric of ‘modernization,’ stands in contrast to the president’s lofty public ruminations on the topic of nuclear weapons. The most recent of these was delivered during his visit — the first by an American president — to Hiroshima last month. There, he urged ‘nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles’ to ‘have the courage to escape the logic of fear, and pursue a world without them.’
“In reality, that ‘logic of fear’ suggests that there is no way to ‘fight’ a nuclear war, given the unforeseeable but horrific effects of these immensely destructive weapons. They serve no useful purpose beyond deterring putative opponents from using them, for which an extremely limited number would suffice…
“One component of the current ‘modernization’ plan is the proposed development of a new ‘dial-a-yield’ version of the venerable B-61 nuclear bomb. Supposedly capable of delivering explosions of varying strength according to demand, this device will, at least theoretically, be guidable to its target with high degrees of accuracy and will also be able to burrow deep into the earth to destroy buried bunkers. The estimated bill — $11 billion — is a welcome boost for the fortunes of the Sandia and Los Alamos weapons laboratories that are developing it…”
Trump to Lewandowski: “You’re Fired.”
Breitbart wrote on June 20:
“Donald J. Trump fired his wunderkind campaign manager Corey Lewandowski Monday at the campaign’s regular Trump Tower meeting. ‘Corey was escorted out of the building,’ a source close to the campaign told Breitbart News. Lewandowski came to the meeting unaware that he had lost the support of the GOP presumptive nominee, the source said.
“At the meeting, attended by both senior campaign staff and members of the family, Trump reviewed different campaign metrics that were all faltering: cooperation with party leaders, fundraising, surrogate operations and most importantly the polls. The campaign manager seemed to have run out of ideas. When the New York City developer asked Lewandowski what he would do to turn things around, the only thing he could come up with was for Trump to announce his pick for vice-president… When the time came for Trump to lower the axe, no one spoke up to defend Lewandowski.
“One month ago, Lewandowski was reported in the New York Post to have had a screaming match with the campaign’s press secretary about the running of the campaign on an uptown Manhattan street four blocks up from Trump Tower. Afterwards, there was speculation that Lewandowski was in trouble.”
Newsmax added on June 20:
“Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her two brothers played a major role in the decision to fire the presumptive GOP nominee’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, according to new reports… Sources told NBC that Trump’s daughter, who holds a great deal of influence with her father, was unnerved for ‘months’ after former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields accused him of assaulting her while she was trying to ask the candidate a question.
“Trump stayed loyal to Lewandowski after the scandal, but after his poll numbers started to drop, his adult children were able to make their case to release Lewandowski, NBC reports. However, the sources told NBC that the final decision to fire Lewandowski was Trump’s…
“Multiple sources said that Trump had made the decision because of many problems within the campaign that had become public, and the operation was in trouble while his poll numbers were dropping and his image problems were growing…
“Lewandowski remained publicly loyal after the firing…”
Newsmax wrote on June 21:
“Donald Trump Tuesday morning denied reports that he fired Corey Lewandowski as his campaign manager because of the demands of his family members – especially daughter Ivanka Trump – insisting that the reports were ‘all nonsense’ and that Lewandowski was released because the campaign is ‘going in a different direction.’… Trump, though, said he does not plan to change his tone for the general election, even without Lewandowski, whose game plan was to ‘let Trump be Trump.’ ‘I think I have to be who I am,’ he told ‘Today’ show anchor Matt Lauer. ‘I don’t want to be a phony like Hillary Clinton where she reads stuff written up by high-priced talent…’”
It was announced that Lewandowski was hired by CNN as a moderator.
Attempted Murder Against Trump
Daily Mail wrote on June 20:
“A British man arrested at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas told authorities he tried to grab a police officer’s gun and shoot the billionaire Republican presidential candidate. Protester Michael Steven Sandford, who appeared in court on Monday, even went to a gun range on Friday so he could learn how to shoot. The 20-year-old, who was carrying a UK driver’s licence, was arrested at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on Saturday after going for a metro police officer’s gun.
“Sandford, who is originally from Surrey, had been living illegally for 18 months in New Jersey after his visa expired and had been living in his car. Prosecutors claim he had been planning to attack Trump for more than a year before the alleged attempt to grab a gun in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“The court heard from a public defender that Sandford is autistic, while his mother told federal magistrate judge George Foley that he had been treated for obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia when younger… The judge declined to grant bail to Sandford, pending a further hearing, saying the accused was a risk to the community and a flight risk.”
Is this another attempt by Satan, using a possibly mentally disturbed individual, to thwart whatever God may have in mind?
Strong Words Against Obama and Clinton
Newsmax reported on June 20:
“Actor Scott Baio said the reason President Barack Obama does not use the words ‘Islamic terror’ is because he is secretly Muslim or a Muslim sympathizer… Attacks by terrorists keep happening and Obama has done nothing to prevent them, said Baio, adding that ‘they say they’re going to kill us, and then they kill us. And it’s still not enough for this president and Hillary Clinton to get serious about it and do something about it.’
“The sitcom actor, known for his roles on ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Charles in Charge,’… does not understand Obama’s plans, saying, ‘I don’t know what the end game is. Is it to totally eliminate the United States as it was created and founded, and the way it is now?’ … Obama and Clinton never publicly get angry at terrorists. ‘They’re only angry at Republicans and conservatives,’ Baio said.”
Newsmax wrote on June 21:
“President Barack Obama is a Muslim and celebrates Islamic holy days in the White House, actor Pat Boone told Newsmax TV. Boone, a singer, actor, and TV host… told Steve Malzberg Monday night Obama is not the Christian he claims to be. ‘He said during [his 2008 presidential] campaign, the sweetest sound in his memory is the Muslim call to prayer,’ Boone said. ‘He does make a perfunctory appearance at the presidential prayer breakfast, and he will come to a black funeral after one of these killings like Orlando, but he celebrates Ramadan in the White House. ‘He is, I’m afraid, more Muslim than Christian. And he is certainly more protective of anything relating to Islam than he is anything relating to Christianity.’
“Malzberg asked Boone about the war on Christianity that’s taking place across the world. ‘What I’m calling it is the Armageddon on the airwaves and in media,’ Boone said. ‘Armageddon is already happening. That’s the battle of two Gods. Allah is not Jehovah. Jehovah is not Allah. These are two concepts of God. Christian and Jewish is Jehovah, Allah is Islam… This religion, and certainly as ISIL practices it anyway, is a religion that reveres death and promotes death and rewards death and murder.’”
On June 20, 2016, Franklin Graham did not go quite as far as Pat Boone, but he commented in Fox News’ Hannity Show that Barack Obama was raised by Muslim parents in the Muslim faith, thereby strongly indicating his religious affiliation to Islam or being at least a Muslim sympathizer. This concept has been repeatedly mentioned over the years, but most left wing and conservative newscasts dismissed it or chose to ignore it… as they did the concept that Obama might not have been born in Hawaii and that he would not be a natural born citizen, rendering his election as President unlawful. However, undisputed evidence exists casting in doubt his legitimacy as US President.
Obama Administration Changes “Allah” to “God”
Breitbart wrote on June 20:
“Monday’s release of the text of Orlando terrorist shooter Omar Mateen’s 9-1-1 call is not the first time the Obama administration purportedly scrubbed ‘Allah’ from a transcript… On Monday, the FBI finally released what it said was a full transcript of Mateen’s 50-second call with a 911 operator while he was perpetrating the deadly attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. After first releasing a redacted transcript that deleted references to the Islamic State, the FBI released the full transcript, which included an English translation changing the word ‘Allah’ to ‘God’.’’
Was this shameful change made to hide the connection of the Muslim mass murderer to radical Islam?
Are the Clintons Racists?
The Daily Mail wrote on June 20:
“Bill and Hillary Clinton profess to have always been supporters of racial equality, but anecdotes published in a new book by his ex-lover claim otherwise… Bill was also sued several times by blacks and Hispanics for violations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
“Dolly Kyle – who was just 11 when she first crossed paths with Bill, dated him through high school and began sleeping with him once they graduated – published the claims about the Clinton couple’s racial epithets and politics in her new book, Hillary: The Other Woman, published by WND Books…
“Ben McGee was a black Democrat [who] was elected to the state legislature in 1988. Clinton tried to replace McGee with a white Democrat of his choice, claims Dolly. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court was ruled 8-0 against Clinton and the Arkansas officials who challenged McGee’s election. In the 1980s, Hispanics were moving into Arkansas in greater numbers and Clinton began racial profiling against Hispanics, she claims. He instituted the racial profiling program three years after his brother, Roger Clinton went to prison in 1985 for dealing cocaine. The program was initially part of his anti-drug program, although Roger’s drug suppliers and buyers were white… Clinton was sued in federal court for his Criminal Apprehension Program that was ruled unconstitutional… Racial profiling remained in Clinton’s head and several years later, he gave state troopers the right to stop and search any car…
“Clinton’s crime bill, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, was dubbed the ‘three strikes’ law and is one which has incarcerated over 2.5 million people, predominately poor people of color who could not afford lawyers during their trials. The ‘three strikes’ rule sent people to jail for a petty crime or a major felony. It meant prison for life on the third offense, whatever that happened to be…
“When Hillary moved into the White House, she requested nine hundred files from the FBI containing private information on people from both political parties. ‘Thousands of politicians in Washington still wonder what Hillary has on them.’ Dolly writes. ‘If they have any secrets at all, they must live in constant dread of being publicly exposed… The files were subpoenaed and Hillary declared, ‘We are the president’… Hillary has been declaring herself president since Bill stepped into office in 1992.”
There are many more shocking and outrageous allegations against the Clintons contained in the above-stated article, but this will suffice…
Nordic Trading Bloc Under British Lead?
The Express wrote on June 20:
“Swedish MEP Peter Lundgren said Denmark and Sweden were already ‘on the brink’ of quitting, suggesting that should the UK leave, a ‘Nordic trading bloc’ led by Britain could be born. Sweden has been sticking by its EU commitments, but barely. It’s little wonder. Sweden now has the highest level of non-EU immigration per capita… Looking to a post-Brexit future, [Lundgren] suggested the 90 million people of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the UK would harness a combined GDP of nearly £3trillion, representing considerable clout when it comes to forming new trading deals with the EU. ‘It’s an idea that has been gaining traction and one I’d like to see,’ he said. ‘We’re similar in our culture, in our outlooks and in our economies. It’s a better fit than the EU.’”
“Morten Messerschmidt, a Danish MEP and member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, said: ‘The idea of a Nordic bloc is being spoken about. Many Danes would find it appealing if the UK, after leaving the EU, created an alternative free market-oriented organisation. It could include the Netherlands and Switzerland too. Denmark is in the EU for trade but there is no ideological loyalty. A Nordic bloc would attract Danes because it takes us back to the original EEC idea.”
It is interesting that all these countries, mentioned above, are modern descendants of the ancient House of Israel. They are indeed very similar in culture and outlooks.
Fury Over Gibraltar
The Express wrote on June 20:
“A Giant Spanish flag was unfurled on the Rock of Gibraltar today just days after the Madrid government declared the British territory was theirs – and always would be. Gibraltar Police confirmed the huge red and yellow banner, which had been installed on the west side of the Upper Rock, had now been removed.
“Tensions are running high between Gibraltar and Spain amid a renewed dispute over sovereignty of the small Mediterranean territory, which has been under British control since 1713… The stunt follows a declaration by the Spanish government last week that Gibraltar ‘remains Spanish’…
“Responding to a visit by David Cameron to the Rock, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy said: ‘The government does not like Mr Cameron travelling to Gibraltar…’”
In Herbert Armstrong’s book, “The United States and Britain in Prophecy,” page 22, Gibraltar has been described as “the strategic western ‘gate’ to the Mediterranean,” which “stood for three centuries as the symbol of Britain’s far-flung power. Today it is one of the empire’s few remaining vestiges.” The Bible prophesies that ultimately, Britain will lose all its “gates,” which would include Gibraltar.
Turkey’s Erdogan Loses in German Court
The Local wrote on June 21:
“Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lost a German court battle against a top media boss Tuesday when his appeal in a bitter row over free speech was thrown out. Erdogan had sought a court order to stop the Axel Springer media group’s chief Mathias Döpfner from repeating support for a TV satirist who insulted the Turkish leader in a now infamous ‘smear poem.’ After failing to get an injunction from a lower court last month, Erdogan also lost an appeal before the higher regional court in the western German city of Cologne. The judges said they considered Döpfner’s letter of support ‘a permissible expression of opinion as protected under Article 5’ of Germany’s constitution, the court said in a statement. Erdogan could still seek recourse before Germany’s top tribunal, the Federal Constitutional Court.
“The legal action came after Döpfner published in April an open letter in one of the Springer group’s newspapers, in which he backed Jan Böhmermann – the satirist who in a poem accused Erdogan of bestiality and watching child pornography. Böhmermann’s recital of his so-called ‘Defamatory Poem’ on national television in late March sparked a diplomatic firestorm and a row over freedom of expression. During the broadcast Boehmermann gleefully admitted his poem flouted Germany’s legal limits to free speech and was intended as a provocation. In his letter, Döpfner took the comedian’s side, declaring: ‘For me, your poem worked. I laughed out loud.’
“In a controversial move, Chancellor Angela Merkel authorised criminal proceedings against the comedian after Turkey requested he be prosecuted for defamation. The higher regional court stressed Tuesday that its ruling in favour of Döpfner had no bearing on the other case still pending. Erdogan has come in for fierce Western criticism of late over his increasingly authoritarian rule, just as the European Union has turned to Turkey to help stem the influx of asylum seekers from Middle East war zones.”
Pope Francis: “Great Majority of Catholic Marriages Null”
The Washington Post wrote on June 17:
“After Pope Francis on Thursday said ‘the great majority’ of Catholic marriages are religiously null because people don’t understand the concept of a lifetime commitment, some prominent traditional Catholics lambasted the pontiff as ‘irresponsible’ and that his statement could possibly discourage people from working on their marriage relations.
“Francis’s comments, which were reported by the Catholic News Agency, came during the question-and-answer session of a meeting of the Diocese of Rome. According to the CNA, a layperson asked about the ‘crisis of marriage’ and how Catholics can help young people overcome their ‘resistance, delusions and fears’ about marriage.
“Francis, who in his three-plus years as pope has regularly made news with his off-the-cuff remarks that at times seem to conflict with church doctrine, cited a case in which he’d heard of a young man who wanted to become a priest, but just for 10 years. The culture is too provisional, Francis said. ‘It’s provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null,’ the pope reportedly said. ‘Because they say “yes, for the rest of my life!” but they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they don’t know.’
“Reuters reported Friday that the Vatican issued an Italian transcript changing Francis’s words to say ‘some’ instead of the ‘great majority.’ A Vatican spokesman said the pope’s off-the-cuff remarks are sometimes edited after consulting with him or among aides, Reuters reported.
“Edward Peters, a popular canon lawyer and blogger, wrote Friday that the pope’s comments were the equivalent of a ‘nuclear winter’ because they suggest that most people have failed at ‘the most natural’ of human efforts…
“Marriage, in Catholic teaching, is a sacrament, an ‘original gift from God to humanity,’ says the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website. ‘It is a permanent, faithful, fruitful partnership between one man and one woman… only a church tribunal can say that a marriage isn’t valid because a real bond never existed. One of the reasons church courts may give for annulling a marriage is to say that the parties were unprepared.’
“In his comments Thursday, Francis noted that when he was archbishop in Buenos Aires, he had prohibited marriages in the case of ‘shotgun weddings,’ where the prospective bride was pregnant, CNA reported. He did this on the grounds there was a question of the spouses’ free consent to marry…”
Pope on Death Penalty
On June 21, The Associated Press reported:
“Pope Francis is amplifying his opposition to capital punishment, saying it’s an offense to life, contradicts God’s plan and serves no purpose for punishment. In a video message to an anti-death penalty congress in Norway, Francis declared: ‘The commandment “Thou shalt not kill” has absolute value and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty.’
“Francis has gone beyond his predecessors and traditional Catholic teaching in saying there is simply no justification for the death penalty today. He said Tuesday that rather than rendering justice, it fosters vengeance. Church teaching allows for recourse to capital punishment when it is the only way to defend lives ‘effectively’ against an aggressor. Francis said: ‘It must not be forgotten that the inviolable and God-given right to life also belongs to the criminal.’”
This is a very complex issue and cannot be answered with the simplistic and partially incorrect comments of Pope Francis. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Should YOU Fight in War?” and “Punishment for Our Sins.”
Biblical Sheep to Return to Israel
JTA wrote on June 20:
“A rare breed of sheep said to be descended from Jacob’s flock referenced in the Bible will be shepherded to Israel with the help of a Canadian Jewish couple and Israel’s national airline… The flight is expected to take place in late August or early September.
“The project is the brainchild of Gil and Jenna Lewinsky of British Columbia, owners of the Jacob sheep, which are said to be descended from the patriarch’s flock noted in the Book of Genesis. The sheep are said to be unique for their horns, numbering two to six. They are the only animals in the world to have the biblical description of speckled skin, spots on their wool, and bands on their ankles and knees…
“The Lewinskys believe the sheep must ‘return’ to Israel to fulfill biblical prophecy. They cite Rav Amram Vaknin, a mystic rabbi living in southern Israel who says he has visions predicting the future. Vaknin ‘has said that the Jacob Sheep must return to the Land of Israel to help with the Geula [redemption]!’ according to the Lewinskys…
“The flock currently consists of 113 animals — 18 adult rams, 62 adult ewes and the rest lambs. All will be settled on the Golan Heights. The Lewinskys say the sheep are extinct in Israel. They believe the animals came with Jacob through Canaan to Egypt, then with the Exodus to North Africa, and from there to Spain, England and then to North America. ‘It will be the first time since biblical times that the Jacob sheep will be reintroduced to the land of Israel again,’ they said.”
The story regarding the sheep is interesting. The alleged “mystical” prophecy is utter nonsense. It is not biblical at all, and neither is the idea that a spotless red heifer must be born as a prerequisite for the building of the Third Temple.
Complete Nonsense from “Brilliant” Minds!
On June 20, Bild Online reported about an article which had been published by Daily Star on June 8, which stated the following:
“Professor Stephen Hawking has theorised that black holes offer mankind a way to travel to other worlds. But the mega ‘brainbox’ – who has previously warned an advanced alien civilisation would easily destroy us – says once a spacecraft leaves our universe it can’t come back. Previously it was thought black holes crush and kill anything that it sucks in. Yet the 74-year-old Hawkins now says they [may] not be as dangerous as previously thought and may just be a door to another universe.
“‘The hole would need to be large and if it was rotating it might have a passage to another universe… Black holes are not the eternal prisons they were once thought. If you feel you are trapped in a black hole, don’t give up. There is a way out. The existence of alternative histories with black holes suggests this might be possible. The hole would need to be large and if it was rotating it might have a passage to another universe. But you couldn’t come back to our universe.’
“Hawking believes black holes do indeed have ‘hair’ which either stores the information on the boundary or the event horizon. They could store information on aliens. Aliens could travel to our universe through a black hole. But Hawking has warned that aliens would probably not be friendly and attempt to colonise us.”
The Bible tells us that even the most brilliant scientific God-defying minds in this world are total spiritual fools in the eyes of God. The article above confirms this. We ought to thank God daily that He has opened the minds of His people to the truth, while this world remains in utter darkness.
More Utter Nonsense—“Spanking Children in USA Cause for Gun Violence”
The Local wrote on June 20:
“Spanking kids is why US is more violent than Germany… the truth behind why Germany sees far less gun violence per capita than the United States goes deeper than the legal structures, argues German criminologist Christian Pfeiffer, who has conducted research on this topic for years. ‘America is a completely different world,’ Pfeiffer told The Local. ‘The laws are a result of a public that believes in fear. The laws reflect a culture of repression. America is a sick country in my opinion.’…
“Pfeiffer, who was also once Justice Minister in Lower Saxony, notes that while Germany has a low acceptance rate of spanking or other forms of physical discipline for children, approval of such methods are surprisingly high in the United States. A survey of Americans in 2014 found that 76 percent of men and 65 percent of women agreed with the statement that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with ‘a good hard spanking’, according to research centre Child Trends.
“In Germany on the other hand, a survey last year found that… 90 percent of Germans overall believed in nonviolent parenting methods…
“But not only is physical discipline socially tolerated in the United States more than in Germany, it’s also legally permitted, as corporal punishment at home by parents is legal in every US state, though each one varies by what is allowed. And 19 states allow corporal punishment in both public and private schools… Germany meanwhile ended parental and teachers’ rights to corporal punishment in 2000 and since the 1970s, there has been a movement of campaigns and research to inform parents about the harmful impacts of physical discipline, Pfeiffer explains… But until the US can also adopt such policies and parenting methods, Pfeiffer says problems like gun violence will persist.’
This is just another example of ridiculous vain babbling of totally ignorant child rearing “experts.” Of course, the “criminologist” does not remotely understand the biblical teaching on child discipline, and to draw a connection between gun violence and properly administered spanking is ludicrous. God-defying left-liberal Western societies, totally cut off from God and ruled by Satan, try to do everything they can think of to denigrate the Holy Bible. For more information regarding loving proper child rearing, please read our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families.”
