2013 Lifestyle, religiously and spiritualy

A New start for some of my blogs or websites

From 1995 I had been active on MSN Groups about religious matters. 10 of April 2004, the MSN Group Bijbelonderzoekers (Bible researchers) was started by me. Today I noticed the first pictural postings seem to be empty. Later the MSN Groups plus the MSN Windows Live Spaces were taken over by Multiply and the Google pages were changed in 2009. The change in the Google pages got me to create the Flemish “Broeders in Christus” site. In 2010 I got not many viewers on Multiply so I became a little-bit demotivated to continue with spending times placing articles. {Tijdelijke stilte op dit platform} The ending of MSN Spaces got me choose to step over to WordPress on August 2010 for the religious blog and for my personal blog in December. Noticing I got much more response in the WordPress pages I started to concentrate more on those. December 1, 2012 Multiply ended its services so 2013 brought me to change over all the articles and made me to go over all the links to make them working again , linking them to the transferred pages. (Lots of work not finished yet.)

But for some websites I could not react to the writings without being a member. Therefore I also became a member of Xanga in 2011. The writings I wanted to react against concerned matters of religion and belief in God. With Stepping Toes I tried to give my personal opinion of religion and how I as a Christadelphian considered Christians should keep up to their faith. Confronted with the ending of its free services and most of the websites, I reacted against, having stopped to exist in 2013, I preferred to annul most of the old Xanga writings in which the referral links had no use any more and start anew on WordPress from October 2013 onwards.

The intention of Stepping Toes is kept the same, trying to present an overview what is happening in the world of spiritual and religious minded people. I would love to get more writers presenting different opinions and giving the readers an overview of what is written about religion, religion and spirituality, faith and belief, theology, philosophy, lifestyle, the Being and Feeling of humankind and how a Christian should find his way, behave and react  in this life, where Good Tidings should be proclaimed. In case you know much about Science, History, or have enough reading background to share with many some Quotes and Poems, and you do not mind to join others who dare to look at the world from a sceptical perspective, you are invited to join me with other enthusiast writers at Stepping Toes.

I would love to see the 2013 renewed site Stepping Toes to rise up as a phoenix from the ashes again and to offer many different articles concerning our civil, spiritual, religious, and ethical life.

Stepping Toes want to bring current affairs before the eyes of many, promote evidence-based debate and human-centred ethics through publishing.

Are you some one who could help to provide interesting reading material? Are you the one I am looking for?

A new Look for the Catholic Church

Need to evangelise

Just as the whole economy of salvation has its centre in Christ, so too all missionary activity is directed to the proclamation of his mystery.

With Stepping Toes and Christadelphian World I would love to see the Word of God been spread more over the world. But finding people who would love to do the missionary work of preaching does not seem so easy. I got the impression not many are willing to spread the Good News or the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.

Even the greatest Christian denomination had to face that problem of the few willing to look at the subject of proclamation of Christ who was crucified, died and is risen. Not many are daring to come out and show their belief that by this Nazarene man Jeshua from Nazareth is accomplished our full and authentic liberation from evil, sin and death. Not many are interested to show the world that through him (Jesus) God (Jehovah) bestows “new life” that is divine and eternal.

Pope John Paul II, Karol Józef Wojtyła, wrote already about this in his 1990 encyclical on the Church’s missionary mandate Redemptoris Missio. Most of the Catholics seem to have forgotten or just do not know what is written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It refers to the economy of salvation many times, and has a section titled, “Human Freedom in the Economy of Salvation” (pars 1739-42), which is essentially a blueprint for much of Evangelii Gaudium. While pope Francis I does not use the term “economy of salvation,” he does write:

We know that “evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man’s concrete life, both personal and social”. This is the principle of universality intrinsic to the Gospel, for the Father desires the salvation of every man and woman, and his saving plan consists in “gathering up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). (par 181)

I also think, like the new pope, that we are living in a world of instant communication and occasionally biased media coverage, where the message we preach runs a greater risk of being distorted or reduced to some of its secondary aspects.

In this way certain issues which are part of the Church’s moral teaching are taken out of the context which gives them their meaning. The biggest problem is when the message we preach then seems identified with those secondary aspects which, important as they are, do not in and of themselves convey the heart of Christ’s message. We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness. (par 34)

writes pope Francis.

Church and sex

After all the sex scandals in the Catholic Church, brought in the news one after the other, the need for moral change was also felt by the new pontiff. Pope Francis has set up a committee to fight sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. The committee will keep the Pope informed about the programmes in place for the protection of children, and formulate new initiatives to prevent abuse. The pontiff promised shortly after his election to take “decisive action” on clerical child abuse – a scandal that has rocked the Church all over the world. But the Holy See keeps declining to respond to questions laid out by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on such topics as whether priests found guilty of sex abuse are allowed to stay in contact with children, and whether victims’ complaints have been silenced. Explaining its silence at the UN, the Holy See said it was “separate and distinct” from the Roman Catholic Church, and that it does not disclose information about the religious discipline of clergy unless specifically requested by the authorities in the country where they were serving. Vatican is to be questioned further by the CRC in January.

The centrality and uniqueness of Christ, the importance of the Church (the term “the Church” appears well over 200 times in his apostolic exhortation), the need to evangelise — are either ignored or given short shrift. And even many pieces about his focus on the poor often overlook how he situates that focus, as when he writes,

“For the Church, the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political or philosophical one” (par 198).

Benedict XVI was criticized, in some corners, as being too heady and academic for most ordinary folks. But few ever complained that he wasn’t clear and precise in what he said and wrote. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, pope Francis I, a man from almost “the end of the world”, the first non-European to be elected for almost 1,300 years and the first-ever member of the Jesuit order, lowered himself to come closer to the ‘populace’. He is already lauded as the “people’s pope” who meets people where they are, and yet the breadth of interpretations of his young papacy are so wildly divergent that one might wonder if those people and these people are talking about the same pope. Funny in a way that some gay magazines called him to be the person of 2013 who wants to come to more understanding of the gay people, whilst others take it that the Catholic Church has no intention at all to come closer to homos and lesbians and for sure will not accept same-sex marriages or same-sex couples having or adopting children.

The cardinals’ choice risked running into immediate controversy over the new pope’s role in Argentina’s troubled history. In his book, El Silencio, a prominent Argentinian journalist alleged that he connived in the abduction of two Jesuit priests by the military junta in the so-called “dirty war”. The new pope, was not among the front-runners and denies the accusation.

After a prayer for his predecessor, Benedict XVI, the new pope invited the faithful in the square to “pray for the entire world”. He added:

“I hope that this path for the church will be one fruitful for evangelisation.”

Christians mounting a fightback against their secularist foes

The Church in general could do with some watering and getting some more fruit. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey warned in November that Christianity might be going extinct in the UK, maybe even in one generation’s time. In the previous years by many denominations we could see that they were more concerned about saving  their clerical positions and focusing on “reorganising the structures, arguing over words and phrases” over evangelising.

The Telegraph’s Cristina Odone believes Christians are mounting a fightback against their secularist foes but Anna Vesterinen queries her enthusiasm.

“The extraordinary impact of Francis has been felt not only among his immediate audience – Italians, who are now retuning to Mass – but, incredibly, among the intelligentsia that is traditionally so sceptical of Christian values,”

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Seoul Cathedral

Cristina Odone writes in the Telegraph. To Odone, men like Archbishop Justin Welby are now heading the Christian Spring, whose emergence is already visible in the backlash against the by-products of secularism: porn, bloated bankers and OTT celebrities.

According to Anna Vesterinen:

It may come as a surprise to some, but secularists are not out to eliminate Christians. While some secular individuals certainly engage in such behaviour, secularism itself does not set out to mock believers “for holding dear their heritage and its immortal values” as Odone claims. Secularism – as often explained but still frequently forgotten – is not the same as atheism. In fact, take a look at our panel’s opinions on the topic and you’ll see that believers can be secularists, just as well as the faithless can doubt the concept. Therefore, there is no reason to think that secularists wish for “Christians to be driven back into the catacombs” – Christian secularists probably do not lobby for such a change of venue. Secularism only seeks to offer every belief (and non-belief) an equal footing in the public sphere. Yes, that means no communal Christian prayers before meetings, but it also excludes mandatory readings of God Is not Great.

The popularity of Pope Francis (and up to a certain level that of Welby) even among the non-religious can’t be denied. But their popularity doesn’t necessarily imply the end of secularism. Pope Francis’ non-judgemental attitude towards homosexuals and atheists, his interest in people’s real opinions on family, and attempts to undo the centuries of financial secrecy of the Papal state – aren’t these all ways to bring the Church closer to the people whose understanding of values such as tolerance, inclusivity and transparency no longer have a basis in biblical doctrines or priestly utterings? The same goes for Archbishop Welby: his support of women bishops and calls for the Church to repent over the treatment of homosexuals show that he knows that ancient doctrines are not applicable to today’s believers’ views. Secularism does not mandate any ideological changes for Churches, but to stay relevant these organisations need to appeal to the people whose values are increasingly formed in a secular environment.

Church also for the poor

No religion (especially only Christianity) owns the “immortal” values of charity, honesty, humility or love, but by the Christians we do have seen less interest in 2013 to support the good causes. The secular social media calling to join certain causes managed to bring lots of changes. They could free people or get a better life for them and for animals.

The Roman Catholic Church has been looked at as the Church of brilliant luxury. Today it looks like pope Francis has the desire to cleanse his Church of luxury. He is truly the ‘Austerity Pope’ for this new age of austerity. What we have seen in the visual media is a friendly priest who shows intense empathy for the poor, the unemployed and struggling economic migrants. For the security officers at times it could be very difficult. (I loved the images of the little boy hanging at the pope his legs and sitting on his throne.)

Hearing of the terrible drownings off Lampedusa, he said

“today is a day of tears”

and remarked that the

“world does not care about people fleeing slavery, hunger, fleeing in search of freedom”.

Year of lies

At Stepping Toes I would love to get more people aware of those terrible situations in the world, people used as slaves and put behind locked doors as prisoners to work from seven in the morning until half past three at night. In more than one documentary we could see a Muslim director of a factory in Bangladesh telling nothing but lies about the work conditions.

2013 was the year of many lies made by different religious people, who do not seem to have any scruples. Without qualms youngsters do not tell the truth, are not ashamed to brag about their many girlfriends with whom they have many sex-adventures. In 2013 we found many people who were “loud mouthed boasters, showing favouritism to gain advantage” (Jude v16) God is pushed right out of many their thinking. Lots of them also like to show off with their many precious modern and new gadgets.

In Cagliari, Sardinia, the pope protested that

“the world has become an idolater of this god called money”.

To his credit, the new pope backs up his views with action. He drives around Rome in an old Ford Focus and lives not in the Apostolic Palace, but in a simple house in the grounds of the Vatican. At a detention centre in Rome soon after his coronation, he washed and kissed the feet of young offenders, including a Muslim woman.

His approach of different people, talking to people of different faith as valuable conversation partner, can perhaps disrupt the many lies fundamentalist believesgroups have been spreading throughout 2013. For Belgium it was the year when we saw many Flemish youngsters taking off to Syria to fight with their Muslims brothers, at first to fight against the dictator and war-criminal Bashar al-Assad who still not does want to resign and kept telling many lies to the world.

Syria and Sarin gas

The domestic largely Sunni Syrian opposition, the United Nations, the United States, Canada, the European Union states, and the members of the Arab League have subsequently called for al-Assad’s resignation from the presidency, but he laughs at them and ignores them. It looks like he has nothing to fear of them because they putt off any worldwide action against this man who does not hesitate to kill his own people. Whilst the industrialist world procrastinate the endless killing goes on.

We, ordinary civilians could only hear lots and lots of words transmitting simultaneously to the Security Council and the General Assembly, reporting on the serious incident which occurred on 21 August 2013 in the Ghouta area of Damascus, which shocked the whole world and got the Secretary-General to expresses his profound shock and regret at the conclusion that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale, resulting in numerous casualties, particularly among civilians and including many children. The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons and believes that this act is a war crime and grave violation of the 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare and other relevant rules of customary international law. The international community has a moral responsibility to hold accountable those responsible and for ensuring that chemical weapons can never re-emerge as an instrument of warfare.

On the basis of the evidence obtained during our investigation of the Ghouta incident, the conclusion is that, on 21 August 2013, chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, also against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale. In particular, the environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used in Ein Tarma, Moadamiyah and Zamalka in the Ghouta area of Damascus.

West readies attacks after Syria gas ‘obscenity’ in August was been said. And we could see and hear world leaders attacking the atrocity. President Obama looked for “accountability” for “moral obscenity”; Cameron considered “proportionate response”. After a long time of opposing strikes Russia around the end of 2013 started to give a voice at ending the conflict.

Inexcusable but no action taken

Everybody agreed that

The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable.

The presence of Islamist militants, including allies of al Qaeda in the Syrian rebel ranks, has given Western leaders pause. They have held back so far from helping Assad’s opponents to victory mainly I do think they are afraid that after they helped the different Muslim groups will continue to fight for getting the power themselves.

In Tehran, a foreign ministry spokesman said:

“We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria. There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region.
This result leaves the researchers and us with the deepest concern, but we can only notice that even with the findings and such a negative report the political nor the religious world-leaders take the necessary action.

Attitude of delay by ‘Christian’ West, making Islamic fundamentalist movement stronger and more loved

This attitude of looking at, but doing nothing, the so called Christian world made the fundamentalist Muslim movements stronger and even got the white Flemish ‘Islamic boys’ counter against their own native country, threatening it and its sovereign with terrorist acts.

Several hundreds youngsters from 14 European countries, including Austria, Britain, Germany, Spain and Sweden have taken part in the Syria conflict since it began in March 2011.

A 19-year-old Belgian fighter has been killed in Syria. The youngster was recruited in the Flemish town of Vilvoorde last summer. He is understood to have joined Al-Qaeda forces opposing the Assad regime. – Photo Flanders television VRT

At first it looked like the Belgian government would take action against the Belgian  jihadists who travel to Syria to fight against President Bashar al-Assad’s troops by having them penalised, but some got back with such excuses and were released after interrogation that I still wonder if they really would be penalised. In any case welfare payments to those who went to Syria has been stopped.

Bart de Wever, mayor of Antwerp and president of Flemish separatist party NVA said:

“It would be unjust for these people to benefit from social programmes and use, for example, their unemployment payments to finance their fight in Syria,”

Lots of Syrians who had put their faith in the West and would have believed non-muslims and their brother Muslims in the rest of the world would help them, are now believing that like in Egypt, Muslim brothers are hated and the world leaves the Muslims on their own in the hope they will kill themselves, leaving the land to take over when there are less of them.

Several powerful Islamist groups form the Islamic Front and do find the other major rebel bloc Syrian Revolutionaries Front facing the Army of the Mujahideen, which pledged to defend themselves and their honour, wealth and lands. They declared war on the powerful Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and joined other opposition groups in battling the extremists. The alliance accused ISIL of “spreading strife and insecurity… in liberated (rebel) areas, spilling the blood of fighters and wrongly accusing them of heresy, and expelling them and their families from areas they have paid heavily to free” from Assad’s regime.

Syria’s main opposition National Coalition and activists on the ground have accused ISIL of serving the interests of Assad’s regime by tarnishing the image of the uprising, which began as a popular movement calling for democratic reform.

The Army of Mujahideen also accused ISIL of theft and looting, and of “kidnapping, killing and torturing (rebel) commanders and activists,” echoing repeated complaints among opposition ranks against the Al-Qaeda affiliate.

From the television reports we got to see that more people who at first believed in the good cause of a free democratic country, now turned over to join the different fundamentalist Islamic groups, having most faith in the global militant Islamist and takfiri organization founded by Osama bin Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Muslims allowed to kill other Muslims

Islamic author and thinker Sayyid Qutb his ideas that many who said they were Muslims were not were held to be proven by the actions and reactions in Egypt and Syria. For may followers of the prophet Muhammad those willing to listen to the West or those waiting to get help from the West are apostates. This gave jihadists “a legal loophole around the prohibition of killing another Muslim.” 2013 showed many Muslims fighting against other Muslims and calling it “a religious obligation to execute” these “self-professed Muslims”. These alleged apostates included leaders of Muslim countries, since they failed to enforce sharia law.

Perhaps we should come to understand that Al-Qaeda is not made weaker by the attitude of the West, but has found even more strength in our reprieve or in our  refusal to come the Syrian population to help. Today it counts among its members and supporters people associated with Wahhabism, Shafi’ism, Malikism, and Hanafism.

Believers killed for their belief

At least 2.123 Christians have been killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Criminals do see in Christians an easy target, because many Christians do not pick up weapons to protect themselves. After Syria, Nigeria and Pakistan follow with 88 Christian martyrs in 2013. In Egypt, 83 Christians were killed for their faith. Also in Kenya, Niger and the Central African Republic civilians were killed because they are Christians.

The believers in One God who had most problems have become the Jews again. In 2013 they have been worldwide again the target of hate and jealousy.  Australia recorded the highest ever anti-Semitic incidents in 2012 with a 21-percent increase over the year, and a continuation of violence against the Jews in 2013.

Lots of Europeans recoil the way “Israel” the country is setting up a wall and is discriminating other people. Often they forget that those secular Jews and the fundamentalist Jews are not presenting a proper picture of the active believing Jewish people, the People of God.

Though also more Jews are distantiating themselves from the Judaic faith. Several Jews who started the kibbutz after 1948 where not religious, but where secular Zionists. 20% of American Jews consider themselves “Jews of no religion,” and that their non-religious Judaism is not a deep or sticky enough of an identity to be sustainable. The last decennial more secular Jews entered Israel and wanted to demand the right for their own (secular) country. But it was also nice to hear faithful religious Jews who wanted to come to a way to live together in peace with people of other faith and with the Arabs and Palestinians living in the neighbourhood.

The recent report of a survey conducted by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency provides considerable information about what European Jews encounter on the streets. Polling close to 6,000 Jews across eight European countries that contain 90% of the continent’s Jews, the report found that about two-thirds of the respondents considered anti-Semitism a problem and three-quarters said it was worsening. Most educated Europeans are deeply secular. They have little respect for religious traditions – especially those held by minorities – and do not take seriously the right to practice religion when it comes in conflict with currently defined “rights.” That is why two essential elements of Judaism that trace back to the Bible – kosher slaughter and ritual circumcision – have come under attack. Jews are reluctant to go in public wearing clothing that would identify them as Jews. About a third of the respondents say they have considered emigrating because of anti-Semitism and the percentages are even higher in Belgium, France and Hungary.

Christians becoming Muslims and vice versa

In Belgium more people are leaving the Catholic Church or are becoming Muslim. More and more people are losing the relationship with Christ and with God. But this should be no surprise, because how can they believe when they are so much more interested in wealth of the world instead of spiritual wisdom and richness? they are also much more concerned with receiving honour from one of another, and seek not the honour that comes from God.  Indeed the world does not want to know the Most High Elohim God, nor the man who knew The Creator God very well and these who know that Jehovah God sent him Jeshua or Jesus Christ, the Messiah. (John  5:44; John 17:3,8,21-25)

In Sierra Leone, a lot of Muslims come to Christianity. The moderate Muslim country has  several openly churcheservices and healing crusades (‘healing’ meetings in stadiums). And it looks like many are attracted by the hocus-pocus of certain evangelical/pentecostal denominations.

On the little screen and in the picture

The cable TV mini-series “The Bible” stunned the American television industry with record- breaking viewership, especially since the series sought to track the words of the Bible faithfully with little “artistic” deviation. The series spurred interest in a movie effort and a follow-on series, “A.D.,” which will be aired in 2014.

The good thing about such series is also that they make peopel going to the bookshop to buy a Bible. Hopefully they also read this marvellous book and will be prepared to open their mind to it. At the moment lots of people have weird ideas of what would be supposedly written in it. Many do believe the secular fairytales are in it and believe that Santa Claus and Christmas tree are part of the Bible stories.

The Dead Sea scrolls at Drents Museum in Assen may be called the museum event of the year for those interested in religion.

Strange Fire

John Fullerton MacArthur, Jr., American fundamentalist Christian pastor and author known for his internationally-syndicated radio program Grace to You

John MacArthur, a respected name by Christian academics, published a book in 2013 titled Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship and held a conference to discuss the matter. It produced a firestorm of controversy over why MacArthur chose to overturn what has been decades of truce between Cessationists and Pentecostals over Spirit-filled living.

Far from resolving the conflict, the “Strange Fire” controversy brought to light how far Pentecostal/Charismatics have come over the last 100 years, growing to more than a billion followers from its beginning in 1907. The movement is especially alive in the Hispanic community in America, and represents the bulk of Christian growth in the world, particularly in Africa and Asia.

“If the Charismatic movement was being produced by the Holy Spirit, the glory of Christ would prevail everywhere,”

said MacArthur.

“It would be Christ dominated and everyone in the movement would be bowing the knee to the true Christ in belief of the true Gospel.”

But the True Gospel seem to become further away from most people and also in many denominations. When you move around on the Western continent of Europe you may notice that in many protestant churches can be seen stained glass pictures of saints and in the churches can be seen many statues as if the iconoclasm never took place.

According to MacArthur

The Charismatic Movement has stolen the Holy Spirit and created a golden calf and they’re dancing around the golden calf as if it were the Holy Spirit. It is a false form of the Holy Spirit. They’ve exploited the Holy Spirit and demanded to be able to do that in an uncriticized manner. Nobody can say anything against them. That’s divisive, unloving, cantankerous. That’s why Benny Hinn said about me, “If I had my way, I’d take my Holy Ghost Machine Gun and blow his brains out. You’re not allowed to question anything they say about the Holy Spirit. They have co-opted the Holy Spirit and demanded to do that without being criticized, without being confronted, and they go on with their exploitation and so prove testimony concerning the Holy Spirit as pushed and repressed, underground because it’s going to be divisive, they’re not going to like it. It will offend somebody.”

Such a conference is not bad, having people to think about our attitude we do have to take as Christians. It can bring to light that those who call themselves Christian should be humble and joyful in Christ Jesus, willing to tell the rest of the world his incredible deeds. It is not bad to remind Christians they should be sacrificial. By the years we have seen too much a Church wanting to be in control and directing its flock as the only one able to be in charge. Many denominations have forgotten that it is Christ Jesus who should be the head of the Church. Real Christians should be declaring Jesus as their Lord, under Jehovah the Lord of the Lord of lords, and consider themselves as Jesus was willing to do only the Will of his Father, the Only One God who is One God of gods, to be a slaves of Christ and workers for God. They would be denying themselves, taking up their cross and following Christ wherever he leads them.

Falling asleep

Chuck Smith, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, which influenced thousands of congregations worldwide, died in October.

Harold Egbert Camping (July 19, 1921 – December 15, 2013)

The man who predicted that Jesus Christ would return to Earth on May 21, 2011 and many times made lots of people afraid the end of the world would come and if they did not change their lifestyle they would be thrown in the fire, was himself put in the ground as Harold Camping never to see five months of fire, brimstone and plagues on Earth.
Since the failure of Camping’s prophecies, Family Radio has suffered from a significant loss of assets, staff and revenue.

An other American religious broadcaster who, along with his wife Jan (Janice Bethany), co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) Paul Crouch, died in November. TBN has grown to become the United States’ largest Christian television network, and the third largest group owner of broadcast TV stations in the U.S., with CBS, FOX, and NBC holding fourth, fifth and sixth place, according to TV News Check’s annual listing of the Top 30 Station Groups. {“Mediabiz’s Mission is to use Real World data to solve the media industry’s future challenges”. Mediabiz.com. Retrieved 2013-12-01. +“Heavenly success: TV’s largest religious network continues to expand around the world, while adding shows aimed at reaching a much wider audience. (30th Anniversary)”. Highbeam.com. + Top Station Groups Stay The Course”. TVNewsCheck.com. Retrieved 2013-12-01.} Crouch and his organization, the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), have been dogged by scandal and controversy for many years. Crouch family members control the boards of all TBN entities, which makes TBN “ineligible to join” the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an evangelical self-regulating group.

That football linebackers of the National Football League can become successful preachers proved Ken Hutcherson. His nickname from his NFL days was “The Hutch”. Hutcherson died on December 18, 2013 after more than a decade-long battle with prostate and bone cancer.
The racism growing up in the Deep South in the 1950s and 60s and hatred he encountered in his career made him to turn to Christ. Often a sparring partner of Hutcherson’s, gay activist and The Stranger reporter Eli Sanders wrote a blog post one day after Hutcherson’s death, entitled: “Ken Hutcherson’s Last Goodbye (To Me)”.
Hutcherson battled prostate and bone cancer for 13 years before passing away on December 18, 2013.

Death-cause to tackle

Bullying has become a real problem in the world and is taking many lives of youngsters but also of people between 30 and 40 years old.

Lots of priests and pastors were confronted with mental health issues, being a target from church-haters, victims of paedophile acts, but also not able to cope with the pressure which came over them now there are not enough religious people any-more to lead a parish or community. In Belgium many priests do have to take care of many parishes and villages, being confronted with a growing poverty and more people feeling miserable or being in relationship problems.

How Christians biblically process mental health and suicide thrust onto the scene in 2013 because of a rash of high-profile suicides among Christian leaders and their families.

The suicide deaths of Teddy Parker, Jr, Matthew Warren, Issac Hunter and others caused a number of leaders to frankly address the issue of mental health among pastors and are also causing the church to re-evaluate what the Bible says about the mentally ill and how the church cares for them.

Falling ciphers

Not one denomination seemed to be keeping up its members. Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Conservative Jews, Reform Jews, ultra-Orthodox and non-denominationals could find people losing interest, first coming less to meetings than forgetting all about Holy Scriptures and worshipping, going to enjoy the material world.

Only by those interesting to bring the Word of God forward and to keep calling to the non-believers, we shall be able to sieve the real believers and those who just follow the tradition. The religious have to be filtered and to be prepared to go through the small gate. We are told there would be not so many because lots will be lost under-way, but only when there shall be preaching all over the world the time would be ready to come to an end.

Therefore I would call all those who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lamb offered for salvation of our sins, to come out in the world, to say what they believe and to preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.

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Preceding articles with the annual review:

2013 insecurity

Human relations 2013

People of 2013

Environment in 2013

2013-2014 Money to be put on hold or to be used

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Find to read:

1. Xanga Toe Stepper made silent
2. Stepping toes {revisited}
3. New platform for Stepping Toes
4. Seeing the world through the lens of his own experience
5. Caricaturing and disapproving sceptics, religious critics and figured out ethics
6. Morality, values and Developing right choices
7. Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality
8. Sharing thoughts and philosophical writings
9. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
10. Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit
11. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
12. Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life
13. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
14. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
15. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
16. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
17. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
18. Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
19. Preaching good news of God’s Kingdom
20. How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
21. The Immeasurable Grace bestowed on humanity
22. Missionary action paradigm for all endeavours of the church
23. Claiming to be the successor to St Peter
24. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation promotes Pope John XXIII
25. Pope Benedict XVI resigns
26. Pope Benedict will hide
27. Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and lightening
28. Last day of Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI
29. Latin America enters Vatican top
30. Liberation, salvation and the Latin American voice entering the Vatican
31. Pope Francis calls extraordinary synod – and other stories our morning round up
32. The new pontiff ask to to act decisively in sexual abuse charges
33. Move ahead with the commitment against child sex abuse says Pope Francis I
34. Pope Francis can’t judge gays
35. Pope Francis Raises Hopes for an Ecological Church
36. Slum pope joins Catholic jamboree on famous beach of Copacabana
37. Pope Francis says Catholics must become evangelisers
38. Giving cogent reasons to young people why Christian faith is relevant to them
39. How us to behave
40. The imaginational war against Christmas
41. Catherine Ashton on the EU annual report on human rights
42. Chemical warsite and Pushing king of the South
43. Anti-Semitic incidents in Australia in 2012 highest ever on record
44. Jew refering to be religious or to be a people
45. Festival of Freedom and persecutions
46. Patriarch Abraham, Muslims, Christians and the son of God
47. History of the acceptance of a three-in-one God
48. TV literary adaptation of The Bible
49. Dead Sea scrolls at Drents Museum in Assen
50. Divisive pastors and Strange Fire conference
51. Preparedness to change
52. Bijbelvorser looking for ways to reach others

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Additional reading:

1. Pope Francis elected as 266th Roman Catholic pontiff
2. Catholic Church sets up committee to fight child abuse
3. Pope Francis tells non believers to abide by their conscience
4. How Evangelicals Have Shifted in Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage
5. Mission And Ministry Of “Equipping The Saints” (Ephesians 4:11-12)
6. Egypt arrests U.S. citizen son of Brotherhood figure
7. Terror Org Muslim Brotherhood sows subversion in Gulf: Dubai police chief
8. Belgian fighter in Syria killed by a fellow fighter after saying he wanted to go home
   Belgian authorities and Islamic groups have become increasingly concerned about a growing number of young men leaving to fight in Syria against government forces.
   The house was occupied by members of Sharia4Belgium, an Islamist group which has sent several young men to fight in Syria. Sharia4Belgium has formed its own brigade which is under the command of the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra front.
   Taketloune’s older brother Elias, 23, was arrested on his return to Belgium on June 3 and has been detained on suspicion of terrorist activities, their father said.
   Taketloune is the third Belgian to be killed while fighting in Syria, while there are unconfirmed reports of a fourth death, Belgian newspapers said.
   Separately Hussein al-Ouassaki, 22, who is regarded as the leader of the Belgian fighters in Syria, said in a conversation recorded by police that he had slit the throat of a Syrian soldier, according to the reports.
   He may also be among a group of men speaking in Flemish and French who feature in a recent video of a man being decapitated with a knife, the newspapers said.
9. Belgium clamps down on Islamist radicals on the Internet
10. Hundreds of Belgian Mercenaries Joined Syria Rebels, Around 12 Dead
11. 12 Belgians Killed in Syria, Half of Iraqi Al-Qaeda Money Devoted to Al-Nusra
12. Syrian Army Detains French, British, Belgian, Dutch, Qatari Officers in al-Qusseir
13. “Antwerp University threatened by Muslim extremists”
14. Death threats target Belgian royals and politicians
15. Atomium threatened by Syria fighters?
16. The double-pronged threat to European Jewry
17. John MacArthur Continues Case Against Charismatic Movement at ‘Strange Fire’; Backlash Includes Stern Words by Samuel Rodriguez
18. Samuel Rodriguez Takes on Strange Fire: Tells John MacArthur he Needs to ‘Focus on Preaching the Word’
19. The Top Seven Strange “Strange Fire” Statements
20. John MacArthur’s *Strange Fire* Conference, Charismatics, & Christ
21. Biography of Paul Crouch

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