More indications of the Catholic Churches involvement in the Atheist movement and their close relationship. This article was on the Yahoo news feed on Christmas Day. Interesting timing.

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, celebrating his first Christmas as Roman Catholic leader, on Wednesday called on atheists to unite with believers of all religions and work for “a homemade peace” that can spread across the world.

Speaking to about 70,000 people from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the same spot where he emerged to the world as pope when he was elected on March 13, Francis also made another appeal for the environment to be saved from “human greed and rapacity”.

The leader of the 1.2 billion-member Church wove his first “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and world) message around the theme of peace.

“Peace is a daily commitment. It is a homemade peace,” he said.

He said that people of other religions were also praying for peace, and – departing from his prepared text – he urged atheists to join forces with believers.

“I invite even non-believers to desire peace. (Join us) with your desire, a desire that widens the heart. Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace,” he said, drawing sustained applause from the crowd.

Francis’s reaching out to atheists and people of other religions is a marked contrast to the attitude of former Pope Benedict, who sometimes left non-Catholics feeling that he saw them as second-class believers.

He called for “social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state”.

Thousands are believed to have died in violence divided along ethnic lines between the Nuer and Dinka tribes in the country, which seceded from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war.

The pontiff also called for dialogue to end the conflicts in Syria, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq, and prayed for a “favorable outcome” to the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

“Wars shatter and hurt so many lives!” he said, saying their most vulnerable victims were children, elderly, battered women and the sick.

PERSONAL PEACEMAKERS

The thread running through the message was that individuals had a role in promoting peace, either with their neighbor or between nations.

The message of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was directed at “every man or woman who keeps watch through the night, who hopes for a better world, who cares for others while humbly seeking to do his or her duty,” he said.

“God is peace: let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day, in our life, in our families, in our cities and nations, in the whole world,” he said.

Pilgrims came from all over the world for Christmas at the Vatican and some said it was because they felt Francis had brought a breath of fresh air to the Church.

“(He) is bringing a new era into the Church, a Church that is focusing much more on the poor and that is more austere, more lively,” said Dolores Di Benedetto, who came from the pope’s homeland, Argentina, to attend Christmas Eve Mass.

Giacchino Sabello, an Italian, said he wanted to get a first-hand look at the new pope: “I thought it would be very nice to hear the words of this pope close up and to see how the people are overwhelmed by him.”

In his speech, Francis asked God to “look upon the many children who are kidnapped, wounded and killed in armed conflicts, and all those who are robbed of their childhood and forced to become soldiers”.

He also called for a “dignified life” for migrants, praying tragedies such as one in which hundreds died in a shipwreck off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa are never repeated, and made a particular appeal against human trafficking, which he called a “crime against humanity”.

(Editing by Pravin Char)

“THE CHRISTMAS LIE: The Biggest Lie On Earth

Most people know Christmas is a lie.  But because it has mixed itself with some things they consider true, the part of it that is a lie, is relegated to the corner and over-looked as “harmless”.  This is done primarily because the ministers in America’s Churches today, set the example, encourage the activity, and include it’s celebrations as part of it’s “Church” life.  What most people do not know however, is that for well over 200 consistent years in America, evangelical Christians unanimously considered it to be the worship of the Devil.  And this opinion was not based on superstition or ignorance, but rather hundreds of years worth of research into the subject following the Reformation in Europe, where every Reformer in every corner of the Reformation, from Switzerland, to England, to France, to Germany, recognized not only it’s error but it’s blasphemy.  These opinions themselves not originating from Protestant Reformers, but actually the earliest Latin Fathers, even among those looked to as authoritative by the Roman Church itself.  In Rome, a Pope by the name of 3 Sixes, made this worship the law of the Roman empire in 435 A.D., and even dissenters in Rome, were forced to remain silent, or face destruction.  Today, thanks to the work of the Religious-Reich, America is being intentionally returned to such an era, where objection to compulsory worship of Rome’s image, is being stamped out, punished, silenced and persecuted, in some places with a vengeance. And the odd thing, is that leading Rome’s charge, are the very descendants of America’s own Evangelicals who once knew the difference between an ancient Roman solar-devil, and the Christ it claimed to follow. While it is understandable that certain religions in America would feel personally compelled to observe Rome’s solar-mass to Apollyon as a “Christ” mass, it is not understandable that anyone even remotely associated with the term “Evangelical” would do such a thing, except out of pure ignorance of both their own history, and the theology of Rome’s solar-mass. A theology known as “Nicolaitanism” in the New Testament, and given the unconditional promise of damnation. Read this site to find out why such reaction by the earliest Apostolic community, was thought to be no harsh criticism, of what was happening as early as the writing of the New Testament itself.”

Of course, that is one half of the US time change saying the other being “fall back”. It is at this time of year people are looking forward to the warm weather and vacations but there is a deeper meaning to that saying when you consider the two words together. Spring of course being the season and the action word forward. Most importantly it is key to remember in our Christian walk to always be moving forward and accomplishing things for the Lord. We mustn’t become complaceant in our daily lives. By simply following some basic daily habits we can be moving forward in our walk with Him.

1. Read the Bible at least once  a day.

2. Pray at least once a day.

3. Share with others what God has done in your life.

With these three simple daily activities we can always be moving forward in our walk with Jesus. And there is the added benefit that God promises us that when we put Him first that He will not only give us the desires of our heart but also just through reading His word daily and praying to Him daily you’ll find yourself gaining in knowledge and most importantly you’ll be closer to God.

Great radio station from Texas that I found that streams on the web. Great stuff!