Thursday, November 21, 2013

The Heaven's Gate religion: killing your body so that your soul will ascend to the Next Level

People with strong religious faith will do anything that their religion requires. They will even kill in the name of God.  Abraham took action in obedience to God's command to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice.  After Isaac was bound to the altar, Abraham took the knife to kill Isaac.  An angel of God stopped Abraham at the last minute, saying "Now I know that you are a God-fearing man in that you have not withheld your only son."  Abraham then saw a ram caught in the bushes and sacrificed the ram instead of Isaac. See chapter 22 of Genesis.  Abraham was blessed by God for his obedience.  Genesis 22:15-17.
In March 1997 thirty-nine people, members of the Heaven's Gate cult, killed themselves in obedience to their religion.  Their leader was Marshall Applewhite, the son of a Presbyterian minister.  He created a new religion based on Christian concepts and also on a belief in superior alien beings from other worlds.  In destroying their earthly bodies, Applewhite's disciples believed their souls would be liberated and would ascend to a spaceship near the Hale-Bopp comet.   They would subsequently be transported to the Next Level, which is similar to Heaven or the Kingdom of God in Christianity. 
Marshall Applewhite recruited young people who were seeking spiritual enlightenment. They lived together in houses and had minimal contact with the outside world.  There were rules for every activity, including pancake making and shaving.  Strict obedience to the rules was required, as is also the case for monks or nuns living together.  Applewhite's disciples were ordered not to have any contact with members of their families (exceptions were sometimes made).  They were taught that they could not ascend to the Next Level unless they renounced their old way of life and their old ways of thinking.  They had to abandon attachments to family members, friends, and careers.  Applewhite taught his disciples of their need to be reborn, which mirrors the Christian concept of being "born again."  They had to renounce the pleasures of this sinful world, including sexual activity and even sexual thoughts.  
Of the 39 people who died, Applewhite and seven others had been castrated. They believed that castration would enable them to avoid lustful thoughts.  In the video included in this blog, Applewhite quotes Jesus in support of castration.  "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell."  Matthew 5:29.  The video contains interviews with former members of this cult, including one member whose friend tossed a coin to determine which of the two would be castrated first. They wanted to be castrated because of their strong religious belief.  People will do anything their religion requires even if it involves death, castration, or handling poisonous snakes.

















  

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Why do people believe they are protected by guardian angels?

A report by Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion, cited by ABC News, says that more than half of adult Americans believe they have been protected by a guardian angel.  http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=5833399  Do the people who believe in guardian angels ever consider what the guardian angels were doing to protect human life when Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012?  Do they consider what the guardian angels were doing when Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually molested young boys?  What were the guardian angels doing to protect people when Hurricane Katrina killed almost 2000 people in 2005 and Typhoon Haiyan killed about 10,000 in the Philippines and elsewhere in 2013?  Despite these stories and countless other stories of this type, people continue to believe they are protected and guided by guardian angels.  They pay attention to what Doreen Virtue says. She makes money telling people how to contact guardian angels and Ascended Masters in her books, audiobooks, spiritual workshops, etc.  I have provided one of her videos.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Bob Jones' web site says he is a "contemporary prophet with a great love for the Lord Jesus and His truth."  His prophecies "have spanned over four decades as the Lord has enabled him to foretell earthquakes, tidal waves, comets, and weather patterns."  Listen to Bob and other prophets who predict that major earthquakes will soon destroy California and the rest of the West Coast.  In addition, eleven Northeast states will soon be destroyed because they have given their approval to same sex marriage.  Once California and the eleven Northeast states are destroyed, our country will consist almost entirely of red states and we will never again elect a Democrat as President. God hates Democrats and loves Republicans.  When the Bible speaks of the sheep and goats, we know what God really had in mind.
God is really pissed off.  We Americans are very sinful.  Some people say God is going to destroy the U.S. because gay marriage is now legal in many states.  But I say God's wrath will be poured out on the U.S. because short selling is permitted on Wall Street, the FDA has banned trans fats, and the Federal Reserve under Janet Yellen will continue the "quantitative easing" policies of her predecessor, Ben Bernanke, and this debases the dollar.  Whatever the reasons for God's wrath, tsunamis will destroy much of our country in 2014 as predicted by Elvi Zapata, a modern Prophet, in this video.
Watch this video for scenes of snake handling and insight into the theology of snake handling.

Thursday, November 14, 2013


I recently learned about a disgusting Jewish circumcision ritual performed in some ultra-Orthodox communities. The ritual has allegedly lead to the deaths of infants.  The person performing the circumcision sucks the infant's penis to remove the blood from the wound.  This can cause death if the person has herpes or similar diseases.  The Jewish God does not protect the Jewish infants who are victims of this disgusting ritual.

A snake-handling pastor charged with a criminal offense under Tennessee law has pled "not guilty" based on the First Amendment.

Pastor Andrew Hamblin is a snake-handling pastor in a Tennessee church.  Church members handle snakes in accordance with Mark 16:17.  He was in court on November 15, 2013, and pled not guilty based on his Constitutional right to freedom of religion.  He has been charged with possession and display of venomous snakes, a criminal offense under Tennessee law.  He has received an outpouring of support from about 500 people. After 50 snakes were seized by state authorities and transferred to the Knoxville zoo, other snakes were brought into his church and snake handling has continued.  http://scott.wbir.com/news/news/628872-snakes-handled-service-after-pastors-not-guilty-plea
Here are some more Harold Camping videos for your enjoyment.
I really miss Harold Camping.  His "Open Forum" radio program was great.  He was absolutely certain that the Rapture would occur on May 21, 2011.  He predicted that a huge worldwide earthquake would occur on that day killing millions of people.  On the same day God's favorite people--the elect--would be taken up into Heaven.  Also, he predicted that God would pour out his wrath on the earth for the next five months and on October 21, 2011, the entire universe would be destroyed.  Harold Camping had thousands of followers.  Some of them took Camping's message so seriously that they did not seek college admission, buy a house, get married, or seek employment because they knew they would soon be taken up into Heaven. It is great to listen to Camping and I have some good videos for you to enjoy.
A Christian pastor in Tennessee has a church where congregants handle poisonous snakes in accordance with Mark 16:17.  I am an atheist but I admire this pastor.  It takes a lot of courage to handle these snakes.  It is illegal in Tennessee to possess these snakes.  This pastor is willing to go to jail in defense of his beliefs.  I admire him for that reason.  For the details go to http://www.religionnews.com/2013/11/12/serpent-handler-tv-star-new-cause-religious-liberty/