OUT-OF-WEDLOCK STATISTICS:

Of all births, these figures (1^st column) represent bastard children; the 2^nd column is bastard children of mothers of ages 15-19.

Sweden: 55%

France: 41% 4%

England: 39%

Canada 36% 15%

US 33% 29%

Spain 15%

Italy 8% 10%

Japan 1%

Beliefs of the culture obviously have a huge affect. In Japan, unwed mothers are stigmatized with the government even refusing benefits. (Scientific American, January, 2002, p24)

JUSTIN MARTYR: "Either we marry for the sole purpose of bringing up children, or else we renounce marriage altogether and remain continent. Recently one of our people handed a petition to Felix, the Prefect of Alexandria, requesting him to allow his surgeon to remove his sex glands, for the physician there stated they were not allowed to do this without the prefect's permission. When Felix refused to sign such a permission under any circumstances, this young man remained single and was satisfied with that, a conscious attitude of mind which he and his fellow believers shared. (Justin Martyr, First Aplogy 29, cited by Eberhard Arnold, "The Early Christians," Plough Publishing, 1997, pg 107)

ROMAN/GREEK CUSTOMS: A short overview of Roman and Greek marriage customs is found in "Christians and Pagans," Robin Lane Foxe, pg. 343, Knopf Publishers, and includes "living together" customs.

"In the late 1800's divorce was on the rise to the extent the government decided it was a major social problem and commissioned a study. In the 1880's 25,000 divorces occurred, more than any other industrialized country. By the 1920's Americans were divorcing almost as often as they would in the 1960's. No pattern: In the 20's it went up, in the 30's and during WWII it tapered off; after WWII it went up again only to go down in the 50's, and then up in the 60's." (Facts from "Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History," Richard Shenkman, 1988, Wm. Morrow & Co., NY)

"In the late 1600's, parents died so often that most children in Virginia were reared by just one parent, and more than a third lost both parents. In the 1800's, death came so often that the proportion of single-parent families was roughly what it is today. While death is not divorce, the incidence rate of "homogenized" families is the same, accompanied by all the peculiar problems." -(Facts from "Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History," Richard Shenkman, 1988, Wm. Morrow & Co., NY)

"Although the world currency market is, in theory, wide open to any potential player, in actuality, the frontline players tend to be young, single, and male. Only the young seem able to take the inordinate risks involved in handling tens of millions of dollars' worth of other people's assets. Before marriage and without the demands of family dinners, childbirth classes, children's homework and music recital, and car pooling for Little League, young single men have the total attention, dedication, and stamina necessary for a round-th-clock market." (Jack Weatherford, "The History of Money," Crown Publ., NY, 1997, pg 258)

"Both men and women produce testosterone in their bodies, men in the testes and adrenal glands, women in the adrenal glands and ovaries. But men produce much more -- the average healthy male has 260 to 1,000 nanograms of testosterone per deciliter of blood plasma. For women the range is 15 to 70. But because men differ on how effectively their bodies process the substance -- for instance, some have more receptors around their body that absorb it -- a man on the low end of the normal range can still have all the testosterone he needs for normal sex drive and other benefits. In healthy men, levels also vary during the day, peaking around 8 a.m., which is why men commonly awaken in a state of sexual arousal, and dropping as much as half before bedtime.

...Testosterone in the blood of teenage boys can jump to as high as 2,000 nanograms, which helps explain teenage boys." ("Are You Man Enough?", Time Magazine, April 24, 2000, p. 61-2)

(Note for the ladies: In case you missed it, they are saying the average man has 1429% more testosterone and a teenage boy can have 2857% more than a woman! Now you know why men are so sexually driven and why it is important for wives to attend to this male need!)

"Quadratus, an apologist during the reign of Hadrian (117-134 AD), urged people to believe in Jesus because the effect of his miracles continued up to the present -- people had been cured and raised from the dead, and 'some of them,' he wrote, 'have survived even to our own day.'" (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.3.2). (Robert Wilken, "The Christians as the Romans Saw Them," pg. 99, Yale Univ Press, 1984)

Rex Humbard" 

Two members of the First Church of Modernism come to the pastor's study to settle a dispute. The pastor's wife is also seated in the room.

The first member explains his complaint to the pastor: the story is such and so, and he has to do this and he has to do that. He gives a fine account and argues his case clearly.

The pastor declares, "You're right, brother."

The next member presents his side. He speaks with such passion and persuasion that the pastor says to him, "You're right, brother."

After they leave, the pastor's wife is distraught and says to her husband, "They have conflicting stories. How can you say that both of them are right? When one wins, the other must lose."

The pastor says to his wife, "You're right, my dear."

"When words lose their meaning, people will lose their liberty." ---Confucius

You must believe in God, in spite of what the clergy say. --Benjamin Jowett

'RELIGION' & THE SUPREME COURT, 1965: [Note: this case was used to boot out the concept of the Christian God for humanism] In US v. Seeger, the Court expanded the definition of an already liberalized 'religion' and 'conscience.' A case of conscientious objector status, the Court favorably accepted from modernist theologian Paul Tillich the definition of essential religion as an "ultimate concern." In his book "The Shaking of the Foundations," Tillich wrote, "The name of this infinite inexhaustible depth and ground of all being is God. That depth is what the word God means. And if that word has not much meaning for you, translate it, and speak of the depth of your life, of the source of your being, of your ultimate concern, of what you take seriously without any reservation. Perhaps, in order to do so, you must forget everything traditional that you have learned about God, perhaps even that word itself." (NY: Charles Scribner, 1972, p.63-64; as quoted in "The Second American Revolution," pg. 106, JW Whitehead, 1982, David C. Cook Publishing Co.)

NOTE: This definition of "ultimate concern" in one's life would include atheism and agnosticism as religion. In other words, belief or disbelief in the Christian view of God is no longer relevant in defining religion under the First Amendment.

"Its [fundamentalism] relying upon a non-critical reading of certain texts of the Bible serves to reinforce political ideas and social attitudes that are marked by prejudices - racism, for example - quite contrary to the Christian gospel. . ."The fundamentalist approach is dangerous, for it is attractive to people who look to the Bible for ready answers to the problems of life." (Associated Press, The [Tacoma, WA] New Tribune, March 19, 1994, pg. 8, reporting on a new 130-page Vatican document condemning 'fundamentalism.')

AMENHOTEP IV (Akhenaten), Pharaoh 1352-1336 BC: "[Amenhotep IV] is a philosopher, a revolutionary thinker who chooses to worship just one god -- the sun-disk. He overthrows the traditional state religions in favour of his god Aten and is thus accredited as the world's first monotheist. His Atenist revolution fails after a brief, though at first glorious, flowering. The later Egyptians revile him as a heretic." (David M. Rohl, "Pharaohs and Kings," Crown Publishers, NY 10022, 1995, p.18

ECUMENICALISM ILLOGICAL: "Heraclitus of Ephesus, c. 500 BC also struggled with the problem of the unity of opposites, from which he proceeeded to a discussion of the unity of all things and arrived at a statement that 'looks suspiciously like monotheism.'" (Stephen Benko, "Pagan Rome and the Early Christians," BT Batsford Ltd, London, 1984, p 86-87)

Xenophanes, c.530 BC, Greek philosopher."There is one god, among gods and men the greatest, not at all like mortals in body or in mind." (Fragment 23, in "The Worlds of the Early Greek Philosophers, WIlbur & Allen, Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1979, p52)

260-330 AD Lactantius: "I am inclined to think that the corrupting influence of the stage is even worse [than that of the gladiatorial arena]. The subjects of comedies are the deflowering of virgins or the loves of prostitutes.... Similarly, the tragedies parade before the eyes [of the audience] the murder of parents and acts of incest committed by wicked kings.... Is the art of the mimes any better? They teach adultery by acting it out. How do we expect our young people to respond when they see that these things are practiced without shame and that everyone eagerly watches." (Lactantius Institutes bk. 6, chap. 20, paraphrased)

140-230 AD TERTULLIAN: "The father who carefully protects and guards his virgin daughter's ears from every polluting word takes her to the theater himself, exposing her to all its vile language and attitudes." He asked rhetorically, "How can it be right to look at the things that are wrong to do? How can those things which defile a man when they go out of his mouth not defile him when going in through his eyes and ears?" (Matt. 15: 17­20). (Tertullian The Shows chaps. 21, 17)

260-330 AD Lactantius: "He who finds it pleasurable to watch a man being killed, even though the man has been legally condemned, pollutes his conscience just as much as though he were an accomplice or willing spectator of a murder committed in secret. Yet they call these 'sports'-where human blood is shed! ... When they see men placed under the stroke of death, begging for mercy, can they be righteous when they not only permit the men to be killed, but demand it? They cast their cruel and inhuman votes for death, not being satisfied by the mere flowing of blood or the presence of gashing wounds. In fact, they order the [gladiators] -although wounded and lying on the ground- to be attacked again and their corpses to be pummeled with blows, to make certain they are not merely feigning death. The crowds are even angry with the gladiators if one of the two isn't slain quickly. As though they thirsted for human blood, they hate delays.... By steeping themselves in this practice, they have lost their humanity.... Therefore, it is not fitting that we who strive to stay on the path of righteousness should share in this public homicide. When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits the violence that is condemned by public laws, but he also forbids the violence that is deemed lawful by men. (Lactantius Institutes bk. 6, chap. 20, paraphrased)

TACITUS: No less magnificent in scale than before, but exceeding all precedent are the number of distinguished women and senators disgracing themselves in the arena. --Tacitus, 63 AD

TATIAN: "I see people who actually sell themselves to be killed; the destitute sells himself, and the rich man buys someone to kill him; and for this the spectators take their seats, and the fighters meet in single-handed combat for no reason whatever; and no one comes down from the stands to help! . . .Just as you slaughter animals to eat their flesh, so you purchase people to supply a cannibal banquet for the soul, nourishing it with the most impious bloodshed. Robbers commit murder for the sake of loot; but the rich man buys gladiators to watch them being killed!" --Tatian, cited by Address to the Greeks 23; cited by Elaine Pagels, The Origin of Satan, Random House, NY, 1995, p.134.

SUETONIUS: "These [gladiatorial] shows attracted such huge flocks of visitors from all directions, that many of them had to sleep in tents pitched along the streets, or on rooftops. The pressure of crowds meant people were crushed to death. The victims included two senators."

Advancing Toward Savagery

Source: LewRockwell.com

Published: 1/25/00 Author: Joseph Sobran

Advancing Toward Savagery

by Joseph Sobran

"During the early nineteenth century, a slave trader named Theophilus Conneau kept a journal of his experiences in Africa. On one occasion he witnessed a cannibal orgy, in which one tribe performed acts of torture and mutilation, including castration and decapitation, on another tribe which they had subdued.

Conneau was particularly struck by the ferocity of the women of the conquering tribe, who, their naked bodies decorated with chalk and red paint, gleefully led the gruesome festivities. The chief matron "bore an infant babe torn from its mother's womb ... which she tossed high in the air, receiving it on the point of her knife" before eating it. During the ritual this same woman was "adorned with a string of men's genital parts" while "collecting into a gourd the brains of the decapitated bodies."

Such practices may not justify European colonialism, but they do help explain why the Europeans thought they were bringing civilization to savage places. As G.K. Chesterton pointed out, regretting the white man's arrogance need not mean idealizing the conquered natives. Chesterton also observed that cannibalism wasn't a primitive practice but a highly decadent one.

The cannibals weren't satisfying physical appetites, like carnivorous animals, but indulging a specifically human - or diabolical - malice. The historian Francis Parkman describes Iroquois Indians, having captured a party of Algonquins, roasting and devouring their infants "before the eyes of the agonized mothers, whose shrieks, supplications, and frantic efforts to break the cords that bound them were met with mockery and laughter."

Mocking the suffering of the victims was part of the fun; the very essence of it, in fact. The lion doesn't gloat over his prey, with a circle of his fellow felines whooping at the agony of a slowly dismembered antelope.

Inflicting and observing torture for amusement is a distinctively human delight. In the case of the African cannibals, it would be a feeble excuse to say that the unborn child was a mere "fetus," and therefore somehow not "fully human," as we say now; the woman who killed it obviously regarded it as human, which was more or less the point of the orgy.

1992 US Supreme Court, Planned Parenthood v. Casey: "Some of us as individuals find abortion offensive to our most basic principles of morality, but that cannot control our decision. Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code ... At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life."

Where is the intellectual/spiritual reasoning for this nonsensical statement? Truth is not created by man, it is discovered by man! Where is the right for the father or local government "to decide the concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life"? Ah, that does not fit the desires intellectual and moral train wreck of the 1992 Court who has decided the mother the source of all morality and meaning!

GEISLER & TURIK: "[Humanism] has failed miserably. ...We note that illegitimate births in the United States constituted just 3% of all births in 1920 (the first year statistics were gathered) and rose to just over 5% in 1960. During Humanism's heyday, the figure shot up to 11% by 1970, over 18% by 1980, and 30% by 1991. Black illegitimacy stood at a shocking 68% in 1991 compared to 22% of white births." (Geisler & Turik, "Legislating Morality," Bethany House Publ., Minn., MN, 55438, pg 108).

ZEUS: "To seduce Leda, mortal wife of King Tyndarcus, he took the form of a swan, in which guise he pursued and made love to her." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 66)

ZEUS: "Another story tells how Zeus turned himself into a bull in order to seduce Europa. Nor were his attentions confined to women: his roving eye fell upon the boy Ganymede, whom he had carried up to heaven on an eagle's back. Ganymede was later referred to by the Romans as Catamitus, the origin of our word, catamite, used to denote a boy kept for homosexual purposes." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 66-67)

GREEK: (Greek art) "Often, it is two adult men who are depicted practicing anal intercourse. Other paintings, however, show an older man placing his penis between the thighs of a younger." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 70)

GREEK DIONYSUS/ROMAN BACCHUS: God of drinking. "As time went on, the nature of the festivities changed. Men were allowed to partake and the festivals came to be held after dark, five times a month. The guiding principle was that all the sexual and emotional restraints of everyday life should be abandoned. Participants would work themselves up into a state of orgiastic frenzy. ...Men, high on intoxicants and out of control, would force themselves onto the younger men who were being initiated into the cult. ...Matters grew so out of hand that the state eventually had to intervene." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 80)

ROME, 204 BC. CYBELE, GREAT MOTHER OF THE GODS: "Novice priests wishing to join her order first ceremonially castrated themselves in order to prove their devotion to the Goddess." [Because her son Attis was in love with her and he was about to marry another, she struck him mad and he castrated himself]. "...A festival was held annually... In religious frenzy, young men would wound themselves with knives, some even castrating themselves in front of the statue of the goddess. Others ran wildly through the streets, flinging their severed organs into whatever house they happened to pass. The house was considered to have received a very special blessing and its residents were required to supply the young man...with women's clothes." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 80-81)

ROME: {The Lupercalian festivals celebrating Lupa, the wolf-mother of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome]. "...men and women exchanged clothing and indulged in orgiastic sex. The men chose their partners by drawing small pieces of paper on which were written the names of the women present." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 81)

ROME: "Venus was not the only goddess to preside over sexual rites. Aristocratic matrons at the highest level of society would prostitute themselves in the temple of Juno Sospita in the hope of having a revelation." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 83)

"He shaped my loins with his fair hands,

The shepherd Dumuzi filled my lap with cream and milk,

He stroked my pubic hair,

He watered my womb.

He laid his hands on my holy vulva.

He caressed me on the bed."

---The Sumerian goddess Inanna

("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 48)

SUMERIA: "Anal intercourse was practiced and there is no evidence to suggest that it was considered taboo. The 'Entu-priestesses' allowed such intercourse during sexual rites in the temples if they wished to avoid pregnancy. Other tablets reports homosexual anal intercourse. Both sexual intercourse and prostitution were believed to form part of the divine laws which had governed the universe from the days of its creation and were known to the Sumerians as 'me.' ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 39-40)

SUMERIA: "The sexual union of (Sumerian goddess) Inanna and (shepherd) Dumuzi was the prototype of the Sumerian custom of the 'sacred marriage,' which was ritually performed at the New Year festival. This rite later became widespread in other societies, notably Babylon and Greece. In its Sumerian form, the high priestess, known as the 'Entu,' in order to ensure the renewal of fertility throughout the land, would ceremonially mate with the high priest or king, who personified the life force of the earth. ...Any child born of such a union was considered to be half-human dn half-divine." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 50

SUMERIA: "Often associated with the Sumerian goddess Inanna and sometimes interchangeable with her was Ishtar, the great goddess of Babylon, who had two main functions. Although the goddess of love and sexuality, she was in another aspect a fierce war goddess, sometimes depicted riding on a lion. Also called Mother of Harlots and the Great Whore of Babylon, she declared of herself, '...a prostitute compassionate am I.' Her holy city of Erech was known as 'the town of the sacred courtesans.' In no way, therefore, was prostitution in the Babylonian era considered a shameful profession. On the contrary, temples to Ishtar were inhabited by sacred prostitutes or priestesses known as 'ishtaru' or Joy-Maidens, dedicated to the service of the goddess. ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 54)

HERODOTUS (Greek historian): "The worst Babylonian custom is that which compels every woman of the land once in her life to sit in the temple of love and have...intercourse with some stranger...the men pass and make their choice. It matters not what be the sum of money; the woman will never refuse, for that were a sin, the money being by this act made sacred. After their intercourse she has made herself holy in the sight of the goddess and goes away to her home; and thereafter there is no bribe however great that will get her. So then the women that are tall and fair are soon free to depart, but the uncomely have long to wait because they cannot fulfill the law: for some of them remain for three years or four." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 57)

HOMOSEXUAL TEMPLES: "Temples to Ishtar, at Erech and other places, were also served by male prostitutes. They were referred to as men "...whose manhood Ishtar has changed into womanhood.'" ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 58)

MAYAN: "Among the Mayan people of the Yucatan, there was a strict code of sexual morality. Marriage was valued as the most important relationship and extra-marital activity was perceived as a threat to the social order. Adolescent boys were actively discouraged from sexual activity with unmarried women. If caught in the act, a boy would either be fined or, if the girl had been a virgin, he would be forced to marry her. The Maya thought it infinitely preferable for boys to engage in homosexuality until they were able to marry. Parents would provide their son with a slave companion to satisfy his sexual needs rather than run the risk of his finding an unmarried girl for the purpose. ...Under Aztec law, the death penalty for all homosexuals, whether male or female, was regularly enforced." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 57)

TAHITI: "...young men and girls often copulate publicly before the people, receiving good advice from the bystanders, usually women, amongst whom the most important inhabitants are to be found. thus the girls (of eleven years) receive their information at an early age." ("Hawksworth," of Captain Cook's voyage, in Tahiti. "The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 43-44)

EGYPTIAN: "In the very earliest Egyptian mythology the deity ruling over the heavens is, surprisingly, a goddess, Nut. She is usually depicted arching over her husband, Geb, god of the earth, who lies on his back trying to reach her with his erect penis." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 59)

EGYPTIAN: (Isis and Osiris) "This divine pair had intercourse in their mother's womb--the original divine incest--and loved each other from then onwards." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 59-60)

INDIA; "Nowhere more than in India have mythology and sexuality been so intimately connected. Hindu divinities come in pairs, often eternally conjoined in blissful sexual embrace. Unlike most Western religions, Hinduism has never been concerned with suppressing sensuous pleasure." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 103)

INDIA: "Descriptions of ritual sexual intercourse occur in the Upanishads, which describe the Original Being as being both alone and lonely. he therefore split himself into two parts, which became the original husband and wife and, subsequently, the parents of humanity. A later part of the first Upanishad tells how the Lord of Creatures, Prajapati, created a woman and worshipped her. He then impregnated her. Because she was pregnant the woman was now considered to be sanctified and her vagina, where intercourse took place, became a place of sacrifice. Contact with this place of sacrifice would strengthen a man, and this gave rise to the belief that it was possible, through ritual intercourse, to enjoy the rewards associated with sacrifice, a primitive form of Tantra. however, on a human level, this might not involve quite the degree of worship practiced by Prajapati. In fact, if a man approached a woman who refused him, he was at liberty to use force or bribery." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 104)

INDIA: "The [Hindu] temples at Khajuraho and Konarak are perhaps the best-known in terms of the sexual detail they depict. All manner of positions of sexual intercourse are displayed, while one temple at Konarak shows men with fully erect lingams [penises] being fellated by female attendants... A little girl would be given to a temple as an offering to the god concerned, usually Krishna or Shiva. She would be known as a deva-dasi and considered in many cases to be married to the god. Sometimes the marriage would be marked by a wedding ceremony where the girl would lose her virginity to a priest or perhaps a rich devotee or, on occasion, to a lingam [penis] made of stone. subsequently she would learn singing, dancing and the erotic arts. Temple visitors would be able to buy her favors." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 106-7) (It was the British who put an end to temple prostitution at the end of the 1800's.)

JOCELYN ELDERS: (Sep. 94) Jocelyn Elders, US Surgeon General under Pres. Clinton, doesn't think her son's 10 year prison sentence for selling 1/8 oz. cocaine was just. "I don't think that was a crime," she stated.

Perhaps she doesn't think intentionally infecting people with other diseases isn't a crime, either. (Since drug addiction is a 'disease', this is a fair comparison). How about selling 1/8 oz. of HIV, syphilis, or the black plague?

GARY BAUER: "After he slew Abel, Cain feared becoming "a fugitive and a vagabond in the Earth." Today's Cains flee to the "tell all" talk shows and wander around in search of lucrative book deals and movie contracts." (Gary L. Bauer, Family Research Council Newsletter, Mar. 9, 1994)

ANTI-ABSTINENCE: "It spreads fear and leads to adults who see nothing positive about their sexuality."

...Kristine Gebbie, Pres. Clinton's AIDS Czarina, on the teaching of abstinence, which she called "criminal" as quoted in The Dallas Morning News, as quoted in The Limbaugh Letter, Dec. 1993

ADMISSION BY COURT: Skeptics like to charge that followers of Jesus Christ are bent on "legislating morality" and that their only motivation is to control others. Morality is said to have no connection to religion by many public speakers, but can be found in secular humanism or other man-made philosophies. In April, however, Louisiana District Judge Frank H. Thaxton III granted an injunction to halt the teaching of abstinence in the Caddo Parish public schools. Thaxton ruled that, by teaching abstinence as an option, the schools were promoting religion. Nobody questions that abstinence is moral. If teaching abstinence is religious, then only religion is able to teach this particular morality. This is an admission that religion is important to morality - at least in this case. --Today, April, 1993.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION BASED ON LEGISLATING MORALITY: "When you really get down to the heart of the matter, the primary reason the colonists declared their independence was because they believed that the king of Britain was not legislating morally. In other words, the colonists believed that the edicts of the king were simply wrong. Unable to tolerate the situation any further, the colonists sought to replace the king's unjust legislation with their own just legislation. Their objection was not about legislating morality -- they realized that all laws declare one behavior wrong and another right. Their objection centered around WHOSE morality was being legislated." (Geisler & Turik, "Legislating Morality," Bethany House Publ., Minneapolis, MN 55438, 1998, p. 18)

RIGHT AND WRONG INSTINCTIVE: "When Thomas Jefferson pointed out the alleged violations of the king in the Declaration of Independence, he didn't appeal to the Bible or some other holy book to prove that the monarch was wrong. Instead, he recognized that the same sense of fairness that came instinctively to him also came instinctively to the rest of the world. In fact, Jefferson was so confident that the king was obviously at fault that he began the long list of offenses with these words: 'To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.' [as jury -- PM] ...He wrote: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident...'

...In a sense, the Founding Fathers were in the same position as the Allied countries after World War II. When the Nazi war criminals were brought to trial in Nuremburg, they were convicted of violating the Moral Law (which is manifested in international law) -- the law that all people inherently understand. If there was no such international morality that transcended the laws of secular German government, then the Allies would have had no grounds to condemn the Nazis. In other words, we couldn't have said that Hitler was absolutely wrong unless we knew what was absolutely right." (Geisler & Turik, "Legislating Morality," Bethany House Publ., Minneapolis, MN 55438, 1998, p. 19-20)

MORALITY LEGISLATED ALL THE TIME: The Bill of Rights legislates morality by saying it is WRONG and IMMORAL to conduct unreasonable search and seizures, to deprive people of life, liberty or property without due process, and to conduct cruel and unusual punishments. The 13th Amendment said it is WRONG and IMMORAL to own slaves.

The Supreme Court in Reyonds v. United States, 1878, legislated morality by saying polygamy was WRONG and IMMORAL, and recently has ruled that for Native Americans to use illegal drugs (peyote) in their religious ceremonies is WRONG and IMMORAL.

GEISLER & TURIK: "...You may not be conscious of the Moral Law when you lie to someone... but when someone lies to you, the Moral Law becomes bright as the sun, because being lied to upsets you as soon as you realize it." (Geisler & Turik, "Legislating Morality," Bethany House Publ., Minneapolis, MN 55438, 1998, p. 24)

ME THINKS THOU PROTESTETH TOO MUCH: "Ironically, those who most loudly protest legislating morality believe it is morally wrong for others to legislate morality. ...These people are inconsistent because they are not opposed to legislating ALL moral standards --- only the standards that are not of their choosing. They do not wish to do away with moral standards completely (that would be impossible). They simply want to replace the existing moral standards with their own." (Geisler & Turik, "Legislating Morality," Bethany House Publ., Minn., MN, 55438, pg 42)

GEISLER & TURIK: "In the final analysis, those who say they want no morals imposed on others really want their own morals imposed on everyone. The truth is, all laws impose morals on others, good or bad. ...It is impossible NOT to legislate morality." (Geisler & Turik, "Legislating Morality," Bethany House Publ., Minn., MN, 55438, pg 45)

LDS Apostle Alvin R. Dyer: "Thus, on this beautiful spring morning in the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith witnessed the renewal of God's dealing with his children in accordance with the great gospel plan of redemption. Upon this occasion God the Father and his Beloved Son Jesus Christ appearing as glorified Resurrected Beings unto a chosen servant of God, made known once again the state of immortality which man will attain in preparation for the next estate of eternity; that also the world once again could know the reality of the personal nature of God the Father and his Beloved Son. (LDS Apostle Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, April 1963, p.49 - p.50, LDS Collectors Library '97 CD-ROM)

ORSON PRATT: If none but gods will be permitted to multiply immortal children, it follows that each God must have one or more wives. God, the Father of our spirits, became the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh. (Orson Pratt, The Seer, page 158)

ORSON PRATT: The fleshly body of Jesus required a Mother as well as a Father. Therefore, the Father and Mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must have been, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father: we use the term lawful Wife, because it would be blasphemous in the highest degree to say that He overshadowed her or begat the Savior unlawfully. (Orson Pratt, The Seer, page 158)

ORSON PRATT: Inasmuch as God was the first husband to her, it may be that He only gave her to be the wife of Joseph while in the mortal state, and that He intended after the resurrection to again take her as one of his own wives to raise up immortal spirits in eternity. (Orson Pratt, The Seer, page 158)

The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 11:268)

Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th Prophet of the Mormon Church: "They tell us the Book of Mormon states that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost. I challenge that statement. The Book of Mormon teaches No Such Thing! Neither does the Bible!" (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1:18)

"Christ was begotten of God. He was NOT born without the aid of man and that man was God!" (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1:18)

BRIGHAM Y0UNG: The birth of the Savior was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood- was begotten of his Father, as we are of our fathers. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 8:115)

HEBER C. KIMBALL: In relation to the way in which I look upon the works of God and his creatures, I will say that I was naturally begotten; so was my father, and also my Savior Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, he is the first begotten of his father in the flesh, and there was nothing unnatural about it. (Heber C. Kimball, Journal of discourses, 8:211)

BRIGHAM YOUNG: ''When the Virgin Mary conceived the Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost... (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1:50-51)

BRIGHAM YOUNG: 'What a learned idea' Jesus, our elder brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in heaven." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1:50-51)

BRIGHAM YOUNG: 'Now Remember from this time forth, and forever, hat Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. will repeat a little anecdote. I was in conversation with a certain learned professor upon this subject when I replied to this idea- "If the son was begotten y the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize and confirm females and give the Holy Ghost o them, lest he should beget children to be palmed off on the Elders by the people, bringing the Elders into great difficulties."...But what do the people in Christendom, with the Bible in their hands, know but this subject? Comparatively Nothing." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1:50-51)

SON OF GOD: God the Father is a perfected, glorified, holy Man, an immortal Personage. And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events, for he is the son of God, and that designation means what it says.— Mormon Doctrine page 742

SON OF MAN: Christ is the Son of Man, meaning that his Father (the eternal God!) is a Holy Man. "In the language of Adam, Man of Holiness" is the name of God. Mormon Doctrine Page 742

SON OF MARY: ...but the Holy ghost is not the Father of Christ and when the Child was born, he was "the Son of the eternal Father. — Mormon Doctrine page 743

ONLY BEGOTTEN SON: These name-titles all signify that our Lord is the only Son of the Father in the flesh. Each of the words is to be understood literally. Only means only, begotten means begotten, and Son means son. Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in He same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers. — Mormon Doctrine page 546

EZRA TAFT BENSON: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the most literal sense. The body in which He performed His mission in the flesh was sired by that same Holy Being we worship as God, our Eternal Father. Jesus was not the son of Joseph, nor was He begotten by the Holy Ghost" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pg.7).

JOSEPH SMITH: Dec 16, 1838, "Such characters as McLellin, John Witmer, David Witmer, Oliver Cowdry, and Martin Harris are too mean to mention; and we had liked to have forgotten them." History of the Church, Vol 3, p232 (All three were excommunicated from the LDS church,).

MARTIN HARRIS: "Testimony of three witnesses: We Cheerfully certify...The Lord has made it known to me that David Witmer is the man. David was then called forward, and Joseph and his counselors laid hands upon him, and ordained him to his station, to succeed him...He will be prophet, seer, Revelator and Translator before God." (Signed Martin Harris, Leonard Rich, Calvin Beebe.) FALSE PROPHECY: Brigham Young became Joseph Smith's successor. CHARACTER: Martin Harris changed his religious affiliation 13 times in his life.

DAVID WHITMER: "If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon; if you believe that God spake to us three witnesses by his own voice, then I tell you that in June, 1838, God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to 'separate myself from among the Latter-day Saints...'" Address to all believers in Christ, p27, 1887

OLIVER COWDERY:

1. Was excommunicated from the Mormon church and joined the Methodist church.
2. In 1841 the Mormons published a poem which stated "Or Book of Mormon not his word, because denied by Oliver". Seasons and Times, Vol 2, p482
3. The Mormon church accused Cowdery of Adultery and claimed he had joined "a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars, and blacklegs".
4. Joseph Smith listed Cowdery as among those, "too mean to mention"
5. Cowdery died claiming that the book of Doctrines & Covenants must be discarded.

Moses and the people were in the desert, but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 2 or 3 million people requires a lot of food. According to the Quartermaster General in the Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1500 tons of food each day. Do you know that to bring that much food each day, two freight trains, each at least a mile long, would be required! Besides you must remember, they were out in the desert, so they would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And just think, they were forty years in transit.

They would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes (forget washing and ritual washings), it would take 11,000,000 gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars, 1800 miles long, just to bring water!

They had to get across the Red Sea at night. Now, if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So there had to be a space in the Red Sea, 3 miles wide so that they could walk 5000 abreast to get over in one night.

But then, there is another problem...............each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the State of Rhode Island was required, or a total of 750 square miles long.........think of it! This much space for camping.

Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left Egypt? Still think God has any problem taking care of your problems? --Unknown

WHY DIDN’T MOSES TEACH THIS? (see ACTS 7:11) "We know the Egyptians practiced contraception -- in fact, the oldest surviving documents on the subject come from that country during the period 1900-1100 BC. One prescription requires pulverized crocodile dung in fermented mucilage to be combined with honey and sodium carbonate and applied to the vulva." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 64)

WHY DIDN’T MOSES TEACH THIS? (See ACTS 7:11) "In the view of the [Roman] writer Pliny, the most effective method was to find ways to lessen sexual desire. His suggestions as to how to go about this include applying mouse dung in the form of a linament, a method which would indeed be guaranteed to do the trick. On the other hand, his readers were advised to swallow pigeon droppings mixed with oil and wine...Another writer, Dioscorides, recommended the use of pepper as a contraceptive. It was inserted into the mouth of the uterus immediately after intercourse." ("The Mythology of Sex," Sarah Dening, MacMillan Co, NY, NY, pg 84)

INCREDIBLE: "Receptive, therefore, to the idea that God could speak to them through a man such as Moses, the Jewish people seem to have allowed themselves not only to be led out of Egypt but also to accept, at Moses' instigation, an extraordinarily far-reaching code of conduct distinctively different from anything then know in the ancient world...And all this was asked of and accepted by the Jewish people without any king or army of bully-boys to impose it." ("Jesus: the Evidence," p.74, Ian Wilson, Harper & Row, 1988) (A book by an unbeliever trying to explain away the miracles of Jesus and the apostles, with forays into other parts of the Bible such as this one).

SNAKE-STAFFS: "A cobra, if given a sharp blow on the back of the neck, will go cataleptically rigid like a rod, as Egyptian snake-charmers can still demonstrate." ("Jesus: the Evidence," p.76, Ian Wilson, Harper & Row, 1988)

DJ SILVER: "God is the hero of the Torah, not Moses, the Hellenistic stories would make him so. His courage is not the physical bravery of Odysseus or Prometheus' fearless disobedience of the gods, but the courage of submission. Moses faces down Egypt and the wilderness mob only by confidence in God. The Bible editorializes Moses into a simple man. No Hebrew or king claimed descent from Moses. Even the priests claimed descent from his brother Aaron. If any had had the opportunity to invent the story or Moses, they would surely have glorified him and their genealogy, rather than that of Aaron his subordinate.

What other ancient saga diminished the role of its national founder? Moses never strapped on a sword, road out to do battle, devised a battle plan, sat on a throne or wore purple. He has no bodyguard and can only ask God to protect him against rivals (Num 16.12ff). Rulers issue law, Moses only wrote them down. Massive funerals and mausoleums enshrine the great, Moses dies alone and disappears in the wilderness (Dt.34.6) Moses left no princely son to ascend his role but left it to God (Nu 27.15), nor did his sons have any authority of note at all. Beyond Exodus-Deut, Moses is only found in passing references, a strange composition for literature, were it man-made. Rather the text emphasizes the acts of God in speaking and defending and leading.

Moses was not a literary hero. He is recorded as "frightened" and fled Egypt (Ex 2.11). He had no plan to return, and lost everything to save his skin. He is described as a very humble man, more than anyone else (Nu 12.3). It was customary in Eastern society for the holy man to prove the power of his god by carrying neither weapons nor bodyguards, while all men of note had both. Moses therefore has no bodyguard.

On Ex 3.13, God's Name: Nearly everyone took for granted that the use of a power-laden-name could heal the sick, bring the rain, or strike one dead if used in a curse. Artapanus ("On the Jews") identifies the weapon Moses had used in the murder of the Egyptian as the utterance of God's Name. Even Egyptians held Moses a Merlin. A number of Egypt books on magic exist, dealing with proper invocations of spells, charms and amulets, and they bear titles like The 8th Book of Moses, the Key of Moses, The Secret Book of Moses. Some alchemy texts exist: The Chemistry of Moses, the Maza of Moses, the Diptosis of Moses. Amulets with Moses image and rod have been found in both Jewish and non-Jewish Egyptian graves.

----Excerpt notes from Daniel Jeremy Silver, "Images of Moses," Basic Books, NY, 1982

OLDEST KNOWN CHRISTIAN HYMN:

Friendly light of the holy splendor

of thine eternal father above,

In the blessed heights of heaven:

O Jesus Christ!

At the setting of the sun

When we see the evening light,

We praise the Father and the Son

And God's Holy Spirit.

Worthy art thou that we praise thee

At all times with reverence,

O son of God, giver of life!

Creation therefore pays thee homage.

(Handed down by Basil; cited by Eberhard Arnold, "The Early Christians," Plough Publishing, 1997, pg 266)

ALZOG "St. Ambrose and St. Gregory rendered great service to church music by the introduction of what are known as the Ambrosian and Gregorian chants.... Ecclesiastical chant, departing in some instances from the simple majesty of its original character, became more artistic, and, on this account, less heavenly and more profane; and the Fathers of the Church were not slow to censure this corruption of the old and honored church song. Finally, the organ, which seemed an earthly echo of the angelic choirs in heaven, added its full, rich, and inspiring notes to the beautiful simplicity of the Gregorian chant" (Alzog, Catholic Scholar, Church Historian of the University of Freiburg and champion of instrumental music in worship, was faithful to his scholarship when he wrote, Universal Church History, Vol. 1, pp. 696, 697).

AMERICAN ENCYCLOPEDIA: "Pope Vitalian is related to have first introduced organs into some of the churches of Western Europe about 670 but the earliest trustworthy account is that of one sent as a present by the Greek emperor Constantine Copronymus to Pepin, king of Franks in 755" (American Encyclopedia, Volume 12, p. 688).

BURNEY: "After the most diligent inquire concerning the time when instrumental music had admission into the ecclesiastical service, there is reason to conclude, that, before the reign of Constantine, ;is the converts to the Christian religion were subject to frequent persecution and disturbance in their devotion, the rise of instruments could hardly have been allowed: and by all that can be collected from the writings of the primitive Christians, they seem never to have been admitted." (Charles Burney, A general history of Music, 1957, p. 426)

CATHOLIC: "Although Josephus tells of the wonderful effects produced in the Temple by the use of instruments, the first Christians were of too spiritual a fibre to substitute lifeless instruments for or to use them to accompany the human voice. Clement of Alexandria severely condemns the use of instruments even at Christian banquets. St. Chrysostum sharply contrasts the customs of the Christians when they had full freedom with those of the Jews of the Old Testament." (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, pg. 648-652.)

CATHOLIC: "For almost a thousand years Gregorian chant, without any instrumental or harmonic addition was the only music used in connection with the liturgy. The organ, in its primitive and rude form, was the first, and for a long time the sole, instrument used to accompany the chant…. The church has never encouraged and at most only tolerated the use of instruments. She enjoins in the 'Caeremonials Episcoporum', - that permission for their use should first be obtained from the ordinary. She holds up as her ideal the unaccompanied chant, and polyphonic, a-capella style. The Sistine Chapel has not even an organ."" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, pg. 657-688.)

CATHOLIC: "We need not shrink from admitting that candles, like incense and lustral water, were commonly employed in pagan worship and the rites paid to the dead. But the Church, from a very early period, took them into her service, just as she adopted many other things indifferent in themselves, which seemed proper to enhance the splendor of religious ceremony. We must not forget that most of these adjuncts to worship, like music, lights, perfumes, ablutions, floral decorations, canopies, fans, screens, bells, vestments, etc. were not identified with any idolatrous cult in particular but they were common to almost all cults." (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III, pg. 246.)

CHAMBERS: "The organ is said to have been first introduced into church music by Pop Vitalian in 666. In 757, a great organ was sent as a present to Pepin by the Byzantine Emperor, Constantine, and placed in the church St. Corneille as Compiegne." (Chambers Encyclopedia, Vol 7, p. 112)

COLEMAN: "The tendency of this (instrumental music) was to secularize the music of the church, and to encourage singing by a choir. Such musical accompaniments were gradually introduced; but they can hardly be assigned to a period earlier than the fifth and sixth centuries. Organs were unknown in church until the eighth or ninth centuries. Previous to this, they had their place in the theater, rather than in the church. they were never regarded with favor in the Eastern church, and were vehemently opposed in many places in the West." (Lyman Coleman, a Presbyterian, Primitive Church, p. 376-377)

CONYBEARE: "Throughout the whole passage there is a contrast implied between the Heathen and the Christian practice… When you meet, let your enjoyment consist not in fullness of wine, but fullness of the spirit; let your songs be, not the drinking songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment, not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart; while you sing them to the praise, not of Bacchus or Venus, but of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Conybeare and Howson, Life and Times of the Apostle Paul, comment on Eph. 5:19).

DICKINSON: "While the Greek and Roman songs were metrical, the Christian psalms were antiphons, prayers, responses, etc., were unmetrical; and while the pagan melodies were always sung to an instrumental accompaniment, the church chant was exclusively vocal" (Edward Dickinson, History of Music, p. 54)

DICKINSON: "In view of the controversies over the use of instrumental music in worship, which have been so violent in the British and American Protestant churches, it is an interesting question whether instruments were employed by the primitive Christians. We know that instruments performed an important function in the Hebrew temple service and in the ceremonies of the Greeks. At this point, however, a break was made with all previous practice, and although the lyre and flute were sometimes employed by the Greek converts, as a general rule the use of instruments in worship was condemned." … "Many of the fathers, speaking of religious songs, made no mention of instruments; others, like Clement of Alexandria and St. Chrysostom, refer to them only to denounce them. Clement says, "Only one instrument do we use, viz. the cord of peace wherewith we honor God, no longer the old psaltery, trumpet, drum, and flute." Chrysostom exclaims: "David formerly sang in psalms, also we sing today with him; he had a lyre with lifeless strings, the church has a lyre with living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre, with a different tone, indeed, but with a more accordant piety." St. Ambrose expresses his scorn for those who would play the lyre and psaltery instead of singing hymns and psalms; and St. Augustine adjures believers not to turn their hearts to theatrical instruments. The religious guides of the early Christian felt that there would be an incongruity, and even profanity, in the use of the sensuous nerve-exciting effects of instrumental sound in their mystical, spiritual worship. Their high religious and moral enthusiasm needed no aid from external strings; the pure vocal utterance as the more proper expression of their faith." (Edward Dickinson, Music in the History of the Western Church, p. 54, 55)

FESSENDEN: "This species. which is the most natural, is to be considered to have existed before any other... Instrumental music is also of very ancient date, its invention being ascribed to Tubal, the sixth descendant from Cain. The instrumental music was not practiced by the primitive Christians, but was an aid to devotion of later times, is evident from church history. (Fessenden's Encyclopedia of Art and Music, p. 852)

FINNEY: "The early Christians refused to have anything to do with the instrumental music which they might have inherited from the ancient world." (Theodore Finney, A History of Music, 1947, p. 43)

FISHER: "Church music, which at the outset consisted mainly of the singing of psalms, flourished especially in Syria and at Alexandria. The music was very simple in its character. There was some sort of alternate singing in the worship of Christians, as is described by Pliny. The introduction of antiphonal singing at Antioch is ascribed by tradition to Ignatius ... The primitive church music was choral and congregational." (George Park Fisher, Yale Professor, History of the Christian Church, p. 65, 121)

FULLER: "The history of the church during the first three centuries affords many instances of primitive Christians engaging in singing, but no mention, (that I recollect) is made of instruments. (If my memory does not deceive me) it originated in the dark ages of popery, when almost every other superstition was introduced. At present, it is most used and where the least regard is paid to primitive simplicity." (Andrew Fuller, Baptist, Complete works of Andre Fuller, Vol 3, P. 520, 1843)

GARRISON: "There is no command in the New Testament, Greek or English, commanding the use of the instrument. Such a command would be entirely out of harmony with the New Testament." (J.H. Garrison, Christian Church)

GIRADEAU: "The church, although lapsing more and more into deflection from the truth and into a corrupting of apostolic practice, had not instrumental music for 1200 years (that is, it was not in general use before this time); The Calvinistic Reform Church ejected it from its service as an element of popery, even the church of England having come very nigh its extrusion from her worship. It is heresy in the sphere of worship." (John Giradeau, Presbyterian professor in Columbia Theological Seminary, Instrumental Music, p. 179)

HASTING: If instrumental music was not part of early Christian worship, when did it become acceptable? Several reference works will help us see the progression of this practice among churches: "Pope Vitalian introduced an organ in the church in the seventh century to aid the singing but it was opposed and was removed." (James Hasting, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics.)

HUMPHREYS: "One of the features which distinguishes the Christian religion from almost all others is its quietness; it aims to repress the outward signs of inward feeling. Savage instinct, and the religion of Greece also, had employed the rhythmic dance and all kinds of gesticulatory notions to express the inner feelings . . . The early Christians discouraged all outward signs of excitement, and from the very beginning, in the music they used, reproduced the spirit of their religion-an inward quietude. All the music employed in their early services was vocal." (Frank Landon Humphreys, Evolution of Church Music, p. 42)

KILLEN: "It is not, therefore, strange that instrumental music was not, heard in their congregational services..... In the early church the whole congregation joined in the singing, but instrumental music did not accompany the praise" (W. D. Killen, The Ancient Church, pp. 193, 423).

KURTZ: "At first the church music was simple, artless, recitative. But rivalry of heretics forced the orthodox church to pay greater attention to the requirements of art. Chrysostom had to declaim against the secularization of church music. More lasting was the opposition to the introduction of instrumental music." (John Kurtz, Lutheran Scholar, Church History, Vol 1, p. 376)

LANG: "All our sources deal amply with vocal music of the church, but they are chary with mention of any other manifestations of musical art . . . The development of Western music was decisively influenced by the exclusion of musical instruments from the early Christian Church." (Paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization, p. 53-54)

LEICHTENTRITT: "The Biblical precept to "sing" the psalms, not merely recite, them, was obeyed literally, as is testified by many statements in the writings of the saints. Pope Leo I, who lived about 450, expressly related that "the Psalms of David arc piously sung everywhere in the Church." Only singing however, and no playing of instruments, was permitted in the early Christian Church. In this respect the Jewish tradition was not continued. In the earlier Jewish temple service many instruments mentioned in-the Bible had been used. But instrumental music had been thoroughly discredited in the meantime by the lascivious Greek and Roman virtuoso music of the later ages, and it appeared unfit for the divine service. The aulos was held in especial abhorrence, whereas some indulgence was granted to the lyre and cithara, permitted by some saints at least for private worship, though not in church services. It is interesting to note that the later Jewish temple service has conformed to the early Christian practice and, contrary to Biblical tradition, has banned all instruments. Orthodox Jewish synagogues now object even to the use of the organ. (Hugo Leichtentritt, Music, History and Ideas, Howard University Press: Cambridge, 1958, p 34)

LONDON: (London Encyclopedia says the organ is said to have been first introduced into church music in about 658AD.)

LORENZ: "Yet there was little temptation to undue elaboration of hymnody or music. The very spirituality of the new faith made ritual or liturgy superfluous and music almost unnecessary. Singing (there was no instrumental accompaniment) was little more than a means of expressing in a practicable, social way, the common faith and experience. . . . The music was purely vocal. There was no instrumental accompaniment of any kind. . . . It fell under the ban of the Christian church, as did all other instruments, because of its pagan association" (E. S. Lorenz, Church Music, pp. 217, 250, 404)

MCCLINTOCK: "The general introduction of instrumental music can certainly not be assigned to a date earlier than the 5th and 6th centuries; yea, even Gregory the Great, who towards the end of the 6th century added greatly to the existing church music, absolutely prohibited the use of instruments. Several centuries later the introduction of the organ in sacred service gave the place to instruments as accompaniments for Christian song, and from that time to this they have been freely used with few exceptions. The first organ is believed to have been used in the Church service in the 13th century. Organs were however, in use before this in the theater. They were never regarded with favor in the Eastern Church, and were vehemently opposed in some of the Western churches." (McClintock and Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, Vol 6, p. 759)

MCCLINTOCK Sir John Hawkins, following the Romanish writers in his erudite work on the history of music, made Pope Vitalian, in A.D. 660, the first who introduced organs into the churches. But students of ecclesiastical archaeology are generally agreed that instrumental music was not used in churches till a much later date; for Thomas Aquinas [Catholic Scholar in 1250 A.D.] has these remarkable words, 'Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may seem not to Judaize.'" (McClintock and Strong, Encyclopedia of Biblical Literature, Vol. 6, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1894, pg. 762.)

MCCLINTOCK "The Greek word 'psallo' is applied among the Greeks of modern times exclusively to sacred music, which in the Eastern Church has never been any other than vocal, instrumental music being unknown in that church, as it was in the primitive church." (McClintock & Strong, Vol. 8, p. 739).

NAUMAN "There can be no doubt that originally the music of the divine service was every where entirely of a vocal nature." (Emil Nauman, The History of Music. Vol. I, p. 177)

NEWMAN "In 1699 the Baptists received an invitation from Thomas Clayton, rector of Christ Church, to unite with the Church of England. They replied in a dignified manner, declining to do so unless he could prove, "that the Church of Christ under the New Testament may consist or . . . a mixed multitude and their seed, even all the members of a nation, . . . whether they are godly or ungodly," that "lords, archbishops, etc., . . . are of divine institution and appointment," and that their vestments, liturgical services, use of mechanical instruments, infant baptism, sprinkling, "signing with the cross in baptism," etc., are warranted by Scripture." … "It may be interesting to note that this church (First Baptist Church of Newport, organized in 1644 cf. p. 88) was one of the first to introduce instrumental music. The instrument was a bass viol and caused considerable commotion. This occurred early in the nineteenth century.  (Albert Henry Newman, A History of the Baptist Churches in the United States, American Baptist Publication Society 1915, p. 207, 255)

NICETA "It is time to turn to the New Testament to confirm what is said in the Old, and, particularly, to point out that the office of psalmody is not to be considered abolished merely because many other observances of the Old Law have fallen into disuse. Only the corporal institutions have been rejected, like circumcision, the Sabbath, sacrifices, discrimination of foods. So, too, the trumpets, harps, cymbals, and timbrels. For the sound of these we now have a better substitute in the music from the mouths of men. The daily ablutions, the new-moon observances, the careful inspection of leprosy are completely past and gone, along with whatever else was necessary only for a time - as it were, for children." (Niceta, a bishop of Remesian or Yugoslavia)

PAHLEN "These chants - and the word chant (and not music) is used advisedly, for many centuries were to pass before instruments accompanied the sung melodies." (Kurt Pahlen, Music of the World, p. 27)

PAPADOPOULOS "The execution of Byzantine church music by instruments, or even the accompaniment of sacred chanting by instruments, was ruled out by the Eastern Fathers as being incompatible with the pure, solemn, spiritual character of the religion of Christ. The Fathers of the church, in accordance with the example of psalmodizing of our Savior and the ho ly Apostles, established that only vocal music be used in the churches and severely forbade instrumental music as being secular and hedonic, and in general as evoking pleasure without spiritual value" (G. I. Papadopoulos, A Historical Survey of Byzantine Ecclesiastical Music (in Greek), Athens, 1904, pp. 10, II).

POSEY "For years the Baptists fought the introduction of instrumental music into the churches...Installation of the organ brought serious difficulties in many churches" (Wm. B. Posey, Baptist, The Baptist Church In The Lower Mississippi Valley).

PRESBYTERIAN "Question 6. Is there any authority for instrumental music in the worship of God under the present dispensation? Answer. Not the least, only the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs was appointed by the apostles; not a syllable is said in the New Testament in favor of instrumental music nor was it ever introduced into the Church until after the eighth century, after the Catholics had corrupted the simplicity of the gospel by their carnal inventions. It was not allowed in the Synagogues, the parish churches of the Jews, but was confined to the Temple service and was abolished with the rites of that dispensation." (Questions on the Confession of Faith and Form of Government of The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, published by the Presbyterian Board of Publications, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1842, pg. 55.)

PRATT "The, First Christian Songs. - Singing in public and private worship was a matter of course for the early Christians. For Jewish converts this was a continuance of synagogue customs, but since the Church grew mostly among non-Jews, the technical forms employed were more Greek than Hebrew. The use of instruments was long resisted, because of their association with pagan sensuality." (Waldo Selden Pratt, The History of Music, 1935, p. 64)

RIDDLE "In the first ages of the Christian church the psalms of David were always chanted or sung. In the Apostolic Constitutions (Book II, P. 57), we find it laid down an a rule that one of those officiating ministers should chant or sing psalms or David, and that the people should join by repeating the ends of the verses. The instruments of music were introduced into the Christians church in the ninth century. There were unknown alike to the early church and to all ancients. The large wind organ was known, however, long before it was introduced into the churches of the west. The first organ used in worship was one which was received by Charlemagne in France as a present from the Emperor Constantine.' (J.E. Riddle, Christian Antiquities, p. 384)

RITTER "We have no real knowledge of the exact character of the music which formed a part of the religious devotion of the first Christian congregations. It was, however purely vocal." (Frederic Louis Ritter, History of Music from the Christian Era to the Present Time, p. 28)

ROBERTSON "The word (psalleto) originally meant to play on a stringed instrument (Sir. 9:4), but it comes to be used also for singing with the voice and heart (Eph. 5:19; 1 Cor. 14:15), making melody with the heart also to the Lord" (A. T. Robertson, Baptist Greek scholar, Baptist Studies in the Nestle James, comment on James 5:13)

SCHAFF "The use of organs in churches is ascribed to Pope Vitalian (657-672). Constantine Copronymos sent an organ with other presents to King Pepin of France in 767. Charlemagne received one as a present from the Caliph Haroun al Rashid, and had it put up in the cathedral of Aixia-Chapelle... The attitude of the churches toward the organ varies. It shared, to some extent, the fate of images, except that it never was an object of worship... The Greek church disapproved the use of organs. The Latin church introduced it pretty generally, but not without the protest of eminent men, so that even in the Council of Trent a motion was made, though not carried, to prohibit the organ at least in the mass." (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 4, pg. 439.)

SHAFF "The first organ certainly known to exist and be used in a church was put in the cathedral at Aix-la-chapel by the German emperor, Charlemange, who came to the throne in 768AD. It met with great opposition among the Romanists, especially among the monks, and that it made its was but slowly into common use. So great was the opposition even as late as the 16th century that it would have been abolished by the council of Trent but for the influence of the Emperor Ferdinand…. In the Greek church the organ never came into use... The Reform church discarded it; and though the church of Basel very early introduced it, it was in other places admitted only sparingly and after long hesitation." (Shaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, Vol 2, p. 1702)

SCHAFF "It is questionable whether, as used in the New Testament, 'psallo' means more than to sing . . . The absence of instrumental music from the church for some centuries after the apostles and the sentiment regarding it which pervades the writing, the fathers are unaccountable, if in the apostolic church such music was used" (Schaff-Herzog, Vol. 3, p. 961).

SCHAFF "In the Greek church the organ never came into use. But after the 8th century it became more and more common in the Latin church; not without opposition from the side of the monks." (Schaff-Herzogg Encyclopedia, Vol 10, p. 657-658)

SCHAFF "The custom of organ accompaniment did not become general among Protestants until the eighteenth century." (The New Shaff-Herzogg Encyclopedia, 1953, Vol 10, p. 257)

'Praise the Lord with harp.' Israel was at school, and used childish things to help her to learn; but in these days when Jesus gives us spiritual food, one can make melody without strings and pipes... We do not need them. That would hinder rather than help our praise. Sing unto him. This is the sweetest and best music. No instrument is like the human voice." (Charles Spurgeon (Baptist), Commentary on Psalm 42.)

TAPPER "Both sexes joined in singing, but instruments of every kind were prohibited for a long time" (Thomas Tapper, Essentials of Music History, p. 34)

CAMPBELL "[Instrumental music in worship] was well adapted to churches founded on the Jewish pattern of things and practicing infant sprinkling. That all persons singing who have no spiritual discernment, taste or relish for spiritual meditation, consolations and sympathies of renewed hearts should call for such an aid is but natural. So to those who have no real devotion and spirituality in them, and whose animal nature flags under the opposition or the oppression of church service I think that instrumental music would... be an essential prerequisite to fire up their souls to even animal devotion. But I presume, that to all spiritually-minded Christians, such aid would be as a cow bell in a concert." (Alexander Campbell, recorded in Robert Richardson's biography, Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, Vol. 2., p366)

FRANKLIN "If any one had told us, 40 years ago, that we would live to see the day where those professing to be Christians who claim the Holy Scriptures as their only rule of faith and practice, those under the command, and who profess to appreciate the meaning of the command to 'observe whatsoever I have commanded you' would bring instruments of music into a worshipping assembly and use it there in worship, we should have repelled the idea as an idle dream. But this only shows how little we knew of what men would do; or how little we saw of the power of the adversary to subvert the purest principles, to deceive the hearts of the simple, to undermine the very foundation of all piety, and turn the very worship of God itself into an attraction for the people of the world and entertainment, or amusement." (Benjamin Franklin, Gospel Preacher, Vol 2, p. 411, 419-429)

FRANKLIN "Instrumental music is permissible for a church under the following conditions: 1. When a church never had or has lost the Spirit of Christ. 2. If a church has a preacher who never had or has lost the Spirit of Christ, who has become a dry, prosing and lifeless preacher. 3. If a church only intends being a fashionable society, a mere place of amusements and secular entertainment and abandoning the idea of religion and worship. 4. If a church has within it a large number of dishonest and corrupt men. 5. If a church has given up all idea of trying to convert the world." (Ben Franklin, editor of American Christian Review, 1860.)

LIPSCOMB "Neither he [Paul] nor any other apostle, nor the Lord Jesus, nor any of the disciples for five hundred years, used instruments. This too, in the face of the fact that the Jews had used instruments in the days of their prosperity and that the Greeks and heathen nations all used them in their worship. They were dropped out with such emphasis that they were not taken up till the middle of the Dark Ages, and came in as part of the order of the Roman Catholic Church. It seems there cannot be doubt but that the use of instrumental music in connection with the worship of God, whether used as a part of the worship or as an attraction accompaniment, is unauthorized by God and violates the oft-repeated prohibition to add nothing to, take nothing from, the commandments of the Lord. It destroys the difference between the clean and the unclean, the holy and unholy, counts the blood of the Son of God unclean, and tramples under foot the authority of the Son of God. They have not been authorized by God or sanctified with the blood of his Son." (David Lipscomb, Queries and Answers by David Lipscomb p. 226-227, and Gospel Advocate, 1899, p. 376-377)

MCGARVEY "And if any man who is a preacher believes that the apostle teaches the use of instrumental music in the church by enjoining the singing of psalms, he is one of those smatters in Greek who can believe anything that he wishes to believe. When the wish is father to the thought, correct exegesis is like water on a duck's back" (J. W. McGarvey, Biblical Criticism, p. 116).

MCGARVEY "We cannot, therefore, by any possibility, know that a certain element of worship is acceptable to God in the Christian dispensation, when the Scriptures which speak of that dispensation are silent in reference to it. To introduce any such element is unscriptural and presumptuous. It is will worship, if any such thing as will worship can exist. On this ground we condemn the burning of incense, the lighting of candles, the wearing of priestly robes, and the reading of printed prayers. On the same ground we condemn instrumental music." (J.W. McGarvey, The Millennial Harbinger, 1864, pp. 511-513.)

MCGARVEY "It is manifest that we cannot adopt the practice with out abandoning the obvious and only ground On Which a restoration of Primitive Christianity can be accomplished, or on which the plea for it can be maintained. Such is my profound conviction, and consequently, the question with me is not one concerning the choice or rejection of an expedient, but the maintenance or abandonment of a fundamental and necessary principle." (J. W. McGarvey, Apostolic Timer 1881, and What Shall We Do About the Organ? p. 4, 10)

MILLIGAN "The tendency of instrumental music is, t in , to divert the minds of many from the sentiment of the song to the mere sound of the organ, and in this way it often serves to promote formalism in Churches" (Robert Milligan, Scheme of Redemption, p. 386).

PINKERTON "So far as known to me, or I presume to you, I am the only 'preacher' in Kentucky of our brotherhood who has publicly advocated the propriety of employing instrumental music in some churches, and that the church of God in Midway is the only church that has yet made a decided effort to introduce it" (L. L. Pinkerton, American Christian Review, 1860, as quoted by Cecil Willis in W. W. Otey: Contender for the Faith).

STONE "We have just received an extraordinary account of about 30,000 Methodists in England, withdrawing from that church and connexion, because the Conference disapproved of the introduction of instrumental music to the churches. The full account shall appear in our next. To us, backwoods Americans, this conduct of those seceders appears be the extreme of folly, and it argues that they have a greater taste for music, than they have for religion. Editor." (Barton Stone, Christian Messenger, vol. 3, No. 2, Dec. 1828, p. 48 in bound volume)

WEST "Apostasy in music among 19th century churches that had endeavored to restore New Testament authority in worship and work began, in the main, following the Civil War' In 1868, Ben Franklin guessed that there were ten thousand congregations an not over fifty had used an instrument in worship." (Earl West, Search for the Ancient Order, Vol. 2, pp. 80, 81)

KORAN PREFACE: "So well has it (the Qur'an) been preserved both in memory and in writing, that the Arabic text we have today is identical to the text as it was revealed to the Prophet. Not even a single letter has yielded to corruption during the passage of the centuries. And so it will remain forever, by the consent of Allah." (The Holy Qur'an, English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary, King Fahd Holy Qur'an Printing Complex, Preface, p. v)

FREE FROM ERROR: "The text of the Glorious Qur'an has been perfectly preserved from the time of Muhammad to the present. The Qur'an is completely free from error. Nothing has been added and nothing has been taken away." So countless Muslims have claimed and continue to claim. Is their claim based on a serious study of the textual history of the Qur'an? Or is it possible that their claim rests more on blind faith and even wishful thinking? Consider just one chapter (cccxci) from the Canonical Traditions of Muslim, a collection of Traditions highly respected by most Muslims:

(2282) Anas reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: If the son of Adam were to possess two valleys of riches, he would long for the third one. And the stomach of the son of Adam is not filled but with dust. And Allah returns to him who repents.

(2283) Anas b. Malik reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying this, but I do not know whether this thing was revealed to him or not, but he said so.

(2284) Anas b. Malik reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: If there were two valleys of gold for the son of Adam, he would long for another one, and his mouth will not be filled but with dust, and Allah returns to him who repents.

(2285) Ibn'Abbas reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: If there were for the son of Adam a valley full of riches, he would long to possess another one like it, and Ibn Adam does not feel satiated but with dust. And Allah returns to him who returns (to Him). Ibn 'Abbas said: I do not know whether it is from the Qur'an or not; and in the narration transmitted by Zuhair it was said: I do not know whether it is from the Qur'an, and he made no mention of Ibn 'Abbas.

(2286) Abu Harb b. Abu al-Aswad reported on the authority of his father that Abu Musa al-Ash'ari sent for the reciters of Basra. They came to him and they were three hundred in number. They recited the Qur'an and he said: You are the best among the inhabitants of Basra, for you are the reciters among them. So continue to recite it. (But bear in mind) that your reciting for a long time may not harden your hearts as were hardened the hearts of those before you. We used to recite a Sura which resembled in length and severity tO (Sura) Bara'at. I have, however, forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: "If there were two valleys full of riches for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust." And we used to so recite a Sura which resembled one of the suras of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it, but remember (this much) out of it: "O people who believe, why do you say that which you do not practice" (lxi 2.) and "that is recorded in your necks as a witness (against you) and you would be asked about in on the Day of Resurrection" (xvii. 13)." (Sahih Muslim, translated by A. H. Siddiqi, Ashraf, Lahore, pp. 500, 501)

The translator adds the following note with regard to the Sura once recited "which resembled in length and severity to (Sura) Bara'at" (i.e., Sura Tawba or Sura 9, which contains 129 verses!):

The words of this Sura have been abrogated in the Our'an; its meanings have, however, been preserved in other verses of the Our'an, e.g. in Sura xvii, verse 100: "If you possess the treasures of the mercy of my Lord, you would then withhold (them) from fear of spending (it away). And man in ever niggardly."

This is the case of the abrogation of words, but the preservation of meaning both in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

The Musabbihat ("The Praisers" of God) suras are suras 17, 57, 59, 61, 62, 64, and 77.

[Therefore nothing has been taken away from the Qur'an???]

For more information on the subject of variant readings, including even suras omitted form or added to the Quran of Uthman, see Arthur Jeffery, Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an, which focuses on Ibn Abi Dawud's Kitab al-Masahif and a collection of variant readings, for the Qur'an collections of Ibn Mas'ud, Ubai and others which existed prior to the textus receptus of Uthman (Brill, Leiden, 1937).

CRITICIZING THE BIBLE: "Many Muslims try to capitalize in their debates on the fact that there are variant readings of Biblical text in the many manuscripts we have of it. This is natural for hand copied texts and nothing else can be expected. Just try yourself to copy down by hand twenty pages of any book, then let a friend proofread it and see how many mistakes he finds. It is humanly nearly impossible to copy by hand without any error. In a certain sense Muslims have the "advantage" that Christians have carefully documented these variants in scholarly journals and monographs. Christian and secular scholars are openly discussing these problems in the discipline of textual criticism.

On the other hand, Muslim have the well known propaganda statement that there are no variants in the Qur'an at all and the Qur'an has been the same text even to the detail of each single letter and that this was so from the very beginning. More educated Muslims know that this is not true, but the average Muslim is made to believe this objectively wrong claim.

In particular, let us ask why some of the oldest manuscripts are not photographically reproduced and made available to the public and the scholars. Why not start with the Topkapi manuscript in Istambul, the Taschkent manuscript, and the two old manuscripts in Cairo and Damascus. They are not Uthmanic manuscripts as some believe, but they are quite old. And then, publish them together in a format that makes it easy to compare them, or even beter, listing all the differences between the texts, like it is done for the critical editions of the Bible text.

The internal dichotomy of a Muslim who converted to Christianity, from the internet:

"But also in my quest to use the Quran as my standard, and the teaching and life of Mohammad as a model for life, I had some significant difficulties, for example:

The whole concept of "abrogation". That God chose to reveal verses in the Quran that supercede earlier revelation in the same Quran. How could an eternal revelation of God have such time bound revelation seemed at odds with the nature of God?

The inconsistency of the messages, for example facing Jerusalem and then Mecca; or fornication being a sin, but one can have sex with many slave women that have no legal marriage status; tolerance and peace message of earlier revelation, but the command to fight all unbelievers in later revelation.

The need for revisions of the Quran to standardize it and ordering the burning of all the older copies. Why this need to leave no trace of what the edited versions did not contain and why.

The unequal status of woman compared to men in area of marriage, rule of law, social etiquette, modesty, etc.

Treatment of non-Muslims in the community and the command to Jihad." --- http://answering-islam.org/

"And while the Crusaders may have fought with the cross on their shields, they did not – could not – cite words from Jesus to justify their slaughters." --Newsweek, Feb 11, 200, pg 51-57 (Jesus told his followers to "turn the other cheek," "go the second mile," "live at peace with all men," and told Peter to put his sword away).

(Taken off the internet): I received the following email on 09/25/01 from a friend who is in a ministry to Muslims in the Mediterranean world.  He is a former Muslim himself from north Africa.  It was sobering to me to realize that Bin Laden is simply following what the Quran calls for.

********

Dear friends,

Many of you sent emails this week, asking the Question whether Islam advocates peace, as was stated by many Muslims, Christians and non-religious groups in the wake of the latest tragedy.

Here are some of the facts:

The Quran clearly states that, whether a Muslim wants it or not, war is a necessity of existence, a fact of life. Sura 2:216 says, " Fighting is prescribed for you and you dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you love a thing  which is bad for you. Allah knows and you know not."

Sura 2:190 states, "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you.. and slay them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out, for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter, but

fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they first fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith.. and fight them on until there is no more persecution and oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah."

Sura 9:5 says, " Fight and slay the infidels wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem Islam, contrarily to common knowledge does not recognize other religions, including Christianity and Judaism as from God. Sura 3:85 says, "And if anyone desires a religion other than Islam, NEVER will it be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost."

And Sura 49:15 adds, "The true believers are those only who believe in Allah and his messenger (Mohamed), and afterward doubt not, but strive with THEIR WEALTH AND THEIR LIVES for the cause of Allah."

Now, we who belong to the Prince of Peace, know that PEACE is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-26), and that we called to pursue peace with all men (Heb. 12:15).

It is also important to understand that in Islam, the world is viewed as two separate entities :

1. "Dar-al-salam" or the house of peace

2. "Dar-al-harb" or the house of war.

ALL Muslim or the Islamic UMMA reside in the house of peace, and the rest of us are in the house of war. The responsibility and duty of every Muslim is to "SUBDUE" the house of war and bring it under the house of peace, and

this is done using the Jihad, which simply means to fight the house of war by ANY means (financial, or otherwise....)

As you can see, the peace Muslim talk about applies ONLY to those who are in the house of peace, ie. Muslims.

Having said all that, I think it is very important for us Christians to be careful to differentiate between Islam and the Muslim people. Behind the first is Satan himself, while Jesus shed His blood for the Muslim people as well.

Please pray for us. Emotions among the Maghrebis are high. There have been many arrests in France and in Europe. My prayer is that what is happening will bring us to our knees and closer to the likeness of our Lord and Savior as we eagerly await His return.

Your brother

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