Monday, October 01, 2007

Having forgotten their God and his people Israel, old mainstream Methodists lust after the pagan righteousness of Leftism instead

The Evil One himself would be proud of reasoning which defends Israel's attackers and says that only Israel can do wrong

The United Methodist Church's official lobby office is urging church agencies and members to divest their holdings in Caterpillar Inc. because the company sells bulldozers to Israel. United Methodist General Board of Church and Society sponsored the resolution, accusing Caterpillar of facilitating Israel's destruction of Palestinian property. Caterpillar, along with Israel, was the target of a lawsuit by the family of Rachel Corrie after the activist was crushed by a bulldozer in 2003 while attempting to block the destruction of a Palestinian home used to facilitate arms smuggling. The resolution will go before the United Methodist General Conference in April 2008.

The 7.9 million member church's pension agency reportedly has $5 million in Caterpillar stock out of $15 billion in assets. Other mainline churches, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Church of England, recently have rejected similar measures. The denomination's General Assembly had voted 431-62 to divest from the Jewish state. At the time, the PCUSA was believed to be the largest organization or institution to join the divestment campaign against the Jewish state. It was the first Christian denomination to do so, but later decisions reversed that.

As WND reported in June, the United Church of Christ's General Synod adopted a resolution "in support of a renewed and balanced study and response to the conflict between Palestine and Israel." Previously, the United Church of Christ had approved resolutions calling for the tearing down of walls constructed by Israel to protect itself from terrorist attacks coming from the Palestinian Authority territories and for divestment from the Jewish state.

Mark Tooley of the IRD, said the Methodist Church is out of step. "How bizarre that the United Methodist Board of Church and Society now is jumping aboard a long-stalled bandwagon by endorsing anti-Israel divestment against Caterpillar, when other churches are moving in the opposite direction," he said. "And does anyone really think that punishing Caterpillar will help create a peace in the Middle East?" Tooley urged the Methodist board to examine a 2006 resolution approved by the church's Pacific Northwest Conference noting "some church groups have selectively advocated divestment of firms doing business with Israel while ignoring severe human rights abuses by the governments of Israel's neighbors."

The Northwest resolution affirmed the Jewish state as "nearly the only long-standing democracy among its neighbors in the Middle East" and declared that "selective attention to Israel's mistakes will not create peace in the Middle East."

Source



Ben Stein to battle Darwin in major film

Ben Stein, the lovable, monotone teacher from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Wonder Years" is back in the classroom in a major motion picture release slated for February 2008.

But this time, the actor will be on the big screen asking one of life's biggest questions: "Were we designed, or are we simply the end result of an ancient mud puddle struck by lightning?"

That's right. Evolution - and the explosive debate over its virtual monopoly on America's public school classrooms - is the focus of the film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed."

In the movie, Stein, who is also a lawyer, economist, former presidential speechwriter, author and social commentator, is stunned by what he discovers - an elitist scientific establishment that has traded in its skepticism for dogma. Even worse, say publicists for the feature film, "along the way, Stein uncovers a long line of biologists, astronomers, chemists and philosophers who have had their reputations destroyed and their careers ruined by a scientific establishment that allows absolutely no dissent from Charles Darwin's theory of random mutation and natural selection."

"Big Science in this area of biology has lost its way," says Stein. "Scientists are supposed to be allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, no matter what the implications are. Freedom of inquiry has been greatly compromised, and this is not only anti-American, it's anti-science. It's anti-the whole concept of learning."

As "Expelled's" official website asks: "What freedom-loving student wouldn't be outraged to discover that his high school science teacher is teaching a theory as indisputable fact, and that university professors unmercifully crush any fellow scientists who dare question the prevailing system of belief? This isn't the latest Hollywood comedy; it's a disturbing new documentary that will shock anyone who thinks all scientists are free to follow the evidence wherever it may lead."

"Expelled" is produced by Premise Media, and being marketed by Motive Entertainment, which has spearheaded major previous Hollywood blockbusters, including "The Passion of the Christ," "Polar Express" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." It will be distributed by Rocky Mountain Pictures, with numerous box-office successes to its credit.

"Expelled" documents how teachers and scientists alike are being ridiculed daily, denied tenure and even fired believing there is evidence of "design" in nature and challenging the current orthodoxy that life is entirely a result of random chance.

For example, Stein meets Richard Sternberg, a double Ph.D. biologist who allowed a peer-reviewed research paper describing the evidence for intelligence in the universe to be published in the scientific journal Proceedings. Shortly after publication, officials from the National Center for Science Education and the Smithsonian Institution, where Sternberg was a research fellow, began a coordinated smear-and-intimidation campaign to get the promising young scientist fired. The attack on scientific freedom was so egregious that it prompted a congressional investigation.

In the film, Stein meets other scientists like astrobiologist Guillermo Gonzalez, who was denied tenure at Iowa State University in spite of an extraordinary record of achievement. Gonzalez made the mistake of documenting the design he has observed in the universe. And there are others, like Caroline Crocker, a brilliant biology teacher at George Mason University who was forced out of the university for briefly discussing problems with Darwinian theory and for telling the students that some scientists believe there is evidence of design in the universe.

Unlike other popular documentary films, "Expelled" isn't one-sided - it confronts scientists like Oxford evolutionist Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion," influential biologist and atheist blogger P.Z. Myers, and Eugenie Scott, head of the National Center for Science Education. In fact, the creators of "Expelled" spent two years traveling the world and interviewing scores of scientists, doctors, philosophers and public leaders for the film.

According to the New York Times, Dawkins, Scott and other evolutionists are now claiming the film's producers deceived them into going on camera by hiding the "Intelligent Design" orientation of the film.

But Stein denies misleading anyone. "I don't remember a single person asking me what the movie was about," he told the Times.

In the end, say the film's publicists, the production delivers to viewers "a startling revelation that freedom of thought and freedom of inquiry have been expelled from publicly funded high schools, universities and research institutions."

"The incredible thing about 'Expelled' is that we don't resort to manipulating our interviews for the purpose of achieving the 'shock effect,' something that has become common in documentary film these days," said Walt Ruloff, co-founder of Premise Media and the film's co-executive producer. "People will be stunned to actually find out what elitist scientists proclaim, which is that a large majority of Americans are simpletons who believe in a fairy tale. Premise Media took on this difficult mission because we believe the greatest asset of humanity is our freedom to explore and discover truth."

Source



Special laws for homosexuals

One wonders how a similar mockery of Islam would have been treated? The full force of "obscenity" and other laws would no doubt be brought to bear on the mockers

Following the discovery of an ad for a sadomasochistic street parade in San Francisco which mocked the Last Supper replacing Christ and His Apostles with leather-clad (and unclad) homosexuals, Concerned Women for America (CWA) and other groups called on California legislators to denounce the anti-Christianity. Rather than denounce the ad, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has derisively dismissed any concerns.

Drew Hammill, Pelosi's press secretary, responded to media questions on the offensive ad saying, "As a Catholic, the speaker is confident that Christianity has not been harmed."

The offensive ad was put together by organizers of San Francisco's partially taxpayer funded and Hedonistic Folsom Street Fair - sponsored by Miller Brewing, Co. - which will take place this Sunday. Over 400,000 people are expected to attend.

"As if the add itself isn't offensive enough," said, Matt Barber, CWA's Policy Director for Cultural Issues, "we have photographic evidence that the San Francisco government suspends indecency and child abuse laws for a day allowing fair goers to parade the streets of San Francisco, fully nude, engaging in illegal public sex while tax-payer funded police stand-by and do nothing."

"Children are allowed to - and do - attend this event and are exposed to this activity which is illegal child abuse," added Barber. "We're a nation of laws, and we're calling on Mayor Gavin Newsom to enforce the law and for San Francisco police to arrest lawbreakers on Sunday."

Source



Australia: More hatred of childhood

CHILDREN are being banned from dressing as their favourite superheroes in Victorian kindergartens and preschools. Batman, Shrek and Wonder Woman are being outlawed in pre-school care in a clampdown on childish behaviour. Parents have been told to leave their children's dress-ups at home for fear they could cause violence and injury in the playground. There are concerns a child may try to fly like Superman or scale a building like Spider-Man, causing serious injury and sparking legal proceedings.

Bentleigh early learning centre director Tracey Young said the costumes were not allowed because they could trigger violence. [so could frustration with stupid rules] "Our main reason has always been it permits quite rough and outlandish behaviour," she said. "They are role-modelling their . . . play to become violent when they are dressed as a superhero."

Swinburne Childcare spokeswoman Janelle Blaess said many centres banned the costumes because they distracted children. "They can find it difficult to differentiate between what is reality and what is fiction," she said. [Well how about helping them to learn? Or are they not supposed to learn at school?] "The safety issues related to that are a real concern."

Several kindergartens contacted by the Sunday Herald Sun said they had banned costumes in the playground. Some strongly encouraged a no-costume policy and others were considering bans. The issue is being taken so seriously it was discussed at a statewide kindergarten conference this month. Kindergarten Parents Victoria president Meredith Carter said that bans on toy knives and guns were becoming more common in schools.

But a ban on dress-up costumes, which are hugely popular among young children, could turn them against preschools. "Small children will take risks no matter what," she said. "It's not the costume doing the damage; it's just that children will always find a way to test the boundaries."

Source

*************************

Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of other countries. The only real difference, however, is how much power they have. In America, their power is limited by democracy. To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges. They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did: None. So look to the colleges to see what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way. It would be a dictatorship.


For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here. For times when blogger.com is playing up, there are mirrors of this site here and here.

***************************

No comments: