Occult Wisdom I

The women stand for what is negative, passive and tender; while the men stand for what is positive, active and compelling. That depicts the core component of womanhood and manhood respectively.

The occult school of thought therefore stipulates that it is the negative, passive and tender attribute of womanhood that help the women connect with the higher substantiality which  is closely related with the Almighty creator, and from which spirit-germs or souls come to the world of matter through reincarnation--in the womb of a woman.

Salvation Has Nothing to Do With a Feeling

Most people do not think of themselves as "creative."

I've taught many classes in creativity and even conducted executive seminars on the topic. I usually begin a session by asking students to answer the question, "Are you creative?"

Justice Minister: If we broaden euthanasia bill, sex abuse victims could be euthanized

If the Trudeau Liberals eventually decide to widen their controversial euthanasia regime even further, as they’ve suggested they will, recent comments by the justice minister should provide fodder aplenty for their critics.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has gone on the record insisting Bill C-14’s restrictions on euthanasia and assisted suicide need to be tougher than the Supreme Court decision in Carter or else it could allow assisted suicide for sex abuse victims, and combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Christian parents 'prayed for dying son for two hours before calling ambulance', court hears

A Christian couple prayed for two hours over their dying son before calling an ambulance, a court heard on Wednesday.

An autopsy determined that Alexandru Radita, 15, from Canada, died from bacterial sepsis from complications due to starvation and untreated diabetes in May 2013. The court heard he weighed just 37 pounds at the time of his death.

His parents, Emil and Rodica Radita, had returned from church to find Alexandru not breathing. They are currently on trial and have been charged with first degree murder.

7 Signs of a Poverty Mentality

If you recognize any of these seven signs in your life, you may have a poverty mentality:

1. You require your close friends to have an exclusive relationship with you. You get jealous when they have a relationship with anyone else. Why? You fear they will like them instead of you.

2. You assign negative motives to people who are prosperous, famous or powerful. Why? You probably are jealous of them, so you reduce them in your mind by building a case against them.

Confirmed: Prince Died From Opioid Overdose

Tests show music superstar Prince, who was found dead in his home in a Minneapolis suburb in late April, died of an overdose of opioid painkillers, the Associated Press reported on Thursday, citing a law enforcement official.

A spokesman for the Carver County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and a spokeswoman at the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office said that agency had no new information to release about Prince's death.

Lesbian Pop Duo: We Are 'Queering the Mainstream'

Here's something new: gay people gaining media attention for saying that they don't get enough media attention.

Twin singer-songwriters Tegan and Sara, best known for their song "Everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie, have been in the music industry for almost 20 years, predominantly as cult indie artists with a few dedicated fans. But after the release of their last album in 2012, Heartthrob, they were propelled into the mainstream pop world. The album became one of the top 3 in the U.S. and Canada, and the duo performed on tour with both Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.

But now that they've moved from playing small indie music festivals to arenas with stadium seating, Tegan and Sara have a new goal: queering the mainstream.

America's Largest Distributor of Christian Products Closing Down This Summer

America's largest distributor of Christian products has announced that it will soon be out of business as more independent Christian bookstores and chains close due to the inability to compete with internet retail giants like Amazon.com.

The Tennessee-based Send The Light Distribution, which has been around for over 42 years and ships Bibles, Christian books and other Christian literature to over 10,000 stores across the United States, is in the process of ending business operations and is preparing to close down in coming months.

The company's President Glenn Bailey told reporters on Thursday that the organization plans to completely shut down by the end of the summer or the early fall.

Christian Universities Online Releases 'Top 50 Bible Colleges' 2016 Rankings

Emmaus Bible College in Iowa and Columbia International University in South Carolina have topped a recently released list of top Bible colleges in America compiled by the online academic reference source Christian Universities Online.

Christian Universities Online published on Tuesday its "Top 50 Bible Colleges 2016" reference guide, which highlights "the best among Christian Bible Colleges and schools" offering Bible and ministry-based degrees.

Catholic man sentenced to attend Baptist church services – for real

An Ohio judge sentenced a 23-year old Catholic man to 12 consecutive Baptist Sunday services after an altercation in downtown Cincinnati in January.

It was dollar beer night at the Cincinnati Cyclones vs. Fort Wayne Komets hockey game on January 23, and Jake Strotman and his buddies had had a few before heading downtown after the game (a Cyclones victory).

Strotman and his friends came across a group of Baptist street preachers, who Strotman claims were condemning him, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

A new wave of attacks against Catholics in France, Belgium

In recent weeks, Catholics in France and Belgium – countries still recovering from brutal ISIS attacks – have been hit with numerous acts of violence and aggression, including fires set in churches, an assault on a priest, the desecration of a tabernacle and the hacking of more than 100 Catholic websites.

In the French periodical La Provence, local priest Father Benoît Delabre reported that two weeks ago, the altar at the Church of St. Madeleine-de-l'Île was set fire in Martigues, about 800 kilometers south of Paris.

Baby missing part of his skull was supposed to die right away, but instead he’s thriving

A young Idaho couple given a terminal diagnosis for their unborn son is now celebrating his life.

Ben and Alyssa Reidhead were in to their doctor for a routine ultrasound at 23 weeks into their pregnancy, thinking they would learn the sex of their baby, when instead they received terrifying news: their child would probably die in the womb, if not soon after delivery.

Catholic campaigners for women's ordination gain private meeting with Vatican official

A Roman Catholic organisation advocating for women's ordination has been given permission to hold an official demonstration in Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome.

Two representatives from Womens' Ordination Worldwide (WOW) met with an official from the Vatican Secretariat of State discussing women's ordination, according to the Tablet.

WOW has been in Rome between June 1-3 during the Vatican's Jubilee for Priests and is holding a conference, reception and exhibition for women in priestly ministry.

The organisation challenges the official Catholic Church position that holds priesthood is a role solely to be exercised by men. It calls for the Catholic hierarchy to "courageously open the door to dialogue on women's ordination".

Nigeria: Christian women and children flee deadly attack by Muslim Fulani herdsmen

Children, men and women fled for their lives after their largely Christian community in the Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna was attacked by suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen.

Two people were murdered and all the churches and some houses in Ninte burned to the ground in the attack which took place early on Thursday morning, according to World Watch Monitor.

How Do Leaders Learn to Lead?

The development of a leader is a concatenation of events highlighted by training, experiences and molding.

ISIS Blamed for Outbreak of Gruesome Flesh-Eating Disease Among Refugees

A parasitic flesh-eating disease is reportedly breaking out throughout the Middle East, with the Islamic State terror group contributing to the problem with its death and destruction campaigns that create environments where disease can fester and spread.

Breitbart News reported that thousands of cases have been reported in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, as nearly four million Syrian refugees flee their country's civil war and seek shelter in Europe.

The tropical disease, called Cutaneous leishmaniasis, is caused by bites from infected sand flies that live amid the squalid conditions created by IS (also known as ISIL or ISIS) destruction.

In Israel, public policy and unmet promises may put Christian schools at risk

The Israeli government's policies for Christian schools and unfair education budget cuts put them at risk of collapse, the Office of Christian Schools in Israel has charged.

Fr. Abdel Masih Fahim, general secretary of the Catholic Church’s Office of Christian Schools in Israel, urged the Israeli government to recognize the importance of continued Christian education in Israel. These schools are a “vital component of the Christian presence in the Holy Land,” he said in a May 23 statement.

“Christian schools in Israel are now in immediate danger of collapsing financially,” he warned.

Muslims converting to Christianity in Saudi Arabia, despite intense persecution

Forced to live in secret, Christians in Saudi Arabia are being supported in their faith online.

Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia, where the legal system is based on Sharia law. Courts regularly impose severe physical punishments, including the death penalty, for apostasy, and non-Muslim places of worship are prohibited.

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Saudi Arabia "remains uniquely repressive in the extent to which it restricts the public expression of any religion other than Islam".

ISIS tries to sell sex slaves on social media

Islamic State is starting to sell captured women on social media as "sex slaves", according to new reports.

The Washington Post reports that an IS fighter Abu Assad Almani, believed to be a German man who has joined the terror group in Syria, advertised a young woman for sale at $8000 on Facebook.

Liberty Counsel Promises Legal Defense for Georgia City's Memorial Day Cross Display

Liberty Counsel is offering free legal defense to the city of Hiram, Georgia, for its Memorial Day display of 79 wooden white crosses, which were meant to honor 79 fallen local soldiers. The city originally displayed the crosses but, after one person complained recently, hastily took them down the same day.

The Nearly Unbelievable Truth of What America's Become

Newsweek magazine, on December 27, 1982, in an article entitled, "How the Bible Made America," made this revealing statement, "historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document."

To understand the core values of a nation, one must simply look to the beliefs set forth during its conception, and, in the case of America, during the transitional years of the American Revolution. Judge for yourself how far we have drifted from the original intent of early Americans. Consider the following:

Metastudy of over a million cases finds ‘significantly higher risk’ of premature birth after abortion

A meta-analysis of 36 international studies involving more than one million women has concluded that abortions are associated with “significantly higher risk” of subsequent premature births, and underweight babies.

Prematurity is, in turn, associated with far greater risk of cerebral palsy and other conditions.

Former MP Stephen Woodworth leading protest Tuesday to support Christian law school

Former Conservative MP and stalwart pro-life advocate Stephen Woodworth is changing hats and leading a demonstration on behalf of Trinity Western University at the Vancouver law courts on May 31. There, on the following day, the Evangelical institution will defend its right to establish a law faculty against the wishes of the B.C legal profession.

How Benedict XVI's resignation changed the papacy

When Pope emeritus Benedict XVI resigned as pontiff three years ago, he added a new dimension to the papacy, said his personal secretary Archbishop George Ganswein.

Archbishop Ganswein remains prefect of the Pontifical Household. He works closely with both Benedict and Pope Francis.

The archbishop spoke about Benedict’s pontificate and its wake at a May 20 book presentation of “Oltre la crisi della Chiesa” (Beyond the Church’s Crisis) by Father Roberto Regoli, a historian and professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The book aims to be the first history-based evaluation of Benedict XVI’s pontificate.

Egypt's president appeals for unity over Minya attack, urges victim not to be 'angered'

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has called on the woman attacked by a mob in a Christian village in Minya province not to be "angered" by what happened.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new housing project on Monday, he condemned the sectarian attack and said those responsible would be punished.

The attack saw a 300-strong mob torch Christian houses and strip the 70-year-old woman naked as she was dragged along the street. It followed allegations that a Christian man – thought to be the woman's son – and a Muslim woman were involved in an relationship.

How a music professor became a papal knight

Growing up in a modest home in southern California, Leo Nestor never imagined that his love of music would one day lead to him becoming a papal knight.

But that’s exactly what happened, as the outgoing music professor at The Catholic University of America received the knighthood upon his retirement, in recognition of his lifetime of work for the Church.

Nestor was inducted as a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great on May 14, honoring his lifetime of service to the Church through conducting and teaching music.

What to Pray When You're in Spiritual Danger

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven!

We have all made this declaration thousands of times, and yet, there are so many insidious ways that the enemy of our souls finds to take our hearts off of God's heavenly will for His kingdom on Earth.

Pope Francis to author new book answering teens' questions

After becoming the first Pope to author a children's book earlier this year, Pope Francis will soon come out with another, based on his responses to questions posed by youth through a new online platform.

Speaking at the May 27-29 World Encounter of the Directors of Scholas Occurrentes, Italian journalist and author Tiziana Lupi explained the idea behind the new book, which she said seeks to “open a door” to dialogue with youth.

Secret Societies of All Time

Johnny Depp Drops Out as Speaker at Atheist Reason Rally After Wife Files for Divorce

Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has dropped out from a speaking engagement at the Reason Rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on June 4, which is aiming to be "the biggest gathering of nonreligious people in history."

Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist blog said on Thursday that Lyz Liddell, the rally's executive director, shared with him that Depp has dropped out, along with his wife, Amber Heard.

11 Ways for a Man to Keep Himself Pure

When societies lose the directional parameters of purpose, they cast off all restraint. The 1960s sexual revolution ushered in a degrading of America's young people. Now, the first generation of men who grew up with unlimited access to pornography are suffering unexpected collateral damage—porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED).

Put aside the spiritual and moral argument for a moment and simply look at the psychological and emotional effects. Young men are reporting an incredible disconnect with the women they are physically intimate with. Rather than truly experiencing the moment with her, they admit to fantasizing about porn while they're personally with a young woman. They're mixing their virtual reality with reality. The result of such mental and emotional compounding is delusion.

Holy See backs global health goals, says 'leave no one behind'

The Vatican has voiced support for global health care goals and has said that Catholic institutions are committed to combating problems like communicable diseases.

“The Holy See delegation welcomes the vital emphasis on the dignity of the human person and the strong focus on equity expressed in the pledge that ‘no one will be left behind’,” said Bishop Jean-Marie Mupendawatu.

The bishop headed the Holy See’s delegation to the World Health Organization’s World Health Assembly, held in Geneva May 23-28.

Did Facebook 'blacklist' religious news in their trending topics?

Earlier this month, a report from Gizmodo dropped the equivalent of a social media bomb – several former Facebook employees said the company routinely suppressed conservative news in the social media giant's “trending news” section.

These former Facebook news curators said they were sometimes instructed to insert stories into the “trending” section that had not earned enough attention to be a trending topic, or that they had the freedom to “blacklist” topics that they didn’t want to appear in the section, meaning that the section was not organically curated by the interests of other Facebook users, contrary to popular thought.

Egypt: President Sisi promises justice after 70-year-old Christian woman stripped and beaten

The President of Egypt has demanded justice after Christians homes were torched and an elderly Coptic woman was stripped naked and beaten in the streets of an Egyptian village.

Muslims attacked Christian homes in a village in Minya Province on Friday after rumours that a Christian man was having an affair with a Muslim woman.

7 Ways to Boost Your Brain Health

Do you desire ways to decrease the aging process and increase smartness naturally? Are you looking for ways to live a longer and healthier life?

Simple daily strategies exist which help to provide the body naturally with more brainpower, increase mental-alertness, and boost energy levels (among other health benefits).

1. Embrace exercise. Exercise is one necessary health routine which can add life, increase energy levels, and improve positive brain function. During fitness sessions, one process which takes place in the body is a multiplication of nerve cells through neurotrophic factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, is one protein released by the body during physical activity which improves overall health and also increases cognitive function.

5 smartphone apps to enhance your spiritual life

The ubiquity of the smartphone hardly needs further documentation. Suffice to say: we've (almost) all got one, and we're (almost) all prone to spending far too much of our time staring at it. Our natural response to this, especially as Christians, is to decry the awfulness of all the distraction and preoccupation involved. We proclaim the damage that our phones can cause to our ability to form and conduct meaningful relationships, especially with God. But that's not the only way of looking at it.

If we're aware of the pitfalls, and intentional about avoiding them, smartphones don't have to be bad news for our friendships or our spiritual lives. In fact, in the case of the latter, they can actually be useful in enhancing our connection with God. Various smartphone apps have been created with this specific purpose in mind, but there are also a range of other great programmes available which – while this might not have been their creator's intent – have a great spiritual application (no pun intended).

Exorcist says there's a demon that targets the family

There's a demon that specializes in attacking the family, said exorcist César Truqui, a priest who participated in a course on exorcism held in Rome last year.

Fr. Truqui warned that everything that is harming the family, including divorce, pleases the devil.

Speaking to the Italian weekly Tempi in 2015, the priest said that there is “a demon who specializes in the attack on the family, also cited in the story of Tobias, called 'Asmodeus.'”

Indiana University to sue state so it can continue experimenting on aborted babies’ body parts

Indiana University is seeking to legally block a state's law requiring that aborted children be buried or cremated, because it would prevent the public university from experimenting on aborted babies' organs and tissue.

The pro-life statute, which was passed by the Indiana legislature in the wake of shocking undercover video from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and set to take effect on July 1, stops the grizzly practice of profiting from the sale of aborted babies by participation in such scientific experiments.

The hidden temptation that's more insidious than pornography

It can be really hard. We turn on the TV, and there it is. We open a newspaper or a magazine and we're hit with it again. Walk down a high street and there's something every few steps. Even looking at a website on our phones isn't safe. It's a massive, all-pervading, dangerous temptation.

Perhaps the assumption is that I'm talking about pornography, which is what most people imagine when they think of visual temptation. In fact it's more subtle than that. It's so subtle it doesn't even seem like a temptation. It's just – well, stuff. Advertisements for gadgets, for holidays, for houses, for clothes. Carefully calculated appeals to our instinct to possess, finely tuned to make us want things we never knew we needed and part with money we could have spent on things we probably needed more.

The Secret to Dealing With Difficult People

Difficult people—we all know them, don't we?

At first glance, they may not look the same. After all, different people aggravate us for different reasons and in different ways. But no matter what they do or what they say that puts us over the edge, you may be happy to know that there is a way to redeem the situation!

This New Religion Is Causing an Existential Crisis at American Colleges and Universities, NYU Prof Says

There's a new religion exploding on the campuses of American universities and colleges, says Thomas Cooley professor of ethical leadership at New York University, Jonathan Haidt. And if it isn't stopped, it might just be better to shut them all down in the next 10 or 20 years.

The religion of fundamental social justice sweeping across college campuses is so alarming, intense, and dripping with such extreme liberal fundamentalism, says Haidt, it has created an existential crisis for American academia while punishing heretics with public shame.

With Albino killings on the rise, Malawi's bishops speak out

Amid increased violence against albinos in the southeastern African nation of Malawi, the bishops' justice and peace commission has condemned their killing, which is linked to the practice of witch doctors.

“Albinos are being abducted and killed for ritual purposes. Graves have been exhumed and some people have been caught by the police with bones and other albino body parts,” Martin Chiphwanya, acting national coordinator of Malawi's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, said in a May 21 statement.

Why you can only go to church in Northern Cyprus once a year

The decision by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to restrict church services there to once a year has thrown into sharp relief the divisions on the island. Some Christians are claiming it's an infringement of their religious freedom. According to the TRNC, it's just a practical measure; it can't cope with the numbers.

I am not really grasping this. Why is going to church a problem?

Going to church in Northern Cyprus is a problem because most Christians live in the south of the country and there's a border to cross.

Dating: Fact Versus Fiction

In the Christian dating world, there are a lot of unanswered questions floating through the minds of young suitors. Here are the three most important things to remember throughout your relationship.

1. FACT: You are dating, not married. FICTION: If I start dating someone, then I have to marry him.

Although we should purpose our lives with the intention of dating to marry, sometimes we may not make the right choice. If, in the first few months of a new relationship, you realize that your goals and your standards are not lining up, don't feel bad about calling it off! Dating is this: getting to know another person. Marriage is this: deciding to attach yourself to another with like spirit and mindset. Don't mix the two up!

Supreme Court sends more mandate cases back to lower circuits

After sending the Little Sisters’ HHS mandate case back to the circuit courts on May 16, the Supreme Court voided two more mandate cases with Catholic plaintiffs on Monday.

The court was expected to rule this summer on the constitutionality of the “opt-out” process for non-profits with the HHS contraception mandate.

The Little Sisters of the Poor, who care for the poor elderly in homes across the country, have argued that the process – where they would notify the government of their religious objection to providing the coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs for employees – still forced them to be complicit with evil.

UNICEF lobbies Canadian Parliament to allow euthanasia for children

UNICEF Canada is pushing for assisted suicide and euthanasia for children — or “mature minors” — arguing that this conforms with the Charter, Canadian legal precedent and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

That would include euthanasia or assisted suicide for mature minors who suffer from a non-terminal illness or disability, according to UNICEF Canada’s policy director Marvin Bernstein.

UNICEF, or United Nations Children’s Fund (originally, Emergency Fund) is a UN organization that is, according to its website, “on a mission to reach every child and ensure their well-being, no matter where they are in this world.”

Ontario gvmt will use schools to vaccinate 150,000 boys against sexually transmitted HPV

The Ontario government will inject 150,000-plus school boys from Grade Seven up with a vaccine against sexually-transmitted Human Papilloma Virus beginning this fall, despite concerns it attacks the auto-immune systems of some, and links to deaths in some countries.

The vaccine Gardasil has been given to all girls from Grade 8 up in Ontario since 2006. The new program could cost an additional estimated $60 million a year.

Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte calls Catholic bishops 'sons of whores'

Rodrigo Duterte, president-elect of the Philippines, is going head-to-head with the Roman Catholic Church in a series of public and controversial confrontations.

Just one day after he referred to the Catholic bishops as "sons of whores", he has pledged to defy the Church and impose a three-child policy in an attempt to control the fast-growing population of the intensely-religious nation where eight in ten of the 100 million population are Catholic.

How can you tell if someone is demon-possessed?

Recognizing the difference between a person who's possessed and a person struggling with a mental illness or other infirmity is a vital part of the ministry of exorcism, according to a long-time exorcist and priest.

Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, told CNA's Italian agency ACI Stampa that typically, a person is not possessed but is struggling with some other illness.

Why You Shouldn't be a Pushy Prophet

Have you ever received a prophetic word that you absolutely, 100 percent, clearly no-doubt-about-it knew was from the Lord—only to have the one you share it with forcibly reject it?

If you've been operating in spiritual gifts for any length of time, the answer is likely yes. What you do next will reveal your maturity in the prophetic and how much the Holy Spirit can trust you to rightly exercise the His gifts.

Obama Heads to Vietnam, Japan; Is Religious Freedom on the Agenda?

Barack Obama departed Saturday afternoon for his first trip to Vietnam and Japan. As a goodwill gesture, Vietnam's Communist government released a Catholic priest from prison, but the president agenda might press for the release of more political prisoners while making no mention of a new highly restrictive religion law being enacted in that country.

Obama arrived in Hanoi on Sunday evening and will later visit Ho Chi Minh City, spending three days in Vietnam before leaving for Japan, Asia's second-largest economy, to attend the G7 Summit in Ise-Shima.

Obama is the third U.S. president to visit the country since the Vietnam War ended 41 years ago. The president will also visit Hiroshima, and become the first president to visit the city.