LECTIO DIVINA: A DANGEROUS CATHOLIC MYSTICAL PRACTICE THAT LEADS TO HERESIES, OCCULT, AND UNIVERSALISM

BETH MOORE & JOHN PIPER "OPEN TO NEW REVELATION" 

VIA LECTIO DIVINA

TODD FRIEL EXPOSES ABOVE AT PASSION 2012

LECTIO DIVINA

What it is, What it is not, 

and Should Christians Practice it?

SEE: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=17722;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

There’s a lot of talk about it today; umpteen books are published and more are on the way about lectio divina; and an increasing number of evangelical/Protestant figures are writing about it, endorsing it, and teaching it. Some people think lectio divina simply means to read a passage of Scripture slowly (or “praying the Scriptures”) then ponder or think on that Scripture. That can be a part of it. But if you ask mystics or contemplatives what it really entails (And who would know better than they?), they will tell you that lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a) always includes taking a passage of Scripture (or other writings), reading it slowly, and repeating it as you work your way down to where you have just a word or small phrase from the passage that you are “meditating” on (repeating over and over). Basically, you are coming up with a mantra-like word or phrase that has been extracted from a passage of Scripture, which, according to contemplatives, if repeated for several minutes, will help you get rid of thoughts and distractions, so then, they say, you can hear the voice of God and feel His presence (going into the silence).

There are said to be four steps in lectio divina. These four steps are:

Reading (lectio)—Slowly begin reading a biblical passage as if it were a long awaited love letter addressed to you. Approach it reverentially and expectantly, in a way that savors each word and phrase. Read the passage until you hear a word or phrase that touches you, resonates, attracts, or even disturbs you.

Reflecting (meditatio)—Ponder this word or phrase for a few minutes. Let it sink in slowly and deeply until you are resting in it. Listen for what the word or phrase is saying to you at this moment in your life, what it may be offering to you, what it may be demanding of you.

Expressing (oratio)—If you are a praying person, when you are ready, openly and honestly express to God the prayers that arise spontaneously within you from your experience of this word or phrase. These may be prayers of thanksgiving, petition, intercession, lament, or praise. If prayer is not part of your journey you could write down the thoughts that have come your way.

Resting (contemplatio)—Allow yourself to simply rest silently for a time in the stillness of your heart remaining open to the quiet fullness of God’s love and peace. This is like the silence of communion between the mother holding her sleeping infant child or between lovers whose communication with each other passes beyond words.1

Catholic priest and contemplative mysticism pioneer Thomas Keating explains what lectio divina is not in an article he has written titled “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina.” He explains that lectio divina is not traditional Bible study, not reading the Scriptures for understanding and edification, and not praying the Scriptures (though praying the Scriptures can be a form of lectio divina when a word or phrase is taken from the Scriptures to focus on for the purpose of going into “God’s presence”).2 Keating says that lectio divina is an introduction into the more intense practices—contemplative prayer and centering prayer.

While some people think lectio divina is just reading Scripture slowly (and what’s wrong with that), it is the focusing on and repeating a word or small phrase to facilitate going into the “silence” that is the real danger. There is certainly nothing wrong with reading Scripture carefully and thoughtfully. Thoughtfully, we say. In eastern-style meditation (and in contemplative prayer) thoughts are the enemy. Eastern-style mystic Anthony De Mello describes this problem with thoughts in his book Sadhana: A Way to God:

To silence the mind is an extremely difficult task. How hard it is to keep the mind from thinking, thinking, thinking, forever thinking, forever producing thoughts in a never ending stream. Our Hindu masters in India have a saying: one thorn is removed by another. By this they mean that you will be wise to use one thought to rid yourself of all the other thoughts that crowd into your mind. One thought, one image, one phrase or sentence or word that your mind can be made to fasten on.3

Spiritual director Jan Johnson in her book, When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer also believes that thoughts get in the way, and the mind must be stilled:

Contemplative prayer, in its simplest form, is a prayer in which you still your thoughts and emotions and focus on God Himself. This puts you in a better state to be aware of God’s presence, and it makes you better able to hear God’s voice, correcting, guiding, and directing you.4

Mark Yaconelli, author of Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus, has this to say about lectio divina. Keep in mind that Yaconelli’s materials are used in evangelical/Protestant settings (e.g., colleges, seminaries, youth groups):

In order to practice lectio divina, select a time and place that is peaceful and in which you may be alert and prayer fully attentive. Dispose yourself for prayer in whatever way is natural for you. This may be a spoken prayer to God to open you more fully to the Spirit, a gentle relaxation process that focuses on breathing, singing or chanting, or simply a few minutes of silence to empty yourself of thoughts, images, and emotions.5

Research analyst Ray Yungen explains this silence that contemplative mystics seek:

When [Richard] Foster speaks of the silence, he does not mean external silence. In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Foster recommends the practice of breath prayer6—picking a single word or short phrase and repeating it in conjunction with the breath. This is classic contemplative mysticism. . . . In Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, [Foster] ties in a quote by one mystic who advised, “You must bind the mind with one thought”7 . . . I once related Foster’s breath prayer method to a former New Age devotee who is now a Christian. She affirmed this connection when she remarked with astonishment, “That’s what I did when I was into ashtanga yoga!”8

With lectio divina, the word or phrase one repeats eventually can lose its meaning, and this repetitive sound can start to put the practitioner into an altered mind state. Yungen tells us that:

Keeping the mind riveted on only one thought is unnatural and adverse to true reflection and prayer. Simple logic tells us the repeating of words has no rational value. For instance, if someone called you on the phone and just said your name or one phrase over and over, would that be something you found edifying? Of course not; you would hang up on him or her. Why would God feel otherwise? And if God’s presence is lacking, what is this presence that appears as light during meditation and infuses a counterfeit sense of divinity within?9

Yungen exhorts believers that: “the goal of prayer should not be to bind the mind with a word or phrase in order to induce a mystical trance but rather to use the mind to glory in the grace of God. This was the apostle Paul’s counsel to the various churches: ‘Study to shew thyself approved’ (2 Tim. 2:15) and ‘we pray always’ (2 Thessalonians 1:11) as in talking to God with both heart and mind.”10

In order to help those you care about stay clear of contemplative spirituality and spiritual deception, it is important for you to understand how lectio divina plays a significant role in leading people toward full blown meditative practices. And we propose that this “presence” that is reached during the “silent” altered states of consciousness from saying a word or phrase over and over (or focusing on the breath or an object) is not God’s presence. God has instructed us in the Bible not to perform “special kinds of process[es]” or “formula[s],”11 as Thomas Keating calls lectio divina, to induce mystical experiences (see Deuteronomy 18:9-11); thus, we believe ample warning about lectio divina is warranted.

In conclusion, lectio divina is a bridge to eastern-style meditation. If indeed, this is true, then it will lead Christians away from the message of the Cross and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus Christians should not practice lectio divina. Do you know where practices such as lectio divina took Thomas Keating in his spirituality? When you read the statement by him below, you can see the answer to this:

We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible.

Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to find inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences.12

Notes:

1. Taken from: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/lectiodivina.htm.
2. Thomas Keating, “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina” (http://web.archive.org/web/20120201174238/http://www.crossroadshikers.org/LectioDevina.htm).
3. Anthony de Mello, Sadhana: A Way to God (St. Louis, the Institute of Jesuit Resources, 1978), p. 28.
4. Jan Johnson, When the Soul Listens (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1999), p. 16.
5. Mark Yaconelli, http://web.archive.org/web/20080724110254/http://www.ymsp.org/resources/practices/lectio_divina.html.
6. Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1992), p. 122.
7. Ibid., p. 124.
8. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2006), p. 75.
9. Ibid., p. 76.
10. Ibid., p. 75.
11. Keating, “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina,” op. cit.
12. M. Basil Pennington, Thomas Keating, Thomas E. Clarke, Finding Grace at the Center (Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s Pub., 1978), pp. 5-6.

To order copies of LECTIO DIVINA-What it is, What it is not, and Should Christians Practice it? in booklet form, click here.

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LECTIO DIVINA

by David Cloud of Way of Life

http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/lectio_divina.html;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The following is from Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond. ISBN 978-1-58318-113-3. Contemplative mysticism, which originated with Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox monasticism, is permeating every branch of Christianity today, including the Southern Baptist Convention. In this book we document the fact that Catholic mysticism leads inevitably to a broadminded ecumenical philosophy and to capitulation to heresies. For many, this path has led to interfaith dialogue, Buddhism, Hinduism, universalism, pantheism, panentheism, even goddess theology. One chapter is dedicated to exposing the heresies of Richard Foster: “Evangelicalism’s Mystical Spark Plug.” We describe major contemplative practices, such as centering prayer, visualizing prayer, the Jesus Prayer, lectio divina, and the labyrinth. We look at the history of Roman Catholic monasticism which birthed contemplative prayer, and we examine the errors of contemplative mysticism. In the “Biographical Catalog of Contemplative Mystics” we look at the lives and beliefs of 60 of the major figures in the contemplative movement, including Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, Teresa of Avila, Richard Foster, and Dallas Willard. The book contains an extensive index. 482 pages, available in print and eBook editions from Way of Life Literature__________
The term “lectio divina” is Latin and means divine or sacred reading. It is a Catholic monastic method of reading the Scripture in a mystical way. 

At first glance lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a) might not sound very different from a traditional devotional approach that involves reading and meditating on Scripture in communion with the Holy Spirit. Where it differs is as follows:First, lectio divina does not refer to “meditation” in a Scriptural sense. 
Proponents of lectio divina point to passages of Scripture that refer to “meditation” (e.g., Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2), and the uninformed reader would be led to believe that they are describing a Scriptural practice. In fact, they are describing something very different. 

Consider a description of lectio divina. The practitioner is taught to begin with deep breathing exercises and repetition of a “prayer word” to enter into a contemplative state. This refers to a mantra. The goal is to “become interiorly silent” (Luke Dysinger, “Accepting the Embrace of God: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina,” Valyermo Benedictine, Spring 1990). Having prepared himself, the practitioner reads a portion of Scripture slowly and repeatedly, three or four times. Choosing a word or phrase that particularly “speaks to him,” he slowly repeats it, allowing it to interact with his “inner world of concerns, memories and ideas.” Next, he converses with God about the text. Finally, he rests in silence before God in thoughtless mysticism. 

Catholic priest Luke Dysinger says, “Once again we practice SILENCE, LETTING GO OF OUR OWN WORDS; this time simply enjoying the experience of being in the presence of God.” 

Notice how Thomas Merton describes the meditation performed in lectio divina and other Catholic contemplative practices:“Meditation is ... a series of interior activities which prepare us for union with God” (Spiritual Direction and Meditation, 1960, p. 54). 

“Meditation is more than mere practical thinking” (p. 55).
“... the fruitful silence in which WORDS LOSE THEIR POWER AND CONCEPTS ESCAPE OUR GRASP is perhaps the perfection of meditation” (p. 57).
“More often than not, we can be content to simply rest, and float peacefully with the deep current of love, doing nothing of ourselves, but allowing the Holy Spirit to act in the secret depths of our soul” (pp. 101, 102).
Richard Foster, who has had a far-reaching influence on evangelicalism’s contemplative practices, quotes Catholic mystic Madame Guyon as follows: “Once you sense the Lord’s presence, THE CONTENT OF WHAT YOU READ IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT. The scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to him. ... You should always remember that YOU ARE NOT THERE TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU HAVE READ; rather you are reading to turn your mind from the outward things to the deep parts of your being. YOU ARE NOT THERE TO LEARN OR TO READ, BUT YOU ARE THERE TO EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF YOUR LORD!” (Devotional Classics). 
Thelma Hall’s book on lectio divina is entitled Too Deep for Words. This describes the ultimate objective of the mystical practice. 

Mike Pershon of Youth Specialities says lectio divina should take the practitioner to a different level of consciousness (www.cellofpeace.com/refl_lectio.htm). 

Robert Webber, late Wheaton College professor, confirms the transcendental aspect oflectio divina:“The goal of Lectio Divina is union with God through a meditative and contemplative praying of Scripture. ... All such attempts at verbalizing the experience necessarily fail to express the reality for the simple reason that CONTEMPLATION TRANSCENDS THE THINKING AND REASONING of meditation ... Contemplatio shifts praying the Scripture into a new language (SILENCE). This silence does not ask us to do anything, it is a call to being. Thomas Merton says, ‘THE BEST WAY TO PRAY IS: STOP’” (The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life, 2006, pp. 209, 210). 
John Michael Talbot says that lectio divina must move the practitioner “into a Reality BEYOND IMAGE AND FORM” (Come to the Quiet, p. 49). He says, “If God grants it, allow the reality of the sacred text to pass over to pure spiritual intuition in his Spirit,” and, “... allow yourself to pass over into contemplation BEYOND WORDS” (pp. 53, 62).

Mark Yaconelli, who speaks in evangelical settings, describes lectio divina as follows: “In order to practice lectio divina, select a time and place that is peaceful and in which you may be alert and prayer fully attentive. Dispose yourself for prayer in whatever way is natural for you. This may be a spoken prayer to God to open you more fully to the Spirit, a gentle relaxation process that focuses on breathing, singing or chanting, or simply a few minutes of SILENCE TO EMPTY YOURSELF OF THOUGHTS, IMAGES, AND EMOTIONS” (see archived web page HERE).
It is obvious that meditation and prayer, after the lectio divina fashion, is far removed from simply contemplating on the Scripture before the Lord, seeking better understanding of it, talking with God about it, and applying it to one’s life by the wisdom and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Second, lectio divina associates the practitioner with centuries-old heresy. 
Lectio divina was invented by the heretic Origen in the third century and was adopted as a Roman Catholic practice in the Dark Ages. Origen is a dangerous man to follow. Among other heresies, he denied the infallible inspiration of Scripture and the literal history of the early chapters of Genesis, taught baptismal regeneration and universal salvation, and believed that Jesus is a created being. 

The practice of lectio divina was incorporated into the rules of Rome’s dark monasticism. It was systematized into four steps in the 12th century by Guido II, a Carthusian monk, in “The Ladder of Four Rungs” or “The Monk’s Ladder.” The four steps are reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, which are supposed to be the means by which one “can climb from earth to heaven” and learn “heavenly secrets.”

Thus, lectio divina is intimately associated with Roman Catholicism and its false gospel. Modern lectio divina gurus such as Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating follow in the footsteps of ancient Catholic heretics by intertwining this practice with the heresies of Rome. Merton, for example, associates lectio divina with the Mass (which he describes as a “living and supremely efficacious re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice”), baptismal regeneration, meriting union with God, prayers to Mary, and salvation through works (Spiritual Direction and Meditation, pp. 62, 71, 72, 74, 108). 

Bible believers have maintained rich devotional practices throughout the church age without resorting to something invented by heretics and developed in the bosom of the Harlot Church. Third, lectio divina is typically used as a means of receiving personal revelation and mystical experiences beyond the words of Scripture. 

Youth Specialties’ Youth Worker Journal says of lectio divina, “THE GOAL ISN’T EXEGESIS OR ANALYSIS, but allowing God to speak to us through the word” (quoted from Brian Flynn, “Lectio Divina--Sacred Divination”). 

This refers to a mystical knowing and a transcendental revelation that supposedly exists beyond conscious thought.

Brian Flynn makes an important observation: “The concept of allowing God to speak through His Word is perfectly legitimate. I experience that when I read or meditate on the Bible. However, in the context of this [Youth Specialties’] article the purpose is not to contemplate the meaning of a Bible verse by thinking about it but is rather meant to gain an experience from it.”
Thomas Keating says: “The early monks ... would sit with that sentence or phrase ... just listening, repeating slowly the same short text over and over again. This receptive disposition enabled the Holy Spirit to expand their capacity to listen” (“The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina”). 

The danger of the lectio divina method is illustrated by the fact that its practitioners are taught heresy by this means. This is evident in that Catholic mystic saints have been confirmed in their heresies by this practice for the space of more than a millennium.

Consider a revelation that Basil Pennington said he received through lectio divina. He said that he chose Christ’s words “I am the way” from John 14:6 and repeated them during his meditation and throughout the day. At the end of the day when he was tired and wasn’t looking forward to singing evening prayers at the monastery he says the Lord spoke to him and said, “Oh yes, you are the way,” so he “went and sang Vespers and had a great time” (interview with Mary Nurrie Stearns published on the Personal Transformation website, www.personaltransformation.com, - [mentioned page no longer exists]). 

Note that “the Lord” allegedly took the declaration that Christ is the way and applied it to Pennington, instructing him that he, too, is the way, which is rank heresy. 

We believe strongly in studying Scripture and seeking God’s illumination of it, but this is done through a process of interpretive Bible study and active contemplation (e.g., Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:15), rather than through a mystical process that seeks to go beyond the Bible’s words and is intimately associated with heresy. 

Former psychic Brian Flynn warns:“By taking passages of Scripture, which have an intended meaning, and breaking them down into smaller, separate segments, often for the purpose of chanting over and over, the true meaning of the passages is lost. Rather a form of occult mysticism is practiced--with the hope and intention of gaining a mystical experience that God never intended when He gave the inspired words to His servants” (Running against the Wind, p. 136).
Fourth, the traditional practice of lectio divina involves the search for a “deeper” meaning of Scripture. 
This refers to Origen’s spiritualized meaning that is beyond the literal. Origen claimed that the Scripture has four levels of meaning. He spoke of the letter and the spirit, the exterior and the interior. While acknowledging a historical, literal meaning, he emphasized the “allegorical” sense. He likened the literal meaning of Scripture to water, whereas the deeper allegorical meaning is the wine. Following Origen, Gregory the Great interpreted the “wheel within the wheel” of Ezekiel 1:16 to mean that the allegorical meaning is hidden within the literal meaning of Scripture. This error leaves the interpretation of Scripture up to the imagination of the reader, because if the Bible does not mean what it says when interpreted by the normal-literal method, then we cannot know for certain what it does mean. This is one of the foundational errors of Roman monasticism, and it is being adopted today by evangelicals. 

Thomas Keating says: “By ‘ruminating’ I mean sitting with a sentence, phrase or even one word that emerges from the text, allowing the Spirit to expand our listening capacity and to OPEN US TO ITS DEEPER MEANING; in other words, TO PENETRATE THE SPIRITUAL SENSE of a scripture passage” (“The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina”). 

It is obvious that this “deeper meaning” carries one beyond the true meaning of Scripture, since it is a practice that is loved by Roman Catholics. For centuries Catholic monks and nuns have “meditated” on the Scripture via the method of lectio divina, but they have never come to the knowledge of the truth! It has only confirmed them in their commitment to Rome’s heresies. Fifth, the practice of lectio divina does not include a strong warning about the potential for spiritual delusion and the danger of receiving “doctrines of devils.” 
Catholic priest Luke Dysinger says, “Rejoice in the knowledge that God is with you in both words and silence, in spiritual activity and inner receptivity” (“Accepting the Embrace of God: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina”). 

If Dysinger, who is a modern monk, would practice biblical devotion in true communion with the Spirit of truth he would recognize that Romanism is heresy and would flee from it, but he is practicing contemplative practices from a position of unregeneracy and spiritual blindness and unknowing openness to deception. 

Brian Flynn gives an important warning about this practice when he says: “I was having a discussion over lunch with a pastor who taught Lectio Divina at a local seminary, and he attempted to defend the practice. He stated that in the process of reading a page of scripture over and over again a word will ‘jump out’ at you. He said that the Holy Spirit chooses this word for you. However, how do I know that this concept is true? First, there is no reference to Lectio Divina in the Bible. Secondly, how do I know what this word is supposed to mean to me? If it were ‘love’, does that mean I should concentrate on love for self, God, the world, sister, mother, brother? There is no way of knowing other than using my own imagination or desire. ... BY USING THIS PRACTICE, WE ARE TURNING THE BIBLE INTO A MYSTICAL DEVICE FOR PERSONAL REVELATIONS RATHER THAN A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE. By taking passages of Scripture, which have an intended meaning, and breaking them down into smaller, separate segments, often for the purpose of chanting over and over, the true meaning of the passages is lost” (“Lectio Divina--Sacred Divination”). 
Sixth, the practice of lectio divina is contrary to the Bible’s instruction about Scripture study. 
The New Testament does not instruct the believer to sit in silence before God or to put himself into a contemplative-receptive state. It does not instruct us to use the Scripture to try to “experience God.” It instructs us to study as a workman (2 Timothy 2:15). This is an active process rather than a passive one. In the proper practice of Bible study, the mind is fully in gear; the spirit is aggressively seeking God’s wisdom and is wary of deception; one is prayerful, seeking divine help. The wise Bible student knows that it is dangerous to isolate Scripture, so he carefully analyzes the context and compares Scripture with Scripture. He does not depend upon his own intuitions about the meaning of Scripture exclusively but consults trusted men of God and carefully uses godly dictionaries and commentaries. Lectio Divina is not an innocent means of meditating upon Scripture. It is an unscriptural practice that has the power to draw the practitioner into fellowship with demons.

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JOHN MACARTHUR INTERVIEWED

JOE SCHIMMEL EXPOSES

RICHARD BENNETT, EX CATHOLIC PRIEST

OBAMA'S AMBASSADORS SPREAD SODOMITE AGENDA THROUGHOUT THE WORLD~SOME COUNTRIES NOT HAPPY WITH LGBT PROPAGANDA; HAVE BEEN VOCALLY OPPOSED TO THE IMPORT OF PERVERSION

United States Spreads Sodomite Agenda 

Throughout The World

SEE: http://the-trumpet-online.com/united-states-spreads-sodomite-agenda-throughout-world/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media report that a sodomite pervert who “married” a man and somehow acquired children is an ambassador representing the United States. The corrupt and vile fools who write articles like this present this as perfectly normal, and even noble. Judgment is surely coming soon.

bloomberg.com

Since their December arrival in Vietnam, U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius and his husband have become the most prominent gay couple in the Southeast Asian country.

Osius and Clayton Bond landed with their toddler son shortly before the government abolished its ban on same-sex marriage. Now the couple, who recently adopted an infant girl, find themselves ambassadors of the nascent LGBT rights movement spreading across the country.

“A lot of young people have reached out to me on Facebook, to say: ‘We are happy to see somebody who is gay and is happy in his personal life but also has had professional success’,” Osius said in an interview. “I don’t think of it as advocating as much as supporting Vietnamese civil society in doing what it is already doing.”

The Communist government’s revised marriage law, while not officially recognizing same-sex marriage, and its tolerance of pride events has made Vietnam a leader in gay rights in Southeast Asia, potentially opening up opportunities to attract the tourist “pink dollar” and business executives seeking a more tolerant environment.

Yet young gay Vietnamese say they can be ostracized in a patriarchal society in which heterosexual marriage and parenthood are seen as the path to happiness. The legal changes also sit oddly in a country that more broadly curbs political dissent, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in an e-mail.

Osius, 53, and Bond frequently appear together at official government gatherings and media events. Osius — who is on his first posting as ambassador and has also worked in Indonesia and India — always introduces his husband and often talks about their children, who are 19 months and five months.

“This is a core interest of ours with regard to human rights,” said Bond, 39. “People see us as an openly gay couple with kids serving our country. I hope people find that inspiring.”

‘Role Models’

While a small number of celebrities have held same-sex weddings, Osius and Bond are the most prominent gay couple in Vietnam, said Tung Tran, director of ICS, a Ho Chi Minh City-based group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. They are also embraced by the larger population, reflecting the closer relationship being forged by Hanoi and Washington.

Osius and Bond, who have been married for 10 years, plan to renew their vows before U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during her visit to Hanoi later this month.

“They are the full package,” Tran said by phone. “They are married. They have a family. They are successful. They are our role models.”

Osius, a career diplomat, co-founded GLIFAA, a U.S. association for LGBT employees and families in foreign affairs agencies, in 1992. There are now six openly gay U.S. ambassadors, including Osius, Ambassador to Australia John Berry and Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford, said Regina Jun, president of the group.

Osius’ posting to Vietnam comes amid improved relations between Vietnam and the U.S., former enemies that have shared economic goals and strategic concerns about an increasingly assertive China in the region. Vietnam’s civil society is relatively robust, Osius said, even as its human rights record in other areas remains a hindrance to even warmer ties.

‘Medical Methods’

Vietnam held about 125 political prisoners at the end of 2014, fewer than in previous years, in part because of a drop in convictions, according to the U.S. State Department.

“Vietnam is trying to figure out what kind of country it wants to be and it doesn’t want to be China,” Osius said. “There is more openness. There is more inclusiveness in government.”

On gay rights the country has some way to go. Same-sex relationships can be viewed as bringing bad luck to a family, said Luong The Huy, legal officer at the Hanoi-based Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment.

“Families are usually the last people LGBTs come out to,” he said by phone. “The reactions can be harsh. Some are involuntarily treated by medical methods or get locked up in the house.”

The government is also debating transgender rights, said Le Quang Binh, chairman of the institute. This year 25 Viet Pride events will take place across the country, up from 17 in 2014, said Tran of ICS.

‘More Restrictive’

In other parts of Southeast Asia including Thailand, the push for gay rights has stalled. Countries such as Brunei and Malaysia can punish those who engage in gay behavior under Sharia law, Robertson said.

In Singapore, sex between men is illegal although rarely prosecuted. The city-state banned a song and video by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai’s about same-sex relationships, the Straits Times reported May 26.

“In many ways the region is getting more restrictive,” Jamie Gillen, a researcher of cultural geography at the National University of Singapore, said by phone. “Vietnam is something of an outlier. Vietnam has a live-and-let-live mentality.”

On the evening of July 31, Osius and Bond attended the kick-off of Hanoi’s Viet Pride weekend, which featured a bicycle rally through the heart of the city. He addressed about a hundred Vietnamese in a hall where rainbow banners covered a wall. Speaking in Vietnamese, Osius urged the gathering of young people to simply be who they are.

“This stuff hits right at home,” he said after the speech, tears welling. “Yeah, it hits right at home.”

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THE PROPAGANDA

THE TWO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S 

SAME SEX AMBASSADORS:

JAMAICA

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH Conference: Dr. Daniel Baer,
nominated to ambassador

Published on Jul 3, 2013

Openly gay Dr. Daniel Baer, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor, and who has been nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) based in Vienna, was a featured speaker at the Metropolitan Community Church international convention in Chicago, July 2013. This video is from July 3, during a plenary on global violence, followed by a press conference which included a tribute to the 32 people, including many MCC members, killed 40 years ago in a fire at a New Orleans bar, the UpStairs Lounge, the largest mass murder targeting LGBTs in U.S. history.

The OSCE is a multilateral organization that has a unique security perspective that recognizes that respect for human rights must be a cornerstone of security in our interconnected world. The OSCE brings countries from Asia, Europe and North America together to discuss shared security commitments, including commitments to safeguarding fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression and to respond to hate violence across the region.

GAY US AMBASSADOR TO LUXEMBOURG 

SWORN IN

JAMES HORMEL OF HORMEL MEATS

Meet The First Openly Gay U.S. Ambassador

James 'Wally' Brewster's Message to the Dominican Republic

THE INTERNATIONAL BACKLASH

Dominican Republic: Evangelicals Say Gay U.S. Ambassador Must Leave Country

Dominican Republic: Cardinal Blasts Gay U.S. Ambassador For LGBT Pride Statement

Dominican Republic: Congressmen Lash Out
At Openly Gay U.S. Ambassador

Vatican Accused Of Rejecting French Gay Ambassador

Published on Apr 11, 2015

The Vatican's silence on approving an openly gay ambassador from France has some speculating the church may have rejected him because he's gay.

Obama's "Gay" Ambassadors;
A Catholic Perspective From The Philippines

Uploaded on Feb 17, 2012

Obama has managed to drop into various countries the sorriest set of diplomats ever to grace the world stage, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines is no exception.

HARRY THOMAS, U.S. AMBASSADOR, PHILIPPINES THROWS LGBT PARTY AS SOON AS HE WAS APPOINTED

FROM: http://mabuhaycity.com/forums/pinoys-north-america/16726-philippine-gov%92t-admits-lack-numbers-sex-tours.html

"Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar on Sunday said there was a need to “verify the accuracy” of US Ambassador Harry Thomas’s claim that two of every five foreign male tourists visited the Philippines for commercial sex."

"DOESN'T MATTER WHOM WE LOVE" SPEECH TO PHILIPPINES

A VERY "BREATHY" INTERVIEW IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA:

HARRY THOMAS 2012:

"A PLACE WHERE CORRUPTION CAN BE RIFE"

COULD THAT CORRUPTION BE IMPORTED BY HIM & OBAMA?

Serbia: Thousands of Anti-Gay Protesters
Flood Belgrade Streets

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GLIFAA

SEE: http://glifaa.org/resources/partner-organizations/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

LGBT Organizations in Other Agencies

• Federal Globe Umbrella organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees in the Federal Government
• U.S. Department of Agriculture GLOBE
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
• Department of Interior GLOBE
• Department of Justice Pride
• National Institute of Standards and Technology GLOBE
• SPECTRUM, the LGBTQA Employee Resource Group at Peace Corps

Employee Associations

• American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
• American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)

Department and Agency Web Sites

• Department of State
• US Agency for International Development
• Foreign Commercial Service
• Foreign Agricultural Service
• Peace Corps
• Office of the US Trade Representative
• The Voice of America
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

International Human Rights

• Amnesty International OutFront
• The Council for Global Equality
• Freedom House
• Harvey Milk Foundation
• International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
• International Lesbian and Gay Association
• The Magnus Hirschfeld International Lesbian and Gay Association Center for Human Rights

Domestic Advocacy Organizations

• Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization.
• Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
• Family Pride Coalition
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
• Immigration Equality
• American Civil Liberties Union Gay Rights Project
• Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
• Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Service Members Legal Defense Network
• Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies
• Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force
• Matthew Shepard Foundation

Publications/Resources

• The Advocate
• Pride Net
• HRC Back Story
• Independent Gay Forum
• The Washington Diplomat

PROOF GUN CONTROL ACTIVISTS ARE VIOLENT~YOU HEARD IT RIGHT!

PROOF GUN CONTROL ACTIVISTS 

ARE VIOLENT

YOU HEARD IT RIGHT!

BABY PARTS VIDEOS BLOCKED BY OBAMA JUDGE WHO GAVE $230,000 TO CAMPAIGN IN 2008

QUOTES FROM: 

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/01/judge-blocking-planned-parenthood-videos-an-obama-bundler-and-donor/

"Having considered the arguments and papers submitted, in order to preserve the status quo and finding good cause based on the record before me, I GRANT NAF’s Ex Parte Motion, pending a hearing on Monday, August 3. Based on the record before me, I find that NAF is likely to prevail on the merits of its claims, the balance of hardships tips in its favor, NAF would be likely to suffer irreparable injury, absent an ex parte temporary restraining order, in the form of harassment, intimidation, violence, invasion of privacy, and injury to reputation, and the requested relief is in the public interest."

CMP RESPONSE:

"The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work. The National Abortion Federation is a criminal organization that has spent years conspiring with Planned Parenthood on how to violate federal laws on partial-birth abortion and fetal tissue sales. The Center for Medical Progress will contest any attempts to suppress our First Amendment rights to free speech or silence the freedom of the citizen press."

OBAMA APPOINTEE BLOCKS 

MORE BODY-PARTS VIDEOS

SEE: http://rabidrepublicanblog.com/2015/07/31/judge-orrick-shields-planned-parenthood/comment-page-1/

SEE: http://www.nafcanada.org/saporta.html
QUOTE: "Recognizing the need to address violence against abortion providers, Saporta expanded the security services NAF offers its members, successfully advocated to improve law enforcement response to clinic violence, and assisted clinics in improving their own security measures. These initiatives have resulted in a documented decrease in extreme violence against providers."

SEE: http://the-trumpet-online.com/obama-appointee-blocks-body-parts-videos/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Judge raised over $200,000 as major donor, bundler for president’s campaign

A federal judge late Friday blocked the release of any recordings made at meetings of the National Abortion Federation by the Center for Medical Progress, the anti-abortion group that has exposed Planned Parenthood’s sale of organs harvested from aborted babies.

Judge William H. Orrick quickly granted the injunction just hours after it was requested by the abortion providers’ association, saying the group would be “likely to suffer irreparable injury, absent an ex parte temporary restraining order, in the form of harassment, intimidation, violence, invasion of privacy, and injury to reputation, and the requested relief is in the public interest,” reported the Federalist.

Orrick, nominated to his position by President Obama, was both a major donor and bundler for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, raising at least $200,000 in that effort and donating $30,800 to committees supporting him, according to Public Citizen, the Federalist reported.

From the temporary restraining order:

YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE on Monday, August 3, 2015 at 4:00 p.m., before the Honorable William H. Orrick, at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, Courtroom 2, why you, your officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with you, should not be enjoined and restrained from engaging in, committing, or performing, directly and indirectly, any and all of the following acts:

(1) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party any video, audio, photographic, or other recordings taken, or any confidential information learned, at any NAF annual meetings;

(2) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the dates or locations of any future NAF meetings;

(3) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the names or addresses of any NAF members learned at any NAF annual meetings; and

(4) attempting to gain access to any future NAF meetings.

Pending hearing on the above Order to Show Cause you, your officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with you ARE HEREBY RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED from:

(1) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party any video, audio, photographic, or other recordings taken, or any confidential information learned, at any NAF annual meetings;

(2) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the dates or locations of any future NAF meetings; and

(3) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the names or addresses of any NAF members learned at any NAF annual meetings.

As WND reported, NAF, in a pre-emptive move to protect itself against disclosure of anything they might have said on video, claimed it was seeking to protect “the safety and security of our members.”

“That security has been compromised by the illegal activities of a group with ties to those who believe it is justifiable to murder abortion providers,” said NAF President Vicki Saporta in an announcement about the filing. CMP went to great lengths to infiltrate our meetings as part of a campaign to intimidate and attack abortion providers.”

Saporta provided no support for her claim that the activists are tied to “those who believe it is justifiable to murder abortion providers.”

David Daleiden, a leader of the Center for Medical Progress who is also named in the suit, said in a statement that Planned Parenthood and its allies were trying to silence the group and suppress investigative journalism.

“The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work and will contest all attempts from Planned Parenthood and their allies to silence our First Amendment rights,” he said.

Officials with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which fights on behalf of pro-life organizations, were not surprised at NAF’s filing.

“The National Abortion Federation’s request for a court order is just the latest attempt of the abortion lobby to cover up the truth of its embarrassing, inhuman actions,” said ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox.

“There’s a reason they don’t want their activity discussed in the light of day. Instead of openly telling America what they’ve been doing, they instead seek to suppress those who will reveal the truth. That’s just one reason among many why Americans should demand that Congress defund Planned Parenthood and any organization that engages in the trafficking of baby parts.”

Derek Foran, a lawyer for the NAF, claimed the “extremists” have “placed [abortion providers] in personal jeopardy, simply for ensuring the constitutional right of women in this country to make their own reproductive choices.”

The earlier case involving StemExpress generated a decision from Los Angeles Superior Court that the hearing will be held in a few weeks to discuss release of the videos.

In response to that move, CMP said, “StemExpress, a for-profit company partnered with over 30 abortion clinics, including Planned Parenthood, to harvest and sell aborted baby parts and provide a ‘financial benefit’ to Planned Parenthood clinics, is attempting to use meritless litigation to cover-up this illegal baby parts trade, suppress free speech, and silence the citizen press reporting on issues of burning concern to the American public.”

The statement continued, “They are not succeeding – their initial petition was rejected by the court, and their second petition was eviscerated to a narrow and contingent order about an alleged recording pending CMP’s opportunity to respond. The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work and will contest all attempts from Planned Parenthood and their allies to silence our First Amendment rights and suppress investigative journalism.”

StemExpress claimed unfair competition, breach of contract, interference with contractual relations, fraudulent inducement of a contract, receipt of stolen property and invasion of privacy. The complaint explains that after the meeting with undercover videographers in a public restaurant, StemExpress insisted that a confidentiality agreement would be imposed.

StemExpress also said it “offers [the] largest variety of raw material in the industry, as well as fresh (non-frozen) and cryo preserved human primary cells” and that it works with 30 “procurement sites.”

The comments from each of the Planned Parenthood officials in the videos are self-explanatory. 

An old story

WND also has reported that as horrific as the videos appear, they should surprise no one, since such practices have been documented for nearly two decades already.

One price list uncovered by a pro-life organization dated June 1998 points out that the price per specimen from a second trimester abortion is $90 fresh and $130 frozen.

Mark Crutcher, whose Life Dynamics organization was a ground-breaker in investigating the abortion behemoth that gets some $500 million annually from U.S. taxpayers, worked on that investigation.

His group reported in February 2000 how the baby parts market works: ”A baby parts ‘wholesaler’ enters into a financial agreement with an abortion clinic in which the wholesaler pays a monthly ‘site fee’ to the clinic. For this payment, the wholesaler is allowed to place a retrieval agent inside the clinic where he or she is given access to the corpses of children killed there and a workspace to harvest their parts.”

He continued: “The buyer – usually a researcher working for a medical school, pharmaceutical company, bio-tech company or government agency – supplies the wholesaler with a list of the baby parts wanted. … when such orders are received … they are faxed to the retrieval agent at the clinic who harvests the requested parts and ships them to the buyer.”

The documentation was provided at that time to Life Dynamics by a worker who left Comprehensive Health for Women, a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Overland Park, Kansas.

Among the documents was a “Fee-for-Services” Schedule A, effective June 1998, which outlined a charge of $220 per specimen for first-trimester aspiration abortions and $260 if the baby parts were frozen.

Crutcher’s report, citing Planned Parenthood’s own paperwork, found one agent sold during February 1996 alone 47 livers, 11 liver fragments, seven brains, 21 eyes, eight thymuses, 23 legs, 14 pancreases, 14 lungs, six arms and one kidney-adrenal gland.

He also sold three orders of blood from the unborn child. The retrieval agent “harvested all of the parts,” the report said, explaining that “in order for the blood of an aborted child to be sold, the dead baby had to be brought to him intact.”

The “specimens,” the report said, would have generated up to about $25,000 in revenue for one month from one retrieval agent at one Planned Parenthood business.

Crutcher reported the tissue logs reveal that one baby is often chopped up and sold to many buyers.

For example, babies taken from donors 113968 and 114189 were both killed late in their second trimester and cut into nine pieces. By applying the price list, buyers would have been invoiced between $3,510 and $5,070 for these parts, he said.

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FILMING A CRIME NOT ADMISSABLE IN COURT?

DR. GARY CASS OF OPERATION RESCUE INTERVIEWED

"NO EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY" IN PUBLIC PLACES

Federal Judge "Blocks Planned Parenthood Videos"
Which Show Sales of Fetal Body Parts:

Judge: Baby Organ Harvesting Is A State Secret

SAPORTA BEMOANS THAT THERE ARE FEWER ABORTIONS TODAY THAN 42 YEARS AGO, WHEN HOUSE VOTED AGAINST FUNDING

VICKI SAPORTA SPEECH THREE WEEKS AGO, ENLISTING THE ACLU SHE "LOVES":