Nationalist Party officials says Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri should resign for covering up the squandering of €70,000 that could have benefited Gozitans when employing Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo’s partner Amanda Muscat as consultant

MANILA, Philippines — A 27-year-old individual was arrested for threatening a victim at gunpoint, assaulting officers during his arrest and possessing a hand grenade, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) announced on Wednesday. According to the QCPD’s report, the victim was walking along Villareal Street in Barangay Gulod in Novaliches at 3 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, when the suspect appeared and threatened him with a handgun. The victim escaped and ran to the Novaliches Police Station. Officers at the station proceeded to arrest the suspect, but he resisted by kicking the cops until he was subdued. The Novaliches Police […]...

Keep on reading: QC cops nab suspect for grave threat, assault; seize hand grenade

"The lack of protective structures and the disparity between Arab and Jewish localities...forces Arab residents to live in a state of constant peril," said IDI's Lital Piller

1. 'Toxic media platform': Why 'The Guardian' quit X after US election results  The Times of India
2. Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X  The Guardian
3. ‘Toxic’: Leading UK media house decides to stop posting on Elon Musk-led X  Hindustan Times
4. A 200-year-old British media giant stops posting on X. Here's why  India Today
5. UK's 'The Guardian' Quits X Citing "Disturbing Content" On Platform  NDTV

The fluffy chick’s chunky form is slimming down as he starts to fledge

1. LIVE | Kerala Lottery Result Today (13.11.2024): FIFTY FIFTY FF-117 WEDNESDAY 3PM Bumper Draw (1 CRORE) DECLAR  ABP Live
2. Kerala Lottery Result Today 13-11-2024 (OUT) Live: Fifty Fifty FF 117 Wednesday Lucky Draw DECLARED-  Zee News
3. LIVE | Kerala Lottery Results Today 13.11.2024: Fifty Fifty-FF-117 Winners Out; Ticket FC 824838 Wins Rs 1  News18
4. Kerala lottery results: Fifty Fifty FF- 117 winners for 13 November 2024; first prize Rs. 1 crore, second  The Times of India
5. Kerala Lottery Fifty Fifty Winners November 13 - Full Results And Ticket Numbers  Oneindia

In ‘Hoemonal,’ Sumukhi Suresh brings to the stage, candid comedy on health, singlehood, and resilience, and tackling taboos with humor that resonates beyond laughs

12 men and three women, aged between 19 and 63, were arrested for various offences during a multi-agency enforcement operation against errant public entertainment outlets on Friday (Nov 8) night. The offences include working without a valid work permit, suspected drink driving, driving without a valid license and insurance, suspected consumption and possession of controlled drugs, and the possession of scheduled weapons.  Members of the media, including AsiaOne, were invited to observe the enforcement operations, led by Bedok Police Division, in Joo Chiat on Friday night.  The enforcement operation is part of their ongoing efforts to clamp down on illicit activities and regulatory offences in the area, said the police in a statement on Wednesday. Upon arriving at the scene just after midnight on Saturday, members of the media were led to the second floor of the first KTV outlet. 

Everyone likes to be valued and numerous studies reveal that there is a psychological effect of workplace gratitude and appreciation on an employee.

Noida-based startup Boltt Sports Technologies will soon introduce fitness wearables, connected solutions and a fitness kit that will include smart shoes, smart band and health and training apps, all powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Two draws a penalty after one win and one loss, Juventus [microblogging] in the TIM Cup triangular tournament still ranks among the newly promoted after the second place, but the Serie A champions lackluster performance in the...

Popularly known as the Automobile City, Chennai is the fourth largest metropolitan of the country. The city accounts for over 27 per cent of India’s automobile industry and 45 per cent of the auto components industry in India....

Of pharmaceutical products, health care products packaging theory , there are several aspects of the law we need to , inter alia: 1 , generate new theory of pharmaceutical products , not only to consider the psychological factors of...

What are gilt mutual funds? When should we invest?

Gilt mutual fund schemes invest in short term and long term government securities issued by RBI on behalf of Government of India....

Epsilon, the global leader in creating connections between people and brands, today announced that it was named a Leader in the January 2016 report �The Forrester Wave�: Customer Loyalty Solutions For Large Organizations.

Today, L&T technology Services Limited, an ER&D service provider to myriad technology continuum, inked a multi-million dollar contract with a giant global semi-conductor company.

Domestic mobile handset maker Intex Technologies on Monday launched two new speakers for Rs 5,700 and Rs 8,200, respectively.

Expanding its Spark series portfolio, Micromax on Wednesday launched Canvas Spark 4G -- the first device in this line-up with a 4G/LTE feature -- for Rs.4,999.

Two leading Indian companies have been awarded for their leadership in sustainability, corporate social responsibility, eco consciousness and community care at the third annual Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards (ACES).

In a tragic incident in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer district, a bus carrying a wedding party fell into the Ind River, leading to the death of at least 26 individuals. This sorrowful event occurred on Tuesday when the bus, en route from Astore

As the Jharkhand elections unfold, voters are casting their ballots in 43 constituencies, with the remaining 40 seats set to follow in the next phase. The atmosphere in the state is charged as residents grapple with a blend of hope and

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DUSU Election Result 2024: The Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) election results for 2024 are set to be announced on November 21. This follows a two-month delay from the original date of September 28, which was postponed due to defacement issues

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in Deoghar district's Sarath on Wednesday, addressed the biggest concerns facing Jharkhand in the ongoing assembly elections, emphasizing that the protection of ‘roti, beti, and maati' (food, women, and land) is the central issue.

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'On the big screen, we focus on hope for your dreams whereas OTT is the bitter reality.'

The new facility is intended to foster collaboration with the energy and oil and gas companies that leverage LTIMindtree’s technology solutions and services

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa avoided a concussion when he tried to make a tackle after throwing an interception in Monday night's win over the Rams, but it was hard not to think about his concussion history when he took a knee to the helmet in the process.

The company attributes this growth to a combination of factors, primarily the increased health awareness triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a more focused strategy to expand into underserved regions

Equating 'bulldozer justice' with a lawless state of affairs where might is right, the Supreme Court on Wednesday laid down pan-India guidelines and said no property should be demolished without a prior show cause notice and the affected must be given 15 days to respond.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued pan-India guidelines on demolition of properties and said affected people need to be given some time to challenge demolition orders before an appropriate forum.

More often than not in traditional management consulting engagements involving operations, there is usually room for setting up or revising goals, metrics & reporting, and service level agreements. Depending on the phase of development of a company (often couched as Stage 0 [Ad-Hoc], Stage 1 [Functional], Stage 2 [Intrabusiness Cross-Functional], etc. maturity levels by a consulting firm), the next higher-level of metrics and reporting may apply and be a goal for the client organization to strive for.

Where management has to be somewhat careful about applying metrics, however, is how people and company culture play a role in getting everything to work together right.

To put a finer point on things, one can put in place a perfectly appropriate set of metrics and reporting systems for a company yet miss the boat completely on a management-level as to how the results should be applied because of the culture.

As an example in sales operations, I have frequently seen a competitive environment laid out. People's individual performance levels are exposed, and poor performing people are weeded out. This environment can work out in some cases. On the other hand, in a collaborative engineering or product development environment, cooperation may be encouraged.

On a related topic, a friend of my wife and I, Dr. Uri Gneezy at the University of Chicago, has some great research on the relationship between competition and gender. From the research summary:

Gneezy suggests that CEOs creating incentives in their firms should be aware that making the internal environment more competitive might create a bias that helps men, while putting women at a relative disadvantage.

My take on applying this type of research would be to recognize and raise one's sense of awareness to the environment one is implementing metrics in. Although metrics may be encouraged to be tracked to an individual-level doesn't automatically equate to that the environment has to be a competitive one. Choosing a collaborative versus dictatorial management style that is compatible with the desired company culture is a separate choice from metric implementation.

Steve Shu Managing Director S4 Management Group Email: sshu@s4management.com Web: http://www.s4management.com

If you've made a New Year's resolution but have not read this blog entry yet, there may still be hope. Most people have probably broken their New Year's resolutions by Valentine's Day. How can you prevent this from happening to you?

Digging up a study from the University of Washington, there are some key suggestions for succeeding with one's resolutions:

- Have a strong initial commitment to make a change. - Have coping strategies to deal with problems that will come up. - Keep track of your progress. The more monitoring you do and feedback you get, the better you will do.

As it turns out, these are the same types of principles that apply to change management consulting projects in the business world. Although style of change management tactics in organizations also plays a role (e.g., leading people to a goal versus spreading gasoline around a organization and coercing people by insinuating that a fire is going to happen), many change management initiatives fail to work out because:

- organizations get distracted, - do not use project management methods to manage processes (e.g., date, milestone, & issue tracking), - or ignore the importance of using a microscope on activities early on in the process of change.

Steve Shu Managing Director S4 Management Group Email: sshu@s4management.com Web: http://www.s4management.com

As I was watching some news last night, I saw this story on the Rachel Maddow show - and frankly, it's a bit creepy. I usually stop watching news by that late hour - else the children run screaming from the information overload. It concerns The Family, founded by Nazi-sympathizer, Abraham Vereide. As I was watching, I was figuring - 70 years ago? Um, right around the time all this gooblygook with William Branham started and the Manifest Sons of God. Actually, it is quite possible that these two crossed paths. (You may also want to check out this site as well.) -- Remember, these men who live in this house, all powerful, must surrender to being shepherded by another - and consider themselves 'chosen.' In other words, they may do as they choose for they are chosen for greatness in God, and will receive forgiveness. -- Note, from the above article: "At the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, George H.W. Bush praised Doug Coe for what he described as "quiet diplomacy, I wouldn't say secret diplomacy," as an "ambassador of faith." Coe has visited nearly every world capital, often with congressmen at his side, "making friends" and inviting them back to the Family's unofficial headquarters, a mansion (just down the road from Ivanwald) that the Family bought in 1978 with $1.5 million donated by, among others, Tom Phillips, then the C.E.O. of arms manufacturer Raytheon, and Ken Olsen, the founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation." -- One of the things that we must endeavor to do, is to make sure that we do not come off sounding like conspiracy theories. I detest them - they destroy when we should build up. They weaken us, because rarely ever are they true. First and foremost, this is not a conspiracy theory, nor a conspiracy in reality. What it is, is a horrible use of the gospel - something that men have been doing since it was first laid down. It takes the message of Christ and turns it into something political, something disgusting, something human. -- Instead of calling to sin, these people think themselves above the mercy of Christ. If we are chosen, then we are chosen to repentance. -- While the connection here between Ensign and Sandford will go unnoticed, it is well remembered that the Dominionists have stated time and time again that they seek to bring about a government of [Anti] Christ built on seven interconnected mountains - one of them being politics. Where else to start but politicians.

Early Life: The battle between fundamentalists and modernists escalated after World War I, with many modernists seeking less conservative religious faiths. Fundamentalists generally believed their religious faith should influence every aspect of their lives. McPherson [infiltrated the Christian Church and pretended to support fundamental values] sought to eradicate modernism and secularism in homes, churches, schools and communities and developed a strong following in what McPherson termed "the Foursquare Gospel" by blending contemporary culture with religious teachings. -- International Church of the Foursquare Gospel: Wearied by constant traveling and having nowhere to raise a family, McPherson had settled in Los Angeles, where she maintained both a home and a church. McPherson believed that by creating a church in Los Angeles, her audience would come to her from all over the country. This, she felt, would allow her to plant seeds of Gospel and tourists would take it home to their communities, still reaching the masses. For several years she continued to travel and raise money for the construction of a large, domed church building in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. The church would be named Angelus Temple. Raising more money than she had hoped, McPherson altered the original plans, and built a "megachurch" that would draw many followers throughout the years. The church was dedicated on January 1, 1923. The auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,300 people and was filled three times each day, seven days a week. At first, McPherson preached every service, often in a dramatic scene she put together to attract audiences. Eventually, the church evolved into its own denomination and became known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. The new denomination focused on the nature of Christ's character, that he was Savior, baptizer with the Holy Spirit, healer and coming King. There were four main beliefs: the first being Christ's ability to transform individuals' lives through the act of salvation; the second focused on a holy baptism; the third was divine healing; and the fourth was gospel-oriented heed to the premillennial return of Jesus Christ. -- In August 1925 and away from Los Angeles, McPherson decided to charter a plane so she would not miss giving her Sunday sermon. Aware of the opportunity for publicity, she arranged for at least two thousand followers and members of the press to be present at the airport. The plane failed after takeoff and the landing gear collapsed, sending the nose of the plane into the ground. McPherson boarded another plane and used the experience as the narrative of an illustrated Sunday sermon called "The Heavenly Airplane." The stage in Angelus Temple was set up with two miniature planes and a skyline that looked like Los Angeles. In this sermon, McPherson described how the first plane had the devil for the pilot, sin for the engine and temptation as the propeller. The other plane, however, was piloted by Jesus and would lead one to the Holy City (the skyline shown on stage). The temple was filled beyond capacity. On one occasion, she described being pulled over by a police officer, calling the sermon "Arrested for Speeding." McPherson employed a small group of artists, electricians, decorators and carpenters who built the sets for each Sunday's service. Religious music was played by an orchestra. Biographer Matthew Avery Sutton wrote, "McPherson found no contradiction between her rejection of Hollywood values for her use of show business techniques. She would not hesitate to use the devil's tools to tear down the devil's house." Collections were taken at every meeting, often with the admonishment, "no coins, please." -- Because Pentecostalism was not popular in the U.S. during the 1920s, McPherson avoided the label. She did, however, make demonstrations of speaking-in-tongues and faith healing in sermons. She kept a museum of crutches, wheelchairs and other paraphernalia. As evidence of her early influence by the Salvation Army, McPherson adopted a theme of "lighthouses" for the satellite churches, referring to the parent church as the "Salvation Navy." This was the beginning of McPherson working to plant Foursquare Gospel churches around the country. McPherson published the weekly Foursquare Crusader along with her monthly magazine Bridal Call. She began broadcasting on radio in the early 1920s. McPherson was one of the first women to preach a radio sermon; and with the opening of Foursquare Gospel-owned KFSG on February 6, 1924, she became the second woman granted a broadcast license by the Department of Commerce, the agency that supervised broadcasting in the early 1920s.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: In 1900, Baum and Denslow (with whom he shared the copyright) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to much critical acclaim and financial success. The book was the best-selling children's book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz. ... His final Oz book, Glinda of Oz was published on July 10, 1920, a year after his death. The Oz series was continued long after his death by other authors, notably Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote an additional nineteen Oz books. ... Baum also anonymously wrote The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile. -- Baum continued theatrical work with Harry Marston Haldeman's men's social group, The Uplifters, for which he wrote several plays for various celebrations. He also wrote the group's parodic by-laws. The group, which also included Will Rogers, was proud to have had Baum as a member and posthumously revived many of his works despite their ephemeral intent. Although many of these play's titles are known, only The Uplift of Lucifer is known to survive (it was published in a limited edition in the 1960s). Prior to that, his last produced play was The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (based on Ozma of Oz and the basis for Tik-Tok of Oz), a modest success in Hollywood that producer Oliver Morosco decided did not do well enough to take to Broadway. Morosco, incidentally, quickly turned to film production, as would Baum. -- In 1914, having moved to Hollywood years earlier, Baum started his own film production company, The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, which came as an outgrowth of the Uplifters. He served as its president, and principal producer and screenwriter. The rest of the board consisted of Louis F. Gottschalk, Harry Marston Haldeman, and Clarence R. Rundel. The films were directed by J. Farrell MacDonald, with casts that included Violet MacMillan, Vivian Reed, Mildred Harris, Juanita Hansen, Pierre Couderc, Mai Welles, Louise Emmons, J. Charles Haydon, and early appearances by Harold Lloyd and Hal Roach. Silent film actor Richard Rosson appeared in one of the films, whose younger brother Harold Rosson photographed The Wizard of Oz (1939). After little success probing the unrealized children's film market, Baum came clean about who wrote The Last Egyptian and made a film of it (portions of which are included in Decasia), but the Oz name had, for the time being, become box office poison and even a name change to Dramatic Feature Films and transfer of ownership to Frank Joslyn Baum did not help. Unlike with The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, Baum invested none of his own money in the venture, but the stress probably took its toll on his health. -- On May 5, 1919, Baum suffered from a stroke. He died quietly the next day, nine days short of his 63rd birthday. At the end he mumbled in his sleep, then said, "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands." He was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. ... Political: Women's suffrage advocate - Sally Roesch Wagner of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation has published a pamphlet titled The Wonderful Mother of Oz describing how Matilda Gage's radical feminist politics were sympathetically channeled by Baum into his Oz books. Much of the politics in the Republican Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer dealt with trying to convince the populace to vote for women's suffrage. Baum was the secretary of Aberdeen's Woman's Suffrage Club. When Susan B. Anthony visited Aberdeen, she stayed with the Baums. Nancy Tystad Koupal notes an apparent loss of interest in editorializing after Aberdeen failed to pass the bill for women's enfranchisement. Some of Baum's contacts with suffragists of his day seem to have inspired much of his second Oz story, The Marvelous Land of Oz. In this story, General Jinjur leads the girls and women of Oz in a revolt by knitting needles, take over, and make the men do the household chores. Jinjur proves to be an incompetent ruler, but a female advocating gender equality is ultimately placed on the throne. His Edith Van Dyne stories, including the Aunt Jane's Nieces, The Flying Girl and its sequel, and his girl sleuth Josie O'Gorman from The Bluebird Books, depict girls and young women engaging in traditionally masculine activities. ... Religion: Originally a Methodist (albeit a skeptical one), Baum joined the Episcopal Church in Aberdeen to participate in community theatricals. Later, he and his wife, encouraged by Matilda Joslyn Gage, became Theosophists, in 1897. Baum's beliefs are often reflected in his writing. The only mention of a church in his Oz books is the porcelain one which the Cowardly Lion breaks in the Dainty China Country in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Baums believed that religious decisions should be made by mature minds and sent their older sons to "Ethical Culture Sunday School" in Chicago, which taught morality, not religion.

Lyman Frank Baum, author of Ozma of Oz, didn't just write one of the most popular children's books in history. He also produced thirteen other Oz books as well as over 40 other novels, 82 short stories, hundreds of poems, and an unknown number of scripts. -- As a young man, Baum was a printer, producing several amateur newspapers, a poultry breeder specializing in the Hamburg chicken, and a theater lover. Despite working as a clerk in his brother-in-law's dry goods store, he found time to perform in plays until eventually his father, who owned numerous opera houses and theaters, built him a theater on his 24th birthday. Baum wrote plays, including the highly successful musical "The Maid of Arran," and composed music for them as well. Two years later he married Maud Gage, and moved with her a few years later to Aberdeen in the Dakota Territory, where he operated a store called "Baum's Bazaar." In 1890 the store failed, and Baum turned to newspaper writing and working as a traveling salesman. -- He believed deeply in the power of children's literature, saying "Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - day dreams with your eyes wide open - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization." -- Politically, Baum was a flaming liberal. His wife was the daughter of suffrage leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, author of The Women's Bible and companion to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Baum wrote editorials trying to convince the public to vote for women's suffrage and served as secretary of Aberdeen's Women Suffrage Club.

I have just finished reading a fantastic book by G.A. Riplinger entitled, "New Age Bible Versions." Among other things, it details who the writers were of the Greek Text used to translate the NIV, NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NAB, REB, RSV, CEV, TEV, GNB LIVING, PHILLIPS, NEW JERUSALEM, and NEW CENTURY versions of the Bible. If you own one of these, you probably bought them because they supposedly come from the most ancient manuscripts and they are more accurate and authentic than the old standard King James Version of the Bible. WRONG!!!!! If you are reading one of these versions, it is a compilation of the work of Satan, Demons, drunks, necromancers, channelers, ghost followers, Nazi staff members, Lucifer worshipers, Plato, Origin, Philo, and many other NEW AGE (demon inspired) thinkers who want nothing more than to bring in a One World Government under a New World Order, with the Anti-Christ as the ruler of the world, and Marxism as the world political system. What angers me the most is that supposedly God fearing ministers of the Gospel have, like the Pied Piper, led their congregations by a passive attitude that will open up the door to the religion of the Anti-Christ one day. -- I just wrote an email to a good friend of mine, a minister, who sent me an email with a quote from one of these OCCULT translations of the bible. He is a good man and a soul-winner. I then realized that the Bible is true when it says that in the last days deceivers will come that will deceive, "if it were possible," the very elect. I then knew that it is happening right before our very eyes. People purchase Bibles thinking that there are godly men that have made these new translations with much care along with prayer and that they are delivering what is the most accurate copy of the Word of God in existence today. THAT IS NOT THE CASE. Since the book that I cited above gives more evidence than I can possibly give here, I want to tell you about the men that did the translations of the revised Greek text and some of their friends and acquaintances. Once you have read this, if you can continue using one of these OCCULT versions of the Bible, God help your soul.

Theology: Finney was a primary influence on the "revival" style of theology which emerged in the 19th century. Though coming from a Calvinistic background, Finney rejected tenets of "Old Divinity" Calvinism which he felt were unbiblical and counter to evangelism and Christian mission. -- Finney's theology is difficult to classify, as can be observed in his masterwork, Religious Revivals. In this work, he emphasizes the involvement of a person's will in salvation. Whether he believed the will was free to repent or not repent, or whether he viewed God as inclining the will irresistibly (as in Calvinist doctrine, where the will of an elect individual is changed by God so that they now desire to repent, thus repenting with their will and not against it, but not being free in whether they choose repentance since they must choose what their will is inclined towards), is not made clear. Finney, like most Protestants, affirmed salvation by grace through faith alone, not by works or by obedience. Finney also affirmed that works were the evidence of faith. The presence of unrepentant sin thus evidenced that a person had not received salvation. -- In his Systematic Theology, Finney remarks that "I have felt greater hesitancy in forming and expressing my views upon this Perseverance of the saints, than upon almost any other question in theology." At the same time, he took the presence of unrepented sin in the life of a professing Christian as evidence that they must immediately repent or be lost. Finney draws support for this position from Peter's treatment of the baptized Simon (see Acts 8) and Paul's instruction of discipline to the Corinthian church (see 1 Corinthians 5). This type of teaching underscores the strong emphasis on personal holiness found in Finney's writings. -- Finney's understanding of the atonement was that it satisfied "public justice" and that it opened up the way for God to pardon people of their sin. This was the so-called New Divinity which was popular at that time period. In this view, Christ's death satisfied public justice rather than retributive justice. As Finney put it, it was not a "commercial transaction." This view of the atonement is typically known as the governmental view or government view. -- Princeton Theological Seminary Professor Albert Baldwin Dod reviewed Finney's 1835 book Lectures on Revivals of Religion and rejected it as theologically unsound from a Calvinistic perspective, not necessarily from a Christian perspective. Dod was a defender of Old School Calvinist orthodoxy (see Princeton theologians) and was especially critical of Finney's view of the doctrine of total depravity.

But this book by Johnson and Vanvonderen is different. Drawing upon years of ministry experience as pastor and counselor (respectively), they examine the fine line between Biblical leadership and abuse. Without mentioning groups or demonizing those involved, they discuss how well-intentioned leadership can have abusive effects. This "high road" approach is highly helpful in identifying some of the critical factors that have led to harsh and harmful leadership in churches. -- Marks of a Spiritually Unhealthy Environment: For example, the authors identify the marks of a spiritually unhealthy system. I'd like to include these here as a sample of how the authors address these issues. (The following consists of verbatim citations of copyrighted material from Chapter 5,6 of "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.") -- 1. Power-Posturing: Power-posturing simply means leaders spend a lot of time focused on their own authority and reminding others of it, as well. They spend a lot of energy posturing about how much authority they have and how much everyone else is supposed to submit to it. The fact that they are eager to place people under them-- under their word, under their "authority"-- is one easy-to-spot clue that they are operating in their own authority. -- 2. Performance Preoccupation: In abusive spiritual systems, power is postured and authority is legislated. Therefore, these systems are preoccupied with the performance of their members. Obedience and submission are two important words often used. The way to tell if someone is doing the right thing for the wrong reason is if they are keeping track of it. Let's say that another way. If obedience and service is flowing out of you as a result of your own dependence on God alone, you won't keep track of it with an eye toward reward, you'll just do it. But if you're preoccupied with whether you've done enough to please God, then you're not looking at Him, you're looking at your own works. And you're also concerned about who else might be looking at you, evaluating you. What would anyone keep track of their godly behavior unless they were trying to earn spiritual points because of it? For many reasons, followers sometimes obey or follow orders to avoid being shamed, to gain someone's approval, or to keep their spiritual status or position intact. This is not true obedience or submission, it is compliant self-seeking. When behavior is simply legislated from the outside, instead of coming from a heart that loves God, it cannot be called obedience. It is merely weak compliance to some form of external pressure. -- 3. Unspoken Rules: In abusive spiritual systems, people's lives are controlled from the outside in by rules, spoken and unspoken. Unspoken rules are those that govern unhealthy churches or families but are not said out loud. Because they are not said out loud, you don't find out that they're there until you break them. The most powerful of all unspoken rules in the abusive system is what we have already termed the "can't talk" rule. The "can't talk" [rule] has this thinking behind it: "The real problem cannot be exposed because then it would have to be dealt with and things would have to change; so it must be protected behind walls of silence (neglect) or by assault (legalistic attack). If you speak about the problem, you are the problem. -- 4. Lack of Balance: The fourth characteristic of a spiritual abusive system is an unbalanced approach to living out the truth of the Christian life. This shows itself in two extremes: Extreme Objectivism - The first extreme is an empirical approach to life, which elevates objective truth to the exclusion of valid subjective experience. This approach to spirituality creates a system in which authority is based upon the level of education and intellectual capacity alone, rather than on intimacy with God, obedience and sensitivity to His Spirit. Extreme Subjectivism - The other manifestation of lack of balance is seen in an extremely subjective approach to the Christian life. What is true is decided on the basis of feelings and experiences, giving more weight to them than what the Bible declares. In this system, people can't know or understand truths (even if they really do understand or know them) until the leaders "receive them by spiritual revelation from the Lord" and "impart" them to the people. In such systems, it is more important to act according to the word of a leader who has "a word" for you than to act according to what you know to be true from Scripture, or simply from your spiritual growth-history. As with the extreme objective approach, Christians who are highly subjective also have a view of education-- most often, that education is bad or unnecessary. There is almost a pride in not being educated, and a disdain for those who are. Everything that is needed is taught through the Holy Spirit. ("After all, Peter and Timothy didn't go to college or seminary...") -- 5. Paranoia: In the church that is spiritually abusive, there is a sense, spoken or unspoken, that "others will not understand what we're all about, so let's not let them know-- that way they won't be able to ridicule or persecute us." There is an assumption that (1) what we say, know, or do is a result of our being more enlightened that others; (2) others will not understand unless they become one of us; and (3) others will respond negatively. In a place where authority is grasped and legislated, not simply demonstrated, persecution sensitivity builds a case for keeping everything within the system. Why? Because of the evil, dangerous, or unspiritual people outside of the system who are trying to weaken or destroy "us." This mentality builds a strong wall or bunker around the abusive system, isolates the abusers from scrutiny and accountability, and makes it more difficult for people to leave-- because they will then be outsiders too. While it is true that there is a world of evil outside of the system, there is also good out there. But people are misled into thinking that the only safety is in the system. Ironically, Jesus and Paul both warned that one of the worst dangers to the flock was from wolves in the house (Matthew 10:16, Acts 20:29-30). -- 6. Misplaced Loyalty: The next characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. We're not talking about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to a given organization, church, or leader. Once again, because authority is assumed or legislated (and therefore not real), following must be legislated as well. A common way this is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the leadership is construed as the same thing as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is equal to questioning God. "We Alone Are Right" There are three factors that come into place here, adding up to a misplaced loyalty. First, leadership projects a "we alone are right" mentality, which permeates the system. Members must remain in the system if they want to be "safe," or to stay "on good terms" with God, or not be viewed as wrong or "backslidden." - Scare Tactics - The second factor that brings about misplaced loyalty is the use of "scare tactics." We're already seen this in some of the paranoia described in the last section. Scare tactics are more serious. This is more than just the risk of being polluted by the world. We have counseled many Christians who, after deciding to leave their church, were told horrifying things. "God is going to withdraw His Spirit from you and your family." "God will destroy your business." "Without our protection, Satan will get your children." "You and your family will come under a curse." This is spiritual blackmail and it's abuse. And it does cause people to stay in abusive places. - Humiliation - The third method of calling forth misplaced loyalty is the threat of humiliation. This is done by publicly shaming, exposing, or threatening to remove people from the group. Unquestionably, there is a place for appropriate church discipline. In the abusive system, it is the fear of being exposed, humiliated or removed that insures your proper allegiance, and insulates those in authority. You can be "exposed" for asking too many questions, for disobeying the unspoken rules, or for disagreeing with authority. People are made public examples in order to send a message to those who remain. Others have phone campaigns launched against them, to warn their friends and others in the group about how "dangerous" they are. -- 7. Secretive: When you see people in a religious system being secretive-- watch out. People don't hide what is appropriate; they hide what is inappropriate. One reason spiritual abusive families and churches are secretive is because they are so image conscious. People in these systems can't even live up to their own performance standards, so they have to hide what is real. Some believe they must do this to protect God's good name. So how things look and what others think becomes more important than what's real. They become God's "public relations agents." The truth is, He's not hiring anyone for this position. Another reason for secrecy in a church is that the leadership has a condescending, negative view of the laity. This results in conspiracies on the leadership level. They tell themselves, "People are not mature enough to handle truth." This is patronizing at best. Conspiracies also develop among the lay people. Since it is not all right [sic] to notice or talk about problems, people form conspiracies behind closed doors and over the telephone as they try to solve things informally. But since they have no authority, they solve, and solve, and solve-- but nothing really gets solved. And all the while, building God's true kingdom is put on hold. -- Conclusion: I hope that what I have cited gets your attention and motivates you to read this book. The subtle patterns of unhealthy characteristics are discussed in a way that actually helps people identify them, resist them, and recover from them. Copyright © 2000 John Engler. All rights reserved. The Barnabas Ministry

Francis Schaeffer was a Presbyterian minister with an ability to see how the questions of meaning, morals, and value being dealt with by philosophy, were the same questions that the Bible dealt with, only in different language. Once an agnostic, Schaeffer came to the conclusion that Biblical Christianity not only gave sufficient answers to the big questions, but that they were the only answers that were both self-consistent and livable. With this conviction he became a man of conversation. Schaeffer taught that God is really there and He is not silent. He had spoken to man in the Bible as and a result we could have "true truth" about God and man. Knowing the dignity of man created in God's image, he placed a high value on creativity as an expression of that image. He opened his Swiss home to travelers to discuss these things. Later he began lecturing in universities and writing a number of books. Perhaps no other Christian thinker of the twentieth century, besides C.S. Lewis, has had more influence on thinking people.

I had recognized that, in Hebrew, V=6, therefore, W=66. 66 in kabbalism is the number of the fallen angels or qlippoth. Hitler was a kabbalist, as well, and incorporated the VV(66) of the fallen angels into the Volks-Wagon symbol; two V's interlaced, making a third, therefore equaling 666, the number of the beast. Can you spot the number of the beast in this photo? The beast, "W", had arrived, and I knew they would wait no longer. I felt they needed 2 weeks for public reaction, therefore something would need to happen in mid-September. I picked the date 9/11 because it was the date that HW(H stands for the Emperor) stated, "there will be a New World Order." Had I known that both the Pentagon, and the "Twin Towers" had begun construction on 9/11, I would have predicted the targets, as well. I did not feel prophetic, I felt that everything was going according to plan. But, who's plan?

Bacon, Francis, Lord Verulam, and Viscount St. Alban's, philosopher and statesman, was the youngest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper, by his second wife, a daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, whose sister married William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the great minister of Queen Elizabeth. He was born at York House in the Strand on Jan. 22, 1561, and in his 13th year was sent with his elder brother Anthony to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he first met the Queen, who was impressed by his precocious intellect, and was accustomed to call him "the young Lord Keeper." Here also he became dissatisfied with the Aristotelian philosophy as being unfruitful and leading only to resultless disputation. -- In 1576 he entered Gray's Inn, and in the same year joined the embassy of Sir Amyas Paulet to France, where he remained until 1579. The death of his father in that year, before he had completed an intended provision for him, gave an adverse turn to his fortunes, and rendered it necessary that he should decide upon a profession. He accordingly returned to Gray's Inn, and, after an unsuccessful attempt to induce Burghley to give him a post at court, and thus enable him to devote himself to a life of learning, he gave himself seriously to the study of law, and was called to the Bar in 1582. He did not, however, desert philosophy, and published a Latin tract, Temporis Partus Maximus (the Greatest Birth of Time), the first rough draft of his own system. -- Two years later, in 1584, he entered the House of Commons as member for Melcombe, sitting subsequently for Taunton (1586), Liverpool (1589), Middlesex (1593), and Southampton (1597). In the Parliament of 1586 he took a prominent part in urging the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. About this time he seems again to have approached his powerful uncle, the result of which may possibly be traced in his rapid progress at the Bar, and in his receiving, in 1589, the reversion to the Clerkship of the Star Chamber, a valuable appointment, into the enjoyment of which, however, he did not enter until 1608. -- About 1591 he formed a friendship with the Earl of Essex, from whom he received many tokens of kindness ill requited. In 1593 the offices of Attorney-general, and subsequently of Solicitor-general became vacant, and Essex used his influence on Bacon's behalf, but unsuccessfully, the former being given to Coke, the famous lawyer. These disappointments may have been owing to a speech made by Bacon on a question of subsidies. To console him for them Essex presented him with a property at Twickenham, which he subsequently sold for £1800, equivalent to a much larger sum now. -- In 1596 he was made a Queen's Counsel, but missed the appointment of Master of the Rolls, and in the next year (1597), he published the first edition of his Essays, ten in number, combined with Sarced Meditations and the Coulours of Good and Evil. By 1601 Essex had lost the Queen's favour, and had raised his rebellion, and Bacon was one of those appointed to investigate the charges against him, and examine witnesess, in connection with which he showed an ungrateful and indecent eagerness in pressing the case against his former friend and benefactor, who was executed on Feb. 25, 1601. This act Bacon endeavoured to justify in A Declaration of the Practices and Treasons, etc., of...the Earl of Essex, etc. His circumstances had for some time been bad, and he had been arrested for debt: he had, however, received a gift of a fine of £1200 on one of Essex's accomplices. -- The accession of James VI in 1603 gave a favourable turn to his fortunes: he was knighted, and endeavoured to set himself right with the new powers by writing his Apologie (defence) of his proceedings in the case of Essex, who had favoured the succession of James. In the first Parliament of the new king he sat for St. Alban's, and was appointed a Commissioner for Union with Scotland. In 1605 he published The Advancement of Learning, dedicated, with fulsome flattery, to the king. The following year he married Alice Barnham, the daughter of a London merchant, and in 1607 he was made Solicitor-General, and wrote Cogita et Visa, a first sketch of the Novum Organum, followed in 1609 by The Wisdom of the Ancients. -- Meanwhile (in 1608), he had entered upon the Clerkship of the Star Chamber, and was in the enjoyment of a large income; but old debts and present extravagance kept him embarrassed, and he endeavoured to obtain further promotion and wealth by supporting the king in his arbitrary policy. In 1613 he became Attorney-General, and in this capacity prosecuted Somerset in 1616. The year 1618 saw him Lord Keeper, and the next Lord Chancellor and Baron Verulam, a title which, in 1621, he exchanged for that of Viscount St. Albans. Meanwhile he had written the New Atlantis, a political romance, and in 1620 he presented to the king the Novum Organum, on which he had been engaged for 30 years, and which ultimately formed the main part of the Instauratio Magna. -- In his great office Bacon showed a failure of character in striking contrast with the majesty of his intellect. He was corrupt alike politically and judicially, and now the hour of retribution arrived. In 1621 a Parliamentary Committee on the administration of the law charged him with corruption under 23 counts; and so clear was the evidence that he made no attempt at defence. To the lords, who sent a committee to inquire whether the confession was really his, he replied, "My lords, it is my act, my hand, and my heart; I beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed." He was sentenced to a fine of £40,000, remitted by the king, to be committed to the Tower during the king's pleasure (which was that he should be released in a few days), and to be incapable of holding office or sitting in parliament. He narrowly escaped being deprived of his titles. -- Thenceforth he devoted himself to study and writing. In 1622 appeared his History of Henry VII, and the 3rd part of the Instauratio; in 1623, History of Life and Death, the De Augmentis Scientarum, a Latin translation of the Advancement, and in 1625 the 3rd edition of the Essays, now 58 in number. He also published Apophthegms, and a translation of some of the Psalms. -- His life was now approaching its close. In March, 1626, he came to London, and shortly after, when driving on a snowy day, the idea struck him of making an experiment as to the antiseptic properties of snow, in consequence of which he caught a chill, which ended in his death on 9th April 1626. He left debts to the amount of £22,000. At the time of his death he was engaged upon Sylva Sylvarum. -- The intellect of Bacon was one of the most powerful and searching ever possessed by man, and his developments of the inductive philosophy revolutionised the future thought of the human race.

In 1643, the English Parliament called upon "learned, godly and judicious Divines", to meet at Westminster Abbey in order to provide advice on issues of worship, doctrine, government and discipline of the Church of England. Their meetings, over a period of five years, produced the confession of faith, as well as a Larger Catechism and a Shorter Catechism. For more than three centuries, various churches around the world have adopted the confession and the catechisms as their standards of doctrine, subordinate to the Bible. -- The Westminster Confession of Faith was modified and adopted by Congregationalists in England in the form of the Savoy Declaration (1658). Likewise, the Baptists of England modified the Savoy Declaration to produce the Second London Baptist Confession (1689). English Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists would together (with others) come to be known as Nonconformists, because they did not conform to the Act of Uniformity (1662) establishing the Church of England as the only legally approved church, though they were in many ways united by their common confessions, built on the Westminster Confession. -- Evangelical Presbyterian Church: The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which broke from the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1981 in order to provide a conservative alternative to the older denomination, holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith composed of a combination of different editions, but based on the American version of the 1647 text.[4] The EPC holds to the Westminster Confession in light of a brief list of the essentials of the faith as drafted at its first General Assembly at Ward Church outside of Detroit, Michigan.