The Christian religion is very gentle - Identify and utilize its weakness

Myanmar's High Command.

"There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced," states the first sentence of the "Program to Destroy the Christian Religion in Burma." The document, created in 2007 and reportedly sanctioned by the government, outlines a 17-point plan to "wipe out" Christians. "The Christian religion is very gentle," states the document. "Identify and utilize its weakness."

Starting in 2009, the government has banned house churches, a popular way of meeting for new Christian converts. In addition, the military junta that rules Burma has targeted the majority Christian Chin, Karen, Naga, Kachin, Shan and Karenni people groups, by destroying Christian schools, hospitals and churches, as well as raping and killing Christians, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

"The government wants this country to be one religion," said a Christian contact in Burma. "If there is a way to stop all kinds of religious activities other than Buddhism, they will. They will always try to stop our work."

(from Voice of the Martyrs, March 2011)

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.JPEG for compression? God's algorithm .BRAIN is far better

How can the brain transmit and process that much visual information? The answer is, apparently, it uses compression – just like computers compress raw camera photos into more manageable JPEG images. That’s the title of an article on Science Daily: “JPEG for the Mind: How the Brain Compresses Visual Information.” \

The .JPEG Compression Algorithm.

“Computers can beat us at math and chess,” said Ed Connor of Johns Hopkins, “but they can’t match our ability to distinguish, recognize, understand, remember, and manipulate the objects that make up our world. “This core human ability depends in part on condensing visual information to a tractable level. For now, at least, the .brain format seems to be the best compression algorithm around.

(excerpted from  "This Is Your Brain on Bytes", Creation-Evolution Headlines, February 2011)

(also published in Creation Matters, a publication of Creation Research Society, Volume 16, Number 1, January/February 2011, to appear at http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2010/CM15%2006%20low%20res.pdf)

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Tzedakah Ministries

Tzedakah Ministries has a burden to see the Jewish people restored to a righteous covenant relationship with God - one that is only possible through Messiah Jesus.

What is unique about Tzedakah Ministries is that we believe that the best avenue for accomplishing this work is through local Christians and churches. As Franz Delitzsch wrote, "for the church to evangelize the world without thinking of the Jews, is like a bird trying to fly with one broken wing."

Tzedakah Ministries has produced more than a dozen unique evangelist tracts ranging from providing a gospel answer to the Jewish mysticism cult Kabalah to showing how Jesus' Hanuakkh appearance was a pronouncement of both his Messiahship and deity.

For more, see the Tzedakah Ministries website.

(Amy Downey, LCJE Bulletin, Issue 103, February 2011)

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Maybe God used computer models to invent marriage

Callaway's results could be used to suggest that there was an Intelligent Designer who utilized computer models, and determined that monogamous marriage was ideal for the competitive propagation value of homo sapiens.

Summary of  Mathematics and Marriage, by Don DeYoung

(This summary by Marko Malyj is of the article published in Creation Matters, a publication of Creation Research Society, Volume 16, Number 1, January/February 2011, to appear at http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2011/CM16%2001%20low%20res.pdf.)

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Evolutionary biologists have struggled to explain the origin of monogamous heterosexual marriage. Many of them have concluded that it is a mystery. Some say that evolution favors the widest possible dispersal of a male's genes, and that marriage is an imposed feature of "western society" which conflicts with evolutionary "norms" (Fortunato and Archetti; Barash and Lipton, 2001). This is the kind of "science" that now supports the assault on marriage from homosexuals and others.

Callaway, who is another evolutionary biologist, recently used complex computer models of social behavior to compare the biological multiplication produced within groups practicing monogamous marriage versus groups geared to the wisest possible dispersal of genes [what Christians would call promiscuity! - uMarko]. Callaway determined that

1) Monogamy provides exclusive investment of a couple’s resources in their offspring, giving siblings a competitive advantage over the polygamous alternative. 

2) By giving up multiple wives, men sacrifice their own selfish interests for those of the group.

3) Monogamy tends to prevent men from fighting over women, leading to greater stability in society.

These factors and several others were weighted while the computer model was run over several generations. Callaway concluded that Monogamy and marriage may suit men and women after all. The results gave a solid advantage to monogamy over polygamy for the well being of society.

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uMarko's 1st postscript: Callaway's computer models did not compare the biological multiplication of homosexual "unions", which is zero. Homosexual unions can only exist as a parasite to Heterosexual unions, otherwise they would have no offspring to process.

2nd postscript: Callaway's results could be used to suggest that there was an Intelligent Designer who utilized computer models, and determined that monogamous marriage was ideal for the competitive propagation value of homo sapiens. However, monogamous marriage is too good (!) and has resulted in "overpopulation" of the planet. Therefore, evolutionary biologists must step in and take corrective action.

3rd postscript: Bible-believing Christians can use Callaway's results to prove that God actually ran sophisticated computer models before deciding to create Eve to be Adam's partner, and then giving them and their children the ordinance of marriage forever, to provide for their well being and for the continued propagation of their children.

Reference

Barash, D.P. and J.E. Lipton. 2001. The Myth of Monogamy. W.H. Freeman, New York.

Callaway, E. 2010. Monogamy and marriage may suit men after all. New Scientist 205 (2742):13.

Fortunato, L. and M. Archetti. 2010. Evolution of monogamous marriage by maximization of inclusive fitness. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23(1): 149–156.

Thief comes to Christ in Burma, and villagers get angry

David was the neighborhood thief in one of the lake regions of Myanmar (Burma). Poor and without food, David stole from other residents to survive. And in a community that lives on the water, stealing is not an anonymous activity. Everyone knew David was a thief, and they ridiculed him for it. They thought he was possessed by demons, so they refused to associate with him. David could not get work, and he did not have a place to stay. He would sleep in boats and hope no one caught him. Then he met Peter, a Christian.

"Peter never scolded me," David said. "He never spoke any kind of bad words to me. He always showed love, and I felt happy when I was with him."

Eventually, Peter told David about Jesus Christ, and David accepted Christ about a year later. David cleaned up his act, stopped stealing and started working with Peter in his business as a boat mechanic. But soon the villagers found out and decided to put an end to Peter's evangelism.

One night in early 2009, Peter was awakened by yelling while he was sick in bed at a friend's house. He looked outside to see dozens of boats carrying 53 villagers with torches and machetes. "Leave this place," they shouted. "If you don't leave, we'll burn this house down."

Once Peter was kicked out, he lost not only his home but also his livelihood. He could not feed his family. He became a marked man, and no one in the lake region would rent him lodging, hire him or even allow him on their property. He was an isolated man living on an island.

The other 100 Christians in the lake area have experienced the same treatment. "Most of us are struggling to get our daily food," Peter said. "Yet I feel so happy, because I feel myself that I'm counted worthy to face that kind of persecution for Christ. Whenever we face opposition and whenever we face problems, it draws us closer to God and very soon we feel joy."

(from Voice of the Martyrs, March 2011)

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