Living Journey

speak about Techno Geek stuff.  Mike, you would be oh soooo proud of me!

Anyway, this post is for all you bloggers out there who have so much content that to lose just one little bit of it would be a good enough reason to start World War 111!  I mean, let’s face it we put in a lot of effort into our blogworld don’t we guys?

I was just blog surfing today and saw that ‘timethief‘ had a ‘Blog Back Up Online‘ thing in her side bar.  It’s soooo easy to back up your blog, as easy as 1 - 2- 3.  This useful site actually backs up your blog once a day and gives you 50 Mbs (I am guessing that is quite substantial) per account.

In fact while I think about it timethief’s tips and links blog is pretty good, she has a lot of info to scrounge through.

Like I said, this is a geek post and I just wanted to share a useful tool that other bloggers out there may wish to use at some point during their blogging life.

Ps. For all those who have been praying for our family situation, it is getting better and there a definite signs of moving forward in a positive way.  Thanks guys.

Cya

I have found something interesting for those of you who wonder about the top most referenced bible verses on websites across the Internet. There is a site called ‘Top Verses – The bible Sorted‘ and what they have done is this…

[…]analysed thousands of pages of teaching material to determine the most frequently referenced Bible verses. This information is entered into our search engine enabling it to return the most familiar verses first.

When you go to the home page it shows any of the top 1 of 1000 verses referenced on the internet, for example I went there and the current verse was…

“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Exodus 20:4

Then a few minutes later it was…

“You shall not steal. Exodus 20:15

You could pretty much use this as your verse of the day to pray about and reflect on if you wanted to.

You can also go to the ‘Word Search Feature’ and find out what verses are mostly referred too for any particular word that happens to take your fancy. For example I typed in ‘Truth‘ and came across many of the verses I use in my blog when writing about absolutes, postmodernism and the emerging Church etc.

You can also find the top overall verses, top books, top chapters and top verses in books.

I was please to find that the top verses of all time were…

Rank: 1

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

Rank: 2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Rank: 3

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. John 14:6

Rank: 4

Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19

Rank: 5

for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

Pretty much the whole gospel summed up in the first top five verses.

Here I am, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage Pagans of the wilderness [far] from all…earthly comfort…even to death itself; if it be but in Thy service and to promote thy Kingdom….

I declare, now that I am dying, I would not have spent my life otherwise for the whole world.

David Brainerd. Before age 30, he died taking the gospel to American Indians. More than any other individual he was responsible for the great 19th-century missionary revival.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

A.W. Tozer, from Man: The Dwelling Place of God

Related…

• The Loss of Vocation and its Recovery — The Listening Heart

1. Asking before taking something
2. Not putting things back where they belong (even if they are yours)
3. Thinking that parents are made of money

I have had a bad week as far as kids go… I feel that I am not respected lately. There is truth in the saying you’re only as strong as the weakest link. This household cannot run as smoothly as I would like when the are sooooo many weak links.

I actually feel like a nag and I am sick of hearing my own voice… I may just let things unravel and see what happens.

My beef for today… I will (I hope) get over it.

I’ve just read something from a website that pretty much stood out for me. Firstly it addresses the Calvinist - Arminian debate and then it speaks about the dangers of Arminian theology when taken to its extreme. The article speaks about the dangers of humanism found in hard Arminian theology. Could we call this Hyper-Arminianism?

I have often wondered why this ‘Social Gospel’ has taken off in such a big way, especially in the west, and this article may have hit the nail on the head. Well, for me it did anyway. Please note that I do not always agree with every link that I use in my posts, but rather glean contents that I see as informative and perhaps in some cases may answer a nagging question that I may have. The article called ‘The Triumph of Arminianism (and Its Dangers)’ says…

Face it, Arminianism is simply more logical. It makes sense to the person on the street. And today’s church is scrambling to make sense to unbelievers. We want to sound sensible, logical, rational, enlightened, fair. Arminianism is so much more appealing to worldly people.Thus, many Calvinist churches customize worship services, communication styles, architecture, and music, to fit the worldly customers. But they also adapt their theology by quietly creeping away from the “right end” of the theological continuum and drifting over toward Arminianism. The truth of the matter is, they are embarrassed by Calvinistic theology. They have found it offensive to the “customers.” The Arminian approach to theology is simply a more “seeker sensitive.”

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Then goes on to say that pragmatism may well be one of the negatives in Arminian circles…

We Arminians tend to put too much emphasis on man and his decisions, and not enough on God and the gospel. Sometimes we are tempted to act as if God is helpless without us and our work. We lean toward pragmatism and are constantly looking for “what works best” as if methodology were more important than the message. Since we believe that all men can be saved, we tend to assume that if they aren’t saved, we have not packaged the invitation (or the message) right. We especially love management, leadership, programs, marketing, and research data. We tend to focus more on the “potential convert” than on the eternal gospel. Arminianism easily leans toward a NIKE mentality—”Just do it.”[…]Humanists have a sovereign man and an inactive God. Arminians lean toward the humanist end of this continuum and thus are always in danger of becoming humanists

I definitely had an “Aha” moment when I read this.

Is it little wonder then to see such scholarly work from the Calvinist side everywhere on the Internet to counter the Hyper-Arminian view? Every action has an equal an opposite reaction. Is it little wonder that the Arminian side - if heavily leaning towards humanism and pragmatism - finds itself is a sea of secular reasoning and logic instead of using the Word of God to give a defence? Haven’t we noticed recently that all the doctrines that are pivotal to ‘Biblical Christianity’ have been criticised and questioned - like atonement, regeneration, justification by faith and repentance? Charles Finney is dead, but his views are finding there way back into the evangelical Church big time. Are we seeing a rehash of Hyper-Arminianism, if there is such a word? Read Charles Finney’s views and you be the judge.

As for me, I prefer to think that I am closer to the Wesleyan-Arminian side of things, a hair’s breadth away from Calvin.

I have read enough to realise that the Emer move is full of mainly middle-class white men. So much so that the Emer themselves are asking… why is this so?

However, what disturbed me about Catalyst (and conferences like it) is that the majority of the people who attend these conferences are all white males (goatees, glasses, and jeans). Catalyst had over 10,000 people there, and I would guess that 95% were white (Caucasians), and part of the so called, “EMERGING CHURCH” movement. I can only respond to this by asking, “WHY?” Is the “EMERGING CHURCH” movement a “WHITE THING.” @On the Way

I too have been puzzled by this and not because I am female.

The question why does the Emer movement appeal more to the white middle-class male seems a fair one and an honest one at that. A move of God should be unisex, super-cultural as well as breaking any social-economic barrier. A move of God should bring us to our knees, asking for forgiveness first off!

I came across something today that may shed a bit of light. Or it may be completely irrelevant, but I just wanted to blog my thoughts on it. It was a post about ‘The Kingdom of Emergent Theology’. It actually spoke about this particular theology having a predecessor called ‘liberal postmillennialism’…

It is helpful to know that the Christian community has been down this trail before. Emergent eschatology is by-and-large identical to liberal postmillennialism which flourished prior to the mid-twentieth century. In general postmillennialism is the view that Christ will return after the millennium, or the kingdom age, which is presently on earth.

Theological liberal postmillennialism shares some of the same optimism as its conservative counterparts but directs its attention to social enhancement of the planet.

Liberal postmillennialism focuses on societal transformation rather than personal conversion. Their “social gospel” sees the saving of society from social evil as the great purpose of the church. The mission of the church is not to preach the gospel to sinners in need of God’s great salvation, but rather, to liberate mankind from poverty, racism, disease, war and all kinds of injustice. @The Kingdom of Emergent Theology

What was also said was this…

Maybe the emergent leaders are right, maybe the world is getting better and better and, if we Christians would just get more involved, eventually earth will be like heaven.

Could it be that white men are so blinded by their own world construct - their being successful, and rulers of the free world etcetera - that they really do think that the world is getting better and better? Are they the ones wearing the rose coloured glasses while struggling to even think outside their own world construct? In effect saying… well, if it’s this good for me, then you can have it too, sounds a bit like the prosperity gospel to me, but with a lot of conversation thrown in. Are they just having a great conversation in the mirror to self? No offence guys!

Perhaps the reason that it is filled with white-middle class males is that it fails to attract those who haven’t got it so good. Is this why it is a white male dominated movement? I am using generalisations I know. But the Emer crowd has noticed this themselves. Should they look deeper than their own conversations and start looking towards their theology? Is ‘theology’ really such a dirty word? Surely they must see something doesn’t quite add up?

The kingdom, while already here, will progressively become like heaven as we attend to the social ills and needs around us. Tomorrow looks bright and the day after that looks brighter still.

I actually wonder if this move is so westernised that it will fail to move past the western borders in any great way. All this talk about being culturally relevant seems completely irrelevant to the persecuted church in China, Iran, India, Egypt, Ethiopia etc,. The only thing that the persecuted church covets is the need to be held up in prayer.

It is worth noting that the postmillennial system, which was nonexistent in the early days of church history, was originally systematized by liberal Unitarian minister Daniel Whitby (1638-1726). His system grew legs due partly to the optimism of the age, but lost steam when the two world wars of the twentieth century shattered dreams of the world progressively improving.

Since that time a more realistic understanding of human development has set in and most recognize that the earth is not only not moving toward utopia but is more likely closer to annihilation.

I wonder if this move will fizzle if things start to rock the boat. I wonder if this phenomenon will be examined more as time goes on? Time will tell I guess.

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Where does the Emer camp sit with eschatology? Is it all about the NOW, and not so much about the near Future?

Well according to ‘The Big Event‘ the Kingdom of God goes something like this…

Imagine a world… A new vision for God’s Kingdom on earth

The kingdom of God is here and now

So what is their general understanding of the Kingdom of God?

[...]a consensus by both emerging and emergent leaders is expressed by Sherry and Geoff Maddock: “Our principle (sic) desire is to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We believe this happens when God’s people are renewed around God’s mission of love and justice in the world.”[1] The conversation apparently views the kingdom as being on earth now but progressively becoming like the kingdom in heaven as Christians live missionally on earth.

Such an understanding of the kingdom of God is obviously at odds with premillennialism,[...]

[1]Sherry Maddock and Geoff Maddock, “An Ever-Renewed Adventure of Faith, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, p. 80.
@The Kingdom of Emergent Theology – Part 1 by Gary E Gilley

I venture to guess that those other Christians (you know who you are!!!) that dare think along the lines of dispensationalism and premillenialism will be criticised in one way or another.

In fact some may say that premillenialism is a theology that didn’t start until John Darby. But here is something of interest…

“One of [John] Bunyan’s contemporaries, Benjamin Keach, an illustrious predecessor of Spurgeon in the pastorate, has left a very full confession of his views on this point. He was brought to trial Oct. 8th, 1664, on two charges of Anabaptism and Millenarianism. As he stood before Lord Chief justice Hide, the representative of the [Church of England], he was summoned first to answer for his ‘damnable doctrine’ concerning baptism; which, being disposed of, the second article of indictment was taken up, viz., that he held ‘that the saints shall reign with Christ a thousand years.’ The judge pronounced this ‘an old heresy, which was cast out of the church a thousand years ago, and was likewise condemned by the Council of Constance five years afer, and hath lain dead ever since, till now this rascal hath revived it.’ He was condemned and sent to the pillory.” Taken from a review in The Sword and the Trowel (October, 1891, p. 581)

Hmmmm, perhaps premillenialism is not that new after all!

Related Articles

• History and Premillennialism Part I (The Early Church) Gary E Gilley
  
• Eschatology in Church History by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.

By the way… I have just added a website to my theology blogroll called ‘Theological Studies’, it looks pretty informative. And here is another one called ‘Think of These Things‘ by Gary E Gilley, not actually a blog but it has some interesting things on it.

Why do bad things happen???

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Isaiah 45;7 (for more on God creating Evil - remember it is said that “you get the government you deserve!”)

Their foot shall slide in due time. Deuteronomy 32:35

Psalm 73:18,19. “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction: How are they brought into desolation as in a moment!”

Carla has written a really thought provoking post on the current disasters in California called ‘When things Burn‘.

Well now, what do you expect when the governor bans “mom” and “dad”, and signs your children over to be taught that homosexuality is normal? What do you expect, Hollywood, when you keep pumping out garbage that is offensive to a Holy God? What do you expect, America, when your leaders try to help divide up Israel, the only real estate on earth that God says is His? Or when your president says that all gods are the same, and even honors a Buddhist monk with a medal and calls him a great spiritual leader.

All in the same week…

Lest I sound judgemental from up here in the Great White North, watching things burn way down there, the even more amazing thing about this is that God, in His grace and mercy and forbearance, is allowing any of us to live under his protection. We are only safe under the shadow of His wings.

God’s judgement really doesn’t sit well for those who only understand that God is a God of Love and gives no further thought to the anger that He feels against sin in His Holy Righteousness - a Holy God could feel no other thing.

The church may be Luke warm, but God certainly isn’t!

Calamities are God’s previews of what sin deserves and will one day receive in judgement a thousand times worse. They are warnings. And that is true even when they sweep away Christ-followers and Christ-rejecters. John Piper

There is hope though…

My prayer is that some wake up from their decadent slumber and know that God is a God of action and does not allow sin to go unpunished. He has given us way out from our much deserved eternal punishment, and that is through His Son who Atones for our sin. I hope some question what this is all about and that they for the first time meet the forgiveness of God through Jesus His Son. I pray that there are those people who are ready with the gospel for a people who are in dire need of it.

Go to the link at the end of this post to read the most powerful sermon every spoken.

It speaks of the reasons why we actually deserve to be swept away and it is only by God’s providence that we are not. It was noted that this sermon had grown men crying out loud for Mercy while holding onto their seats for fear of Hell itself opening up its hungry mouth to devour them without a second notice. This was the start of ‘The Great Awakening‘.

I have read it, and my ears pricked and I was certainly stirred and my spirit did awake and I truly became aware of a Holy Righteous God. This certainly is a call to awake from our decadent lazy slumber!

• Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God By Johnathan Edwards

Odd, the less the bible is read, the more in is interpreted. C S Lewis

Did you know that God comes from Teman?
That’s right, the bible says that, so that must be true, no doubts about it, that’s what the bible says…

Hab 3:3 God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His majesty covers the heavens, and His praise fills the earth.

See, I told you.

I am just making a point. The point being, a text without a context is always a pretext.

What is a pretext? It is the following…

1. something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object; an ostensible reason; excuse: The leaders used the insults as a pretext to declare war.

So, when people pick a verse from here or there to use an argument against the context of the message they are really is saying nothing at all. Not only that, but the bible did not originally come with the chapter and verse like we have today. Versification has served us well as far as knowing where to find things and committing verse to memory, but unfortunately it has been abused…

The impulse to conceive of verses as independent, isolated units of meaning is strong, despite efforts on the part of Biblical scholars to discourage this.

As much as any sentence in any book, any statement in the Bible is designed to be understood in its own context. Interpretation of isolated verses often leads to misunderstandings that would be clear if the same words were studied in context. Wikipedia

What we should do it this…

2Ti 2:15 Give diligence to present yourself approved to God, a workman unashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

Biblical Hermeneutics and rightly dividing the Word of Truth and using sound methodology …is not optional for the true disciple of Christ.[…] Paul describes the one who “rightly divides” the Word of Truth as a “workman;” thus proper interpretation comes through effort. Christian Apologetics - Hermeneutics

So let us be like the Bereans and search the scriptures diligently. They were nobler that the rest…

Act 17:11 And these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the Word with all readiness, daily examining the Scriptures if these things are so.

I just thought I would blog about that just to clear things up a bit because some people will quote one verse and think that’s the end of the argument when really they have not a clue about the context of the given whole.

Like Lewis said…

Odd, the less the bible is read, the more it is translated.

All gods are the same according to some. But are they really?

First I will quote something from James Freeman Clarke…

Of all the systems of belief which have had a widespread hold on mankind this may be posited, that they are commonly true in what they affirm, false in what they deny. The error in every theory is usually found in its denials, that is, its limitations. What it sees is substantial and real; what it does not see is a mark only of its limited vision.”¹ Ten Great Religions, Vol. II., p. 62. @The Moslem Doctrine of God

When reading an open letter(pdf file) from the Muslim religious leaders in Britain that was written to the Pope and the leaders of other Christian churches, there seems to be a common truth - at first glance anyway. It is not what is said that is the problem, but rather what is not said. Things of fundamental importance to the Christian faith was not addressed at all in this letter! And it is glaringly obvious to those who know what the Koran actually says about Allah in context; that Allah and the God of the Bible are not the same God at all.

It is exactly in what the Koran denies that we find the biggest problem for those Christians who understand and believe that the bible speaks of the triune nature of God. (there are many other differences between the Islamic revelation of Allah, Christology and the Holy Spirit and the Biblical revelation of God. Too many to speak about in this one post)

In fact, in the open letter they quote one seemingly ambiguous verse which seems to agree with the Christians view on Christology. This verse is quoted after a whole spiel about how we can come together and worship the same One God along with them. They say that we can come to them to their understanding of their God; that is really what is being offered here.

This is how the verse is written in the letter…

…. the Messiah Jesus son of Mary is a Messenger of God and His Word which he cast unto Mary and a Spirit from Him…. (Al-Nisa’, 4:171).

But they fail to quote the whole verse in its entire context and the reason is quite obvious…

O people of the scripture, do not transgress the limits of your religion, and do not say about GOD except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was a messenger of GOD, and His word that He had sent to Mary, and a revelation from Him. Therefore, you shall believe in GOD and His messengers. You shall not say, “Trinity.” You shall refrain from this for your own good. GOD is only one god. Be He glorified; He is much too glorious to have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. GOD suffices as Lord and Master (Surah An -Nisa 4:171)

Compare that verse to what Paul says…

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

From what I have read of this open letter, and from what I have read in the Koran and the Bible, it is made clear to me that it is not the things that are commonly true that are problematic. But rather, it is the things that are denied which become the things that divide, just as James Freeman Clarke concluded in his book ‘Ten Great Religions’. And those things are the very things that are fundamental to Christianity and its followers.

The integrity of Scripture and the reasonableness of the doctrine of the Trinity are the two points in Christianity against which Islam emphatically testifies. At the same time these two ideas are fundamental in the Christian system. The doctrine of the Trinity is not only fundamental but essential to the very existence of Christianity. Dr. Baur of the Tübingen school acknowledges this when he says that “in the battle between Arius and Athanasius the existence of Christianity was at stake.” In some form the doctrine of the Trinity has always been confessed by the Church and all who opposed it were thrown off from its fellowship. “When this doctrine was abandoned, other articles of faith, such as the atonement, regeneration, etc., have almost always followed, by logical necessity, as when one draws the wire from a necklace of gems, the gems all fall asunder.” (Henry B. Smith.) The doctrine of the Trinity, in its widest sense, includes that of the Incarnation and of the Holy Spirit. In studying what the Koran teaches on this subject, therefore, we must examine not only what it tells of the Trinity, but also those passages that speak of the nature of Jesus Christ and of Holy Spirit. @The Moslem Doctrine of God

Now that is just one point that I have addressed, and the above article systematically shows the very clear differences between the two revealed natures of Allah and God. We do not worship the same God as both god/God’s are revealed differently in the Bible and Koran. God is not one of division and both the bible and Koran state this, so in theory, only one Holy Writ can be right.

The article ‘MOHAMMEDAN IDEAS OF THE TRINITY‘ examines it the following way and is worth more than just a cursory read…

The following order will be observed in our study: (a) the Koran passages that speak directly of the Trinity; (b) those that refer to the subject indirectly; (c) the Christology of the Koran as it bears on this doctrine; (d) the passages that speak of the Holy Spirit.

Once Mohammed’s view of the Trinity, Christology and his view on the Holy Spirit are clearly understood, then and only then can we begin to understand the that this letter is in a sense addressing nothing of real theological difference at all but rather a political correct view - which is in no way a correct theological view according to the Bible.

But what this letter will do is show to the world that if anyone dares to speak about the true, real differences one could then be labelled an extremist. The Times noted the possibility of marginalisation and that it will become plainly obvious to everyone who are the extreme militants, the guardians of the faith. Although only one side is addressed in this article that being the Islamic extremist, when it said the following…

But it will make it harder for those who thrive on a narrow, militant interpretation of Islam to pose as the true guardians of the faith.

There will be a problem here, not only will the Islamic militant guardians stand out like a sore thumb, but I am guessing those pesky fundamental Christians will get a fair rap over the knuckles once this letter is examined by the more conservative bunch. You know the ones I am talking about, those who exegete the bible using Historical, Grammatical Hermeneutics who understand that the Holy Bible teaches universal absolute truths that sit outside any culture at any time, where context actually does matter greatly kind of way!!! I am talking about the people who have understood the truth of the matter of spiritual things that the natural man cannot fathom as it is foolishness the him.

One such person who has seen the problem of this letter who perhaps hears the deafening silence of certain convenient things that have been omitted says this…

For it is a classic piece of manipulation and, I’m afraid to say, menace. Masquerading as the promotion of peace through emphasising characteristics that these religions apparently share, it instead effectively puts a scimitar to the neck of the Christian church and says: ‘Peace on our terms’.

At least one cleric gets it. In the Times the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the one Anglican who understands the threat from Islamism, noted that the letter required Christians to adopt the Muslim belief in the oneness of God. @Melanie Phillips

(Biography: Melanie Phillips is a British journalist and author)

Here is a poll question for you, and be sure to read the question carefully. And if you don’t really know the bible or the koran but can only go on what the media (MSM) is saying or you fall into the melting pot of political correctness, then this question is quite irrelevant to you anyway, isn’t it? After all this question is for the militant, fundamental extremist.

• Does Allah from the Koran represent the same God from the Judeo/Christian bible?
• The Qur’an in the Light of God-breathed Scripture: Shirk, Trinity, Christ, in Surah 5 James R. White

What does the economy hold for us in the future? This is BIG news for those who follow prophecy as the stock market is edging toward shaky ground. Could this be the catalyst for such a world wide economic change? I received this email from Ray Gano and although I don’t agree with everything he says, I thought that the following email was blog worthy. It certainly waves a red flag at the US stock market and it strongly indicates the need to monitor the Greenback as time goes on.

Fortunately here in Australia, we have managed to ride the weathering storm thus far. But for how long we can do this is unsure. Like the old saying goes … ‘The US sneezes - the rest of us catch the cold’.

The other question to ask in light of this is whether or not the US markets will continue to have an effect on the rest of the world, or will the Euro with the help of China be like the phoenix and rise from its ashes with an economy that is strong enough to tip the balance in favour of the Euro. Although not all agree with this and say… that America’s hegemony is strong and will continue to be strong.

Here is the email that talks about the baby boomers and their retirement…

Oct 17th, 2007, the tailspin officially began.

What are you getting so worked up about Ray?

“Under current law, Social Security won’t have enough money to pay promised benefits in 2041 but there is another crunch much, much sooner, the result of the the federal government relying on Social Security to pay for its annual spending.”

“We face a tsunami of spending due primarily to the retirement of the baby boom generation and rising health care costs,” Walker said. “So what’s happened is we’ve gone from 16 workers paying into Social Security for every person drawing benefits in 1950 to 3.3 to one today, and we’re going down to two to one by the time the boomers retire in big numbers and that’s about where it will stay over the long run.”

“We’re going to have tens of thousands of baby boomers retiring every week over the next decade or so and that means that by time we get to 2017, just 10 years away, we will no longer be collecting enough payroll taxes to pay Social Security benefits,”
Source - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301997,00.html

But that is just Social Security, let me give you a short history lesson and why there is even more bad news.

In the 1970’s there was a law created that when it came out, it was touted as a great law, a law for the people. The law was called “ERISA” or known as the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act. This is the law that gave birth to the 401(k). One of the reasons ERISA is significant is because it forced millions of employees to become investors, investors without any financial training or education. This is why the financial expert’s advice is “Work hard, save money, get out of debt, invest for the long term, and diversify, diversify, diversify.”

Warren Buffet made a great statement that kind of sums this up..

“Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those that take the subway”

Many people know that the Baby Boomer generation is the largest generation in history. Many of our companies made millions from the baby boomer wave. When the baby boomers had kids, Gerber made millions. When the baby boomer kids got older Matel, Hasbro, etc made millions. The baby boomer’s lived life at a fast pace, thus was born McDonalds, Burger King, etc. I point these things out because the baby boomers are a generation to be considered.

When the baby boomers bought, companies made millions.

Baby Boomers have money they have saved for retirement via their 401(k), IRAs, ect.

Between 1995 and 2005 the millions of people who followed the “Work hard, save money, get out of debt, invest for the long term, and diversify, diversify, diversify.” Advice lost an estimated $7-9 trillion. And much worse than losing $7-9 trillion, the people who followed that advice missed out on what the Economist and other magazines called the biggest financial boom in history. So not only did those investors lose money from the 2000-2003 stock market crash, they failed to make a lot of money in the financial boom in real estate and commodities. That is the price of bad advice and even worse not having the knowledge to know better and the education.

But back to ERISA…

ERISA has a major flaw that many people do not look at or even know of. ERISA has a mandatory withdrawal mechanism at age seventy and a half. At that age you MUST start withdrawing your money from the 401(k)s, IRAs, etc. That means millions of baby boomers will be forced to systematically withdraw from their 401(k), IRAs, ect.

Where is all this money invested? It is in the stock market.

As I stated before, when the baby boomers BOUGHT, companies made millions.

This year, 2007, the first baby boomers turn 61.

What will happen when the baby boomers start to sell?

In 2016 it is estimated that there will be 2,282,887 baby boomers that are turning seventy. They all must start selling and pulling their money out of the stock market.

In 2017 it jumps to 2,928,818 more people. That is about 700,000 more people than the year before that will start selling and pulling their money out of the stock market too. (1)

That is 5,211,705 people together. That many people will affect the economy and more are added each year for approximately 20 years. We did not count the immigrants either in the mix. (1)

All in all, that is a lot of stock being sold, or at least trying to be sold.

What happens when millions of people start selling millions of shares of stock?

The prices start to drop and fast.

The laws of supply and demand will come into effect, and the odds of major panic just increased enormously.

So why is there a mandatory withdrawal? Why not just change the laws? All that money that was put in was put there tax free. Uncle Sam now wants his due…the taxes. This is another reason why the huge spending, the fiat currency, etc. This is also why we will probably never see the death tax go away any time soon either.

This is one of the primary reasons Wilfred Hahn and I created our multimedia CD “Escape The End Time Money Snare.”

Folks the storm is coming. We are called to occupy till He returns. He may return tomorrow or may tarry another 20 years, we dont know.

What have you done to prepare for the storm?

Ray
Prophezine

Endnotes -

1- Adapted from Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad’s Prophecy”

Other articles of interest are…

• Is another Wall St crash coming? The triggers for 1987’s Black Monday – when Wall Street fell 22.6pc in a single day – are back, writes Ambrose Evans-PritchardExactly 20 years after “Black Monday” – which saw Wall Street plunge 22.6pc – economists have warned of eerie parallels with the tensions visible on global markets today.
• The End of National Currency Global financial instability has sparked a surge in “monetary nationalism” — the idea that countries must make and control their own currencies. But globalization and monetary nationalism are a dangerous combination, a cause of financial crises and geopolitical tension. The world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn. Benn Steil is Director of International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and a co-author of Financial Statecraft.
• First Baby Boomer Files For Social Security Benefits WASHINGTON — Kathleen Casey-Kirschling filed for early retirement Monday, becoming the first baby boomer to start collecting Social Security.Born one second after midnight in January 1946, the retired teacher leads the way for as many as 80 million individuals who will qualify for the retirement payout.”I think I’m just lucky to be at the top of the boom.

Yeah, over the last few days, my laptop and internet hasn’t been working properly.  So until my hubby can sort things out I will not be able to post for awhile.  Don’t you just love  technology! Well, today I am not a fan.

Hopefully I will be back soon.

Not only is there a think tank that has requested the resident of the Academy Awards to take back the Oscar given to Al Gore for his film ‘An Inconvenient Truth… but there are less than half of published scientists that endorse the current global warming theory! There is a global change happening alright, a change in views over what is actually happening to the planet!

Of 528 total papers on climate change, only 38 (7%) gave an explicit endorsement of the consensus. If one considers “implicit” endorsement (accepting the consensus without explicit statement), the figure rises to 45%. However, while only 32 papers (6%) reject the consensus outright, the largest category (48%) are neutral papers, refusing to either accept or reject the hypothesis. This is no “consensus.”

The figures are even more shocking when one remembers the watered-down definition of consensus here. Not only does it not require supporting that man is the “primary” cause of warming, but it doesn’t require any belief or support for “catastrophic” global warming. In fact of all papers published in this period (2004 to February 2007), only a single one makes any reference to climate change leading to catastrophic results.

These changing viewpoints represent the advances in climate science over the past decade. While today we are even more certain the earth is warming, we are less certain about the root causes. More importantly, research has shown us that — whatever the cause may be — the amount of warming is unlikely to cause any great calamity for mankind or the planet itself.

Schulte’s survey contradicts the United Nation IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (2007), which gave a figure of “90% likely” man was having an impact on world temperatures. But does the IPCC represent a consensus view of world scientists? Despite media claims of “thousands of scientists” involved in the report, the actual text is written by a much smaller number of “lead authors.” The introductory “Summary for Policymakers” — the only portion usually quoted in the media — is written not by scientists at all, but by politicians, and approved, word-by-word, by political representatives from member nations.

By contrast, the ISI Web of Science database covers 8,700 journals and publications, including every leading scientific journal in the world. @ Daily Tech by Michael Asher

Other articles that have challenged the current theory of Global Warming are…

• Challenge to Scientific Consensus on Global Warming: Analysis Finds Hundreds of Scientists Have Published Evidence Countering Man-Made Global Warming Fears A new analysis of peer-reviewed literature reveals that more than 500 scientists have published evidence refuting at least one element of current man-made global warming scares. More than 300 of the scientists found evidence that 1) a natural moderate 1,500-year climate cycle has produced more than a dozen global warmings similar to ours since the last Ice Age and/or that 2) our Modern Warming is linked strongly to variations in the sun’s irradiance. “This data and the list of scientists make a mockery of recent claims that a scientific consensus blames humans as the primary cause of global temperature increases since 1850,” said Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Dennis Avery.
• Study finds CO2 didn’t end ice age Counters major premise of global warming theory A new peer-reviewed scientific study counters a major premise of global warming theory, concluding carbon dioxide did not end the last ice age. The study, led by University of Southern California geologist Lowell Stott, concluded deep-sea temperatures rose 1,300 years before the rise in atmospheric CO2, which would rule out the greenhouse gas as the main agent of the meltdown. “There has been this continual reference to the correspondence between CO2 and climate change as reflected in ice core records as justification for the role of CO2 in climate change,” said Stott. “You can no longer argue that CO2 alone caused the end of the ice ages.”
• Sun still main force in climate change Rebuts widely publicized study this summer by UK scientist Despite the claim of a heavily publicized recent study, the sun still appears to be the main agent in global climate change, according to new research by Danish scientists…
• CNN Meteorologist: ‘Definitely Some Inaccuracies’ in Gore Film

The jury is still out it seems.

Cold then hot, then perhaps cold again… who knows??? This climate change is really getting confusing! What do these scientists know for sure?

The ‘Old’ Consensus? [Excerpts]Did NASA scientist James Hansen, the global warming alarmist in chief, once believe we were headed for . . . an ice age? An old Washington Post story indicates he did.On July 9, 1971, the Post published a story headlined “U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming.” It told of a prediction by NASA and Columbia University scientist S.I. Rasool. The culprit: man’s use of fossil fuels.The Post reported that Rasool, writing in Science, argued that in “the next 50 years” fine dust that humans discharge into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuel will screen out so much of the sun’s rays that the Earth’s average temperature could fall by six degrees.Sustained emissions over five to 10 years, Rasool claimed, “could be sufficient to trigger an ice age.”

Aiding Rasool’s research, the Post reported, was a “computer program developed by Dr. James Hansen,” who was, according to his resume, a Columbia University research associate at the time.

So what about those greenhouse gases that man pumps into the skies? Weren’t they worried about them causing a greenhouse effect that would heat the planet, as Hansen, Al Gore and a host of others so fervently believe today?

“They found no need to worry about the carbon dioxide fuel-burning puts in the atmosphere,” the Post said in the story, which was spotted last week by Washington resident John Lockwood, who was doing research at the Library of Congress and alerted the Washington Times to his finding.

Hansen has some explaining to do. The public deserves to know how he was converted from an apparent believer in a coming ice age who had no worries about greenhouse gas emissions to a global warming fear monger.

This is a man, as Lockwood noted in his message to the Times’ John McCaslin, who has called those skeptical of his global warming theory “court jesters.” We wonder: What choice words did he have for those who were skeptical of the ice age theory in 1971?

People can change their positions based on new information or by taking a closer or more open-minded look at what is already known. There’s nothing wrong with a reversal or modification of views as long as it is arrived at honestly.

But what about political hypocrisy? It’s clear that Hansen is as much a political animal as he is a scientist. Did he switch from one approaching cataclysm to another because he thought it would be easier to sell to the public? Was it a career advancement move or an honest change of heart on science, based on empirical evidence?

If Hansen wants to change positions again, the time is now. With NASA having recently revised historical temperature data that Hansen himself compiled, the door has been opened for him to embrace the ice age projections of the early 1970s.

Could be he’s feeling a little chill in the air again.

OK then, perhaps the dust that stops the sun’s rays from heating up the earth will counter the global warming that is happening because of Carbon Dioxide being pumped out into the atmosphere! See, it all pans out in the end people.

Seriously, this is getting very confusing!

But what is not so confusing is Al Gore’s latest inconvenience.

I was watching the news this morning and apparently a British Court has identified eleven inaccuracies in Al Gore’s movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Ouch!

In order for the film to be shown, the Government must first amend their Guidance Notes to Teachers to make clear that 1.) The Film is a political work and promotes only one side of the argument. 2.) If teachers present the Film without making this plain they may be in breach of section 406 of the Education Act 1996 and guilty of political indoctrination. 3.) Eleven inaccuracies have to be specifically drawn to the attention of school children. @The New Party Articles

For a Creationist view and I believe a more balanced one, see… ‘Global warming: what is ‘the creationist view’?’

Ecology - the New Salvation Message?

These days, moralisers find it easier to make people feel guilty about their impact on the environment than about committing one of the seven deadly sins. Not surprisingly, many religious institutions are busy reinventing themselves by promoting ecological virtues and preaching against the eco-sins of polluters. ‘In search of eco-salvation’ by Frank Furedi

In the above article Furedi suggests that the Church has lost a lost of its ground because of the closer scrutiny passed by the world in cases where it really needed to be examined, like child abuse etcetera. This is most definately and unfortunately needed. The protection of children must always be of paramount importance, and how a church, any church, can protect any paedophilia priest/s by way of a document called Criminales Solicitacciones (PDF File) that the current Pope as Cardinal Joseph Radzinger drafted up before his election into the abomination of Church Head is beyond any reasonable human understanding…

One consequence of the erosion of religious authority was that the church became exposed to the critical scrutiny of the public. A dramatic manifestation of the loss of religious authority is the spate of child abuse scandals that have incriminated church leaders. In many places Catholic officials were forced to respond to the public’s mistrust of their conduct by banning priests from any private contact with children.

But many questions remain.

1. What are the consequences when the Church and State begin to blur the edges of separation - which of course is happening in the West today?
2. Should they be blurred at all, as society will have a major impact on the Church and will be judged by society’s ever changing standards?
3. Are those standards God’s standards?
4. Should society and culture which is always changing be given such a position to examine or even govern over the Church or vice versa?
5. Could this lead to key doctrinal changes within the Church, doctrines that the Church has held as foundational and fundamental to the truth of the Word of God?
6. Could this lead to the message of salvation being watered down or pushed aside altogether as a new political agenda takes precedence over what could be considered an archaic message of separation and division?

Let me make one point very clear, I am not talking about the Church being exempt from unlawful actions against children. But what I am saying is this … as the Church succumbs to the world of politics on both sides of the fence - those being the left and right - who can be sure that the Church will come away untainted by our ever changing world?

The Church does have to be separate from the world - but it is also to be the salt of it - the bible says this and it warns us to keep ourselves separate from this world because of this very reason. Can the Church remain salt if it continues with its political prowess and will there begin to be a compromise of the very message of salvation because of today’s current societal political climate? I thought that the following was an interesting thing to ponder… read it and ask yourself, how is this kind of Christ, this new christ, being promoted by the new reformers. Is this christ the one of eternal salvation, or one that is more concerned with the kingdom here on earth?

Forced on to the defensive and sensitive to the charge of being out of touch with public concerns, Western religions have looked for new ways of rebuilding their authority. As I have argued elsewhere, some church officials attempted to associate themselves with the authority enjoyed by psychology and therapy and reinvented themselves as counsellors and therapists (2). As the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey noted, ‘Christ the Saviour is becoming Christ the counsellor’.In recent years, some in the church have sought to gain the public’s ear through the greening of traditional doctrines, and Christ the Saviour is fast becoming Christ the environmental activist. Western society is continually in search of rituals and symbols through which moral probity can be affirmed. It appears that, for many church leaders, the project of saving the planet offers more opportunities for reconstituting rituals and symbols than the saving of souls. ‘In search of eco-salvation‘ By Frank Furedi.

If this is the case, and I believe it is, then the salvation message of the Church has indeed changed into … Christ the Greenie - the world welcomes you!Why is this new message becoming more and more vocal today? Because it is a lot more friendly for one, and it is perceived as being the moral message that anyone of any religious persuasion can relate too. It is certainly a message that does not divide. A very unified message that can involve every nation, tongue and culture…

The appeal of eco-spirituality to so many different religions is a testimony to the powerful influence that environmentalism exercises over contemporary culture. At a time when traditional institutions find it difficult to connect with popular concerns, environmentalism is still able to transmit ideas about human responsibility through appealing to a sense of right and wrong. That is why the authors of children’s books and school officials also use environmentalism as a vehicle for socialising youngsters.However, eco-spirituality cannot really compensate for the loss of traditional moral authority. Indeed the very embrace of the environmentalist agenda can only accelerate the decline of institutions that cannot give meaning to the religious doctrines on which they were founded. The shift away from God towards nature inevitably leads to a world where the pronouncements of environmentalist experts trump those of the priesthood. It will be interesting to see what will remain of traditional religion as prophecy and revelation is displaced by computerised climate models.

Oooo Oooo, I know. How’s about we not even talk about prophecy and revelation! Then nones the wiser, right?I reckon there are quite a few people of influence out there already very uncomfortable with that kind of ridiculous religious talk!Shhhhh … mum’s the Word then!