Obama to ask Israel for direct peace talks based on Arab League peace plan

President Obama today appears to have taken a significant step in his peace plans for the Middle East. Obama met with King Abdullah of Jordan in Washington and according to Haaretz, he was "very impressed" with the Arab peace plan.

The Arab peace plan to which Obama was referring is the 2002 Arab Initiative which -among other things- calls on Israel to pull its national borders back to the pre-1967 war lines. In other words, according to the Arab League, for peace to be achieved in the Middle East it is incumbant upon Israel to surrender: the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Old Jerusalem. And Israel must accept a Palestinian state. In exchange, the Arabs promise to establish normal realtions with Israel and take charge of security for the region.

Naturally, the Arab Initiative is a one-sided initiative favoring the Arabs. Perhaps that is why the Obama Administration chose its words carefully via its Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, saying the White House plans to "incorporate" the Arab Initiative into their own Middle East peace plan. Reiterating this point, President Obama in the press conference following his meeting with King Abdullah complemented the Arab Peace Initiative as "a very constructive start." In political speak this sounds as though Obama is in favor of the Arab Initiative.

Interestingly, Debkafile notes that "The Jordanian king left with the president a document listing the deal the Arab states are ready to offer Israel for withdrawing to the pre-1967 war lines, i.e. evacuating the West Bank, Golan Heights and historic Jerusalem, and accepting the foundation of a Palestinian state. The two leaders agreed the document would not be published before Obama presents it to Netanyahu at the White House in June. He will ask the Israeli prime minister for an immediate answer and urge him to accept the Arab peace plan as the basis for direct negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria in which the United States will be actively engaged. Our sources add that the US president is seriously considering making a televised speech before Netanyahu's arrival to play up the Arab proposals on offer provided Israel is ready to make far-reaching concessions to the Palestinians and Syria."

Leo Rennert in his American Thinker piece rightly concludes, "One is left to wonder if the President is aware of the full implications of the Saudi-Arab peace initiative, or how he's put Israel behind the eight ball by praising King Abdullah's efforts to put it front and center in future peace negotiations. Since Obama previously was quoted as saying that 'the Israelis would be crazy not to support this initiative,' it is past time for him to explain how he reconciles the real Saudi plan with Israel's real security challenges."

Will the Land of Milk and Honey Yield Oil and Gas?

Evidently the recent news of Israel's huge gas discovery is generating news stories of the possibility of oil in Israel as well. Eric Fox, Founder of Brittain Capital Management, wrote a recent piece for Investopedia titled, "Will Land Of Milk And Honey Yield Oil And Gas?"

In the piece Fox gives some great information on two of the leading companies (Noble Energy and Zion Oil and Gas) currently doing exploration off Israel's shore as well as onshore exploration. Noble Energy owns a sizeable stake in the massive Israeli gas discovery recently announced.

G-20 forms global "Financial Stability Board"

The recent G-20 meeting in London, with President Barack Obama's blessing, formed an entity that appears to have a great deal of authority in global economic matters. The entity is the "Financial Stability Board."

In a video posted on YouTube, Political consultant and Fox News contributor, Dick Morris, says of the new Financial Stability Board: "Obama is a willing accomplice to a decision that effectively repealed the U.S. Declaration of Independence and abrogated the sovereignty of the United States."

Jerome Corsi of WorldNetDaily wrote, "By agreeing to the stipulations in this document, President Obama gave the blessing of the United States to the G20 decision to elevate the Financial Stability Forum into the Financial Stability Board. The United States has only one vote in the newly constituted Financial Stability Board, a group that will be largely controlled by European central bankers."

A Bloomberg piece titled, "G-2o Shapes New World Order With Lesser Role for U.S., Markets," made this statement, "Global leaders took their biggest steps yet toward a new world order that’s less U.S.-centric with a more heavily regulated financial industry and a greater role for international institutions and emerging markets."

The document put out by the G-20 titled, "Declaration on Strengthening the Financial System," declaraes that the Financial Stability Board will have authority reaching even as far as compensation for employees including U.S. companies. The document states, "Supervisors [Financial Stability Board] will assess firms’ compensation policies as part of their overall assessment of their soundness. Where necessary they will intervene with responses that can include increased capital requirements."

The Bloomberg piece also quoted Joseph Stiglitz, “This is a major step forward and a reversal of the ideology of the 1990s, and at a very official level, a rejection of the ideas pushed by the U.S. and others,” said Stiglitz, an economics professor at Columbia University. “It’s a historic moment when the world came together and said we were wrong to push deregulation.” Stiglitz headed a panel of experts appointed by the United Nations who recommended the forming of a Global Economic Council.

With the recent talk of a global currency and now the formation of the Financial Stability Board, it looks as though the free markets could be a thing of the past and a one-world economy may be looming.

BYU student newspaper gaffe: LDS "Apostates" not Apostles

The student newspaper of Brigham Young University, The Daily Universe, printed a typo of epic proportions. A front-page caption for a picture of the LDS Church's 12 Apostles referred to the LDS Apostles as "apostates" instead of "apostles."

The paper later printed a lengthy apology for the typo and had to pull 18,000 copies from newsstands. According to the Associated Press, the paper's staff retrieved most of the 18,000 errant papers and replaced them with 10,000 corrected versions.

FBI raids money transfer businesses in Minneapolis

The FBI raided 3 Minneapolis money transfer businesses today. About 15 FBI agents carried away several boxes of documentation and copied the hard drives of the computers in the offices.

According to the Associated Press, the search warrant obtained by the FBI on April 3 in the federal Eastern District of Missouri said "authorities were looking for documents, books, records, ledgers and other materials 'relating to the transfer of money, currency or funds' to Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. It also sought documents on ownership and management of the business and lists of clients. It covered materials from January 2007 to the present."

The local Fox affiliate in Minneapolis notes, "The FBI raided the transfer businesses in search of money transfers after January 2007 --about the same time several young Somali men from Minneapolis went missing, suspected of going back to Somali to fight in a holy war."

Hezbollah using Mexican drug routes into U.S.

The Iran-backed terrorist group, Hezbollah, which makes its base of operations in Lebanon is known to be working with the cartels of Mexico not just in drug trafficking but also in trafficking people, says The Washington Times.

Michael Braun, retired assistant administrator and chief operating officer at the Drug Enforcement Administration said that Hezbollah uses "the same criminal weapons smugglers, document traffickers and transportation experts as the drug cartels."

"They work together," said Mr. Braun. "They rely on the same shadow facilitators. One way or another, they are all connected. They'll leverage those relationships to their benefit, to smuggle contraband and humans into the U.S.; in fact, they already are [smuggling]."

The Washington Times piece goes on to say,

"A U.S. official with knowledge of U.S. law enforcement operations in Latin America said, 'we noted the same trends as Mr. Braun' and that Hezbollah has used Mexican transit routes to smuggle contraband and people into the U.S.

Two U.S. law enforcement officers, familiar with counterterrorism operations in the U.S. and Latin America, said that 'it was no surprise' that Hezbollah members have entered the U.S. border through drug cartel transit routes.

'The Mexican cartels have no loyalty to anyone,' one of the officials told The Washington Times. 'They will willingly or unknowingly aid other nefarious groups into the U.S. through the routes they control. It has already happened. That's why the border is such a serious national security issue.'"

Given the fact that the U.S. government has done very little to secure the southern border and that the war with the cartels has greatly intensified in the last couple of years this is very disturbing news.

UN Human Rights Council approves call to curb religious criticism

The United Nations Human Rights Council yesterday approved a measure to urge countries around the world to protect religion from criticism. The resolution was put forward by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of The Islamic Conference.

The resolution encourages nations to provide "protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general."

The Associated Press story stated, "Muslim nations have argued that religions, in particular Islam, must be shielded from criticism in the media and other areas of public life. They cited cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as an example of unacceptable free speech."

The resolution also says that Islam, "is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism."

Standing in opposition to the resolution were Canada, all European Union countries, Switzerland, Ukraine and Chile.

The fact that a "Human Rights Council" would actively encourage nations to stifle free speech is simply absurd and antithetical to standing up for human rights.

Global Economic Council to be proposed at G-20

A panel of experts appointed by the United Nations is expected to recommend a "Global Economic Council" at the upcoming April 2 G-20 conference in London. The panel of experts is headed by economics scholar, Joseph Stiglitz, who is a professor at Columbia University and recipient of the Nobel Prize in economics.

The idea of a global economics council was originally proposed by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel earlier this year. Mrs. Merkel said, "All of these issues... need to be enshrined in a charter for the global economic order....This may even lead to a UN Economic Council, just as the Security Council was created after World War II."

According to the Associated Press, Stiglitz' panel is going to propose that the Global Economic Council "should 'help set the agenda for global economic and financial reforms' and work together with all important global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the International Labor Organization, the panel said. Proposals by the panel, which also include creating international bodies for financial regulations and competition policies, will be discussed at a G-20 financial summit to be held in London on April 2."

Granting the United Nations controlling power over a global economy could among other things mean the end of free markets and could easily lead to tyranny.

Is a global currency emerging?

Ahead of the G-20 meeting slated for April 2 in London, some influential world leaders are clamoring for a global currency arguing that it would remedy the world's current economic woes.

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has been voicing his belief that the ruble should be used as a regional reserve currency.

President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, pitched the idea of a global currency called the "acmetal" which is a fusion of the words "acme" and "capital." And according to the Moscow Times he also suggested, "that the Eurasian Economic Community, a loose group of five former Soviet republics including Kazakhstan and Russia, adopt a single noncash currency -- the yevraz -- to insulate itself from the global economic crisis."

Reuters reported last week that a United Nations panel plans to announce their recommendation that the dollar should be "ditched" as the world's reserve currency in favor of a "shared basket" of currencies. The shared basket of currencies apparently will function as a conglomeration of currencies much like the old European Currency Unit.

Canadian economist and Nobel prize winning professor Robert Mundel is also pushing for a global currency. Mundel is credited as the intellect behind the creation of the Euro.

In a move that will likely further weaken the dollar, the Federal Reserve last week announced that it will put $1 trillion into the system by buying debt from the U.S. Treasury. The further weakening of the dollar will certainly propel the plans of the global currency proponents.

Needless to say, the G-20 meeting will undoubtedly be filled much discussion not just on whether or not the would should move to a global currency, but on how to actually move the world to a global currency. Perhaps this is part of what British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was referring to a few days ago when he said a global New Deal could happen in months.

Some Guantanamo Detainees May Be Released in U.S.

In a stunning statement, the Obama administration has admitted that it may release Guantanamo detainees into the continental U.S. According to a story in today's Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, made this statement,

"European justice ministers met with Mr. Holder earlier this week and pressed for details on how many Guantanamo prisoners the U.S. planned to release domestically, as part of any agreement for allies to accept detainees. Mr. Holder said U.S. officials would work to respond to the questions European officials have over U.S. Guantanamo plans. For 'people who can be released there are a variety of options that we have and among them is the possibility is that we would release them into this country,' Mr. Holder said. 'That process is ongoing and we've not made any determinations or made any requests of anybody at this point.'"

State of Minnesota offers Islamic mortgages

Since Sharia Law forbids Muslims to obtain interest bearing loans, Minnesota Public Radio reports that the state of Minnesota is now offering mortgages tailored specifically for Muslims.

According to the MPR piece, the arrangement between qualifying Muslims and the state of Minnesota works like this:

"The state buys a home and resells it to the buyer at a higher price. The down payment and monthly installments are agreed to up front at current mortgage rates. The deal is identical to a thirty-year fixed-rate loan, except there's no additional interest, because the higher up front price factors in payments that would have been made over the life of a traditional mortgage. A handful of private banks and lending institutions offer Islamic mortgages in the U.S., but Minnesota Housing is the first state agency to offer such a product."

Evidently, the loans actually do include interest, but it is just not called "interest" and it is loaded on the front end instead of throughout the life of the mortgage. This arrangement raises some significant questions. Not the least of which is that paying an inflated price for a house -"interest free" mortgage or not- does not seem wise for the buyer or the market. Furthermore, one has to wonder how rearranging the interest actually gets the Muslim buyer around the Sharia Law prohibition against paying interest.

British Prime Minister: Global New Deal possible in months

In a March 3 Yahoo! News story, British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, told reporters in the Oval Office,

"Look, there is the possibility in the next few months of a global new deal that will involve all the countries of the world in sorting out and cleaning up the banking system. There is the possibility of all the different countries of the world coming together to agree the expansion in the economy that is necessary to restore confidence and to give people jobs and growth and prosperity for the future. There is the possibility of the international institutions for the first time being reformed in such a way that they can do the job that people want them to do, and deal with some of the problems that exist in the poorest countries of the world."

Perhaps as was discussed on this blog a few weeks ago, a global government is not just plausible, but is now very near!

Ray Comfort offers famous atheist $10k to debate him

In a recent WorldNet Daily piece, Christian apologist Ray Comfort challenged famous atheist, Richard Dawkins to a debate stating,

“I will donate $10,000 to him, or give it to any children’s charity he names. All I ask is that he goes into a studio and gives me 20 minutes on why there is no God and why evolution is scientific. Then I will give 20 minutes on how we can know God exists and why evolution is nothing more than an unsubstantiated and unscientific fairy tale for grownups. Then we both will have 10 minutes to respond. Sadly, I have found that even evolution’s most staunch believers are afraid to debate, because they know that their case for atheism and evolution is less than extremely weak. I would be delighted (and honored) if Mr. Dawkins has the courage to debate me, but I'm not holding my breath.”

Dawkins of course is not only famous for his books, but he also made a guest appearance in Ben Stein’s movie, “EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed” and is notorious for rejecting Intelligent Design while also suggesting that aliens may have originated life on earth and that he is 99% sure no god exists.

Israel’s natural gas discovery much larger than original estimate

In a February 10, 2009 press release, Noble Energy announced that the huge natural gas discovery just off the coast of Haifa, Israel is much larger than the original projections.

Noble Energy made this statement in its press release,

“The pre-drill gross mean resource potential for Tamar was originally estimated at 3.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. Immediately following discovery, we estimated the gross resource potential to be at least equal to the pre-drill mean estimate. After analysis of all the post-drill and production test data, the estimated gross mean resource potential of Tamar has now been increased to 5 Tcf.”

Houston based Noble Energy owns 36% of the Tamar-1 well.

UN: Iran has enough Uranium for a nuclear bomb

The Financial Times of London reports today that the United Nations is now saying that Iran has enough Uranium for a nuclear bomb.

Peter Zimmerman, former chief scientist of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency said this,

“It appears that Iran has walked right up to the threshold of having enough low enriched uranium to provide enough raw material for a single bomb. It’s sure as hell certain that if they didn’t have it [enough] when the IAEA took these measurements, they will have it in a matter of weeks.”

If Benjamin Netanyahu does in fact become the next Prime Minister of Israel, as many expect, it will likely lead to a major conflict between Iran and Israel. As was noted a few days ago on this blog, perhaps that conflict has already begun.

Epsicopal Bishop nominee claims to be Christian and Buddhist

The headline sounds unreal doesn’t it? Well, it is accurate. As unbelievable as it sounds, Episcopal Bishop nominee, Kevin Thew Forrester, actually claims simultaneous adherence to both Christianity and Buddhism. Forrester is currently the interim Ministry Developer and Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Marquette, Michigan.

According to Christian News Wire, Forrester is not the first Episcopal clergyman to claim adherence to Christianity and a non-Christian religion simultaneously.

“Forrester is not the first Episcopal clergyman to hold dual faiths. In 2004, Pennsylvania priest Bill Melnyk was revealed to be a druid; while in 2007 Seattle priest Ann Holmes Redding declared that she was simultaneously an Episcopalian and a Muslim. Both Melnyk and Redding were eventually inhibited from priestly duties. Forrester's background was recently brought to light by the Anglican web site Stand Firm in Faith.”

As Religious Tolerance.org points out in its final section of its comparison of Buddhism to Christianity, Buddhism was originally a non-theistic religion and is now a polytheistic religion to many Buddhists . Hence, Buddhism and Christianity are fundamentally theologically incompatible. So one cannot correctly claim adherence to both Christianity and Buddhism any more than one can correctly claim to be both theist and atheist.

Mormons proxy-baptize serial killer Ted Bundy

The Mormon Church has once again gotten itself into a controversy surrounding its peculiar doctrine of baptism for the dead. The last controversy was when Mormons proxy-baptized Jews who were murdered by Hitler and his Nazi henchmen after the LDS Church’s 1995 agreement not to perform their rites for Jews killed in Nazi concentration camps.

The latest controversy involves notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy, who was the recent recipient of proxy-baptism (baptism for the dead) performed on his behalf in the Jordan River Utah Temple owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Interestingly, Bundy was baptized as a Mormon in 1975 and was later excommunicated by the LDS Church. In Mormonism baptism for the dead is performed by living Mormons for deceased non-Mormons who rejected the Mormon Gospel (a.k.a. the Restored Gospel) in mortality. Bundy, however, given the severity of his actions could be labeled a "Son of Perdition" in Mormonsim and could therefore end up in "Outer Darkness" for eternity.

On the doctrine of baptism for the dead, Mormon Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley stated,

“But there are uncounted millions who have walked the earth and who have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Shall they be denied such blessings as are offered in the temples of the Lord? Through living proxies who stand in behalf of the dead, the same ordinances are available to those who have passed from mortality. In the spirit world these same individuals are then free to accept or reject those earthly ordinances performed for them, including baptism, marriage, and the sealing of family relationships. There's no compulsion in the work of the Lord, but there must be opportunity. This vicarious work constitutes an unprecedented labor of love on the part of the living in behalf of the dead.”

Clearly, the LDS Church has some explaining to do because undoubtedly the church’s actions have reopened some very painful wounds for many families traumatized by Bundy.

Iran's first spy satellite launch could signify nuclear-capable rocket in hand

DEBKAfile reports that Iran launched its first ever spy satellite on February 3, 2009. The implication of the satellite is that Iran now has the capability of launching an ICBM. Given the fact that Iran now has nuclear capabilities it is reasonable to believe that they are now capable or very near capable of launching an ICBM with a nuclear warhead.

The DEBKAfile piece makes this alarming statement,

DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report the new satellite is designed for tracking, research, telecommunications and carries digital measuring instruments. They stress that it is a feather in the hat for Iran's "Military Group" – the team of scientists and technicians working on its clandestine nuclear bomb program. They are clearly moving ahead undisturbed by UN sanctions or technical difficulties toward rapidly finishing work on nuclear warheads for their ballistic rockets.

Clearly, the Iranians are planning to use their new nuclear military power. And with Russia apparently in their corner together they present a very dangerous alliance and threat to Israel and the United States.

Most in the elite media pay little attention to the conflict between Israel and a Russian backed Iran. But in reality that conflict is under way. When Russia invaded Georgia last year they raided an Israeli air base, which they overtook and in so doing captured some Israeli military equipment. Apparently, the Israeli Air Force planned to use the air base to launch an attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities if necessary. Too, Israel assisted Georgia in fighting off the Russians to capture the breakaway capitol of South Ossedia, which greatly angered the Kremlin and will likely bring a Russian reprisal upon Israel. The conflict has commenced and the next strike will undoubtedly be much more decisive.

Austrian insurance company employs workers based on their astrological sign

According to the UK’s Daily Mail, a Salzburg, Austria insurance company placed an ad in a European newspaper in hopes of finding the best possible employees available. The ad, however, limits applicants to those who have specific astrological signs. The Daily Mail piece lists these signs as the ones the company desires of potential employees:

“We are looking for people over 20 for part-time jobs in sales and management with the following star signs: Capricorn, Taurus, Aquarius, Aries and Leo.”

The company’s rationale for the astrological limitation on applicants is,

“A statistical study indicated that almost all of our best employees across Austria have one of the five star signs. We only decided to continue with that system and hire the best workers.”

Philosophically astrology holds the view that man and the universe are connected by a spiritual force whereby man is a microcosm of the patterns of his planets at birth, and the planets reflect one’s inner self.

Tom Hanks Apologizes for Calling Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 "Un-American"

FoxNews reports that actor, Tom Hanks, has apologized for his insulting remark about members of the Mormon church in relation to the Proposition 8 issue. The report states,

"Last week, I labeled members of the Mormon church who supported California's Proposition 8 as 'un-American,'" the actor said in a statement through his publicist. "I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination."

"But everyone has a right to vote their conscience; nothing could be more American," the statement continues. "To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are 'un-American' creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use 'un- American' lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have."

Amazingly, actors assume that the public cares about their political views. Perhaps these spiteful public outbursts from Hollywood are more for attention and dramatics than for making meaningful statements.

And often times members of the audience do not readily separate the actor’s public comments and worldview from his performance on the big screen. The bottom line is that the public expects to be entertained by actors not lectured to, condescended to and insulted.

Israel finds massive natural gas reservoir

WorldNet Daily reports that Israel recently discovered a natural gas reservoir that could be historic and will dramatically change the Israeli economy.

According to the piece,

"We are witnessing an historic moment in Israel's energy market," Israel's National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer told Reuters. "If it turns out in a few weeks that the indicators received in recent days are true, then we are talking about the biggest find in Israel's history."

Israel's Petroleum Commissioner Yaakov Mimran told Reuters that if early finds are validated the site would meet Israel's demand for 15 years.

"If the Tamar site opposite the Haifa coast succeeds in producing the significant quantities of natural gas predicted, we are talking about a revolution which will have an impact on the Israeli economy for the coming generations," Dan Halman, CEO of Halman-Aldubi Group told the Jerusalem Post.

"The vast reservoir is poised to bring down electricity prices, reduce the country's dependence on gas from foreign countries, in particular from Egypt, and thereby turn Israel from a gas importer into a gas exporter," Halman said.

Analysts told Reuters the natural gas find at Tamar No. 1 was worth an estimated $26 billion and would be available for market starting in 2013.

If the reported reservoir pans out it could dramatically alter the dynamic in the Middle East.

Barna: 1 in 3 Christians believe Jesus sinned

A January 12, 2009 Barna survey revealed some disturbing things about the beliefs of American Christians. According to the survey,

“Among individuals who describe themselves as Christian, for instance, close to half believe that Satan does not exist, one-third contend that Jesus sinned while He was on earth, two-fifths say they do not have a responsibility to share the Christian faith with others, and one-quarter dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.”

The sinlessness of Jesus Christ, Satan’s existence and the trustworthiness of the Bible are essential aspects of biblical Christianity. Deviation from these central doctrines is a deviation from biblical Christianity. Specifically, if Jesus sinned, He cannot be God in the flesh, the Trinity cannot be true, nor can He be the perfect sacrifice for sin all of which the Bible teaches. Doctrine is like a puzzle: if one piece is taken out it affects the whole picture. It is stunning that people think they can be Christian while dismissing many of the central doctrines of Christianity.

Financial Times: One world government is plausible

The Financial Times of London had a very interesting piece on December 8, 2008 titled, “And now for a world government.” One might expect this kind of conclusion from Evangelical Christians and one might expect this kind of thing in a satirist type article, but this is a serious article coming from a respected secular newspaper in London.

According to the author of the piece, Gideon Rachman,

I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible.

A “world government” would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws. The European Union has already set up a continental government for 27 countries, which could be a model. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of law, a large civil service and the ability to deploy military force.

Rachman goes on to list and explain three reasons why he believes the EU is a model for a world government, but says the problem for world government proponents is that most people are stubbornly local when it comes to their political identity.

Pew Forum poll: Most Christians believe other religions can lead to eternal life

Undoubtedly one of the most controversial doctrines of Christianity is its belief –based on John 14:6 among other biblical passages– that salvation is found exclusively by faith in Jesus Christ. With this in mind, the Pew Forum did a survey recently to see who believed this teaching.

According to this December 18, 2008 Pew Forum survey 52% of Christians in the U.S. believe that some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. Astoundingly, 37% of Evanglicals said they believed that other religions can lead to eternal life. Interestingly, however, those holding to an exclusivist view of salvation increased from 24% in 2007 to 29% in 2008.

Atheist admits Africa needs God

In this London Times article, Matthew Parris, a committed atheist, reluctantly acknowledges that 21^st century Africa must have Christian evangelism to survive because it “liberates” in a way that government programs, education, and aid money never can.