Friday, August 25, 2006

False Religions

Confucianism Is False

Confucianism is false. It is theologically inadequate as it is nontheistic. It wrongly teaches that humanity is completely autonomous, when in fact we need salvation through Christ. Humans are inherently sinful from birth and cannot be acceptable to the perfectly holy and righteous God through good works alone [Romans 3:20].

Sikhism Is False

Sikhism is false. It posits reincarnation [1] and is unitarian. Nanak's claims to be a prophet were not verified by miracles.

Scientology Is False

Scientology is false. It is a patchwork of science fiction and Eastern mythology and is a money-making scam. Scientology wrongly denies the existence of the God of the Bible, [1] Heaven, and Hell, [2] and rejects the deity of Jesus Christ. [3] Scientology is polytheistic, and polytheism is false. [4] Scientology wrongly denies humanity's sinful nature and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ. Scientologists believe in religious pluralism, but religious pluralism cannot be true. Scientology posits reincarnation, which is false. [5]

Jehovah's Witness Movement (Watchtower Society) Is False

The Jehovah's Witnesses movement is not Christian and is a false religion. Jehovah's Witnesses deny the Trinity [1], the deity of Christ [2], Christ's physical resurrection [3], the personhood of the Holy Spirit, and salvation from sin by grace through faith. Jehovah's Witnesses add to God's Word, take Scripture out of context, read the Bible based on their false theological presuppositions, and label verses as figurative when the verses contradict the JW doctrines. Jehovah's Witnesses deny Hell [4], falsely teaching annihilationism instead [5], and refuse blood transfusions (even when lives are in danger), and claim that Christ died on a stake rather than a cross. They say that Jesus was Michael the Archangel. JW's refuse to celebrate Christsmas (Jesus' birth), Easter (Jesus' resurrection), birthdays, and other holidays. They don't salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance. Jehovah's Witnesses are not witnessing to Yahweh. The Watchtower Society incorrectly predicted that the end would occur in 1925, and again in 1975. JW's, like Mormons, are incorrect in their allegations of corruption of the Bible. JW's falsely claim that the soul does not survive death. [6] JW's oftentimes wrongly discourage independent thinking.

Mormonism Is False

Mormonism is false. It is not a "Church of Jesus Christ ... " at all. It canonizes the Book of Mormon, exalting it above the Bible. The Book of Mormon did not come from God, and one has to wonder if Joseph Smith ever laughed at those who believed his made-up bull (there's a good South Park episode about this). Mormonism incorrectly teaches that Jesus and Lucifer (the angel who rebelled, a.k.a. Satan) are brothers, that God had sexual intercourse with Mary, God the Father had a Father (?!), and God the Father has a physical, anthropomorphic body. Mormonism teaches that there is a goddess in addition to God, that there are many Gods (impossible [1]), and that we can become Gods (impossible), and teaches the pre-existence of the soul like Origen [2], etc. Mormonism is not Christian; it denies the Christian teachings about the Bible, God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), Satan, baptism, Heaven, atonement, etc. Mormonism wrongly teaches polygamy.

Rastafarianism Is False

Rastafarianism is false. Messianic Rastafarianism is false because Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I is not the Messiah; Jesus Christ is. Pantheistic Rastafarianism is false because Jews, not Rastas, are God's chosen people and pantheism is false.
Buddhism is false. It is theologically inadequate as a pantheist system [1], and encourages one to abandon logic and analysis in favor of mysticism and illusionism. Mysticism is problematic because mystical experiences are subjective, not testable, self-canceling, and can easily be misinterpreted. The lack of positive knowledge in a mystical worldview leads to agnosticism. Unlike Jesus, Buddha failed to leave clear teachings. Buddha gave no specific directives with respect to achieving Nirvana. Buddha did not answer the question of who created the universe. Buddhism reduces life to suffering and dying, but life is much more than that. Buddhism incorrectly denies the existence of souls.

Jesus Christ, as God the Son, is superior to Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), and He fills life with more hope, offers a better way of salvation, and is a better Christ. [2]

Nonmessianic Judaism Is False

Since Christ has shown Himself to be the Messiah, Judaism denying Christ's Deity is false. Nonmessianic Judaism is wrongly anti-trinitarian and denies that Jesus is the Messiah and God the Son whom we must trust in for salvation. Jews worship the true God Yahweh, but an incomplete version of Him. Judaism wrongly denies original sin. Jesus fulfilled over 300 Messianic prophecies [1]. Jesus, a descendant of David [2 Samuel 7:12, cf. Matthew 1:1] and a member of the tribe of Judah [Genesis 49:10, cf. Luke 3:23, 33 and Hebrews 7:14], was born of a virgin [Isaiah 7:14, cf. Matthew 1:21] in Bethlehem [Micah 5:2, cf. Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-7] and was anointed by the Holy Spirit [Isaiah 11:2, cf. Matthew 3:16-17]. Jesus worked miracles [Isaiah 35:5-6, cf. Matthew 9:35, etc.] and cleansed the temple [Malachi 3:1, cf. Matthew 21:12]. 483 years after the declaration to rebuild the temple in 444 B.C. [Daniel 9:24], Jesus died a humiliating death [Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53, cf. Matthew 27:31] involving standing in silence before his accusers [Isaiah 53:7, cf. Matthew 27:12-19], being mocked [Psalms 22:7-8, cf. Matthew 27:31], enduring rejection by His own people [Isaiah 53:3, cf. John 1:10-11; John 7:5; John 48], the piercing of his side [Zechariah 12:10, cf. John 19:34] and hands and feet [Psalms 22:16, cf. Luke 23:33], being crucified with thieves [Isaiah 53:12, cf. Mark 15:27-28], and praying for His persecutors [Isaiah 53:12, cf. Luke 23:34]. After His burial in a rich man’s tomb [Isaiah 53:9, cf. Matt 27:57-60] and the casting of lots for His garments [Psalms 22:18, cf. John 19:23-24], He was raised from the dead [Psalms 2:7 and 16:10, cf. Acts 2:31 and Mark 16:6] after three days, ascended into Heaven [Psalms 68:18, cf. Acts 1:9] and sat at the right hand of God [Psalms 110:1, cf. Hebrews 1:3]. Jesus Christ lived a miraculous and sinless life. The Old Testament and Christ Himself predicted His resurrection. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah-God and proved it.

Rosicrucianism Is False

Rosicrucianism is false because it rejects the divine inspiration of the Bible and rejects the fact that Jesus is the one and only Savior. It also contradicts history by claiming that Jesus was born of Gentile parents and did not die on the cross, resurrect from the dead, and ascend into Heaven.

Islam Is False

Islam is false. Muhammad's character was poor and he was not divinely inspired. Islam says that Judas, not Jesus, died on the cross. Islam wrongly denies the Trinity. The Bible is the Word of God, the Bible teaches the Trinity, and whatever is opposed to Biblical teaching is false; therefore, Islam's unitarian view of God is false. Islam falsely teaches that Gabriel is the Holy Spirit, and that man was not made in the image of God. Islam wrongly denies original sin. Muslims' claim of New Testament corruption is unsubstantiated. Muhammad did not perform miracles. Islam wrongly teaches polygamy. Allah, the God of Islam, is unholy. There are no prophecies in the Quran. Islam wrongly denies the deity, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many of the stories in the Quran come from the Jewish Talmud (Sura 2:55, 56, 67), Midrash (Sura 2:102; Suras 21:51-71; 29:16, 17; 37:97,98), Gnostic gospels (Sura 3:49), Sabean stories, Hindu and Zoroastrian myths, and the Testament of Abraham (Sura 87:19; Suras 42:17; 101:6-9). The Quran errs in saying that Mary is that Christians think Mary is 3rd person in the Trinity (4:171; 5:116). The Gospel of Barnabas was written ca. A.D. 1585 by Muslims. The hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) had pagan origins and Allah was worshipped as a moon god in Arabia in pre-Islamic times. Islamic belief in jinn is superstitious paganism. The story of the she-camel that was birthed from a rock (Suras 7:73-77,85; 91:14; 54:29) was taken from Arabian fables.

Muhammad was not morally perfect as many Muslims claim, and actually far from being so. He was inconsistent with his own law regarding polygamy, having 15 wives instead of the four he made as a rule. Polygamy is itself wrong. Muslim men can have several wives but a Muslim woman cannot have several husbands. Muhammad cannot be a perfect moral example because he disobeyed the basic laws he laid down for others as from God. Muhammad approved of the beating of a female servant to make her tell the truth. Muslim women must wear veils, stand behind their husbands, and kneel behind them in prayer. Women's testimony have half the weight of men's testimony. Muhammad was a sinner, while Jesus Christ was sinless. Muhammad sanctioned the murder of non-Muslims in jihad, or holy war, stating such punishment as execution, crucifixion, cutting off hands and feed from opposite sides, and banishment. Muhammad endorsed politically expedient assassinations, broke promises, encouraged retaliation, and was merciless in that he murdered and enslaved the last Jewish tribe of Medina. Muhammad was not morally superior to the average person, and may have been morally inferior.

The Quran was not inspired by God. The Quran is fallible, lacks unity, and was poorly preserved. Muhammad was not illiterate, and eloquence is not a test for divine inspiration. Muhammad used only human sources. [1] Muhammad acknowledged some Satanic inspiration (the "Satanic verses").



posted by A Sinner at 8/25/2006 11:25:00 PM 0 comments

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

Hezbollah's Terror Tactics

How can anyone sympathize with Hezbollah, which doesn't even consider Israel to be a legitimate state and--unprovoked--wants to destroy Israel entirely? It's a terrorist organization, not a moderate political organization in the least. Suicide bombing, a tactic employed by Hezbollah and not Israel, has no justification. It kidnaps, tortures, and murders soldiers and other individuals for its own gain. Much of its financing is illicit. It bombed embassies, maimed people with car bombs, and hijacked airliners. Hezbollah, who started the conflict, hides weapons in mosques and rains dozens of Katyusha rockets at urban centers on a daily basis to murder civilians. It also uses ball bearings in its warheads so as to cause maximum damage to civilians. Lebanon failed to carry out its duty under UN Security Council Resolution 1559 to disarm Hezbollah and send its army to southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is so callously indifferent to human life to the point where it deliberately sets up shop in civilian neighborhoods where the citizens will be in danger; it employs the "human shields" tactic. The Lebanese people should have been more vigilant in thwarting the growth of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel is acting responsibly by widely disseminating warnings to Lebanese civilians of coming airstrikes. Could Hezbollah be staging some grisly photos as part of a propaganda campaign? A cease-fire needs careful consideration before action, since it would allow Hezbollah to recover so it could later carry out more terrorism.

Hezbollah members are not freedom fighters; they are terrorists. They engage engage in violent actions against Americans and Israelis. Murdering innocent men, women, and children is not a "legitimate form of resistance." Hamas, Hezbollah, PLFP, and Islamic Jihad members shoot infants, blow themselves up in restaurants and at bus stops among other places, take and murder hostages, and commit many other abominable crimes. They illegally use force against people and property to coerce the population in order to further their warped political objectives.

Everybody whining about Israel's military strikes on Lebanon needs to put themselves in Israel's shoes and ask themselves what they would do if a state-sponsored terrorist organization like Hezbollah was hell-bent on destroying one's state and indiscriminately murdering innocent noncombatant civilians with hundreds of rockets. Israel is careful and precise in its strikes, and mistakes are inevitable, but at least its soldiers feel remorse and are held accountable for these mistakes. Israel is not stooping down to the level of the terrorists and engaging in suicide bombing in shopping malls, raining rockets at random locations, etc.

The Truth About Qana

Hezbollah's staged photos in which they give corpses different poses are sickening, and perhaps more sickening is the uncritical acceptance and publishing of these propaganda photos by left media outlets. I have linked to EU Referendum, an excellent blog which posted several photos of disaster scenes at different times and locatons in which the same man ("Green Helmet"), clearly a propagandist for Hezbollah who had acted similarly in the 1996 Qana airstrike, holds up the dusty corpses of children right before the camera to ignite hatred of Israel. At Qana, 28 deaths have been documented, 16 of them children. (R.I.P.) It is important to know how extensively the Israeli military distributed leaflets to civilians in the week before what anti-Zionists and anti-Semites label an "Israeli/Zionist massacre." Infrastructure damage had no significant effect on evacuation, as indicated by the movement of journalists to and from Qana following the strikes. On the evening of the incident, Israeli planes carried out three airstrikes on Qana. One of these airstrikes was a bomb adjacent to a house in which a Hezbollah terrorist had fled after raining several of 150 Katyusha rockets on northern Israel. Why the seven+ hour delay between the airstrikes and the reports of the total building collapses? Why were women and children kept in the buildings long after the airstrikes were over (Hezbollah is on record as having forced endangered civilians to remain, sometimes intimidating them with guns)? Note that Hezbollah rockets have damaged more than 5,500 homes, and Katyusha rockets have targeted Nazareth, Tiberias, and Safed.

There is a new hilarious blog, Green Helmet Guy, a parody of the Tourist Guy. Be on alert for blogs complaining about the "Israeli murder" of Rajaa Abu Shaban, a 5-year-old girl who actually died from head trauma when she fell off a swing. (R.I.P.) In the AP photo the relative holding the poor girl is crying but a gunman to his right is smiling. You must also look out for clipped photos and tightly shot photos which exaggerate damage, when the surrounding area could be completely unscathed. In addition, be highly skeptical of reports which still cite the obsolete Qana death toll that was initially widely reported.

God bless CNN's Anderson Cooper for his consistent fair media coverage, such as when he recounted when Hezbollah lined up several ambulances and had them go back and forth as their sirens blaired in a pathetic propaganda effort to pretend they were conducting rescue operations. On the other hand, shame on Thomas Ricks of the Washington Post for his false charge that Israel left Hezbollah rocket launchers intact in order to let Israeli civilians be killed for the benefit of Israel's public relations.

Middle East Media Watchdog

In this unfortunate turn of events in Lebanon and Israel, take media reports with a grain of salt. The terrorists are also waging psychological warfare and so disinformation is common. It is Hezbollah that started this conflict and it is Hezbollah's control of southern Lebanon and attacks on Israel that are endangering the Lebanese people. The leftist media needs to do better research before spitting out unverified statistics that can be used as propaganda by Islamofascists. The truth needs to be known about:
1. Was the casualty a civilian or terrorist? Were they combatant or noncombatant? Armed or unarmed?
2. Which group is responsible for the casualty?
3. Was a given building a home, a terrorist sanctuary, etc.? Who destroyed it?

Doctored and Misleading Lebanon Photos

On the upper left in the above photo, someone forgets to lie down while they play dead at Qana.
A car purportedly damaged by an Israeli airstrike, but the damage is inconsistent with a missile strike.
The photo on the left above is a fakery by disgraced Reuters photographer Adnan Hajj, and the one on the right is the original photo showing much less smoke.The above photo was doctored by Adnan Hajj and purports to show missiles from an Israeli F16 when it actually shows flares.
The above photo shows a living, uninjured man playing dead.
The above photo shows garbage burning at a dump.
The above photo was staged by Hezbollah and the damage was falsely attributed to Israeli shells.
Rajaa Abu Shaban, who died when she fell off a swing, and whose death was falsely attributed to an Israeli airstrike.

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

posted by A Sinner at 8/24/2006 03:26:00 PM 0 comments