US Middle East Embassies Close Under Terror Threat, Russia Snowden Asylum, IRS Scandal Grows

Iran: Armageddon at hand, prepare for war

Iran is again asserting that Armageddon is at hand and that the Islamic regime’s followers, indeed all of Islam, must prepare for a monumental change in the world.

Officials of the Islamic regime last month held their annual conference on the Mahdism Doctrine to prepare for the coming of the last Islamic messiah, the Shiites’ 12th Imam, Mahdi.

Shiites, whose clerics rule Iran with an iron fist, believe that at the end of times, Mahdi, a 9th century prophet, will reappear with Jesus Christ at his side, kill all the infidels and raise the flag of Islam in all four corners of the world, establishing worldwide Islamic governance.

Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said at the conference that, “I hope (Iran’s) Islamic Revolution is that of the righteous government before the coming,” according to Fars News Agency, the regime’s media outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards.

“Righteous government” is a key to Mahdi’s return, the Shiites believe.

“It has been stated in the Islamic hadith that a wave of uprisings (such as the current upheavals in the Arab world) … takes place before the main uprising and that the righteous government (takes place) before the coming, which I hope (Iran’s) Islamic Revolution is that.”

The speaker said that metaphysics and modern technology have diminished human spiritualism, causing a sense of nervousness in which people have lost hope, and that this effect will reach its maximum before the coming.

“All mental crises are rooted in hopelessness and despair in life,” Larijani said, “and from a society point of view, this is because the big powers of the world are pushing for a culture that has no identity and with their power give their illicit desires a legal aspect. With the help of their media, they explain away the biggest corruption.”

Many regime officials participated in this year’s conference, including military commanders, and several guests spoke of the importance of the Shiite ideology on Mahdi’s coming and the need for jihad for the final battle. The Mahdaviat conference is convened annually to prepare for the coming.

A high Iranian politician said recently that he believes the Syrian revolution could be the catalyst for sparking a worldwide conflagration that will usher in an era of Muslim domination of the world.

“One can smell from the crisis in Syria the coming … of the end of times and the coming of the last Islamic messiah,” said Ruhollah Hosseinian, a member of the Islamic regime’s parliament. Hosseinian has served as deputy of the Intelligence Ministry and a member of the board of trustees of the Islamic Revolution Document Center.


(Courtesy Fars News Agency) Islamic Republic's officials at the 9th international conference on Mahdism Doctrine

Based on hadiths by Muhammad and his descendants, the Syrian revolution is a start to the coming of Mahdi, Hosseinian said in a speech quoted by Fars News Agency.

Hadiths from Ali, the Shiites’ 1st Imam, also state that a sign of the coming will be the fall of the walls of Damascus.

Hosseinian told the audience that they should prepare themselves for war.

“The coming of his highness is assured … the prophet has promised that people from the east, which according to the hadith means Iran, take power and prepare for the government of Imam Mahdi.”

Despite the Islamic regime being under crippling U.N., U.S. and EU sanctions, it has refused to stop its illicit nuclear program. Over a decade of negotiations with talks as recent as April with the 5+1 world powers have failed. The West hopes that it could restart negotiations once Iran’s new president, Hassan Rowhani, takes office in August.


The room in the Jamkaran Mosque located in the City of Qom, leading to the well where the regime officials believe, Imam Mahdi, Shiites 12th Imam is awaiting re-appearance

However, a former intelligence officer now defected to a Scandinavian country said the West must understand that even the election of Rowhani was by design by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, only to buy time so that the regime could reach its goal of becoming a nuclear-armed state. Some analysts believe that Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons is to facilitate the coming.


Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/iran-armageddon-at-hand-prepare-for-war/#BsRW6tE8XGoUdbRy.99

Massive Syrian ammo depot explosion, 40 dead

US Embassies Across Muslim World Mysteriously Shutting Down This Weekend

Amid all the high-fives over stocks hitting all-time highs and Edward Snowden's temporary freedom hogging the headlines yesterday, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf quietly pointed out that, due to an "abundance of caution," an unspecified number of US embassies and consulates in the Muslim world will be closed this weekend (and diplomatic facilities maybe longer). House foreign affairs committee chairman Royce suggested this morning that this closure is 'Al-Qaeda-threat-related'; and, as AP reports, the last major warning came last fall when embassies warned American diplomatic facilities across the Muslim world of potential violence around Sept. 11. (and the disaster that was Benghazi). But we can't help but worry about the coincident 'leak' by US officials of Israel's airstrike on Syria (and the potential forced response from Assad this would seem to portend).

Via AP,

The United States is closing its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world on Sunday after receiving an unspecified threat, officials said.

State Department officials said Thursday they were acting out of an "abundance of caution."

Spokeswoman Marie Harf cited information indicating a threat to U.S. facilities overseas and said some diplomatic facilities may stay closed for more than a day.

Other U.S. officials said the threat was in the Muslim world, where Sunday is a workday.

...

Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The State Department issued a major warning last year informing American diplomatic facilities across the Muslim world about potential violence connected to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

...

In Benghazi, Libya, the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed when militants assaulted a diplomatic post. The administration no longer says that attack was related to the demonstrations.

And while Royce 'confirms' this is an Al-Qaeda threat-related move, the following does make one think...

Via Jerusalem Post,

Unnamed US officials leaked information Thursday on alleged Israeli air strikes in Syria, and told The New York Times they expect an additional attack by Israel in the near future.

The sources, described by the Times as “American intelligence analysts,”discussed what they said were classified assessments, according to which a July 5 IAF strike on a Syrian facility housing Russian surface-to-sea missiles in Latakia failed to destroy them all.

...

The American leaks have raised concerns among some observers in Israel that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be unable to refrain from responding to the attacks due to the embarrassment he would incur.

“The mere fact that such leaks happen often indicates that the Pentagon leadership does not have Israel’s interests at heart,” Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post. “It is difficult to assess the motivation of such leaks.”

...

“As soon as there is fire from Syrian territory that endangers us, or enters our territory and violates our sovereignty, we identify the source of fire and destroy it.”

No Peace For America

There is absolutely no way that TRUE PEACE and PERFECT HARMONY can EVER be brought about WITHOUT the ETERNAL established RIGHTEOUSNESS of ALMIGHTY GOD (Isa. 32:17, 48:18,22). Almighty God’s whole ETERNITY and physical universe was established based on the ETERNAL RIGHTEOUS PERSON of the TRIUNE GOD! How deceived are we as Americans (conservative, moderate or progressive) and totally delusional to think that we as Adam’s fallen race could establish a PERFECT world and enter into ETERNITY without the required RIGHTEOUSNESS that Almighty God demands (1 Cor. 6:8-11, Gal. 5:19-21, Rev. 21:8, 22:14-15). Indeed there will NEVER be any TRUE peace or TRUE harmony for those who practice and engage in lawlessness, only ETERNAL ruin (Isa. 48:22, 57:21, Rev. 20:11-15, 21:8, 22:11).

We are a smashed and broken egg with absolutely no way our repairing ourselves.

We are a smashed and broken egg with absolutely no way our repairing ourselves. 6000 years of human history testifies to the fact that we are a violent and lawless race with death as our future and destiny (Rom. 3:23)and on our way to total destruction. If it had not been for Almighty God’s outside intervention holding back the full accumulation of violence of mankind we would have been extinct a long time ago (Matt. 24:21-22, 2 Thess. 2:6-8). Isn’t it amazing that as American’s listen to our leaders in Washington D.C., the media (conservative and liberal), Hollywood and the music culture and industry preach utopian ideals unto them that the majority of the world sincerely believe that lie from hell, which is if we just keep working at “peace” (give peace a chance) that we will one day finally achieve it?

How deceived are we as humans and totally delusional to think that we as Adam’s fallen race could establish a PERFECT world and enter into ETERNITY without the required RIGHTEOUSNESS that Almighty God demands.

My friend, let's wake up and get real! There is NO WAY that a smashed egg can EVER again be put perfectly back togetherand there is NO WAY that this broken world can EVER fix itself. This vain utopian pursuitis the ultimate delusional chasing of the devil’s cattle. At the end of this vain delusional chase the world will tragically finally find out the REALITIES of time and ETERNITY that they have REJECTED their whole lives(Luke 16:22-31, Heb. 9:27, Rev. 20:11-15). It will be in that Day that these will be fully AWAKENED from their self induced godless hypnotic delusion and will FULLY understand that their lawless self willed existence here in time has led them straight into the slaughter house of the ETERNAL Divine Judgment and wrath of Almighty God(Rom. 1:18-32, 2 Thess. 2; 8-12, Rev.20:11-15).

This vain utopian pursuit is the ultimate delusional chasing of the devil’s cattle.

Almighty God calls out to all in these last days to the receive REALITY, TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS and to be SAVED from the wrath to come (John 3:16-17, Acts 17:30-31, Rom. 2:4, 1Tim. 2:3-4)! My dear friend, your Creator has a glorious future for you IF you would only receive it (John 1:12, 3:16-17, 1 Cor. 2:9, Rev. 21, 22:1-5). Have you been living in a delusion about life, this world and your ETERNAL future? My dear friend put aside your subjective pride and be objective and believe and receive the Savior. You will NEVER EVER be the same!

The Kingdom of Heaven is ta hand!

DJP I.F.

The Ignorant Fishermen Blog

Iranian President-Elect Rouhani: Israel a 'wound' that must be removed

Iranian President-Elect Hassan Rouhani on Friday referred to Israel as a "wound" that has afflicted the Muslim world for years and must be removed, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.

"The Zionist regime is a wound that has sat on the body of the Muslim world for years and needs to be removed," Rouhani said at a demonstration in Tehran marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, an annual show of support for the Palestinian cause. The speech also came just two days before Rouhani, described by pundits as a "moderate," was set to be sworn in, replacing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iranian president.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday responded to the Iranian president-elect's remarks, saying "Rouhani's true face has been exposed earlier than expected."

The premier warned that despite the election of the so-called moderate, "the objective of the regime - to acquire nuclear weapons to threaten Israel, the Middle East and peace and security throughout the world - has not changed."

Outgoing Iranian President Ahmadinejad also addressed Al-Quds day crowds on Friday, warning of an impending regional "storm" that would uproot Israel, AFP reported.

"I will inform you with God as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism," AFP quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Ahmadinejad added that Israel "has no place in the region."

In Iran, millions marched in demonstrations Friday to show their solidarity in backing the Palestinian people, Iranian state media outlet Press TV reported.

Millions of Muslims in 80 countries across the world were expected to participate in anti-Israel protests marking the annual event.

The anti-Zionist event in support of independent Palestinian nationhood was established in 1979 by the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

According to Khomeini's instruction, Muslims are called upon to protest in the streets on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Demonstrators on Friday chanted and carried placards displaying anti-Israel and anti-US slogans, according to Press TV.

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Thursday called for the people of the Islamic Republic to condemn US-led efforts to resume peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians during rallies marking Al-Quds Day, Fars reported.

“These talks, within their predetermined framework, can never guarantee the interests and legitimate demands of the oppressed people of Palestine,” Fars quoted the statement as reading.

Israeli and Palestinian officials met on Monday in Washington to restart the peace process after a three year hiatus, with US Secretary of State John Kerry and newly-appointed US envoy to the Middle East process Martin Indyk.

Jerusalem Post

The Name Of Jesus Has Become A Dirty Word In Politically Correct America

In the United States today, there are very few words that provoke as much outrage as the name of Jesus.  It is being banned from graduation ceremonies, chaplains all over America are being forbidden from using His name in their prayers, and many school officials all over the nation have become absolutely fanatical about eliminating every trace of Christian expression from their schools.  One elementary school in North Carolina even ordered a little six-year-old girl to remove the word “God” from a poem that she had written to honor her grandfathers.  Political correctness is spreading like a cancer in this country, and our “freedom of religion” is rapidly being transformed into a guarantee of “freedom from religion” for those that hate the Christian faith.

Without a doubt, there is a war on the Christian faith in America today.  It is being waged in classrooms, courtrooms and churches all over the nation.

The following is an excerpt from a speech that Rand Paul gave earlier this year…

There is a war on Christianity, not just from liberal elites here at home, but worldwide.

And your government, or more correctly, you, the taxpayer, are funding it.

Evidence of this war on Christianity is everywhere these days.  The following are just a few examples…

-An elementary school in North Carolina ordered a little six-year-old girl to remove the word “God” from a poem that she wrote to honor her two grandfathers that had served in the Vietnam War.

-The Ohio Statehouse banned Christian pastors from using the name of Jesus when they open up the daily sessions with prayer.

-The use of the name of Jesus was also forbidden in all prayers opening sessions of the North Carolina State-House.

-Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that prayers before commission meetings in Forsyth County, North Carolina that included the name of Jesus were unconstitutional.

-Earlier this year, a Florida Atlantic University student that refused to stomp on the name of Jesus was banned from class.

-A student at Sonoma State University was ordered to take off a cross that she was wearing because someone “could be offended“.

-A teacher in New Jersey was fired for giving his own Bible to a student that did not own one.

-An open air preacher in Illinois was recently threatened with arrest for “scaring people” with the message of the gospel.

-A high school track team was disqualified earlier this year because one of the runners “made a gesture thanking God” once he had crossed the finish line.

-Volunteer chaplains for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have been banned from using the name of Jesus in their public prayers.  Sadly, this is not an isolated incident.  Chaplains all over the nation are now being banned from using the name of Jesus.

-In recent months, daredevil Nik Wallenda has walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls and has walked a tightrope across the Grand Canyon, and yet both times the mainstream media has gone out of the way to keep the name of Jesus out of news reports…

Despite Nik Wallenda’s frequent mentions of God the Father and Jesus during his high-wire crossing of Niagara Falls Friday night, an ABC News blog documenting virtually every moment of the achievement makes no mention of his verbal thanks to the Creator.

Wallenda, 33, the great grandson of legendary tightrope walker Karl Wallenda, walked across Niagara Falls on a high wire, as hundreds watched on TV at a block party in his Florida hometown of Sarasota, Fla., and millions of others tuned in for ABC television coverage.

Wallenda was fitted with a microphone during his tension-filled, 25-minute saunter at 200 feet high, and he could be heard praising God numerous times as he walked the length of four football fields from New York to Canada.

A recently released 140 page report entitled “The Survey of Religious Hostility in America” included some more examples of how Christianity is being systematically oppressed in America today…

• A federal judge threatened ‘incarceration’ to a high school valedictorian unless she removed references to Jesus from her graduation speech.
• City officials prohibited senior citizens from praying over their meals, listening to religious messages or singing gospel songs at a senior activities center.
• A public school official prevented a student from handing out flyers inviting her classmates to an event at her church.
• A public university’s law school banned a Christian organization because it required its officers to adhere to a statement of faith that the university disagreed with.
• The U.S. Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court that the federal government can tell churches and synagogues which pastors and rabbis it can hire and fire.
• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs banned the mention of God from veterans’ funerals, overriding the wishes of the deceased’s families.
• A federal judge held that prayers before a state House of Representatives could be to Allah but not to Jesus.

Are you starting to get the picture?

And one of the biggest battlegrounds for religious freedom in America at the moment is the U.S. military.

Right now, there are some very powerful forces that are trying to eradicate all expressions of the Christian faith from the U.S. military.  It has gotten so bad that a 23 year Air Force veteran was recently ordered to remove his Bible from his desk, and the Air Force recently came out and announced that service members are only allowed to talk about their faith if it “does not make others uncomfortable“.

The U.S. military is a far different institution than it once was.  Today, political correctness rules the U.S. military.

If you doubt this, just check out this example…

Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes is a Christian chaplain currently serving in the U.S. Air Force. He is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. As an ordained clergyman whose duties are to provide religious instruction and spiritual counseling, he has a page on the base’s website called “Chaplain’s Corner.”

Reyes recently wrote an essay entitled, “No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains Gave All in World War II.” This common saying is attributed to a Catholic priest in World War II, made famous when President Dwight D. Eisenhower said during a 1954 speech: “I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives. In battle, they learned a great truth that there are no atheists in the foxholes.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation was absolutely outraged when they heard about this.  They demanded that the commander of the base, Col. Brian Duffy, do something about the “anti-secular diatribe” that Reyes had authored.

In the old days, a base commander would have had a good chuckle and then would have told the MRFF where to stick their complaint, but the old days are gone.

These days, base commanders cower subserviently before politically correct organizations such as the MRFF.  Just check out what happened next…

Nonetheless, only five hours after MRFF’s complaint, the essay was removed from the website. Duffy has profusely apologized to MRFF for not stopping this religious leader from sharing religious thoughts.

But this response—which again appears to be a violation of Reyes’s First Amendment rights—is insufficient for MRFF. They said, “Faith based hate, is hate all the same,” and, “Lt. Col. Reyes must be appropriately punished.” (Emphasis added).

And thanks to the MRFF, special edition Bibles for service members have been banned from being sold on military bases…

Bowing to a complaint from a religious watchdog group, the Pentagon will no longer give consent for a publisher to use the official emblems of the military services on a line of Bibles sold on base exchanges.

The group claimed victory, but an association of former military chaplains is demanding that Congress overturn the Defense Department’s decision.

The Bibles, branded for each of four services as “The Soldier’s Bible,” “The Sailor’s Bible” and so on, are published by LifeWay Christian Resources’ Holman Bible Publishers, a subsidiary of the Southern Baptist Bible Convention, said Chris Rodda, the senior research director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

The MRFF is a very insidious organization.  It is headed up by a man named Mikey Weinstein.  He has called Christians “human monsters” and “enemies of the United States Constitution“.  Weinstein is convinced that sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ while in the military is “sedition and treason” and should be punished as such.

You would think that people like Weinstein would be dismissed as lunatics, but unfortunately under the Obama administration he has been brought in as a special adviser to the Pentagon.

What a crazy world that we live in.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama himself has remained completely silent as a totally innocent American citizen is being tortured in an Iranian prison.  If that prisoner was a liberal activist, Obama would be moving heaven and earth to get him released.  But because he is a Christian, we haven’t heard a peep out of Obama, and many Christian leaders want an explanation…

One of the nation’s most prominent evangelical leaders wants to know why President Obama has remained silent as Iran tortures an American pastor held captive in one of the Islamic republic’s most notorious prisons.

Franklin Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, told Fox News the imprisonment and torture of Pastor Saeed Abedini is a blatant example of “religious intolerance.”

“Many in the international community are expressing outrage over this blatant example of religious intolerance,” Graham said. “I ask that our government do the same and demand that Pastor Saeed Abedini be released and allowed to return home to his wife and family in the United States.”

We are rapidly moving toward a time when followers of Jesus will be treated as second class citizens in America.  The following are some other examples of this trend…

• A War Games scenario at Fort Leavenworth that identified Christian groups and Evangelical groups as being potential threats;
• A 2009 Dept. of Homeland Security memorandum that identified future threats to national security coming from Evangelicals and pro-life groups;
• A West Point study released by the U.S. Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center that linked pro-lifers to terrorism;
• Evangelical leader Franklin Graham was uninvited from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer service because of his comments about Islam;
• Christian prayers were banned at the funeral services for veterans at Houston’s National Cemetery;
• Bibles were banned at Walter Reed Army Medical Center – a decision that was later rescinded;
• Christian crosses and a steeple were removed from a chapel in Afghanistan because the military said the icons disrespected other religions

For much more on all of this, please see my previous article entitled “All Over America Evangelical Christians Are Being Labeled As Extremists And Hate Groups“.

This is not what America is supposed to be about.

How quickly we have turned our backs on the values of our founders.

In a recent article, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin tried to remind us of how far we have drifted from what our founders intended…

It’s a good thing that George Washington is dead and military history effectively banished from our campuses. Otherwise, we might remember the general order Washington issued upon taking command of the embattled Continental Army–and in Boston, no less. The general “requires and expects of all officers and soldiers a punctual attendance at Divine services, to implore the blessing of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense.” In the same way, any assistant professor of government hoping to achieve tenure will likely skim over certain sections of the first president’s Farewell Address, which reads: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.”

Will America be able to stand if we continue to try to push every shred of the Christian faith out of public life?

What do you think?

I am sure that a lot of people out there have some very strong opinions about all of this.  Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below…

The American Dream

Economy 2013 Total US DOLLAR COLLAPSE

Ahmadinejad unveils new Iranian air force fighter

A new advanced fighter jet was unveiled Saturday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to commemorate the upcoming 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, state media reported.

The domestically designed and developed Qaher-313 is similar to the US-built F/A-18, the report said.

Ahmadinejad said the plane ranked among the most advanced in the world.

He stressed that Iran's military programmes were solely for defensive deterrent purposes.

Voice of Russia, dpa

Read more: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_02_02/Ahmadinejad-unveils-new-Iranian-air-force-fighter/

Why the Pope's Comments on Not Judging Homosexuals Aren't Biblical

Homosexual activists and gay religious groups are applauding the pope’s willingness to “forgive and forget” the sins of gay priests. It seems the pope is the latest religious figure to try to placate the gay community. Sadly, his comments don’t appear to be completely thought through, and they are definitely not biblical.

I do agree with the pope that any homosexual (or any other sinner for that matter) should be forgiven when he repents.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

And if God forgives them, so should we. But should they remain in the priesthood? That is another question entirely.

Here is a portion of the pope’s comments:

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem. ... They’re our brothers.”

Below are seven reasons I take issue with the pontiff.

1. Leaders Must Judge

It appears the pope is saying that while the act of homosexuality is a sin, it is okay to be a priest who has a same-sex attraction. As to his statement—"Who am I to judge?"—I would say, “You're the pope! And your job is to judge!" 

There is a difference between judging rightly and hypocritical, looking-down-one’s-nose judging, like in the case of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee says, “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner … like that tax collector.” (See Luke 18:9-14.)

However, in matters of congregational government, discerning right and wrong is the very essence of leadership. The congregation looks to leaders for protection, and that means sometimes we have to judge, discipline and even dis-fellowship the unrepentant. Many hearts bleed for the lawbreaker; a leader’s heart bleeds for those who stray!

2. Do We Believe in "Gay"?

The pope believes it is OK to be a gay priest, as long as you don’t act on those impulses. It seems we have forgotten there is no such thing as being gay, in the sense that you are born that way. The pope’s very use of the word gay to describe a male with same-sex attraction is problematic and legitimizes the idea of being born gay.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan picked this up as well and stated, “My worry is that we’re buying into the vocabulary that one’s person is one’s sexual identity, and I don’t buy that and neither does the church.”

Romans 1:26-27 teaches that attraction to people of the same sex is unnatural: "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error" (NIV).

The Catholic Church agrees with Scripture. John-Henry Westin notes, "The Catholic faith teaches that all homosexual acts are presented in Sacred Scriptures as 'acts of grave depravity'; that they are 'intrinsically disordered' and that 'under no circumstances can they be approved.' (Catechism 2357)

"The Catechism [also] teaches that even the homosexual inclination is 'objectively disordered' and is a 'trial' for most who experience it. (Catechism 2358)"

I agree with the pope—the action is the sin, but the attraction reveals an unnatural tendency. We need to love that person, accept that person, encourage that person and help that person, but not put them in leadership.

3. Leadership Is Not a Right

The word ministry in Hebrew is the same word for servant—shirut. Being in leadership is not something owed to us. We are in ministry for the people and the Lord, not for ourselves. Hence, the pope’s refusal to remove a priest who is attracted to men reveals the pope thinks the priest has a right to that position and cannot be disqualified for moral failure.

Furthermore, there are standards for new covenant leadership. If you don’t meet those standards, you cannot and should not be a leader—no matter how gifted you are. A pastor attracted to men should not be a pastor. He can serve in many ways, but not in a primary leadership role.

Our compassion is misplaced when we care more for a leader than the people he leads.

4. “Don’t Confuse Being Gay With Being a Pedophile!”

Italy's first openly gay governor, Nicki Vendola, who leads the southern Puglia region, praised the pope for drawing a clear line between homosexuality and pedophilia.

"In only one blow, he carried out a very brilliant operation, separating the theme of homosexuality from that of pedophilia,” the Associated Press reports.

No, no and no! The priest scandals were not about pedophilia primarily. It was (is) about priests who were sexually attracted to men, but given their chosen profession had no outlet. They were surrounded by men and often boys. For them, it was the only way to gratify themselves sexually—going to a gay bar was not an option.

I am sure there were some real dirtbags who targeted kids, but my guess (I am no expert, although I did consult with one on this and he agrees) is that they entered the priesthood because they didn’t want to marry (they were not attracted to women) and felt this would be a respectable life. Of course, this is a horrible reason to enter ministry.

I am attracted to women. When I was 23, I got married, and to this day I enjoy a wonderful romantic life with my wife. Having a good marriage and a healthy life of intimacy may be the greatest defense to adultery. Being a single male in ministry, whereby one is in regular contact with women, where they see you as a leader, counselor and trusted friend, would provide temptations I am grateful I have not had to endure.

Now, imagine you are sexually attracted to men. You enter the priesthood. You think you are safe, but you find yourself surrounded by men and often boys and teens. And let’s face it, in terms of physical attraction, an older teen may as well be an adult. Being sexually attracted to a 16-year-old is very different than being drawn to a 5-year-old.

The last place someone with unnatural sexual desires needs to be is around the most vulnerable, who are looking to them for counsel.

Dr. Michael Brown states the obvious: “Do we really think that a bunch of young gay men living together in a seminary setting will all be saintly enough to keep themselves pure? And is it realistic to think that, later in their ministries, they will not struggle as they work alone with their teenage altar boys?”

Bill Muehlenberg states (though it is unclear who he is quoting), “In 2005 Pope Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, formally barred men deemed to have ‘deep-seated homosexual tendencies’ from entering the priesthood.”

This is why there are far less occurrences of priests fornicating with women or teenaged girls. A heterosexual priest who cannot control his desires will typically leave the priesthood and get married—not molest. However, it is a different story for a priest with homosexual tendencies. He feels that he has no other option and has chosen the priesthood in large part because of his same-sex tendencies.

5. Ephesians 4:11 or Religious Dudes?

According to the Bible, leaders of congregations are called to equip the saints for works of ministry (Eph. 4:12). They preach, empower, heal the sick, counsel and raise up leaders.

However, a typical Catholic priest looks nothing like this. His main concern is doing preordained “religious stuff,” like serving the Eucharist and hearing confession, not preaching the gospel or shaking a city. The pope must rationalize that there is no reason a gay priest can’t do that stuff.

6. It’s the Action, Not the Thought?

We have to be very careful with this line of thinking. As a heterosexual man, I cannot let my mind run wild, meditating on fantasies with other women. I can’t look at pornography. I can’t think of other women when I am being intimate with my wife. These are sins.

So we must be careful when we say we have no problem with "thoughts" of homosexuality, as long as one doesn’t act on them. We must be clear that a priest who thinks constantly of homosexual activity but doesn’t act on it is guilty of the sin, just as Yeshua said that one who meditates on adultery is guilty.

Furthermore, how long does a person meditate on it before he acts on it? And where will he look for a partner? Not at a gay bar, as stated before, but within his own parish. And in many cases, the person is under the age of consent.

The idea that thoughts are fine but action is sin should be changed to "tendency is tolerable, but thoughts and actions are sin."

7. Priesthood: A Safe Place for Gays?

Lastly, the priesthood has become a safe haven for not only pedophiles, but also men with homosexual tendencies. The pope’s comments basically say, “Yeah, if you are attracted to men, we want you to be a priest. If you messed up in the past, we will forgive you and keep you in ministry.”

For political correctness, the pope gets an A. For protecting young boys and teens from “gay priests” who know they can use their position of power to manipulate and intimidate these young men, he gets a big fat F!

I get what the new pope is trying to do. His "I ain’t your daddy’s pope" presentation is fresh and attractive. We should always be willing to relate to the world by embracing cultural trends. But never should we sacrifice truth or doctrine to win over our detractors, and that is exactly what the pope has done!

Charisma