MINDFULNESS—WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW & SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD

MINDFULNESS—WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW & SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD 

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2018/newsletter20180705.htm; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

URGENT: If you know any families with children, please make sure the parents are given a copy of this booklet. Right now, efforts are under way to bring mindfulness mediation into every public school in America. Christian school and homeschool parents need to be aware too.
NEW BOOKLET: Mindfulness: What You May Not Know And Should Have Been Told by the editors at Lighthouse Trails is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet. The Booklet is 14 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are as much as 50% off retail. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or for your own personal use. Below is the content of the booklet. To order copies of Mindfulness: What You May Not Know And Should Have Been Told, click here.
Mindfulness: What You May Not Know And Should Have Been Told
By the Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Currently, “mindfulness” is being introduced to tens of thousands of public schools across America. One group alone, Healthy Schools Program, which includes mindfulness as part of its program, is in over 30,000 public schools (that’s about one third of all public schools in America).1 Programs such as Healthy Schools* claim that children behave better and think more clearly when they incorporate mindfulness exercises into their school regime. Researcher and author Ray Yungen states:

In recent years, a type of meditation known as mindfulness has made a surprising showing. Based on current trends, it has the potential to eclipse even Yoga in popularity. You will now find it everywhere that people are seeking therapeutic approaches to ailments or disorders. . . it is presented as something to cure society’s ills.2

School administrators, principals, teachers, and other school officials are being told that mindfulness is safe, is not religious, and is not the same as eastern or Buddhist meditation. This booklet will examine several aspects of mindfulness and will help to show why mindfulness meditation should not be brought into the schools and taught to children.
First, let’s take a moment to examine the root word of mindfulness—mindful. The word mindful is actually found in the Bible. The meaning of the word in Hebrew (the Old Testament) means “to recall,” “to record,” “to remember,” and “to call to mind.” In the Greek (the New Testament), the meaning is virtually the same, “to bring to remembrance” and “to bear in mind.” Here are a few examples:

Be ye mindful always of his covenant. (1 Chronicles 16:15)
[They] refused to obey, neither were [they] mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them. (Nehemiah 9:17)
The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us. (Psalm 115:112)
Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength. (Isaiah 17:10)
. . . greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. (2 Timothy 1:4)
. . . that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets. (2 Peter 3:2)

So, we can see from the Bible’s perspective that the word mindful is something where the mind is engaged actively and pondering on certain things. In several instances, it has to do with man being “mindful” (i.e., remembering) of the promises and great works of God. Obviously, with the legal structure of our public schools today, administrators who are bringing in mindfulness meditation to the students’ lives are not planning to (or legally allowed to) teach children this definition of mindful.
Webster’s Dictionary describes the word mindful as “bearing in mind” or “inclined to be aware.” Again, here we see that mindful means to be actively aware of something. Is it accurate to say that being mindful about something (as described in the context of these definitions) is the same thing as practicing mindfulness meditation? And does it belong in our public schools? Is it safe? Is it religious? Is it a form of therapy? Let’s take a look at “mindfulness” with these questions in mind.

Mindfulness is Meditation

According to the respected Mayo Clinic, mindfulness is a form of meditation:

If you’ve heard of or read about mindfulness—a form of meditation—you might be curious about how to practice it.3

Meditation author and teacher and founder of MNDFUL, Lodro Rinzler, states:

Mindfulness is a form of meditation. . . . There are many forms of meditation, including contemplation and visualization, but mindfulness is the type where you bring your full mind to an object.4

According to one source:

Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation and other training.5

Not only is mindfulness a type of meditation, there would be few mindfulness teachers who would deny that mindfulness as roots in Buddhism:

Being mindful of your breath, for example, is a common form of mindfulness during meditation. Following your breath improves your awareness of being in the present. This is called mindfulness meditation, known as shamatha among Buddhists.6

In an article in Psychology Today titled “How to Practice Mindful Meditation,” it explains:

In the Buddhist tradition and in Contemplative Psychotherapy training, we nurture mindfulness through the practice of sitting meditation. There are many different kinds of meditation. For example, some are designed to help us relax; others are meant to produce altered states of consciousness.7

Ray Yungen, who researched and wrote about various forms of meditation for over twenty years, said:

True to its Buddhist roots, mindfulness involves focusing on the breath to stop the normal flow of thought. In effect, it acts the same way as a mantra; and as with Yoga.8

Mindfulness is Therapy

A growing number of health professionals consider mindfulness exercises to be a therapeutic avenue to help people with mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, anger, etc. An article on mindfulness therapy, where the Journal of Psychosomatic Research and the Clinical Psychology Review are referenced as associating the use of mindfulness in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), states:

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a modified form of cognitive therapy that incorporates mindfulness practices such as meditation and breathing exercises.9

An article titled “What is Mindfulness?” discusses mindfulness’ role in stress reduction therapy:

Jon Kabat-Zinn [founding member of the Cambridge Zen Center and trained by Buddhist teachers]10 developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. This stress reduction program became the basis of mindfulness.11

Kabat-Zinn is credited for having brought mindfulness meditation into the medical sector of our western society, and now it has been brought into public schools. One program in California for children on welfare called MBCT-C is a “psychotherapy for anxious or depressed children adapted from MBCT for adults.”12
Do parents realize their children are undergoing “therapy” in the form of mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a Religious Practice

Webster defines the word religion as “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.”
A 2015 article titled “How the Mindfulness Movement Went Mainstream—And the Backlash That Came With It” explains Jon Kabat-Zinn’s efforts in bringing mindfulness meditation into mainstream America:

In 1979, a 35-year-old avid student of Buddhist meditation and MIT-trained molecular biologist was on a two-week meditation retreat when he had a vision of what his life’s work—his “karmic assignment”—would be. While he sat alone one afternoon, it all came to him at once: he’d bring the ancient Eastern disciplines he’d followed for 13 years—mindfulness meditation and yoga—to people with chronic health conditions right here in modern America.13

However, as the article continues, Kabat-Zinn knew he would have to convince Americans that mindfulness is not a religious practice but rather a scientific one. He knew they wouldn’t accept it if they knew the truth about it, that it is a Buddhist/New Age practice:

[H]e approached the challenge by adopting a mainstream and commonsensical American vocabulary that described meditation as a way of paying attention and cultivating awareness in everyday life, and by using practices that were equally accessible and straightforward. . . . Kabat-Zinn’s approach would be to offer training in mindfulness in ways that were implicitly anchored in Buddhist teachings, but in a universal and mainstream American idiom and framework.14

Kabat-Zinn explains:

I bent over backward to structure it and find ways to speak about it that avoided as much as possible the risk of its being seen as Buddhist, New Age, Eastern Mysticism, or just plain flaky.15

His plans to dupe westerners worked. He was able to introduce a purely religious/New Age practice while convincing mainstream America that mindfulness had nothing to do with religion or the New Age at all. Once that was accomplished, the rest was easy: “separation of church and state” activists had succeeded in removing “religion” from schools, government, and other public venues. Thus, by “proving” that mindfulness meditation is not in any way religious, it could be welcomed with open arms into the general populace and finally into the public schools.
Wouldn’t it be good if public school administrators, principals, and teachers knew what mindfulness teachers and Buddhists know, that mindfulness is a religion? And since public schools in America have made the decision that religion cannot be taught in the public schools, Yoga, mindfulness, and other forms of meditation have no business being used in the public schools. Not only is it discriminatory against Christian influence in the schools, which has been banned from American public schools because it is “religious,” it is deceitful.

Mindfulness Meditation is Dangerous

Numerous research reports show that meditation can be dangerous, especially for the vulnerable and weak (a category in which children fit). A preface to an article titled “Meditation is Touted as a Cure for Mental Instability but Can It Actually Be Bad for You” written by Dr. Miguel Farias* states:
If it’s so powerful, might meditation also do harm to sensitive souls? Researching a mass murder, Dr. Miguel Farias discovered that, far from bringing inner peace, it can leave devotees in pieces.16
Farias explains:

[M]editation, for all its de-stressing and self-development potential, can take you deeper into the recesses of your mind than you may have wished for.17

In the article, Farias relays the stories of people who were meditators and upon further research came to believe that meditation can be very dangerous. He found there were other professionals who agreed:

In 1992, David Shapiro, a professor at UCLA Irvine, published an article about the effects of meditation retreats. After examining 27 people with different levels of meditation experience, he found 63 per cent of them had suffered at least one negative effect and seven per cent profoundly adverse effects.18

Farias continues:

[A] number of Western Buddhists are aware that not all is plain sailing with meditation; and they have even given a name to the emotional difficulties that arise—the “dark night”—borrowing the phrase coined by the 16th-century Christian mystic St John of the Cross to describe an advanced stage of prayer and contemplation characterised by an emotional dryness, in which the subject feels abandoned by God.19

In another article titled “3 Hidden Dangers of Meditation You Should Know,” David K. William references the work of Dr. Florian Ruths, consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley hospital in London, and researchers at Brown University showing that meditation can invoke the following results:

It can bring feelings of ennui, emptiness and even fear.
It can bring changes in your sense of self, and cause impairment in social relationships.
It can be disempowering and keep you passive, contained and compliant.20

The article describes Brown University’s “dark night project,” (later named “The Varieties of Contemplative Experience Project”21) describing how “some Buddhist meditators have been assailed by traumatic memories.”22
Professor Willoughby Britton, lead researcher and psychiatrist in the project, has recorded surprising problems among some of the Buddhist meditators that include: “cognitive, perceptual and sensory aberrations,” impairment in social relationships and changes in their sense of self.23
Another article, titled “The Dangers of Meditation: It Can Actually Lead to Insomnia, Fear and Hypersensitivity to Light,” states:

[M]indfulness, so popular with celebrities like Emma Watson and Angelina Jolie, could be bad for you—causing insomnia, anxiety and hypersensitivity to light and sound.

These were side effects discovered by US researchers exploring the phenomenon of “meditation sickness” by interviewing nearly 100 people.
They found, while some experienced bliss from concentrating on their breathing and practising “loving kindness,” others were left in pain or struggling to return to normal life.24
The article also reports on a study done by Brown University:

The study, published in the journal PLOS One, describes the “billion dollar meditation industry,” with more than 20 mobile phone apps now devoted to mindfulness.
But medical reports document cases of meditation-induced psychosis, seizures and mania, while Zen Buddhists have long acknowledged the existence of “meditation sickness.” . . .
A team led by Brown University found people could suffer ill effects from doing just half an hour of meditation or after only one day.25

In the study, it was discovered that the most common side effects were fear, anxiety, panic or paranoia.

This was experienced by 82 per cent of those questioned, while 42 per cent suffered hallucinations, visions or illusions and 28 per cent said they had become hypersensitive to light and sound.26

Author Mary Wylie, Ph.D., writes:

These effects are well documented in Buddhist texts as stages along the long, hard path to inner wisdom but . . . aren’t featured in mindfulness/meditation brochures . . . [meditation is] in fact, a far deeper, more complex, and less well-understood process than many people realize.27

Some of the Dangers and Effects of Meditation

The following list is derived from the various sources we used to compile this booklet:

insomnia
fear
hypersensitivity to light and sound
anxiety
difficulty eating
panic and paranoia
psychosis
seizures
mania
visual hallucinations
unable to function or work
a loss of sense of identity
psychotic depression
elevated mood and grandiose delusions
unrestrained behaviors (sexual and violence)
pain
confusion and disorientation
feelings of emptiness and ennui (listlessness, dissatisfaction)
depersonalization
impairment of social relationships
cognitive, perceptual and sensory aberrations
disempowering
causes passiveness and compliance (even when those are negative responses to certain situations)

It is worthwhile to note that most of these symptoms are similar to symptoms that occur with the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Is this really what America’s children should be put at risk of enduring? There is no way for a teacher to know which children will respond negatively to meditation. As one concerned parent asked, “Can any district guarantee that no one will suffer negative effects of mindfulness in its classrooms?” Are school districts willing to take the risk of lawsuits against them if children start experiencing some of the symptoms above?
We find it sadly ironic that while part of the motive in having children practice mindfulness is to cut back on bullying and violence, several of the potential symptoms, including “unrestrained” sexual and violent behavior, would feed bullying and violence, not diminish it. Some of the mass shootings that have taken place in this past decade especially were committed by those who had a history of practicing meditation. A case in point is Kyle Odom, a 30-year-old Marine veteran who shot an Idaho pastor six times (the pastor miraculously survived). In an article we posted, we stated:

A “manifesto,” written by former Marine Kyle Odom, the 30-year-old man who shot Idaho pastor Tim Remmington, reveals that his life started to change drastically when he began doing meditation while in university to relieve stress. The meditation experiences . . . eventually led to two suicide attempts and then the shooting of Pastor Remmington.28

When we consider some of the possible symptoms from practicing meditation—depersonalization, unrestrained behaviors, psychotic depression, a loss of sense of identity—we must ask the question, will this huge thrust by American public schools to have all school children meditating end up producing a greater amount of violence and psychotic behavior in our society rather than more peace and love? Again, we must ask, how will teachers who instruct children on mindfulness exercises know which children will have adverse reactions? There is no way they can know, and thus, they are playing Russian roulette with America’s youth.
To order copies of Mindfulness: What You May Not Know And Should Have Been Told, click here.
Endnotes:
1. Healthy Schools Program (https://www.healthiergeneration.org/take_action/schools/).
2. Ray Yungen, “Mindfulness! Heard of It? What Does it Mean, and Where is it Showing Up in Christian Circles?” (https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=18879).
3. Mayo Clinic Staff, “Mindfulness Exercises” (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356.
4. Lecia Bushak, “Mindfulness vs Meditation: The Difference Between These Two Pathways to Well-Being and Peace of Mind” (Medical Daily, March 10, 2016, http://www.medicaldaily.com/mindfulness-meditation-differences-377346).
5.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness.
6. Lecia Bushak, “Mindfulness vs Meditation: The Difference Between These Two Pathways to Well-Being and Peace of Mind,” op. cit.
7. Karen Kissel Wegela Ph.D., “How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-courage-be-present/201001/how-practice-mindfulness-meditation).
8. Ray Yungen, “Mindfulness! Heard of It? What Does it Mean, and Where is it Showing Up in Christian Circles?,” op., cit.
9. “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy” (Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/therapy-types/mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy).
10. According to Wikipedia, Jon Kabat-Zinn is “the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.” “Kabat-Zinn was a student of Buddhist teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Zen Master Seung Sahn and a founding member of Cambridge Zen Center. His practice of yoga and studies with Buddhist teachers led him to integrate their teachings with scientific findings. He teaches mindfulness, which he says can help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain, and illness. The stress reduction program created by Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness-based stress reduction, is offered by medical centers, hospitals, and health maintenance organizations” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Kabat-Zinn).
11. Raymond Philippe, “What Is Mindfulness?” (https://remedygrove.com/wellness/Mindfulness-Explained).
12. http://www.cebc4cw.org/program/mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy-for-children-mbct-c/detailed.
13. Mary Sykes Wylie, “How the Mindfulness Movement Went Mainstream—And the Backlash That Came With It” (Alternet, January 29, 2015, https://www.alternet.org/personal-health/how-mindfulness-movement-went-mainstream-and-backlash-came-it).
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Dr. Miguel Farias, “Meditation Is Touted as a Cure for Mental Instability but Can It Actually Be Bad for You?” (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/meditation-is-touted-as-a-cure-for-mental-instability-but-can-it-actually-be-bad-for-you-10268291.html).
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. David K. William, “3 Hidden Dangers of Meditation You Should Know” (http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/3-hidden-dangers-meditation-you-should-know.html).
21. Brown University, “The Varieties of Contemplative Experience” (https://www.brown.edu/research/labs/britton/research/varieties-contemplative-experience).
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Victoria Allen, “The Dangers of Meditation: It Can Actually Lead to Insomnia, Fear and Hypersensitivity to Light” (Daily Mail, UK, May 24, 2017, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4538240/The-dangers-meditation.html).
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Mary Sykes Wylie, “How the Mindfulness Movement Went Mainstream—-And the Backlash that Came With It,” op cit.
28. “Kyle Odom, the Man Who Shot Idaho Pastor, Says Meditation Started it All” (Lighthouse Trails Research, March 10, 2016, https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=19057).
To order copies of Mindfulness: What You May Not Know And Should Have Been Told, click here.
We recommend giving this booklet to parents and also to local public-school district officials. And Lighthouse Trails is willing to send a free copy of one of our booklets on meditation to any school district official who would like to read it. Just call us at 406-889-3610 or e-mail us at editors@lighthousetrails.com the name and mailing address of any school official who agrees to receive the booklet.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN PENNSYLVANIA: YOGA FOR CHILDREN; HINDUISM FOR POLITICIANS

SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN PENNSYLVANIA: YOGA FOR CHILDREN; HINDUISM FOR POLITICIANS 

SEE: https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2018/newsletter20180705.htm; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

Dear Friends at Lighthouse Trails:
Just thought I would send a few articles from our local paper about what is going on in our part of the country. Sounds like the many issues you so faithfully address. Thank you for your faithfulness to God’s truth.
John

Children at a local library learning Yoga.

Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representatives in Harrisburg start sessions with Hindu prayers

Related Stories:
Fresno, California “Church Calendar” Illustrates Major Paradigm Shift in “Church in America”
A “New” Dark Age – In Politics and in the Church

POPE FRANCIS TO CELEBRATE "MASS FOR MIGRANTS" IN VATICAN BASILICA

FULL MASS:

POPE FRANCIS TO CELEBRATE "MASS FOR MIGRANTS" IN VATICAN BASILICA

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/07/pope-francis-to-celebrate-mass-for-migrants-in-vatican-basilica; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

“Abandoned and helpless children.” Yes, that’s who these people are. Here are some: Somali Muslim migrant Mohammad Barry in February 2016 stabbed multiple patrons at a restaurant owned by an Israeli Arab Christian; Ahmad Khan Rahami, an Afghan Muslim migrant, in September 2016 set off bombs in New York City and New Jersey; Arcan Cetin, a Turkish Muslim migrant, in September 2016 murdered five people in a mall in Burlington, Washington; Dahir Adan, another Somali Muslim migrant, in October 2016 stabbed mall shoppers in St. Cloud while screaming “Allahu akbar”; and Abdul Razak Artan, yet another Somali Muslim migrant, in November 2016 injured nine people with car and knife attacks at Ohio State University. 72 jihad terrorists have come to the U.S. from the countries listed in Trump’s initial immigration ban.

What’s more, all of the jihadis who murdered 130 people in Paris in November 2015 had just entered Europe as refugees. In February 2015, the Islamic State boasted it would soon flood Europe with as many as 500,000 refugees. The Lebanese Education Minister said in September 2015 that there were 20,000 jihadis among the refugees in camps in his country. On May 10, 2016, Patrick Calvar, the head of France’s DGSI internal intelligence agency, said that the Islamic State was using migrant routes through the Balkans to get jihadis into Europe.

Pope Francis is a disgrace to the Catholic Church, to Judeo-Christian civilization, and to the free world.

“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)

“Pope Francis to Celebrate ‘Mass for Migrants’ in Vatican Basilica,” by Thomas D. Williams, Breitbart, July 5, 2018 (thanks to Ken):

Pope Francis will celebrate a special “Mass for Migrants” this Friday at the main altar of Saint Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the fifth anniversary of his visit to migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Vatican announced Wednesday.

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, released a statement on the Vatican’s website alerting people to the Mass in support of migrants, which “will be a moment of prayer for the deceased, for survivors and for those who assist them.”

Mr. Burke said that some 200 people are expected to be present at the event, “including refugees and people who take care of them.”

In recent months, the Pope has launched a full-court press on behalf of migrants in the hopes of bringing about a “change in mindset” regarding immigration, insisting in a recent message that migrants do not pose a threat to society but are, rather, an enrichment.

“This demands a change in mindset,” he said. “We must move from considering others as threats to our comfort to valuing them as persons whose life experience and values can contribute greatly to the enrichment of our society.”

“For this to happen, our basic approach must be to encounter the other, to welcome, to know and to acknowledge him or her,” he added.

The pope’s support for free-flowing immigration has placed him on a collision course with populist leaders who are moving to stem the tide of international mass migration.

Last year, Francis said that a growing hostility toward migrants is stoked by “populist rhetoric,” adding that a failure to welcome migrants is rooted in selfishness.

A true change of heart is needed, the Pope said, because the rejection of migrants is “rooted ultimately in self-centeredness and amplified by populist rhetoric.”…

The Vatican has released the prayers for the pope’s Mass for Migrants to be celebrated this Friday, which include the following opening prayer:

O God, father of all men, for you no one is a stranger, no one is excluded from your fatherhood; look with love on refugees, those in exile, victims of segregation, and abandoned and helpless children, so that the warmth of a home and a homeland may to be given to all, and that we may be given a sensitive and generous heart towards the poor and oppressed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

EPISCOPAL COMMITTEE HEARS CALL TO REVISE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, REPLACING MASCULINE TERMS FOR GOD, MANKIND

EPISCOPAL COMMITTEE HEARS CALL TO REVISE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, REPLACING MASCULINE TERMS FOR GOD, MANKIND

BY HEATHER CLARK

SEE: https://christiannews.net/2018/07/05/episcopal-committee-hears-call-to-revise-book-of-common-prayer-replacing-masculine-terms-for-god-mankind/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

AUSTIN, Texas — A committee tasked with hearing desired revisions to the Book of Common Prayer listened to remarks on Wednesday from Episcopalian leaders and others who want to make the historical book’s text more gender-neutral by removing masculine nouns and pronouns for God and mankind. Some Episcopalians disagree, and have presented a resolution asking that no changes be made to the book, but rather that deeper devotion be given to the existing text.

“As long as a masculine God remains at the top of the pyramid, nothing else we do matters. We construct a theological framework in which we talk about gender equality … then we say that which is most holy in the universe is only and exclusively male. That just undoes some of the key theology that says we are equal in God’s sight, we are fully created in God’s image,” Wil Gafney, a Hebrew Bible professor at Brite Divinity School in Texas, who is among those calling for the change, told The Washington Post.

According to the Episcopal News Service, among those who spoke before the “Committee to Receive the Report of Resolution A169” (referring to a 2015 resolution calling for the changes) were two women who identify as men, Ian Stanford of the Diocese of Oregon and the Cameron Partridge of the Diocese of California. They asserted that gendered language is a hindrance to the youth that they seek to bring into the church.

Stanford said that she was worried about how the young people will receive the language they hear during the services.

“What am I inviting them into?” she asked.

Kathleen Moore, a seminarian from the Diocese of Vermont, similarly told the committee that gender specific language is an impediment to her work to reach youth.

“Let’s let God be God,” she said.

Rowan Pantalena, who identifies as “non-binary transgender” and a candidate for the Diocese of Connecticut, contended, “I am not your brother or your sister. I am your sibling.” Pantalena asked for language that would expand on the existing text, rather than a complete overhaul.

The listening period took place during the 79th General Convention, which will continue through July 13. A subcommittee regarding how to move forward has now been formed, citing two proposed resolutions, one of which specifically calls for “inclusive and expansive language” in the Book of Common Prayer.

“That the 79th General Convention recognize the urgent pastoral and evangelical need for revision of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, particularly in regard to the use of inclusive and expansive language for humanity and divinity, continuing work which began even as the 1979 BCP was being developed,” Resolution 36 reads.

Read the resolution in full here.

However, while some support the concept of revising the Book of Common Prayer, others have presented a resolution to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music that calls for deeper study of the Book within congregations for the next three years.

It asks that the “Episcopal Church … devote the next triennium to deep engagement with the structure, content, language and theological thrust of The Book of Common Prayer (1979), with a view to increasing the Church’s familiarity with the book in its entirety; and directs the SCLM to develop materials to aid local dioceses, congregations, seminaries, and schools in the process of this deep engagement, focusing particularly on the use of the Prayer Book as an instrument for the catechesis and spiritual formation of the whole people of God.”

Read Resolution 69 in full here.

As previously reported, in 2015, when a group of women known as WATCH moved for the Church of England to start referring to God as a “she” during the weekly liturgy, stating that to make mention of God solely in the male pronoun is sexist, some expressed strong opposition.

“Referring to God as ‘mother’ drives a horse and cart through Scripture. Such an innovation is guaranteed to split the C of E as never before,” wrote Damian Thompson in the Daily Mail.

“Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned us that the church could be extinct in 25 years’ time unless services become more spiritually fulfilling. Calling God ‘she’ will not achieve that fulfillment,” he stated. “The proposed twist of language will do nothing to stop the decline of Christian faith in this country. On the contrary, it will make worshippers squirm. And nothing empties pews faster than that.”

1 John 4:14 reads, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”

Jesus also said in John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.”
_____________________________________________________________
SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS:
https://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2018/02/capitol-apostasy-dc-episcopalians-opt.html
https://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2018/02/episcopal-diocese-votes-to-avoid-using.html

FACEBOOK DELETES PART OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AS "HATE SPEECH", REMOVES POST

FACEBOOK DELETES PART OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AS "HATE SPEECH", 

REMOVES POST

BY  Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.

SEE: https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/computers/item/29452-facebook-deletes-part-of-declaration-of-independence-as-hate-speech-removes-post; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

Mark Zuckerberg might want to get his DNA tested to see if he’s related to King George III.

Facebook marked as “hate speech” and then removed part of the Declaration of Independence posted on the social media site by a small Texas newspaper called the Liberty County Vindicator.

The good folks at the Vindicator had been posting paragraphs from the Declaration of Independence — approved 242 years ago this week — on its Facebook page, but one paragraph didn’t show up and later the paper’s editors found out why.

The post “goes against our standards on hate speech,” Facebook wrote in a message to the Vindicator.

Although the Vindicator had been posting the series of sections from the Declaration of Independence since June 24 without incident, on July 2, the post was flagged by Facebook and removed.

The supposedly offending language of the Declaration reads as follows:

“He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

“He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

“He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

“He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

While the editor of the Vindicator is unhappy with Facebook’s censorship and lack of access to a human who might be able to explain the action, the editor also concedes that as a private company Facebook can delete anything it wants to without regard to what users might want. It might not be the best business decision, but it certainly isn’t unconstitutional.

Why?

Because the relevant part of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech.”

Notice: The First Amendment does not bind private entities from abridging speech all day, every day.

That isn’t the issue here, though.

The issue is that the social media mammoth actually employs mathematical algorithms designed to tag and eliminate “hate speech” and the algorithm tagged and eliminated part of the Declaration of Independence!

George III had a similar take on the means and ends of American people and of the documents they built upon as they drafted the Declaration.

In his Proclamation of 1775, George III described Americans as having committed “variably disorderly acts”; “disturbance of the publick peace”; “open and hostile rebellion”; and of having sent “traitorous correspondence.”

George III ended his proclamation by commanding all British officers, as well as loyalists, “to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion.”

The king was using those terms inaccurately.

The truth is, the 13 colonies weren’t rebelling; they were trying to restore what had been taken from them: their right to self-government.

Or, as Thomas Jefferson wrote and his colleagues supported, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

This Fourth of July, please take time not only to think about our noble forefathers and the price they paid for independence, but also to remember that we, too, must be true to the timeless principles of liberty as embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Lastly, please take time to read this little article I’ve linked to here. It will not only help you to understand the Declaration of Independence, it may also help encourage you and your family to join the struggle in our own time to restore the liberty and self-governance that cost the best blood of of the 18th Century to bequeath to us.

As of July 3, the post had been restored and Facebook said it would launch an investigation into the incorrect action as well.

_________________________________________________________________

Facebook flags Declaration of Independence as 

“hate speech”

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/07/facebook-flags-declaration-of-independence-as-hate-speech; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

This highlights the authoritarianism of Facebook’s speech police. Facebook routinely flags posts that are critical of jihad terror and Sharia oppression as “hate speech”; in February 2017, referrals to Jihad Watch from Facebook dropped by 90% in a single day and have never recovered. The “hate speech” label is a tool of the powerful in order to silence the powerless, and the political and media elites have decided that opposition to jihad murder and Sharia oppression of women, gays, and others falls into this category. This story, however, shows how absurd this whole enterprise really is.

“Facebook flags Declaration of Independence as hate speech,” by Victor Morton, Washington Times, July 4, 2018 (thanks to Noor):

In the week of America’s Independence Day, the algorithms of Facebook decided that the Declaration of Independence was hate speech.

The Liberty County Vindicator, a community newspaper between Houston and Beaumont, had been posting the whole declaration in small daily chunks for nine days on its Facebook page in the run-up to July 4. But the 10th excerpt was not posted Monday as scheduled, and the paper said it received an automated notice saying the post “goes against our standards on hate speech.”

Part of the standard notice, Vindicator managing editor Casey Stinnett wrote, included a warning that the newspaper could lose its Facebook account, on which it depends for much of its reach, if there were more violations.

The offending passage?

It was part of the document’s “Bill of Particulars” against Britain’s King George III: “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

Mr. Stinnett dryly replied in an article about the rejection, “Perhaps had Thomas Jefferson written it as ‘Native Americans at a challenging stage of cultural development’ that would have been better. Unfortunately, Jefferson, like most British colonists of his day, did not hold an entirely friendly view of Native Americans.”

He noted that the newspaper wanted “a means of contacting Facebook for an explanation or a opportunity to appeal the post’s removal, but it does not appear the folks at Facebook want anyone contacting them. Or, at least, they do not make it easy.”

Within a day, Facebook had paid heed, allowing the posting and sending the Vindicator an apology.

“It looks like we made a mistake and removed something you posted on Facebook that didn’t go against our Community Standards. We want to apologize and let you know that we’ve restored your content and removed any blocks on your account related to this incorrect action,” Facebook wrote back, the Vindicator reported….

REJECTION OF BIBLE SEPARATION A SLIPPERY SLOPE

REJECTION OF BIBLE SEPARATION 

A SLIPPERY SLOPE

BY DAVID CLOUD 

(Friday Church News Notes, July 6, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
The rejection of Bible separation is a slippery slope. It begins in “small” ways with “a little leaven” and takes incremental steps, always moving farther away from the Bible’s teaching on separation. The rejection of separation begins softly and quietly. It is something that can be difficult to put one’s finger on, something not easy to identify. It is a change of mood as much as anything. The rejection of separation begins with a mere change in mood toward a more positive emphasis. It is characterized by a greater tolerance of error. It is a gradual loss of militant zeal in the defense of the faith. The first step in the rejection of separation can be identified not so much by what a preacher or a church or a Bible college does or says as by what it fails to do and what it neglects to say. Typically, those who are at the outset of rejecting separatism are offended when someone challenges them that this might be happening. They still want to be known as separatists because they are still associated with separatists or with those who want to be known as separatists. The following questions can help identify whether or not a church is going soft on separation: Do clear warnings go out from the pulpit? Are the people who sit under the church’s ministry well educated about influential compromisers and heretics? Does the church invite strong separatist preachers to blow the trumpet against compromise in a plain way? Does the church warn more about disunity and “fragmentation” than it does about compromise? Does the church dislike men who give plain public warnings about compromise? Does the church ever host a conference on separation and give clear warning on issues? Does the church publicly and unhesitatingly identify itself with forthright separatists? Does the church recommend literature on separation to its members? What is in the bookstore? Is separation something that was once preached, talked about, and practiced but now left out of the agenda? Is the church affiliating with those who are careless in their affiliations? Is the church warming up to “conservative evangelicals”? Does the church routinely recommend books by New Evangelicals? Is the church affiliating with those who use CCM and contemporary Southern Gospel and perhaps moving toward adopting this music itself? CCM is not just music; it is a philosophy of Christianity that is diametrically opposed to separatism and CCM and a separatist stance cannot and will not live in harmony for long.