it would be helpful if Christians who find Falwell's outlandish pronouncements on "prophecy" could get themselves into print in that area.  Everyone should read the sections you highlighted and see how manipulated and confabulated their interpretation of the Bible is.

Great post, Teddy.

The contrast between the online version and the paper version underlines the fact that the publishers are targeting a different (lower income, less education) audience with the paper version.

That's the most offensive component imo - they are taking advantage of the disadvantages of others, knowing full well they would get laughed out of town in the mainstream.

Without having the paper in front of me, I can't tell, but those prostate and impure water advertisements look like the kind of thing the Federal Trade Commission would investigate under the nation's deceptive acts and practices law to see if the claims were substantiated.  (I used to be an FTC lawyer and in fact prosecuted a bogus prostate ad claim.)

The FTC's online complaint form is inadequate.  For something like this you could mail it - - -

Federal Trade Commission, Division of Advertising Practices,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580

PS: The FTC almost never goes after the newspaper, but will go after the advertiser.

If you're interested in the paper, send info to kath at skatha dot net and I will send it on to you.  Otherwise, I may send it on to FTC.  Let me know!

According to the online version, feminist leaning countries are losing population!

"Every single culture, every single nation that's adopted feminism [as a dominant philosophy] is now dying out. Feminism means death."

One is linked to the site of the Population Research Institute (which describes Democrats as -- "The Party of Death").http://pop.org/main....

And the PRI says the U.S. could use a lot more population!

How . . .  about . . . looser immigration laws you guys?

(Actually, I agree with the PRI factoid that the U.S. is far down the list of densely populated countries -- one reason I say we should, for now, have open immigration with the only requirement being that you get a Soc. Sec. # and pay taxes, and if you're here, say, five years without being arrested you're a citizen.)

Its simple to understand these people if one understands that they are promoting a new form of fascism under the cover of Religion and patriotism. It is a patriarchal, authoritarian philosophy. The first step is to disempower women, then minorities, etc. All non-"Christians" are also to be disempowered.

Their response to the loss of jobs, corporate exploitation, huge deficits, and war mongering is to promote a fantasy world based on a vision of how they will wipe out everyone who disagrees with them when J-A-A-A-sus returns. The fantasy is brutal and merciless. None of this end-times hogwash was ever mentioned by Jesus. In fact it is a heresy, made up out of whole cloth by folks who were searching for a way to feel more powerful (i.e. a way to overcome their feelings of powerlessness). In short, if one examines the mindset of these people one will find the mindset of a cult.

They are incapable of the thought that perhaps one reason women in advanced countries don't have as many babies is that some of these countries simply aren't very family friendly. Economics have a lot to do with it. Who wants to have kids they can't support if they can help it? But all this is too mental for these folks. They would rather revel in chaos and destruction. They are just too dumb to realize that they are buying into their own destuction. When the Kool-Aid takes effect it will be too late.

Many marketers of this kind of world view are making their livings off of this fear.  I don't think they are dumb -

When it comes to dumb, it helps to remember that 1/2 the population has IQs < 100.  Dumb, vulnerable due to personal events, or simply uneducated, large numbers of people are being taken advantage of, and their fears are being played upon.

The leaders are definitely making out with this stuff. The followers are getting duped.

This is embodied in a political skit which my ex-husband and I created when we lived in Memphis, Tennessee, the buckle on the Bible Belt. The scene is someone sitting in the bathtub listening to an radio preacher. The preacher says "Reach out and put your hand the radio!". Of course the person in the tub does that and you know the rest. In the coffee house where this was performed, we turned up feedback on the sound system and switched off the lights at the moment the person doing the pantomime touched the radio. It was fun. The message however is that the followers are being sold into their (and our) own destruction by their leaders.

I lived in MN for a time and used to drive by this huge, huge church in a poor neighborhood, where the "minister" was preaching the Prosperity Gospel.  Here's a recent MN Star-Tribune story:http://www.startribu...

Pastor Mac Hammond's congregation at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park reacted strongly Sunday to his appearance in the wake of a watchdog's group complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that he violated federal tax law and a front-page Star Tribune article examining his financial dealings:

Worshipers gave him a prolonged, cheer-laced standing ovation.

"Y'all better sit down; I'll get too choked up to minister," drawled Hammond, 63, pastor of the nondenominational megachurch, which has almost 10,000 members. He called questions about his financial dealings "a misunderstanding" of his prosperity-gospel ministry, which holds that following God's word leads to spiritual and economic bounty.

***

Last week, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington complained to the IRS that Living Word made eight loans worth $1.9 million at favorable rates to Hammond and gave him sweetheart deals on a plane lease. The church said all contracts and financial dealings are reviewed by its law firm and that it makes "every effort" to comply with the law.

Sunday's Star Tribune article examined Hammond's rise from financial struggle to rich man and his championship of the prosperity gospel.

In a sermon peppered with "hallelujahs" from Hammond and "amens" from the congregation, Hammond said some of the accusations in the IRS complaint and news story "are inaccurate ... and many paint a picture of the ministry that is grossly inappropriate."

However, he was not specific about inaccuracies except to say that he has two houses in Florida, not two condos. He said he has no control over the board that sets his compensation and that his pay is scrutinized by attorneys.

He got one of many laughs when he said the Star Tribune story had "left out" his two motorcycles. He also quipped that his Porsche has been "an expensive ministry tool" because a State Patrol officer who gave him one of four speeding tickets he has gotten in it went through church membership classes. He said he buys expensive clothes because "if I look decent, I preach better, so I'm really doing it for you, amen."

Hammond said that he has repaid all loans and that if he got favorable terms, it was in place of compensation. He said he would welcome an IRS audit because he has strived to "dot every i and cross every t" on tax rules.

The congregation was presented with the annual report, which said the church had $34 million in gross revenues last year and gave $3 million to charitable causes and evangelism.

***
Hammond said the media and many Christians don't understand the prosperity gospel. "God says if you base your life on his covenant, these blessings are gonna overtake you; you can't do anything about it, friend. [What was once] flocks and herds is in today's parlance stocks and bonds.

"It takes wealth, folks, to establish God's covenant on this Earth. You and I will never get so spiritual that we don't need money to get more influential in the world we're in."

Then if you go to this slippery eel's website, you see this message:

Money management is our most basic discipline as a disciple of Jesus.

According to Jesus in Luke 16, we are all being trained as God's stewards-managing the resources He's placed at our disposal. This is part of our preparation for ruling and reigning with Him in eternity. And the Bible says that the most basic of these responsibilities is our management of money.

That's why giving is vitally important. As mundane as it may seem to be and as offensive a subject as it is to many, it is nevertheless where the rubber meets the road regarding your Christianity. As far as giving to the Lord is concerned, if you can't get unhooked from your pocketbook, then you're doomed to a life of mediocrity in your walk with the Lord.

I encourage you to begin exercising your stewardship responsibility by giving liberally, cheerfully, and without restraint because as you do, you're opening the channels for God to bless you and, more importantly, you're qualifying for a "well done" when you go home to be with the Lord.

3. Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of your increase.

In Proverbs chapter 3, we read:

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. (verses 9-10 KJV)

I want you to see the significance of the symbolism in these verses. Great blessing is promised but it is predicated on two things. First, we must "honor the Lord with thy substance," which refers to giving offerings. Secondly, we must give "the firstfruits of all of thine increase," which refers to the tithe. This is how the Word says we honor the Lord.

Truly honoring the Lord in your giving involves your heart attitude as well as your actions. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, we're told not to give grudgingly or of necessity, but rather cheerfully. Giving your tithes and offerings is the most basic way you honor the Lord. And when you do, then the promise to you is that your barns shall be filled with plenty and your presses shall burst out with new wine.

Follow these principles and, like the man in John Bunyan's poem, the world may call you crazy but you'll increase and prosper in every area of your life.

http://www.mac-hammo...

This seems like the religion of American materialism! In fact, that's exactly what it is! Another part of this is their sanctification of Corporations under this misguided worship of money.

I'm trying to reconcile the Gospel I know with the money-grubbing Jesus this guy promotes and it's just not happening for me.  It sounds more like a propitiating the gods type of argument - feed enough virgins into the volcano and your crops will grow. 

Also depressing that his parishioners can't see what he's doing.

Being a bit cynical today, if I may quote the great Homer Simpson:

But Marge, what if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder.