Month: June 2005

Yahoo!, the internet search giant and place for personal clubs as well as chat rooms, has closed down personal chat rooms in response to a report that some of the chat rooms were being used to promote sex with minors.

The report by KPRC-TV in Houston outraged companies such as PepsiCo Inc., State Farm Insurance, and Georgia-Pacific Corp., and they quickly removed their advertising from Yahoo in protest.

“We were thoroughly appalled when we were told that our ads were appearing on those sites,” State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said. “We took immediate action to see that they were withdrawn.”

That means – no more personal chat rooms on Yahoo. And any of the chat rooms previously created by users have now been removed. Yahoo will still allow users to chat on the company’s existing rooms, which cover mainstream subjects such as “American Idol” and Web design…

…Yahoo feigning ignorance is like taking your mom to see Andrew Dice Clay, and not knowing she might be offended. This type of problem has been going on for years on the web.

AOL, several years before it’s merger with Time Warner, also had similar problems. People would create hidden chat rooms with “code names” that were widely known by those seeking pornography. All one needed to do was type in the proper name and away you went into the vast dark world of internet porn swapping and cyber sexual experiences.

Sex sells, even deviant sexual desire. And companies like the Yahoo’s and AOL’s of the world seek to capitalize on the enormous traffic numbers involved in these activities. Sure they claim ignorance, but in reality they simply turn a blind eye untill something happens that forces them to take some sort of action.

The National LedgerM. Centanni

Analysis:

The analysis by M. Centanni of the actions of Yahoo is certainly on the mark. Such internet companies will not police themselves, and it is important for each of us to be aware of the evil which exists on the internet.

Fortunately, tools exist which all parents to protect their children. Many of the sites under consideration voluntarily offer filtering to block what is commonly called “adult” themed material.

Further, programs exist which do a good job of protecting browsers from unsavory material. They are relatively inexpensive, and are worth considering if you have children. Of course, parental supervision is most important.

“Fathers… bring [your children] up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Luke records for us, in Acts 11;26, “And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

It is interesting to note the prophecy found in Isaiah 62:2 with regard to Luke’s statement.

“The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name.“

Some would deny that the “calling” of the disciples as “Christians” was divinely ordained, but there seems to be no other name given to the disciples of our Lord. In fact, in all of the New Testament, the only proper name by which followers of Christ were known was Christian.

Continue reading “What Is A Christian?” →

Boy, what a Miracle!
Belfast Telegraph, UK
(Five year old survives a bullet wound to the head)

Miracle Baby Gives Hope to Women
News.com. Au, Australia
(Artificial insemination from an egg which had previously been frozen)

Spurs Need Miracle in Game 5
FOXsports.com
(Basketball team has lost two straight, and needs a win badly)

The Miracle of Love
Mobile Register, Alabama
(A son and his father patch up a strained relationship before the father’s death. The son, a Methodist minister, said, “But God performed a miracle, and dad and I were participants”)

A Multiple Miracle at Women and Infants Pavilion
Youngstown Vindicator, Ohio
(After four miscarriages, a woman from Liberty, OH gives birth to triplets)

Five Miracle Treatments Headed Your Way
USA Weekend
(An article speculating on what new wonders medical science
might bring in the future)

A Musical Miracle Among the Ashes
FAZ.net, Germany
(A lost composition from Johann Sebastian Bachm, dated to 1713 is found amidst the ruins after a fire in a German library)

Analysis:

Many religious people believe that miracles still happen in our day. This is understandable, as we note how loosely and casually the word is used.

A miracle is an event in which God sets aside natural law, intervening for his purpose. Obviously, all of the headlines noted refer to events which, though they may be rare or fortuitous, are nowhere near miraculous.

More importantly, none of them in any way fulfill the purpose of miracles, as related by the Apostle John in his gospel.

“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).

Miracles proved Jesus as God’s son, and confirmed the word he preached. The age of miracles has ceased. (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

Straight people aren’t the only ones in God’s congregation in Rev. Carlyle Stewart’s view.

“People who are homosexual are worthy of God’s love and they are open to God’s gifts and graces,” said Stewart, the senior pastor of Hope United Methodist Church in Southfield.

Stewart and Rabbi Tamara Kolton of the Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills spoke about faith and morality at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak on May 24. [Both towns in Michigan, SC]

The talk, presented by the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, was intended to spark a conversation in the community at large about morality in the face of conservative religious figures’ political ascendance.

Before the gathering, Rabbi Kolton said gays and lesbians are more than welcome at her congregation.

“We are excited to have their participation and voice,” she said. “The Birmingham Temple was founded on the principal of human dignity.”

Many of the members of the Temple don’t believe in God, said Kolton, who describes herself as an agnostic.

“We’re not theists,” she said. “Judaism is more than a religion that worships God. We’re a civilization.”

Kolton spoke about her vision for a new day, when human dignity is truly appreciated, and a new clergy and a new religion – based on putting the planet first – comes to light.

“I want a new clergy where power flows from the people to the top,” she said. “Clergy should be experts in empathy.”

Sharon Gittlemman
Between the Lines News (6/2/05)

Analysis:

The report above is yet another indication that we are living in a Post-modern age. It is a time where individuals deny the idea of a absolute standard or reality, and is characterized by the belief that men have the right to create God in their own image. Or, in the case of “Rabbi Kolton”, to practice religion without even acknowledging God’s existence at all!

But, man does not have the right to determine for himself the purpose of religion, or to set his own standards with regard to morality. It matter’s not what we believe, what matters is God’s Will!

Rather than a religion that puts “the planet first”, note what Jesus said should be our priority. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).