IN THIS ISSUEPAGE 1

GOV'T STRUGGLES TO SAVE ECONOMYIRAN NOW CAPABLE OF BOMB

PAGE 2 & 3YOUR VOICE OF HEALING

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?PROPHECY WATCH

PAGE 4 & 5GOV'T STRUGGLES TO SAVE ECONOMY

SPAIN REPORTS BREAKTHROUGH PASTOR'S CORNER

LIVING YOUR LIFE BY HIS WORD

PAGE 6 & 7PROLIFERS EMOLDENED

ELDERLY PROP 8 ROUGHED UPKIDS ZONE

PAGE 8 & 9WALLBUILDERS

PAGE 10 & 11PRINCIPALS OF PROSPERITY

TEEN SPOTPAGE 12 & 13

RUSSIA TO SELL ARMS TO LEBANONHUCKABEE WON'T RULE OUT 2012

IRAN NOW CABABLE OF BOMB

PAGE 14 & 15RUSSIA TO SELL ARMS TO LEBANON

BUSH THANKS TROOPS FOR SERVICEEVIDENCES FOR CREATION

PAGE 16BIN LAEN PLANS NEW ATTACKS

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December Issue 2005

President-elect Barack Obama, relatively young and inexperienced, is facing a rap-idly growing list of monumental challenges

as he prepares to take the reins of a nation in tur-moil.

“I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead,” Obama said after his historic election a little more than a month ago.

It was a sobering assessment at the time, but the coun-try’s problems have only worsened since then. Now, Obama sounds dire, par-ticularly as he talks about the economy: “We’re in an emer-

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gency.”

He spoke during a week in which Congress killed a bailout of the failing auto industry, the government re-ported that jobless claims spiked to their highest lev-els in more than a quarter-century, and the Treasury Department said the nation registered a record federal

budget deficit for No-vember.

With woes foreign and domestic on more fronts than even Frank-lin Delano Roosevelt encountered when he took office in the midst of the Great Depres-sion, Obama will be sworn in as the coun-try’s 44th president in January.

His leadership will be tested

ANWR IS THE ANSWER, SAYS GRASSROOTS GROUP

A domestic energy develop-ment advocate believes opening the Arctic Nation-

al Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for energy development would be a huge plus for the ailing U.S. economy.

Adrian Herrera is with Arctic Power, an Alaska-based grassroots orga-nization that is working to open ANWR to oil exploration. His group states that three out of four Alaskans support “responsible oil explora-tion” in ANWR -- a 19.6-million acre refuge, 2,000 acres of which would be employed for oil explo-ration; an area roughly the equivalent the size of Dulles International Airport (outside of Washington, DC).

Herrera believes America is still in danger of extreme oil price spikes, even with the collapse of oil prices in the last couple of months. Herrera says that the U.S. is currently consuming 99

percent of refinery output.

“The situation is that you’ve got to think about where your oil is coming from and what is going to happen to your need for that

oil in the future -- and the clear answer to that is that demand for oil will increase year by year for-evermore,” says the Arctic Power spokesman.

Herrera then poses this question: Do you meet that demand by buying from abroad -- or by pro-ducing locally? He says America has chosen to buy abroad, and

has lost many types of benefits as a result.

“What did we lose by making that decision? We lost the jobs involved in producing oil; we lost the national security aspect because now we are sort of beholden to the likes of [Venezuelan dictator] Hugo Chavez and the Saudi royal family, etcetera, etcet-era,” says Herrera.

“You’ve lost the technologi-cal know-how [in oil drilling] to do that; you’ve lost the in-frastructure; and the fact that when you produce some-thing internally, the money used to produce that item or

good stays within your economy -- it doesn’t get sent abroad.”

Herrera notes that he does not have anything against alternative forms of energy, but adds that it will take several decades to re-work the energy grid and produce enough forms of alternative ener-gy to replace oil. According to Her-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

By Jennifer Griffing

January 2009

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

OBAMA FACES CHALLENGES, AND THEY’RE GROWING

Luke 5:18:41-43“Saying, What wilt thou that I do unto thee? And he said, Lord that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.”

There is an ancient demonic thought in the world today. It has

infiltrated just about every religious belief system known to man. It has even penetrated the ranks of Chris-tianity. It is the religious spirit that says: “God gets glory from the way His children suffer pain and sick-ness.”

In fact this religious spirit deceives many into believing that God is the author of sickness, disease, and even death. I have heard many variations of this lie, from believing God “took” a loved one to heaven early, to the prideful act of bearing a sickness to atone for ones sins. The sad thing is the world seems to be impressed by this type of thinking, even though it is killing the lives of thousands daily!

This type of thinking is a demonically inspired stronghold that keeps people bound and imprisoned from the truth. It represents the nature of fallen man. It literally contradicts Gods way of thinking. In Jeremiah 29:11 we can see a glimpse of Gods thoughts; “For I know the thoughts I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Isaiah 55:8 says; “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.” Inferring this: “If your thoughts would mirror My thoughts, then your ways would reflect My ways.”

Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life.” Gods ways are truth and life. The polar opposite of truth and life are deception and death. There is no way around it. If we are going to live and conduct ourselves in the way God lives and conducts Himself, we are going to have to walk in His truth. His Word is truth. (John 8:32) And His truth always produces life, and health, not sickness and death. (John 6:63)

So in order for us to walk in the way of life, we are going to have to start thinking in line with Gods Word. The first step in thinking in line with Gods Word is to understand that Jesus came to give us life. John 10:10-11 declares: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy: But I (Jesus) have come to give you life, and life more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Jesus came to give you life. Its that simple. Listen, if it doesn’t give you life, than it does not come from Jesus. The question to ask ourselves is, does sickness produce life or death? The answer is obviously death. So sickness could not possibly come from God. In fact Romans 5:12 declares that death came into the world by sin. Sin is the author of

death. So we can conclude from scripture that sickness came into the world because of sin, because sickness is death in progress. God didn’t bring sickness into the world, and He certainly didn’t bring it to you.

Sin is the thief that Jesus was talk-ing about in John 10:10. Sin is the thief that will steal from you, kill you, and ultimately destroy you. Jesus understood who the author of sick-ness, and death was. He knew it was sin that produced all the sicknesses, addictions, and death in the world. And that’s why He called sin a thief.

Jesus also understood that the only way to free mankind from the wages of sin, was by personally paying the price for sin. That means that He had to lay down His life and die, so that we could be healed and live.

We need to understand that HE WAS OUR SUBSITUTE! Isaiah 53:10 declares: “Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him (Jesus); He has put Him to grief and made Him sick…” (Amp) Why did the Lord God put Jesus to grief and make Him sick? So Jesus would make many righteous. (Isaiah 53:11)

Look at what 1 Peter 2:24 says. “Who His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we be-ing dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Jesus did it! He became sin and He also became sick in our behalf. Yes someone did have to suffer cancer and die so you could get saved. But it wasn’t your friend or loved one. It was Jesus. He did it so your friend or loved one could be free! Yes someone did have to suffer pain and disease to atone for your sin, but it’s not you or your paralyzed friend across the street that has to do that. Jesus suffered the pain and disease in our place.

The truth is, God sent Jesus to free us from the penalty of our sin. Jesus bore that penalty and when we put our trust in His sacrifice, and believe that He paid the wage for our sin, then we can receive the gift of freedom and healing that His sacrifice offers.

Galatians 3:13 makes it clear “Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (sickness poverty and spiritual death) (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for it is written (in the Scriptures) Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified).” Amp

The Word says that God gets glory when the lame walk and the blind see. (Matt. 15:31). True glory comes to God when a persons’ sin is forgiven, and his paralyzed body gets healed. (Luke 5:17-25)

Let’s do away with the religious tradition of having to experience pain and suffering for Jesus, or for any other reason, and go with what the Word says. Let’s impress the world with JESUS; Who is the Answer to sickness, disease, and dealth, and give God the true glory of life, healing, and restoration today!

Page 2 FREEDOM

YOUR VOICE OF HEALINGJESUS SAVES

JESUS HEALS

Do You Need Prayer? Healing? Love?

ASK US & WE WILL PRAY FOR YOU!

The Prayer & Healing CenterPURPOSE

This ministry is here to serve the community, the local Church, and the Body of Christ while contend-ing for all that Christ promised the

church would operate in. "..the works that I do shall he

do also and greater works thatn these shall he do..." (John

14:12)

WE OFFER:•The Salvation Message.

•The Healing Word•An Anointing that Empowers the

Word•Prayer & Delieverance of the Sick•An Impartation for Healing to the

Local Church•A Healing School

HEALING CENTER HOURSTuesdays & Wednesdays

10:00am- 2:00pm

Healing School HoursFridays 11:30- 1:30pm

Prayer & Healing Center108 E. Oakland Ave

Austin MN 55912507-573-1168

HEALING GLORIFIES GOD!

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FREEDOM Page 3

PROPHECY WATCH

Don’t pay atten-tion to or make a n y

plans based on what the media says or what the politicians say. Stand on My Word in John 16. Pay at-tention to Me.I [the Holy Spirit] will obey vers-es 13-15. I will show you things to come. I will lead you through troubled times. I already have THE plan for you, and it’s very good. Fol-low it. It will not only get you through, it will place you in a very highplace—a rich place—a strong place of victory.

You will have to discipline yourself and be diligent to listen to Me. All theother voices will have a plan, a word, an idea for your fu-ture and security. Don’t lis-ten to Babylon’s system. It has fallen apart. My system is stronger than ever. My kingdom is flourishing, and THE BLESSING is the place to be.

Keep your eyes on My Word. Listen to it. It will guide you and I will perform it. Love Me.

Love My people as I have loved you. Walk in it. Love neverfails, and neither does My plan.

Be very cautious to stay completely clean from covet-ousness. FirstTimothy 6:10 must live in the forefront of your thinking. If

you will do thesethings and continue there-in, you will come into your wealthy place. A placelifted up. A place in Me al-ready planned and pre-pared for you now. Here. Not heaven—not yet. But it will seem like heaven right in the midst of all thetrouble, and you’ll be able to reach out to untold num-bers of suffering peoplewith the Good News of the gospel.

I’m coming very soon. Sooner than you think. Keep your eyes on Me andyou’ll get the job done.

—Prophecy delivered by Kenneth Copeland

Oct. 19, 2008

Oh Glory be to God!

YOUR VOICE OF HEALING

Prophecies given by Kenneth Copeland

2008 Believers’

Conventions

MY SYSTEM IS STRONGER

FREEDOMPage 4

OBAMA FACES HEADY CHALLENG-ES, AND THEY’RE GROWING

By LIZ SIDOTI

immediately and in many ways. His perfor-mance from the outset could well set the tone for his presidency.

Not only is Obama saddled with lingering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he is in-heriting from President George W. Bush, but he also must deal with:

_a deepening reces-sion in the U.S. and a spreading global eco-nomic crisis.

_an automotive in-dustry on the brink of collapse and soaring national debt.

_increasing unem-ployment and its ripple effects.

_the threat of terrorism amid a historic trans-fer of power.

At the same time, Obama may be drawn into an unfolding political scandal over Illi-nois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s alleged efforts to trade the president-elect’s former Senate seat for personal gain. The ongoing federal investigation could ensnare some of his top advisers and taint the self-styled reformer who has tried to steer clear of notorious Chi-cago politics.

The president-elect says he’s “absolutely confident” his aides did not try to cut deals with Blagojevich, but at the very least, the scandal is a distraction for a leader facing the magnitude of problems on Obama’s plate.

Obama also has promised an ambitious foreign and domestic policy agenda that includes withdrawing most U.S. combat troops from Iraq, cleaning up government, overhauling the health care system, fighting global warming and developing alternative energy sources.

Some priorities may fall to the wayside or be done piecemeal. But, so far, he has signaled an intent to move forward on much if not all of those plans. The question is how quickly he can accomplish his goals, while simulta-neously confronting the growing list of major problems.

“There’s a lot of ground giving under him. It’s a terrific challenge,” said Fred Greenstein, a Princeton University professor emeritus of politics and a presidential historian.

“From one perspective, it’s as if he’s about to take over the captain’s job on a sinking ship. From the other perspective, he could be on a glide path to Mount Rushmore if he does a combination of morale building and energizing people while dealing with the economic distress by producing some con-structive changes in the society and in the economy.”

“The striking thing is he doesn’t seem scared,” Greenstein added.

Indeed, Obama exudes confidence. He has

surrounded himself with people in his in-coming White House and Cabinet who have decades more experience than him in government, as well as foreign and domestic policy. They include big names such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Larry Summers, Tom Daschle and Robert Gates, longtime Washington insiders.

C o m p a r a t i v e l y, Obama has been on the national stage for a short time. He was introduced to the country dur-ing the Democratic convention in 2004 when he was in the Illinois Legislature and running for

the U.S. Senate. Age 47, he will become president after serving just four years in the Senate.

Most historians liken the situation facing Obama to that which confronted Roosevelt _ but the comparison does not seem to do justice to the colossal challenges Obama is facing.

Roosevelt was already an established politician when he came into office at the depths of the Great Depression in a soci-ety with no safety net for the suffering. And the economy was much worse then than it is now. But he did not have two wars on his plate, nor a political scandal swirl-ing nearby. And Roosevelt did not have a planet suffering from global warming and watching its natural resources dwindle.

He also let his four-month transition pass by keeping his distance from Republican Herbert Hoover. The two men had sharp policy differences over how to address the Great Depression, and Roosevelt stayed mum between his election and his inaugu-ration.

Not Obama. He’s been extraordinarily ac-tive since his election.

With each new bit of bad economic news, he makes his views known _ though he always is careful to defer to Bush when it’s decision time. As president-elect, how-ever, Obama’s words now carry the power to move financial markets _ perhaps even more so than those of Bush.

He has held regular news conferences to announce his Cabinet, and he gives the Democratic radio address on most week-ends.

“Part of what he’s doing is paying lip ser-vice to the notion that there’s only one president while sucking up all the oxygen,” Greenstein said.

Politically, with things so bad, Obama can claim any change for the better as a suc-cess. If the economic and security situa-tion deteriorates further, he can rightly say he inherited a mess.

BELIEVE

Continued from page one

FREEDOM Page 5

PASTOR'S CORNER

I love this time of the year. As tradi-tion goes, this is the time of year that we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus

Christ, and set new goals for the up com-ming year. It is the perfect time of year for Christians to share their faith, and rescue souls from the kingdom of darkness.

John 3:16 declares that “God so loved the World, that He gave His only begot-ten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him should not perish, but have ev-erlasting life.”

This passage of scripture captures the very spirit of giving. God so loved the world that He gave us His best gift, Je-sus Christ. This is the Spirit that you and I should grab hold of this next comming year. The Spirit of giving, which is the very Spirit of love!

You see, John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the World, that He GAVE. The very definition of love is to give. In fact you can recognize what love is, by the action it prompts. If someone is giving, and is living their life to give, you know that they are in love. But on the other hand, if someone is living their life to take, and has a hard time giving, they are not in love.

We know that Jesus was a man of love. In the Gospel of John we read where Jesus said that He was in God, and God was in Him. If this statement is true, than we should be able to see the evidence of this truth in His life.

The scriptures declare that God is love. Love is not something He does, love is Who He is. Love is God, and God is Love. Therefore, God is going to do what He is, He is going to love.

What does love do? To start out with, love covers sin. Proverbs 10:12 says, “Love covereth all sin.” 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Charity (or love) shall cover the mul-titude of sins.” Simply put, love covers all sins, even when there is a multitude of them.

This is a fundamental truth. Love is the only substance that can work against the sin problem that plagues our souls. This is what love will do, it will cover, and put out of sight more sins than we can ever name

or imagine. That is Who God is! He is the God Who covers and puts sin out of sight.

So if God is in Jesus, then we should see the evidence of love in His life. His life should be one given to cover sin. And that is exactly what John 3:16 declares, For God so loved the World that He gave Je-sus! Why? So you and I could be saved from our sin! The purpose of the birth of Jesus Christ, was to cover our sins and restore us back to the Father. Glory To God!

Unfortunately most Christians do not un-derstand this concept of God. They don’t understand that love is always a gift that covers and puts sin out of sight!

You see love gives with no regard to a per-sons past, or present ac-tions. Love does not base its ability to give based on someone else’s behavior. Love always gives and covers, because that is what love is.

Jesus demonstrated per-fect love when He forgave those who were responsi-ble for sending Him to the cross. He prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 That was love

personified

We see this kind of love all throughout the life and ministry of Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus gave His very life, for the ransom of many. By giving His life, He was able to buy us the perfect present of salvation. This gift, the life of Jesus, covered our sins, and restored us to a right relationship with the Father.

In Luke chapter 6 Jesus laid out the law of love, and how to live by it. He ended it by stating, this in Luke 6:38; “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” The law of Love is summed up in one word, “GIVE” This is the way Jesus lives His life, and this is the way He expects you and I to live our lives. We are to be living our life to give.

Living your life in a way that is giving, in-stead of living for self, is the way of the Christian. Living to give in general is one thing, but living to give the GIFT that Christ gave, is the purpose for all of our lives.

What is the GIFT that Jesus gave? It is the Gift of Restoration. Love covers sin for the purpose of restoration. Jesus is alive today and is ever ready to give the gift of restoration to all who will receive it. Are you

Rev. Rory Synoground Founder and President of

Rory Synoground Ministries International, and Pastor of

Freedom Christian Center, Austin, MN

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING

Pastor Rory Synoground

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

FREEDOMPage 6

JUSTICES WON’T REVIEW OBAMA’S ELIGIBILITY

The Supreme Court has turned down another challenge to Barack Obama’s eligibility to serve as presi-

dent because of his citizenship.

The appeal by Cort Wrotnowski of Green-wich, Conn., was denied Monday without comment.

Wrotnowski argued that Obama was a British subject at birth and therefore cannot meet the requirement for becoming presi-dent.

He wanted the high court to halt presiden-tial electors from meeting to formally elect Obama as president.

Echoing an appeal that was rejected by justices last week, Wrotnowski said that since Obama had dual nationality at birth - his mother was American, his Kenyan father was a British subject - he cannot possibly be a “natural born citizen.”

More Appeals Remain At The Court

At least two other appeals over Obama’s citizenship remain at the court. Philip J. Berg of Lafayette Hill, Pa., argues that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii as

Obama says and Hawaii officials have confirmed.

Federal courts in Pennsylvania have dismissed Berg’s lawsuit. Federal courts in Ohio and Washington state have rejected similar lawsuits.

Allegations raised on the Internet say the birth certificate, showing that Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961, is a fake.

But Hawaii Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino and the state’s reg-istrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, say they checked health department records and have determined there’s no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.

The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document.

In addition, Factcheck.org reproduced an announcement of Obama’s birth, includ-ing his parents’ address in Honolulu, that was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13, 1961.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

‘PALIN’S CHURCH SEVERELY DAMAGED BY ARSON

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s home church was

badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize Saturday if the fire was connected to “undeserved nega-tive attention” from her campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Damage to the Wasilla Bible Church was estimated at $1 million, authorities said. No one was injured in the fire, which was set Friday night while a handful of people, including two chil-dren, were inside, according to James Steele, the Central Mat-Su fire chief.

He said the blaze was being investigated as an arson. Steele said he didn’t know of any recent threats to the church, and authorities did not know whether Palin’s connection to the church was relevant to the fire.

“It’s hard to say at this point. Everything is just speculation,” he said.

Pastor Larry Kroon declined to say whether the church had received any recent threats.

Palin was not at the church at the time

of the fire. She stopped by Saturday, and her spokesman Bill McAllister said in a statement that the governor told an assistant pastor she was sorry if the fire was connected to the “undeserved negative attention” the church has received since she became the vice presidential candidate Aug. 29.

“Whatever the motives of the arsonist, the governor has faith in the scriptural passage

that what was in-tended for evil will in some way be used for good,” McAllis-ter said.

The 1,000-member evan-

gelical church was the subject of intense scrutiny after Palin was named Sen. John McCain’s running mate. Early in Palin’s cam-paign, the church was criticized for promoting in a Sunday bulletin a Love Won Out con-ference in Anchorage sponsored by Focus on the Family. The conference promised to “help men and women dissatisfied with living homosexually understand that same-sex at-tractions can be overcome.”

The fire was set at the entrance of the church and moved inward as a small group of wom-en worked on crafts, Steele said. The group was alerted to the blaze by a fire alarm.

FREEDOM Page 7

God is your friend. He is not only your friend, but He wants to be your best friend! He wants to be remembered each morning on your bed. He wants you to talk to Him - and He wants to talk to you too. Did you know that you can talk to God just like you do your best friend? Yes, you can.

Let’s talk some more a b o u t f r i e n d s . What makes a friend special? I asked my kids what they thought made a good friend. They said a good friend should be nice and loving. A friend should enjoy the things that you enjoy.

A friend also should make you feel good. And doesn’t a friend talk and listen to you, too? When you have a problem, you tell a friend, don’t you? I do.

God is all these things and more! Yes, God is your friend. He’s your best friend too - for life, and for an eternity. Talk to Him. Listen to Him. Come to Him with your problems.

Remember Him on your bed each day. Being best friends with God will surely put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Have a great day, my

“ On my bed I will remember God.” - Psalm 63:6

Not too long ago, I just discovered this Bible verse. Wow! It’s like

finding a treasure. I got so excited. What an awesome verse!

I copied it down and taped it next to my children’s bed so that when they would wake up each morning, they can be reminded to think on God. I told them that their feet shouldn’t touch the floor without them remembering God.

Before they get out of bed each day, they should lie in their beds (between those nice, warm blankets!) and think about God, and invite Him in their busy day.

Do you ever have your best friend sleep over at your house? Sleepovers are always a fun, aren’t they? My kids love having friends sleep over. Let me ask you something. When you do have your best friend sleep over, do you ignore them and not talk to them? Do they sleep in one room and you in another?

No, that’s not the way sleepovers happen, do they? You sleep in the same room. You talk to each other. You have fun together. It’s fun to have a good friend, isn’t it?

by Cheri J. Ekbom

"Yes God is your Friend. He 's your

best Friend too - for life and for an

eternity." Cheri Ekbom

in loving memory of

faith kampa 2005-2008

FREEDOMPage 8

By Charlie Butts

Wa l l B u i l d e r s THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

In 1947, in the case Everson v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court declared, “The

First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.” The “separation of church and state” phrase which they invoked, and which has today become so familiar, was taken from an exchange of letters between President Thomas Jefferson and the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut, shortly after Jefferson became President.

The election of Jefferson – America’s first Anti-Federalist President – elated many Baptists since that denomina-tion, by-and-large, was also strongly Anti-Federalist. This political disposi-tion of the Baptists was understand-able, for from the early settlement of Rhode Island in the 1630s to the time of the federal Constitution in the 1780s, the Baptists had often found themselves suffering from the central-ization of power.

Consequently, now having a Presi-dent who not only had championed the rights of Baptists in Virginia but who also had advocated clear limits on the centralization of government powers, the Danbury Baptists wrote Jefferson a letter of praise on Octo-ber 7, 1801, telling him:"Among the many millions in Amer-ica and Europe who rejoice in your election to office, we embrace the first opportunity . . . to express our great satisfaction in your appoint-

ment to the Chief Magistracy in the United States. . . . [W]e have reason

to believe that America’s God has raised you up to fill the Chair of

State out of that goodwill which He bears to the millions which you pre-side over. May God strengthen you

for the arduous task which provi-dence and the voice of the people have called you. . . . And may the Lord preserve you safe from every

evil and bring you at last to his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus

Christ our Glorious Mediator."

However, in that same letter of congratulations, the Baptists also expressed to Jefferson their grave concern over the entire concept of the First Amendment, including of its guarantee for “the free exer-cise of religion”:

Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that

religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individu-

als, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on

account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power

of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor.

But sir, our constitution of govern-ment is not specific. . . . [T]herefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we

enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights."

FREEDOM Page 9

Author and historian David Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization which dis-tributes historical, legal, and statistical information; and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities. WallBuilders is a name taken from the Bible book of Nehemiah. And just as Nehemiah led a grassroots movement in Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of that city and restore its strength and honor; so, too, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to rebuild that which makes America strong—its constitutional, moral, and religious foundations.

THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE In short, the inclusion of protection for the “free exercise of religion” in the constitution suggested to the Danbury Baptists that the right of religious expression was govern-ment-given (thus alienable) rather than God-given (hence inalienable), and that therefore the government might someday attempt to regulate religious expression. This was a possibility to which they strenu-ously objected-unless, as they had

explained, someone’s religious practice caused him to “work ill to his neighbor.”Jefferson understood their con-cern; it was also his own. In fact, he made numerous declarations about the constitutional inability of the federal government to regulate, restrict, or interfere with re-ligious expression. For example:[N]o power over the freedom of religion . . . [is] delegated to the United States by the Constitution. Kentucky Resolution, 1798

In matters of religion, I have consid-ered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general [federal] gov-ernment. Second Inaugural Address,

1805 [O]ur excellent Constitution . . . has not placed our religious rights under the power of any public functionary. Letter to the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1808.I consider the government of the United States as inter-

dicted [prohibited] by the Constitu-tion from intermeddling with religious institutions . . . or exercises. Letter to Samuel Millar, 1808.Jefferson believed that the gov-ernment was to be powerless to interfere with religious expressions for a very simple reason: he had long witnessed the unhealthy tendency of government to encroach upon the free exercise of religion. As he explained to Noah Webster:It had become an universal and almost uncontroverted position in the several States that the purposes of society do not require a surrender of all our rights to our ordinary governors . . . and which experience has never-theless proved they [the government] will be constantly encroaching on if submitted to them; that there are also certain fences which experience has proved peculiarly efficacious [effec-tive] against wrong and rarely obstruc-tive of right, which yet the governing powers have ever shown a disposition to weaken and remove. Of the first

kind, for instance, is freedom of religion. Thomas Jefferson had no inten-tion of allowing the government to limit, restrict, regulate, or interfere with public religious practices. He believed, along with the other Founders, that the First Amendment had been enacted only to prevent the federal estab-lishment of a national denomina-tion – a fact he made clear in a letter to fellow-signer of the Decla-ration of Independence Benjamin Rush:[T]he clause of the Constitution which, while it secured the free-dom of the press, covered also the freedom of religion, had given to the clergy a very favorite hope of obtaining an establishment of a particular form of Christianity through the United States; and as every sect believes its own form the true one, every one perhaps hoped for his own, but especially the Episcopalians and Congre-gationalists. The returning good sense of our country threatens abortion to their hopes and they believe that any portion of power confided to me will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly. Jefferson had committed him-self as President to pursuing the purpose of the First Amendment: preventing the “establishment of a particular form of Christianity” by the Episcopalians, Congregational-

Thomas Jefferson had no intention of allowing the government to limit, restrict,

regulate, or interfere with

public religious practices.

“Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty” (Prov. 21:5 TLB).

There are three kinds of million-

aires in our country—those who inherited it, those who earned it, and those who won it. In America, we celebrate when someone wins the lottery, yet pay no attention to the one who made a million dollars the old fashioned way.

If you were going to sit down and have dinner with someone, you should choose the one who made a million the old fash-ioned way and could tell you how to do the same.

What could the lottery winner possibly say? “It was my lucky day! Why are my third cousins calling me?” For the most part, those who win the lottery end up quickly losing the money and living the same lifestyle that they always had. Why? Poor people have poor ways.

But the rich know secrets about money that the normal person doesn’t. Most people don’t want to talk about money. They would rather watch home remodel-ing shows or talk about the weather.

However, if you have money problems, you eventually will have other problems. Professional counselors tell us that the number one problem in marriage is money difficulties. This is one reason why we should get out of debt and get money working for us.

Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is the servant to the lender.” In this scripture, you see two groups of people. The sad thing is that you fit into one of those groups—the rich or the poor, the ruler or the ruled, the borrower or the lender, the servant or the master.

God’s people ought to be the ones in control of the money in the nations. If this were the case, getting people to listen to the Gospel would be no problem. Think about it. What does a defeated, debt-con-trolled person have to say?

It’s time to change our ways by changing our thinking about wealth. Once a person is willing to take responsibility for the condition of his or her life and willing to be taught, they are on their way out. Igno-rance is the way of the poor, but walking in wisdom is the rule of the rich.

The rich are rich because they know the rules that create wealth.

Knowledge is the key that opens the door to abundance. The law of abundance never works for those who refuse to walk in wisdom. Wisdom is the mother

Page 10 FREEDOM

MILLIONAIRES IN THE MAKINGby Brian Bohrer

of knowledge, and knowledge is the ability to reproduce successful steps over and over again.

Proverbs 1:5 says, “The wise hear and in-crease in learning and a wise man of under-standing shall attain unto wise counsels.”

If a person were walking in wisdom, they would not be wasting money every month on revolving credit. Debt and ignorance are the enemies to abundance. People who refuse to walk in knowledge will only walk in lack.

The uninformed are the servants and will be ruled by the world’s system, but the informed will make money work for them.

Listed below are six secrets that the rich know and live by:Five percent on top. Five percent of the U.S. population has over one million dollars in assets. They understand that there are two kinds of debts. The first kinds of debts are those you pay because of foolish deci-sions or mistakes that you have made.

These debts make you ask, “How did I get into this mess?” These are consuming debts. Consuming debts are credit cards, car loans, vacation loans, department store loans, etc. For the most part, it will take years to pay off these loans without the wisdom of God.

The next kind of debt is asset-building debt. You may say about these debts, “I know how I got here.” Asset building debts are your home, real estate ventures, education, etc.

The other 95 percent of our population are consumers, not investors. The rich consume things like the consumer group; they just consume different types of things. Knowledge is the thing that the rich consume. To make it as simple as I can, the upper 5 percent make money work for them, while the 95 percent work for their money.

The rule of 72. This is the rule that makes money double. You divide 72 by the interest rate you are receiving and this is how long it will take for your money to double. If you were receiving 10 percent on your money, that means it will take 7.2 years for your money to double.

The power of compounding interest. Com-pounding interest is the money you made last month that is now working for you this month. For instance, let’s say you decide to invest $100 a month that will yield 6% interest com-pounding monthly for the next 30 years.

In 30 years you will have made $100,000! That’s not bad considering you made $64,000 in interest (money you didn’t have to be-gin with). Now let’s say you kept that up for another 10 years. You would then have $200,000 in 10 years.

Opportunities. The rich make money because they see opportunities that the other group refuses to see. Wisdom is watching and learning from the wealthy and applying what they have done. No one will listen to a poor

man, but the poor man can listen and no longer be poor.

The rich don’t try to become rich over-night. They know that it takes time to learn and become rich. If it were as easy as some say, then everybody would be millionaires. Ask God to show you the opportunities and give you the wisdom to make it work.

I just heard a testimony of a Christian man who is making money on Ebay. Once I heard his story, I said to myself, “I can do that.” You must have an “I can do that” attitude if you are going to move out of the 95 percent group.

Debt. The rich know that debt that makes you work is the wrong kind of debt. You should make a plan to eliminate your con-suming debts. There are many programs that will help people get out of debt.

Once you are out, you can use the money that you were spending on consuming debt to start investing into something that will work for you. Only about one out of 20 American households owes less than $8,000 in credit card debt.

The rich and those who have accu-mulated wealth stay out of debt. The only thing that most of the rich know about debt is that they loan money to others and receive interest back from those loans. They are the lenders!

Banking. The rich understand the purpose of a bank. There are five ways that banks make their money. You should make it your goal to find out these five ways and begin to do what the banks are doing.

Banks are not a place to put your money. The banking business is about interest and their interest comes first. The system is designed to work in their favor and your well-being is secondary. The rich diversify their money so it will increase in every situation (see Eccl. 11:5).

This article is used by permission from Pastor Brian Bohrer’s

quarterly newsletter: Wi$domandmoney available at www.wisdomandmoney.com.

THE WEALTH OF THE EARTH IS SHIFTINGContinuned

Source: Every Teenager’s Little Black Book of Hard to Find Information Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

A PLACE TO BELONG

A PLACE TO BE REAL A PLACE TO BE FREE

WE MEET EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT7:00PM at

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GenerationExtreme

youth group

Music News--www.tvulive.comLots of new albums on the shelves today including Demon Hunter’s live CD/DVD “45 Days and 1 Night.” Also, Jeremy Camp re-leased his new album “Speaking Louder than Before” today. In holiday music, The Almost released “No Gift to Bring” today

and in hardcore music, Becoming the Archetype released their new album “Dichotomy” today. In some good news for Superchick, their song “Hero” is being used once again for NBC Universal’s “Green is Universal” campaign.

Page 11FREEDOM

FUN

FRIENDS

REAL

Four Ways To Make School Go By Quickly

Why is it that when you’re having fun, time seems to fly by, but when you get to school it seems the clock has stopped or is moving back-wards? Simple: when you enjoy something, you don’t care how long it takes.

Here are four ways to make school more enjoyable:Set goals for your grades and achievement. If you have a vision and you focus on getting there, you’ll move at a different pace (Phil. 3:14).

Create personal competitions in your classes and with your homework. As you work on each project, motivate yourself with a challenge of some kind. Set yourself up against the clock, your previous grade, or even a fellow student.

Get involved in something at school you really can look forward to. It may be sports, a club activity, cheerlead-ing, school council—in short, do something you like.

Go to school each day with a good mental attitude. Your mind and your decisions control your emotions. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks in this heart, so is he” (NKJV). Decide each day, “This is the day the Lord has made—I will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24)!

Five Habits of Happy Teenagers

God wants you to be happy and enjoy life. That doesn’t mean you will never experience trials or tough times. Here are five habits you can develop as a young person that will cause you to keep your joy through even the darkest hours.

Regularly reading and meditating (thinking and pondering) on God’s Word (Ps. 119-105). This will energize your joy!

Steadily communing with God. “Communion” comes from the word “communicate.” That’s it. Talk to God, praise Him, and give Him your requests and cares.

Vision thinking. Find out what God has gifted you in. Take time to seek Him for your career and ambition.

Take one step at a time as you grow to get there.

Singing a good song aloud! God made us to sing. Not all of us sound that good, but it doesn’t matter. Find songs and worship music that inspire you for good, and sing! (Ps. 95:1).

Attending church weekly. Stay con-nected to good friends, strong men-tors, and caring pastors who will help you stay on track.

Four Reasons You’ll Have More By Giving Away

Of course we know that the Bible tells us to give a tithe (one tenth) of our income to our local church, and offer-ings after the tithe to worthy causes (Mal. 3:10-11).

There are at least four reasons you’ll have more after you give:The Bible teaches that giving is like planting a seed. Every seed produc-es a huge multiplication of its kind (2 Cor. 9:10).

God promises to open heaven’s win-dows and pour out blessings that you cannot possibly contain (Mal. 3:10).

Other people are naturally (and su-pernaturally) compelled to bless those who are unselfish in their giving (Luke 6:38).

Giving puts your faith in action, and faith is always rewarded abundantly by God (Heb. 11:6).

EXCERTS FROM; "Every Teenager’s Little Black Book of Hard to Find Information"

by Blaine Bartel

FREE

OPEN

At a time when the U.S. is moving towards full normalization of relations with Libya, Muammar Gaddafi’s son has made it clear that the North African nation is looking to Russia as its strategic partner.

In a little-noticed interview with Russia’s Kommersant business daily, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi said Mos-cow’s resurgence, demonstrated by this month’s military incursion into Geor-gia, was a positive development for the Arab world.

“What happened in Georgia is a good sign, which means America is no lon-ger the sole world power setting the rules of the game,” Gaddafi said.

“Now there is balance in the world. Russia is being reborn, and we value that. It is very good for us, for all of the Middle East,” he said.

Gaddafi, who runs a charity called the Gad-dafi Foundation, has frequently undertaken diplomatic missions on behalf of his father. The second oldest of seven sons, the 35-year-old is sometimes named as a possi-ble successor to the unpredictable Libyan leader but has denied ambitions to rule the north African country – a position he reiter-ated in the Kommersant interview.

The published interview appeared on the same day that the U.S. government an-nounced a breakthrough agreement with Libya on compensation for terror victims, paving the way for the full normalization of

bilateral ties.

David Welch, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs who negotiated the claims settlement agreement, said it was “de-signed to resolve the last major historical is-sue that has stood in the way of developing a proper relationship with Libya.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she hoped to visit to Tripoli soon. The U.S. and Libya have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1980, and it will be the first visit by a secretary of state since 1953.

Asked whether his strong statements

were not risking Libya’s newly-improved ties with the U.S., Gaddafi told the Russian paper that although his country has good relations with both the West and Russia, “Libya chose Russia as its strategic partner.”

“Of course, Russia is our strategic partner, and we cannot compare it with any other country for closeness. That’s obvious.”

Gaddafi said Libya backed Moscow’s position that Georgia had initiated the recent conflict – by mounting an offensive against separat-ists in a Russian-backed breakaway province – and forced a Russian military response.

Libya would back Russia in the U.N. Security Council, he said. Libya, which has been im-proving relations with the West since pledg-ing to stop supporting terrorism and shutting down its non-conventional weapons pro-grams, in January began a two-year stint on

FREEDOM

FORESHADOWING OF EZEKIEL 38 AS LIBYA POSITIONS ITSELF IN RUSSIA’S CORNER

How about a few civics questions? Name the three branches of government. If you answered the

executive, legislative and judicial, you are more informed than 50 percent of Ameri-cans. The Delaware-based Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) recently released the results of their national survey titled “Our Fading Heritage: Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions.” The survey questions were not rocket science.

Only 21 percent of survey respondents knew that the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” comes from President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Almost 40 percent incorrectly believe the Constitution gives the president the power to declare war. Only 27 percent know the Bill of Rights expressly prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States. Remarkably,

close to 25 percent of Americans believe that Congress shares its foreign policy powers with the United Nations.

Among the total of 33 questions asked, others included: “Who is the commander in

chief of the U S. military?” “Name two countries that were our enemies during World War II.” “Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal govern-ment. What is one power of the fed-

eral government?” Of the 2,508 nationwide samples of Americans taking ISI’s civic literacy test, 71 percent failed; the average score on the test was 49 percent.

ISI findings about cultural illiteracy and aca-demic incompetence are nothing new. A 1990 Gallup survey for the National Endowment of the Humanities, given to a representative sample of 700 college seniors, found that 25

percent did not know that Columbus landed in the Western Hemisphere before the year 1500; 42 percent could not place the Civil War in the correct half-century; and 31 percent thought Reconstruction came after World War II.

In 1993, a Department of Educa-tion survey found that among college graduates 50 percent of whites and more than 80 percent of blacks couldn’t state in writing the argument made in a newspaper column; 56 percent could not calculate the right tip; 57 percent could not figure out how much change they should get back after putting down $3.00 to pay for a 60-cent bowl of soup and a $1.95 sandwich, and over 90 percent could not use a calculator to find the cost of carpeting a room. But not to worry. A 1999 survey taken by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni of seniors at the nation’s top 55 liberal-arts colleges and universities found that 98 percent could identify rap artist Snoop Dogg and Beavis and Butt-Head, but only 34 percent knew

George Washington was the general at the battle of Yorktown.

With limited thinking abilities and knowledge of our heritage, we Ameri-cans set ourselves up as easy prey for charlatans, hustlers and quacks. If we don’t know the constitutional limits placed on Congress and the White House, politicians can do just about anything they wish to control our lives, from deciding what kind of light bulbs we can use to whether the government can take over our health care system or bailout failing busi-nesses. We just think Congress can do anything upon which they can get a majority vote.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has one finding that I find both a bit perplexing but encouraging. Roughly 70 percent of Americans, even those who failed the test, agreed that our history, culture and institutions are important and should be taught to our college students. They might even agree with Thomas Jefferson who warned, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civiliza-tion, it expects what never was and never will be.”

IGNORANCE Continuned

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continued on page 14

IGNORANCE REIGNS SUPREME

by ProphecyNewsWatch.com

by Walter E. Williams

FREEDOM

rera, domestic oil and gas production would serve as a bridge to America’s energy future.

Arctic Power points out that when an-other area of Alaska’s North Slope -- Prudhoe Bay -- began oil production in the late 1970s, experts predicted it would produce eight billion barrels of oil. But so far, says the grassroots group, Prudhoe Bay has produced 14 billion barrels. The U.S. Geologi-cal Survey estimates oil in ANWR could be from 5.7-16 billion barrels. The high end of that estimate, says

Arctic Power, is enough to replace 30 years of Saudi Arabian imports.

Critics of opening ANWR to oil ex-ploration have cited environmen-tal concerns and the effect drilling and production would on the area wildlife. But Arctic Power notes that since oil production began at Prud-hoe Bay, the Central Arctic Cari-bou herd has grown from 3,000 to 32,000 -- proof, it says, that energy exploration and concern for the en-vironment can be balanced.

ANWR IS THE ANSWER

Page 13

Continued from page one

living your life that way?

Galatians 6:1 declares; “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiri-tual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself; lest thou also be tempted.”

The first thing most people do when they hear of somebody being overtaken in a fault is to reach to the telephone and begin spewing their garbage to the world. They don’t live in love, they don’t cover the fault, with love and silence, or even try to restore the individual. Instead they want to talk about them and their fault.

If we tell of the evil some-one has done, or we criticize, condemn, or murmur against them, no matter who they are, or what they have done, we prove that we are not in love. Why? Because the gift of love always covers sin.

Our very life should be one that is always giving with the purpose of restoration. This is love; giving with the purpose of restora-tion. In fact when you and I purpose in our hearts to live our lives that way, not only will we see the whole world saved, but our own

faith will begin working more powerfully. This new year is the perfect time to get in love and begin showing that love to a lost and hurting world. Its more than just giving someone a hug, it means giving Jesus in every thing you do and say. Look around and see how you can help someone obtain something they need and give the gift of restoration today.

This is the Spirit of Love, and it is the Spirit of Christ. Instead of looking where you can get love, begin giving love.

When you get in love, and love gets in you, you will soon find the love walk

becoming automatic. When someone provokes you, you will find yourself say-ing, “Praise the Lord, Jesus Saves! I love you anyway!” You will find yourself grow-ing spiritually and you will be someone who Jesus can operate through powerfully to restore others to His Kingdom.

When you begin living this way, you will wake up one morning and find that good things are now happening to you.

Living your life in a way that is giving, . . . ., is the way of the

Christian

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

OBAMA PLANNING BILLION-DOLLAR ‘BAILOUT’ FOR ABORTION INDUS-

A pro-life group in Washington has launched a campaign to oppose what it calls president-elect Barack

Obama’s planned $1.5 billion “bailout” of the abortion industry.Last week, the Obama-Biden Transition Project posted a report on its website that calls for dramatic policy reversals on abortion, including $1 billion in taxpayer money for international abortion groups like Planned Parenthood. The report, titled “Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration,” also calls for a 133-percent increase in funding for the Title X program, which funds Planned Parenthood clinics across the country.Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, is hoping a Re-publican-led effort in the Senate will block Obama’s plan to substantially increase taxpayer funding of the abortion industry.

“This billion-dollar bailout of the abortion industry comes at a time, number one, when the economy is suffering dramati-cally with true need. And number two, it communicates an incredible depth of arro-gance, especially when you consider that the vast majority of Americans -- men and women, no matter who you talk to -- they don’t believe that people who don’t believe in abortion should be funding it,” she con-tends. “Most Americans don’t believe that we should be funding abortions, especially in a time of economic crisis.”The Susan B. Anthony List has started a “Stop the Abortion Bailout” campaign designed to recruit thousands of activists to send letters to their senators “with the goal of securing the 41 votes necessary to sustain a Senate filibuster of the abortion bailout.”

FORESHADOWING OF EZEKIEL 38 AS LIBYA POSITIONS ITSELF IN RUSSIA’S CORNER

the council. Its conduct there has at times drawn strong criticism.

A key reason cited for some European coun-tries’ reluctance to antagonize Russia – for instance, by supporting the further eastward expansion of NATO – is the E.U.’s reliance on Russian energy supplies, and Russia’s willingness to use its oil and gas for politi-cal leverage. Instability in Georgia, a critical transit route for Central Asian energy sup-plies bypassing Russia, has added to the concerns.

Italy and other European nations look in-creasingly to Libya – with Africa’s largest oil reserves and fourth-largest natural gas reserves – to help ease its dependence on Russian supplies.

But Tripoli’s deepening alliance with Mos-cow raises doubts about whether Libya will be the answer to attempts to break the Rus-sian stranglehold, particularly as Russian energy monopoly Gazprom recently signed agreements to invest in Libya’s operations.

Asked in the interview whether he thought Russia faced a threat of economic isolation over its actions in Georgia, Gaddafi said he doubted it.

“The whole world needs Russian gas, Russian oil. It is not expedient for Europe to let relations with Russia worsen. And then we, the Libyans, will do everything possible to work in Russia and invest in its economy. Because Russia is a great country.”

Tightening relations with Libya appears to be a Kremlin priority. During a visit to Lib-ya in April, then President Vladimir Putin agreed to write off billions of dollars worth of Soviet-era debt, in exchange for lucra-tive contracts with Russian companies.

When Libya’s prime minister Baghdadi Mahmudi visited Moscow late last month, Putin – now prime minister under his handpicked successor, President Dmitry Medvedev – discussed cooperation in the oil and gas sectors and said Tripoli was also keen to buy Russian weaponry.

The Interfax news agency quoted a de-fense ministry source in Moscow as say-ing Libya was interested in fighter planes, helicopters and surface-to-air missiles.

A team of Japanese scientists have created a device that enables the processing and

imaging of thoughts and dreams as experienced in the brain to appear on a computer screen.While researchers have so far only created technology that can repro-duce simple images from the brain, the discovery paves the way for the ability to unlock people’s dreams and other brain processes.A spokesman at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories said: “It was the first time in the world that it was possible to visualise what people see directly from the brain activity.“By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams.” The scientists, lead by chief researcher Yukiyaso Kamitani, focused on the image recognition procedures in the retina of the human eye.It is while looking at an object that the eye’s retina is able to recognise an image, which is subsequently converted into electrical signals sent into the brain’s visual cortex.

The research investigated how electri-cal signals are captured and recon-structed into images, according to the study, which will be published in the US journal Neuron.As part of the experiment, researchers showed testers the six letters of the word “neuron”, before using the tech-nology to measure their brain activity and subsequently reconstruct the let-ters on a computer screen.Since Sigmund Freud published The Interpretations of Dreams over a cen-tury ago, the workings of the sleeping human mind have been the source of extensive analysis by scientists keen to unlock its mysteries.Dreams were the focus of a scientific survey conducted by the Telegraph last year in which it was concluded that dreams were more likely to be shaped by events of the past week than child-hood traumas.

Sources: ProphecyNewsWatch.com

SCIENTISTS DEVELOP SOFTWARE THAT CAN MAP DREAMS

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continued from page 12

I AM LISTENING GOD

CHOOSEFREEDOM

FREEDOM

A tremendous pyramid of evidence for design and recent cre-ation is available for detailed study.

Romans 1:20 states: “For the invisible things of him from the creation are clearly seen, being understood by the

things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead: so that they are without excuse.”

“COAL: EVIDENCE FOR A YOUNG EARTH”

Evolutionary theory requires millions of years in the formation of coal in order to afford time for the development of living organisms whose fossils are found in coal deposits. However, laboratory and field research has demonstrated that coal is formed rapidly and in vast quantities. These vast coal deposits are unsullied by other material. The conclusion is drawn that actual research indicates a young age to the Earth that contains such coalified materials.

"If coal takes millions and millions of years of heat and pressure to form, how is it possible that creationists are teaching that the earth is only a few thou-sand years old?” This is a commonly asked question among individuals seek-ing answers about the age of the earth and the universe. Research has been done by several creation organizations, as well as independent scientists, in order to answer such questions. The evidence actually shows that coal does not take millions of years to form, as is commonly asserted. In fact, the forma-tion of coal has been proven to be a rapid process that can be duplicated in modern laboratories in a matter of days - or even hours.

I. Rapid Formation

In order for coal to be formed, several factors must be pres-ent. Pressure, temperature, water, time, and some sort of vegetation are the key elements for the formation of coal. According to evolutionary theory, the slow accumulation and decomposition of vegeta-tion living in past ages accounts for the coal seams. However, this theory can not answer why such large amounts of original vegetation without soil can be found in the areas that are now coal seams, or how these coal seams be-came so thick - some being over two hundred feet in depth.

Scientist Robert Gentry analyzed coalified wood found on the Colorado Pla-teau in order to determine how long it took for coal to form.1 By treating coal with epoxy and slicing it into thin sheets, Dr. Gentry was able to examine tiny, compressed radiohalos found in the coal. Radiohalos are discolorations in the coal, ejected by radioactive elements in the centers (such as uranium).

According to evolutionary theory, in order for these halos to form, several processes must have occurred. First, water-saturated logs must have been laid down in several different geologic formations, including the Triassic, Jurassic and Eocene layers. Later, uranium solutions infiltrated the water-saturated logs, and uranium decay products were collected at tiny sites within the logs. The radioactive decay from the tiny particles ejected spherical radiation damage regions around those sites, thus producing halos. Finally, a pressure event on the site of the formations compressed the logs as well as the radioactive halos within them. However, because coal is not a malleable substance, scientists know that these logs had not turned to coal at the time the compression event occurred. This points to a quick burial and coalification of the logs – rather than a long time period.

EVIDENCE FOR CREATION

Page 15

I AM LISTENING GOD

Continued in the next issue of FREEDOM

FREEDOM

An Atlanta abortion clinic is facing a lawsuit over an abortion performed on a minor.

The boy and girl wanted to marry and have the child, but the mother of the 15-year-old’s boyfriend insisted on an abortion, found a clinic that would do it, and sent them on their way. But Fenn Little, the girl’s attorney, says there is a problem with that in Georgia.

“There’s a parental notification law [that] re-quires parental consent for a minor to have an abortion -- and it requires some actual notice,” he explains -- 24 hours notice, in fact.

The girl arrived at the clinic with a faked consent note forged by the boyfriend’s mother on the day of the abortion. “[B]ecause it’s a misdemeanor in Georgia to violate that notice law, [the solicitor] actually brought charges, and the lady was convicted and sentenced to the maximum term allowable [12 months],” says Little.

The girl’s parents knew nothing of the abortion

FORGED CONSENT NOTE FOR ABORTION LEADS TO LAWSUIT

until two weeks afterwards, and have now sued Northside Women’s Clinic saying it broke Georgia law.

Attorney Little sees some irony in the situation in that the girl’s mother previously had taken her to have her ears pierced -- but was turned away. “WalMart sent them back home to get proof that she was the daughter to sign the parental authorization to get her ears pierced,” he shares. “So you can get an abortion [without proof of parenthood], but you can’t get your ears pierced.”

Little hopes to prove in court that the clinic in question routinely performs abortions on minors and does not follow the law.

RUSSIA TO UPGRADE MISSILES TO EVADE US SPACE ARMS

The Al-liance Defense

Fund has reached a favorable settlement in a lawsuit that pit-ted a divorced father and mother against

each another over whether their 24-year-old daughter should live.

Lauren Richardson sustained a severe brain injury in August 2006, according to an Alli-ance Defense Fund (ADF) press release. The doctors then declared she would be in a “persistent vegetative state.” ADF attorney Matt Bowman tells OneNews-Now Lauren’s mother was fighting to have Lauren’s feeding tube and water discontin-ued, but she had a change of heart. “The

miracle in Lauren Richardson’s case is that both of her parents came to realize that life should be protected,” he explains. “It’s inherently valuable, and just because Lauren has a severe disability doesn’t mean that her life is not valuable.”

Lauren’s mother became a born-again Christian and visited her daughter at her hospital facility, which Bowman believes was quite eye-opening. “And then an amazing thing happened,” he notes. “She told Lauren that Lauren would be cared for, and Lauren started crying, and they cried together and she realized that her daughter was really there and was really responding.” Lauren was also responding to pain, music, family members’ voices, touch, and assisted exercise. The parents have agreed to settle the case and share joint guardianship of Lauren.