EXHORTATION: DISTINGUISHED BY HOLINESS

Our God is not like any god known to man. Those that compare God with idols or make a visage to represent Him make a terrible mistake. Isaiah 40:18, He asks: “To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto him?”

One attribute that sets God apart from any other thing imaginable to man is His holiness. This attribute is so unique that in the throne room of heaven it is constantly being declared (Revelations 4:8). It is amazing that because of the love with which He loves us He wants this unique attribute to be reflected in our lives as His children (Hebrews 12:10). Holiness sets us apart and makes us peculiar. If you profess to live a holy life and yet your holiness does not make you positively different, that holiness is questionable.

You are called to be different. You are called to shine forth as light in the midst of a crooked generation. This is why you are peculiar to God (1Peter 2:9). How different are you? If your life radiates His light, there is hardly anything you will desire that you will not get. It is through Jesus we have access to all that God provides for us. In light of this, Christians who rush out to work or school in the morning without praying, ought to be pitied as they are losing a key anchor for that day. Each time you begin your day with the Lord, your day’s success would have been settled ever before leaving home. Those that wait on Him realize that success is far simpler and cheaper through waiting on Him than when you go in your power. Leaving your house without fellowshipping with God shows that He is not relevant in your life. God does not like to be ignored, which is why it is those who recognize Him that end up being recognized. How God-dependent are you?

Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye (From Open Heavens Devotional reading for Monday 13th February, 2012)

Progress in achieving total control of earthlings

The Desire to remotely monitor people, and the development of appropriate technology to achieve it, is a global affair. From Japan comes the announcement of a new camera technology which can scan days of camera footage instantly, and find any face which has EVER walked past it. The Hitachii Hokusai Electric, makers of the camera claims it can scan 36 million faces per second. According to UK’s Daily mail, “The technology raises the spectre of governments - or other organisations - being able to 'find' anyone instantly simply using a passport photo or a Facebook profile.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk

And talking about Facebook, a CBS news report says that unlike the past when potential employers would pull up the social media profiles of job candidates, they are now actually demanding the passwords to their Facebook accounts, as part of the vetting process. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-57401868/want-a-job-give-up-facebook/.

Even before the series of official announcements now being made, it has always been an open secret that major security agencies all over the world do systematically monitor social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter for intelligence information. In fact, some people insist the Facebook was sponsored by the CIA just to encourage people to keep chatting in a format that can easily be monitored. As the recent developments in the UK (the Murdoch affairs) clearly show, even the snooping Press could go to considerable length to gain clandestine access to people’s digital communication.

It is of course well known that your Internet Service Provider has a record of all your activities on the Internet. Indeed, (now ex) President of France, Sarkozy threatened to prosecute people who visit too frequently site preaching hatred and violence (http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/03/23/we-punish-visiting-websites-justify-terrorism-103181/). And for those who still don’t understand that every transaction on their phone or internet-connected computer is being recorded, stored, and monitored, perhaps they will get it better as from Thursday July 2 on which datewhen, the largest Internet Service Providers ISPs in the US have agreed to begin the voluntary implementation of a new anti-piracy plan that will prevent people downloading potentially copyrighted software, videos or music.

The bottom line is that all Internet activities (postings, downloads, etc) of everybody on the planet, are being monitored and stored up – permanently; that there are an increasing number of people and organizations who are interested in these digital activities, and that new technology to facilitate the search are becoming common place. All these of course are laying firm groundwork for the coming world ruler, who according to the Scriptures will have absolute control over the lives of every person living on the planet. The Bible calls him the anti-christ. These developments abundantly warn that the coming of this man is very much at hand. How prepared are you for these imminent events?

New Security Technology to use remote physiological monitoring to gauge motives (http://americanfreepress.net)

In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is putting fine touches to a new technology which they claim will be able to quietly track and monitor people at airports and in other public places, in order to check for suspicious or shifty people. The Future Attribute Screening Technologies (FAST) program according to the DHS, is being established “to determine whether technology can enable the identification and interpretation of a screened subject’s physiological and behavioral cues or signatures, which, in turn, “will allow for security personnel to remotely (and therefore, more safely) identify diagnostic cues of malintent.”

In order words, by utilizing a variety of sensors placed in key positions to capture such things as video images and audio recordings, as well as cardiovascular signals, pheromones, perspiration, changes in the electrical properties of the skin in response to stress or anxiety and respiratory measurements – people who are nervous or shifty (as potential terrorists or drug couriers are presumed to be), could be identified, remotely. However, not only are critics questioning how reliable this new technology could be (especially relative to other options available), they are also wondering if the government has the right to monitor citizens bodily metabolic functions without first obtaining their consent. http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2012/May09/0975.html

Hooking Kids on Sex: Amazing Video documents Planned Parenthood is more in the sex business than health business

American Life League (ALL), one of the America’s largest grassroots pro-life organizations, has produced a video, part of the American Life League Report, that documents Planned Parenthood’s promotion of sex toys, sex contests, sex balloons, sex cupcakes, sex fruit rollups and sex costumes in an astounding manner.

The video, called “Hooking Kids on Sex,” exposes Planned Parenthood’s decades-long endeavor to push sex on youngsters, much like a drug dealer hooks potential customers on narcotics.

Paul Rondeau, executive director of American Life League, told WorldNewsDaily (WND) that the “Hooking Kids on Sex” report shows how Planned Parenthood uses tax money to push disturbing sexual behavior on kids, “because it drives future business for them.” The ALL says the abortion industry giant’s “business model” essentially “is aimed at making money from people who are engaged in sexual activity.

Revealing that 51 percent of Planned Parenthood income for 2010 came from abortions, the ALL explains: “Those [young girls] are the women who will have abortions,”

Among the campaigns attributed to Planned Parenthood is a book pushed on a website for young readers titled “It’s Perfectly Normal,” which contains cartoon depictions of naked boys and girls, images of masturbation and cartoons of people engaged in sex.

“If a dirty old man showed this book to kids in a park, he’d be arrested,” said the host. “Why does Planned Parenthood, a taxpayer-funded organization, get to distribute these books to our children and get more government money?”

A statement on Planned Parenthood’s teen website, for example, encourages kids to seek arousal through breasts: “They are basically ‘freebies,’ since you can’t get pregnant or catch sexually transmitted infection by going to ‘second base,’” the statement said.

Other body parts are described in great detail on the website, including many declarations about “pleasure” and “feeling good,” as well as detailed instructions on engaging in homosexual acts.

The ALL video has been posted in an adult section on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j7XR9yH2ETk) and, ALL recommends that the video being quite explicit, should not be accessed by children.

In addition to showing viewers the indoctrination Planned Parenthood is delivering to younger and younger audiences, the report also brings to light internal Planned Parenthood memos dating from 1969 that show strategies on how to reduce the American population through methods such as “forced abortion” and “fertility control agents” dispersed in the nations water supply, “Restructure Family,” (by encouraging people to “Postpone or avoid marriage” and by “Alter(ing) image of ideal family size.” ) Other more radical measures suggested in the memo include: “Discouraging private home ownership,” “Additional taxes on parents with 1 or 2 children in school,” “Compulsory abortions for out-of-wedlock pregnancies” and “Require women to work and provide few child care facilities.”

After desperate efforts by the Planned Parenthood to have the video removed from the YouTube (claiming copyright issues), ALL made some minor revisions and re-posted. The must-see video is also now available online at other sites, including all.org, to ensure no further disruptions to the message. http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/planned-parenthood-now-sex-inc/?cat_orig=education

Sweden pushes forward with Gender Neutrality

Sweden is proudly living up to its dubious title of “the most gender-equal country “ in the world. In a new gender neutrality initiative being proposed, lobbyists are proposing that a new gender-neutral pronoun be adopted for boys and girls. Instead of “he” (han in Swedish) and “she” (hon), a new neutral pronoun “hen” (Swedish) is being proposed to apply to either boys or girls. According to Slate.com, the idea is in tandem with the determination of the Swedish society not to “tolerate any distinction between sexes” and its commitment to “entirely [eradicate] traditional gender roles and stereotypes at even the most mundane levels”.

This proposal is already being implemented in a number of children's books, with other new gender-neutral words being evolved. The Christian Post further reports that the Swedish Bowling Association is planning on merging male and female bowling tournaments so that competitions are more gender-neutral; and a clothing company has removed the “boys” and “girls” sections from its store in order to promote the concept of genderless children.

Thankfully, there are still sane voices in Sweden, warning against these fruitless exercises. Famous author Jan Guillou considers the introduction of the pronoun "hen" as "silly because it doesn't change anything." She referred to gender-neutral lobbyists as "feminist activists who want to destroy our language." www.ChristianPost.com

Famous “Pregnant Man” splits with wife

The inevitable end of the road has come for one of the hyped relationships that has been used to showcase Man’s alternative to God-ordained order between the male and female genders. Thomas Beatie, a transgender man (i.e. a woman who underwent sex-transplant to “become” a man) has finally decided to call it quits with the woman “he” married, nine years after.

Beatie was born in Hawaii as Tracy Lagondino in 1974. “He” was a Girl Scout, model, and finalist in a Miss Hawaii Teen USA pageant before he decided, in his twenties, that he felt more like a man and so began to dress and live as a man. Goaded on and encouraged by the folks promoting the new sexuality ideas, he had the very expensive but government-subsidized sex-reassignment surgery in 2002; got two perfectly healthy breasts removed, and started a twice-weekly intake of hormones to make him look masculine on the outside. Thereafter, he had his gender legally changed on his passport and driver’s license and in 2003, got legally married to Nancy, a divorced mother of two.

Who is fooling who? It certainly takes much more than a moustache, a deep voice and government approval to become a man. Beatie had no male reproductive organs – even if for cosmetics. And since “wife” Nancy had had hysterectomy and could not carry a baby again, it was Thomas who opted to be artificially inseminated by donor sperms and gave birth to the three children attributed to this man-made family.

It’s difficult to see what’s in this kind of relationship for the two partners, except to conclude that they are extremely confused and are groping at whatever they thought could bring fulfillment and happiness. And yes, there are the ever-present agents of the new sexuality agenda who goad and encourage them along such foolishness, turning them into laughing stock “celebrities”.

Bearded Thomas certainly had his gigs and moments of stardom as he was featured on top talk shows as the first pregnant man in history. However, like the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, who had had five husbands, and was co-habiting with a sixth man before having an encounter with the Lord Jesus (John 4), the story of Thomas and Nancy clearly indicates a sad, tormented life.

On one of the several shows he featured on, Beatie described the various medical complications associated with his having to take testerosterone, twice a week, for several years. He also lamented his not being accepted beyond the circle of his handlers in the new sexuality world. He seemed pained as he complained: "Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife"

As at the time when Beatie was recording his latest interview with People Magazine, he and Nancy had been separated for an undisclosed period of time. Details of whether they will divorce or not is reserved for yet another episode of another talk show. (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/pregnant-man-thomas-beatie-splits-wife-222259218.html)

Ex-lesbian woman’s daughter to be given away… announced lesbian at a psychiatric hospital

Obama’s desperate war against the old sexual order – even in an election year – is reflective of the enormous clout the homosexual lobby has in the United States. Recently President Obama became the first ever sitting president of the United States to openly endorse gay marriage. Dangerously drying Campaign funds shot up immediately after this endorsement, with generous donations from Hollywood.

With this background, it’s not really too difficult to imagine why Lisa Miller is going through virtual hell in the hands of the new sexuality-obsessed Obama regime. She is a living testimony debunking all the stereotypical lies used to justify and promote the anti-christ new age sexuality. Her story features aspects of Contraceptives, Divorce, Pornography, Abortion, Homosexuality, etc. She is just one bad customer!

First, her conception and birth was as a result of failed contraceptive, and her mother never tired of reminding her she was a birth-accident. When her parents divorced at the age of 7, she found herself growing up with “an increasingly mentally ill, distant, and cruel mother”. She sought solace in unhealthy fixations on food and pornography.

Soon after, she entered a troubled marriage which culminated in a suicide attempt. Saved after days of intensive care, a counselor in a psychiatric ward informed her that she was actually a lesbian and must seek the sexual companionship of other women for fulfilment. According to Lisa: “As part of my treatment, in order to be released, I had to meet with my immediate family, including my husband, and tell them I was a ‘lesbian.’ I complied, and not surprisingly, my marriage ended.”

The end of that troubled marriage was a major gain the homosexual advocacy groups will not allow to fritter away. A “civil union” was arranged between Lisa and another troubled soul, recovering alcoholic Janet Jenkins. Thereafter, Lisa was artificially inseminated, resulting in the birth of her daughter. Isabella.

Now, Lisa’s problem with her unseen new sexuality mentors began. During a particularly difficult period during her pregnancy, she had made a vow to the God she faintly remembered from Sunday School classes as a child, that if her baby lived, she would give up the homosexual lifestyle. And guess what, 17 months after delivery, she recollected that vow, and simply called it quits with homosexuality. Now that is not good at all for homosexuality advocacy where the mantra is that people are born with homosexuality just like the colour of their skin!

The account of her torment in the hands of new sexuality agents in the Obama administration is now documented in a book written by one of her lawyers. The easy-to-read book is titled: “Only One Mommy: A Woman’s Battle for Her Life, Her Daughter, and Her Freedom” (New Revolution Publishers, 2011). It waltzed through a maze of legal arguments used by Judge Richard Cohen to decree, first, that Janet Jenkin, being in civil union with Lisa at the time Isabella was conceived, was a co-mother with Lisa. Eventually, the Judge has also determined to grant custody of Isabella to Jenkins – a woman who has no biological or adoptive link whatsoever with the baby!

Currently, state agents are making frantic efforts, including international police cooperation, to track down Lisa (who had since fled the USA, presumably) and wrest Isabella from her into the custody of Jenkins. Read more about this typical judicial tyranny from the New Age sexuality group against their targets at http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/i-promised-god-that-if-he-would-save-my-baby-i-would-leave-the-homosexual-l

TOPICAL ISSUE: Masturbation Not A Sin — Pastor Chris

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Believers Love World, a.k.a Christ Embassy shocked both fans and critics when he recently declared that masturbation is not a sin and God is absolutely not bothered a hoot about what a Christian does with his body. Masturbation involves deriving sexual pleasure by fondling one’s own body and actively using the mind to get sexually aroused. Apparently, many members of Pastor Chris church had problems with this issue – which they consider as a sin; and having discussed it extensively on a chat forum, decided to get the Pastor’s assistance.

In his comments which is available on the Youtube (http://www.youtube.ng/watch?v=DBi8l621wbQ), Pastor Chris was responding to questions from his members and fans, moderated by Pastor Kwaku from Ghana. Kwaku asked: “Pastor, how does one overcome masturbation?”

The response by Oyakhilome was surprising: “The reason you are thinking of stopping it is because you think it has become a habit for you…masturbation is not more than a habit than any other habit.” And then he added the shocker: “This habit has nothing to do with God but a lot to do with the body of the person practising.it”

For the avoidance of doubt, Pastor Christ explained what he meant by “habit”. Masturbation is just another habit, just like “the habit of playing football”. And to break that habit, one simply replaces that habit with another habit.

The Pastor was not done yet, as he veered off the original question of how, to the issue of why? Why think of breaking the harmless “habit” of masturbation? “There is one thing I would like to bring to your mind that may be of help to you because the reason you are thinking of stopping this is because of what you think it is.” With characteristic charm and emphasis Oyakhilome then proceeded to say: “No matter how wrong you think this is in your mind, get this straight, in itself, it is not a sin against God,”

Speaking further, Pastor Chris said it was only Satan that is oppressing the people of God by troubling them with the unnecessary guilt that masturbation is offensive to God. As a result of this belief that masturbation is a sin, Satan uses it to oppress people of God “making them feel ineffective an inefficient in the things of God.” (See updates and white-washing efforts at http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/03/21/masturbation-not-a-sin-oyakhilome-insists/)

The main issue then, according to Pastor Chris, is that members of his church that have become steeped in the “habit” of masturbation need not feel bad about it. What offends God, is one’s feeling guilty about masturbation. In his words,: “Masturbation is about you and your body. God is not offended by it, He is only offended by any habit that takes hold of your mind and if this takes hold of your mind and dominates your body, God is offended….…so if you don’t like it, stop it, but God’s got nothing to do with it. It is your own body.” “ It would appear Pastor Chris is deliberately trying to challenge the Scriptures: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1Co 3:16 -17). For good measure, that Scripture adds: “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. (1Co 3:18)

In his advice to those, who being weak in “faith” truly needs to get rid of this habit (as the original question requested), Pastor Chris counsels: “So once you make up your mind that you want to break a particular habit, you just do it, you make up your mind…in fact the best way to break a habit is to replace it with another habit.”

One wonders, if masturbation truly were just another innocuous habit as the Pastor would have it, what other sexual “habit” would be strong enough to be used as replacement?

The pleasant surprise, considering the considerable moral downturn of the age, is that most commentators on the internet – including members of the Pastor Chris Church, Christ Embassy, could not agree with this clearly carnal and immoral teaching. While a number of Pastor Chris disciples groped for words to express reservations about their mentor’s teaching, others simply pointed to several Scriptures, such as those warning about fornication not necessarily limited to the physical acts but thoughts as well, or the need to walk not in uncleanness or carnal lusts. Indeed the Bible is emphatic in Ephesians 5:5-7:

“ For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”

Caught in the sin of masturbation? Please seek the help of the holy spirit through prayer and fasting. If the son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.

Over Half of South Jersey's Catholics Believe Jesus Sinned

In a shocking revealing study commissioned by a Diocese of the catholic Church in southern New Jersey, 60 percent of practicing Catholics in the region said they believed that Jesus sinned during his time on Earth. Whereas the Bible clearly teaches otherwise: the Lamb of God required to atone for the sins of the world must be free of its own personal sins that would have needed to be atoned for.

A very worried Bishop Joseph Galane of the Diocese of Camden, sponsors of the study, told a Press Conference: "The number of Catholics who have a very flawed, a seriously flawed, understanding of who Jesus is, that's troublesome,"

The study was commissioned by the diocese with the hope that the results would help it to better evangelize the communities it serves. The study was conducted by the Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif.-based research organization, which surveyed 612 adults living in the six New Jersey counties within the diocese.

Other findings of the study that got the Bishop worried included the following:

• Four out of ten of the Catholics respondents disagree with the idea that sex should be reserved solely for marriage.
• Only a paltry 28 percent of them agree strongly with the idea that the Bible is "totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches,"
• 38 percent favor attending church only on holidays. One-third of lapsed Catholics said they have other priorities or are too busy to attend, while others said they just aren't interested in church (27 percent).

Other issues investigated in the study was the clergy abuse scandals within the Catholic Church. -Nine out of ten (89 percent) adults interviewed said they know about scandals; and all 89 percent consider it a "major issue.". (http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2012/May09/0951.html based on http://www.christianpost.com)

Family feud rocks TBN

The Christian post describes it as “a drama fit for reality television: Larger than life characters, familial infighting, private jets, mansions, pink poodles, and of course contentious litigation.” But it is not one of the popular soap operas but the first family of Trinity Broadcasting Network. Brittany Koper, granddaughter of TBN founders Paul and Janice Crouch, alleges that her grandparents are scamming the public with their prosperity gospel message and using the contributions of their viewers to sustain a lavish lifestyle that would make a hip hop mogul blush. Mama and Papa Crouch counter that granddaughter Brittany is merely attempting to distract attention from her own wrongdoing. They've accused her of misappropriating ministry funds while she served as finance director for the organization.”

Read the rest of the article at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2012/May09/0952.html

In Asia also, Moslem mass conversion to Christianity continues

Despite all the restrictions and persecutions, it has proved impossible to stop moslem folks, upon seeing the light of the Gospel, from embracing the lordship of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God and the salvation He freely offers mankind. In Malaysia, the development got a former state-commissioner lamenting that "It could be hundreds, maybe even thousands" of Muslims converting to Christianity. He has therefore started "collecting data" to "persuade" the apostates to return to Islam: "We are helping them, hoping they will come back to Islam" he said. Likewise, the Sultan of Selangor, a Malaysian state, has ordered top-level Islamic organizations to take strategic steps against proselytism, "so that Muslims who have began distancing themselves from Islam will return to the fold and repent."

Meanwhile in Kuwait, a royal prince is one of the latest to openly declare that he has converted to Christianity. He said he took the necessary step despite being aware of the reality that he now might be targeted for killing as an apostate.

Entire Mosques Coming to Christ in Sub-Saharan Africa, Says Former Church Planter (culled from http://www.ChristianPost.com)

A former church planter among Muslims in West Africa is reporting incredible number of conversion among Muslims. According to Jerry Trousdale, even entire mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa are coming to faith. Trousdale, now director of International Ministries for CityTeam International, reports in his new book Miraculous Movements, amazing and inspiring stories of faith among Muslim communities in Africa. These include:

• Multiple cases of entire mosques coming to faith
• Thousands of ordinary men and women being used by God to achieve seemingly impossible outcomes
• Tens of thousands of Muslim background Christians becoming dedicated intercessors who fast and pray for the gospel to penetrate the next community
• Muslim people groups that never had even one church among them now have more than fifty church planted, and in some cases more than one hundred churches – within two years of engagement
• Former sheikhs, imams and militant Islamists making up 20 percent or more of the new Christian leaders in Muslim regions.

Speaking with Christian Post, Trousdale said: "We had seven years now in Africa. And of the people in Africa, 81 different people groups that have at least 50 percent Muslim have now significant movements among them. Of those 81, 45 are people groups with 99 or 100 percent Muslim…So we are talking about fairly extreme areas of Islamic influence. These are people who have been Islamic for well over a hundred years, some hundreds of years."

In one of the many narratives, a successful businessman and a respected leader at his mosque dreamed that Isa al Masih (Jesus the Messiah) appeared to him and said that he (Jesus) was the light of the world. His life did not remain the same and he ended a committed and effective soul winner for the Lord Jesus.

An enthusiastic Trousdale concludes: "This is just good news that God is in the same business as He was in the book of Acts. Disciples are multiplying greatly and even priests, imams and sheikhs are becoming obedience to the faith. So I no longer doubt that we can finish the task in this generation." (http://www.Christianpost.com/news/entire-mosques-coming-to-christ-in-north-africa-says-former-church-planter-72123/)

Saudi Arabia cracks down on Christian prayer meeting

Dozens of Ethiopian Christians were arrested for holding a prayer meeting, though under charges of "mixing with the opposite sex": "the Saudi officials are accusing the Christians of committing the crime of mixing of sexes because if they charge them with meeting for practicing Christianity, they will come under pressure from the international human rights organizations as well as Western countries."

The women among the Christians were strip-searched and the men assaulted (http://www.christianpost.com/news/ethiopian-christian-prisoners-assaulted-strip-searched-in-saudi-arabia-68013/). It is instructive that this was a purely prayer meeting among Christian foreigners and did not involve any proselytization of any moslem or Arab.

As at early February 9 the Christians were still being held without trial. (http://www.charismanews.com/world/32553-saudi-arabia-arrests-ethiopian-christians-for-mixing-with-the-opposite-sex)

Islamists Nearly Wipe Out Christians In Syrian City

The ChristianPost, based on figures given by the Syrian Orthodox Church, reports "an ongoing ethnic cleansing of Christians" by members of the militant Islamist outfit, Brigade Faruq, which has links with al-Qaida. The militants have expelled 90 percent of Christians in Homs, which has faced the brunt of violence related to the uprising, and grabbed their homes, it said. They went door to door in the neighborhoods of Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan forcing Christians to flee without giving them the chance to take their belongings, it added.

About 10 percent of Syria's 23 million people are estimated to be Christians, who have generally supported President Bashar Assad, a Muslim from a Shiite offshoot who is autocratic but protects religious minorities. On the other hand, the majority of the Muslims in Syria are Sunni.

The ChristianPost further reports a car bomb explosion targeting pupils at a school of the Franciscan fathers in Aleppo. "By a miracle a massacre of children was avoided, at the Center of catechesis of the Church of St. Bonaventure: only because the Franciscan, sensing danger, made the children leave 15 minutes before the usual time." (http://www.rescueChristians.org/2012/03/25/syria-islamists-have-expelled-90-percent-of-Christians-in-homs/)

Islamic terrorism in France

In France, a 23-year-old Islamic jihadist named Mohamed Merah confirmed the threat of homegrown Muslim terrorism when he went on an 11 day killing spree. Before he was finally subdued, Merah, had killed three French paratroopers, three Jewish schoolchildren and a rabbi with close-range shots to the head. A French citizen of Algerian origin, Merah filmed himself carrying out the attacks that began on March 11 to "verify" the deaths. Merah later died in a hail of gunfire on March 22 after a 32-hour standoff with police at his apartment in the southern French city of Toulouse.

Incredibly, the European Union's 'Foreign Minister', Catherine Ashton of Britain, declared that "what happened in Toulouse," -- the deliberate murder of the Jewish children -- was morally equivalent to the accidental war deaths of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. Read details in the articles Europe's Islamic Future Has Arrived at (http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org) and Europeans Horrified To Discover That They Must Contend With Homegrown Terrorists at (http://www.ynetnews.com/)

Moslem persecutions of Christians, January 2012

Assaults on Christians from their Moslem neighbours is not subsiding in the new year. Raymond Ibrahim, in his chronicle of January persecutions, includes reports “from Nigeria, where an all-out jihad has been declared in an effort to eradicate the Muslim north of all Christians, to Europe, where Muslim converts to Christianity are still hounded and attacked as apostates.” He posted a warning that considering the unprecedented and ever increasing flight of Christians out of some countries, "Christians might disappear altogether from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt." Please check these details from Raymond Ibrahim’s website at http://www.raymondibrahim.com/11152/muslim-persecution-of-christians-january-2012.

Not so simple, saying “Merry Christmas”

Until some years ago, nobody batted an eye at the traditional “Merry Christmas” greetings at Christmas. Suddenly emerged the post-modernists, protesting the religionization of Christmas, and advocating as appropriate greetings “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings”! Now the stakes are considerably upped as in America some Islamic clerics have ruled it a grand sin for a Moslem to wish anyone a “merry Christmas”. According to cleric Al-AhMad' "saying Merry Christmas is even worse than fornication or killing someone." (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/12/islamic-scholar-saying-merry-christmas-is-worst-then-fornication-or-killing-someone.html).

In Malaysia, even Christians had restrictions placed on their expression of Christmas felicitations. As reported by Malaysian Insider, “Parish priests and church youth leaders were required to get “caroling“ permits before they could "visit their fellow church members and belt out 'Joy to the World,' [or] 'Silent Night, Holy Night.'" For 30 years, it had been required that permits be obtained because Carols are conducted in public, outside residences of hosting Church members. The conditions for obtaining a permit include submission of full names and identity card numbers of the clergy at police stations. But last Christmas new conditions were added including that the full names and contact information of the house-holders that would be visited. (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/print/malaysia/tis-the-season-to-be-jolly-with-a-police-permit/)

Even in western countries, moslems are aggressively putting pressure on Christians at Christmas. For example at the university of London, apparently to appease moslem folks, readings from the Quran were featured during the Christmas service; while "a posh Montreal suburb chose rather to remove a nativity scene and menorah from town hall rather than acquiesce to demands from a Muslim group to erect Islamic religious symbols."

As an example of tawriya in action, a Sheik has suggested a way out to bail out pious moslems from the "great sin" of having to acknowledge Christmas; while at the same time not sounding antagonistic. On YouTube, a Sheikh suggests Muslims to tell Christians, "I wish you the best." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-ssc7MB32Sk). He explains the ingenuity of this new Christmas greeting: whereby the latter might "understand it to mean you're wishing them best in terms of their [Christmas] celebration." (here the ‘wily’ sheikh giggles), you actually “mean in your heart I wish you become a Muslim." Of course, in the thinking of the learned Sheikh, being a muslim is the best for anybody. Such “creative lying” is fully endorsed in Islam and is known as Tawriya. For more on this Islamic doctrine, see http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/raymond-ibrahim-tawriya---new-islamic-doctrine-permits-creative-lying.html.

Meanwhile elsewhere on the planet, Christmas carols, greetings and symbols were the least considerations as Islamic militants went on a killing spree. In Northern Nigeria, the major assaults of the period inclued the Boko Haram massacre of over 40 people at St Theresa’s (in Madalla, Niger state) and MFM Church (Jos, Plateau State) on Christmas day. (see http://www.galaxytvonline.com/news/main-news/boko-haram-40-killed-in-christmas-massacre)

What Can Be Learned From the Tragic Life of Whitney Houston

In a Feb 19 article with the above title, Todd Strandberg of Rapture Ready examined the awful price people pay for being pop celebrities. Todd wrote:

“Being a pop singer is one of the most dangerous occupations on the planet. There are dozens of websites that track the premature death of musicians. One of the most extensive sites that I found averaged all the deaths and came up with a life span of 36.9 years. The average for the general population is 75.8 years.”

Referring specifically to the death of singer Whitney Houston who was found in the bath of her Beverly Hilton hotel room with her face underwater, Todd noted that “Houston had a long history of drug problems;" and that, "Los Angeles cops are said to have found six prescription pill bottles—Xanax, Lorazepam, Ibuprofen, Midol, Amoxicillin, and Valium." It seemed obvious enough that “a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol” is the cause of Houston’s death.

At 68, the longevity of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is often talked about. But Todd attributed that to just uncommon luck. But then he added, “Since Mr. Richards looks and talks like he died in 1980, there is something to be said about the quality-of-life factor.” Back home in Nigeria, many will agree that the quality of life factor is certainly a reality in the case of reggae maestro, Majek Fashek. See The Westerner (Compass), May 6)

This is how Todd concluded his thought-provoking article:

“People take drugs to escape from pain, and it's not the physical kind. Whitney Houston wasn't doing handstands the day before she died. I don't think she needed narcotics for back pain. Before Michael Jackson died, he was taking enough drugs to tranquilize a team of horses. ….

“The pain that celebrities are trying to escape from is the realization that success can't bring happiness. Mike Tyson is one of the best examples. The former heavyweight boxing champion manage to do the seemingly impossible: He blew the $300 million he earned from his career. He had excessive spending on mansions and expensive cars, but these items would hold their value. What put him in the poorhouse was women and parties that would cost $200,000 per night.

“The tragic death of people like Whitney Houston is a warning for us to be ready. Even though you and I are nobodies in the eyes of the world, we have a precious commodity that dead celebrities no longer possess: the opportunity to seek God's will.

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). [http://www.raptureready.com/nm/393.html]

Much Ado About A Church Building

How many mansions have been built for Nigerian politicians by building contractors over the decades? From Minna, to Abuja, to Lagos, the landscape is littered with such donations. And what moslem mansion is ever complete without the mandatory mosque!

Yet for all these mansions and mosques built and donated to individuals, never had we have national dailies filling both front and back pages (see eg The Punch, April 5, 2012) with sharp, derogatory commentaries – day after day – on any of such donations. But now, even a supposed national Party (never mind its fielding of Moslem-Moslem candidates in the last presidential election) feels very strongly that a donation of a Church building to a Community should be ground enough to impeach the President! Afterall it’s the President’s village we are talking about, and the idea for the project came up in course of some informal discussion the President was involved with!

One would have thought that an accusation of wrongfully receiving a Church auditorium could only have been leveled at a Pastor or a General Overseer!

Anyway, we have no problems with people playing their do-or-die dirty politics the way they feel; but taking the Church for granted is becoming increasingly fashionable these days. In particular, people whose social agenda (homosexual advocates, etc) are being frustrated by the Church are now teaming up with politicians to have a swipe at the Church. This trend is not novel, and should be expected. “The bloodthirsty hates the righteous… “ says the Scriptures. In fact these new sexuality wannabe “change agents” are still far behind their mentors in other lands. In a place like the US for instance, activists with considerable public funding, have produced such “works of arts” as Piss Christ - a picture of a crucifix dipped in urine (see vol 9 no 2; http://www.churcharise.org/archives/Vol%209%20No%202,%20March%20-%20April%202006,%20print%20version.doc); while not one of them will dare even toy with a cartoon of Islamic figures.

One question for all the sharp-mouthed suddenly- bold commentators hauling insults and invectives at the Church in their bid to get at the President: could any of them have DARED to write half of what they are writing, were it a mosque that was involved? Certainly none who has been in journalism by the time of the 2003 Miss World riot saga (http://www.churcharise.org/archives/6_3.pdf) . Thank God, there is no iota of possibility of a journalist being hounded by any Christian group – fanatical or mainstream. But that does not mean journalist shouldn’t be able to exhibit a little common decorum.

The point of this article is not to protest or instigate Christian reactions to these antics of frustrated pawns of the new age movement. It is to encourage the Church to appreciate the level of desperation of the enemy as he watches the little time he has left ebbing away (see Rev 12:11-12). It is also to remind these foot soldiers of the New World Order that they are on a futile assignment - and will be better off considering relocation from their current placement on the wrong side of history. The Lord Jesus has said it, and so has it been written: “I will build my Church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against her.”

Boko Haram Peace Moves

It is now an open news, that Boko Haram handlers are desperately seeking peace deals with the Federal government. The big question is, what would be the terms of such a deal? Obviously, the least BH could ask for, even if it drops its demand that we all must be their slaves, would be that their prisoners be released. With all the efforts to compare the situation with the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta, it won’t be any surprise if a hefty financial demand is also brought into the bargain.

Now that would be utterly suicidal for any sensible government. If anybody thinks Christians’ refusal to be provoked into reprisals over the scores of lives wickedly terminated in the name of Allah, means the deaths were not painful and could be glossed over in order to buy supposed peace, that fellow will be making a grave mistake.

Though refraining from fighting evil with evil, Christians are certainly fighting – and are winning! With our prayers, severely compromised state machinery is working again; and against all odds, BH is fizzling out. The call for “peace” from BH is nothing but a confirmation of the desperate strait it is in. All it seeks is a breather so it can go re-gather steam. It is obvious that the insurrection is designed to last till the next presidential election in 2015!

To summarise our position: there is nothing wrong with talking peace with BH. Whether the insurrection is crushed on the field or on the table, it makes no difference – as long as the snake loses its head. What will never be accepted is anyone trying to ask that justice not be applied to the terrorists apprehended. Anyone who tries to test that ground will find the full weight of the Force that is humiliating BH turned against his personal life and family. Korah and company (Num 16 ), Sennacherib (2 Chr 32:21) and Herod (Acts 12:21-24 ) are examples of people who have tasted what we are describing here!

Hypocrisy of the Hijab jihad

We find the unabashed self-delusory hypocrisy involved in the Hijab jihad really amazing. It’s a common sight, for instance on University Campuses in the South West, seeing ladies in hijab asking for rides by the roadside – even from unknown male motorists with no one else with them in the car. Does not the same religion put equal weight on wearing hijab as never being alone with a non-family member of the opposite sex? And as for the school situation, would we not have to resort to segregating the classroom into males and females, not only for pupils but teachers as well? Remember Christianah Oluwaseesin was killed by her students in March 2007 in Gombe state for lacking proper Islam-mandated classroom etiquette. She “foolishly” seized (thereby touching!) a bag containing the Quoran from a pupil while invigilating an IRS exam! Read that horrible story again in Vol 10 No 2 ). If Muslims in the South West are reviving the call for the hijab in public schools, (which they unsuccessfully tried at University Medical schools etc in the past), they should be prepared to go the whole hog. Such Hijab-clad faithfuls should not be found alone in the company of non-family males – except of course they are prepared for the conditions for exemptions. Yes, there are conditions for exemptions. Back in May 2007, Dr. Izzat Atiya, head of Al Azhar University's Department of Hadith in Egypt, issued a fatwa, saying that female workers should "breastfeed" their male co-workers in order to work in each other's company. According to the BBC: He said that if a woman fed a male colleague "directly from her breast" at least five times they would establish a family bond and thus be allowed to be alone together at work. "Breast feeding an adult puts an end to the problem of the private meeting, and does not ban marriage," he ruled. "A woman at work can take off the veil or reveal her hair in front of someone whom she breastfed." (www.meforum.org/3211/islamic-adult-breastfeeding-fatwas). In a later version (year 2010), high-ranking Saudi, Sheikh Abdul Mohsin al-Abaican issued another fatwa relaxing the requirement: the male co-worker does not necessarily have to suck directly from the breast, but can drink the milk served in a cup. (http://www.raymondibrahim.com/7570/fatwa-men-drink-breast-milk). As late as April 2012, the appropriateness of men drinking women’s breastmilk to confer on them the license to see their supposedly seductive hairs is still being affirmed in the Islamic world. (http://www.meforum.org/3211/islamic-adult-breastfeeding-fatwas)

Hijab seeks headway in Osun State, SW Nigeria

Following well-established patterns and precedents, played out in several countries all over the world, Islamists in South West Nigeria feel sufficiently empowered to make a powerful push to enforcing the Islamic dressing code in public schools in the state. This is no spurious allegation by any political party or state security for that matter. The crudely concocted plan is right in public domain. Championed by an Islamic faithful, Professor Is-haq Akintola of the Lagos State University, the first phase is right on course. The plan is simple, brazen, and makes no pretensions to finesse. Is-haq’s essay on his blog, titled Letter to Yoruba governors (http://drishaqakintola.blogspot.com/2012/04/hijab-letter-to-yoruba-governors.html) would provide a pseudo-intellectual basis for subsequent action by the Osun state governor – who is clearly the major addressee of the essay. “Your Excellencies, Ogbeni, Omoluabi, As-Salaam Alaykum” the article had began. The two additional titles used are exclusive titles adopted by Governor Aregbesola; and he is mentioned later in the body of the essay as having being previously involved on the subject matter. In any case, among his peers, Governor Aregbesola is easily the undisputed Sharia Champion in the region. The article, as is common with militant Islamism, was replete with thinly-veiled threats. “Signals coming from certain recent incidents in the region” are threatening the long-standing peace,” Is-haq warned. He seemed oblivious to the fact that it is he and his fellow Islamic activists that are disturbing the status quo with their insistence that school uniforms should no longer be uniform in the state. Rather, Muslim-labelled pupils must have their separate uniforms and presumably as many other religions or sects as wish could have theirs as well. One wonders what this has got to do with providing qualitative education! For good measure, Prof Is-haq threatened that the matter may result in “extremists from outside” the region capitalizing on it to foment trouble – a veiled reference to Boko Haram! (He was to mention BH directly by name later in the article). The professor of Islamic studies could not really articulate a basis to explain why Muslims have suddenly woken up to realize that the standard dressing by female students in public schools is “fit only for night clubs” and would certainly be the precursors for “HIV and AIDS, early pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, etc”. His attempt to refer to history was very clumsy. He seems to be saying that Muslim school children used to wear the hijab before the British colonialists “forcefully reversed this trend”. But that of course would not make any sense seeing there were no uniform-donning public schools before the advent of British missionaries (not the colonialists who were mainly interested in trade). He therefore concocted a very unreasonable and incredible scenario: that supposedly Christian teachers were beating up Muslim “students who wear the hijab outside the school premises”. He particularly referred to Iwo as the site of one such altercations. It would have been crazy enough for any teacher to beat up a female student on the streets simply because she was dressed in Islamic garb; it would be doubly crazy to do so in Iwo, the base of the now nationally famous TAWUNIL organization, and where it is a common street-sight, seeing female folks compelled to put on the hijab and flowing gowns irrespective of weather conditions – night and day. Ominously, Is-haq warned that despite the supposed “skilled diplomacy and personal involvement of the state governor to douse tensions” at Iwo, “Yet the last may not have been heard of the (matter)”. The big question is why this sudden life-and-death clamour for an Islamic uniform in public schools? (It is already mandatory in private Islamic schools in the state, and students from Christian homes who choose Islamic private schools for whatever reason are required to be likewise attired. In the Northern public schools which Prof Is-haq also referred to – it is mandatory that all students, whatever their religious affiliation, be uniformly attired in the Islamic garbs). Prof Is-haq himself provided some of the answers when he wrote: “What is in a school uniform? Muslims strongly suspect that a cut-throat game of numbers lies behind the opposition of Christians to Muslim demand for use of hijab in schools.” Cut-throat game of numbers. Now that’s a game Islamic activists are obsessed with. In fact, as we pointed out in a recent edition of CA! (Vol 14 No 6), that is precisely why accurate national census with religious affiliations indicated has proved impossible in Nigeria. Muslims always oppose and frustrate any measure to get accurate numbers, so they can go on quoting their self-deluding 50:50 figure as the Christian:Muslim ratio in Nigeria. In any case Christians know they can never use school uniform to reflect the number of people who have committed their lives unto the Lord Jesus. ”The cloak does not make the monk” it is said. It is Muslims that are obsessed with the idea. And that’s why, for instance, any Muslim who attains to any high public office is soon visited by the local Ummah and compelled to begin to use some Islamic names – so as to facilitate counting for their number game. Even more importantly, based on happenings elsewhere in the world, it is clear that the hijab is one effective way of forcefully bringing Muslim girls under control. For instance, in London’s Tower Hamlet, the Taliban regularly issues death threats to women who refuse to wear the Hijab. (see http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org); and in the Minya province of Egypt , Salafis are currently threatening to kidnap any girl (Christian or otherwise) found not wearing the hijab (http://www.copts-united.com/article.php?I=758&A=33765). Terror-stricken parents are reportedly keeping their daughters indoors, thereby missing school! Introduction of the hijab will be a direct way of requiring Muslim girls to declare their allegiance to Islam - and it is well known how Islam treats its apostates. As a matter of well-established doctrine and well-demonstrated practice, a Muslim who decides to stop being one is regarded as simply not fit to continue to live! Governor Aregbesola is currently on the spot for a number of allegations. While some he has refuted – such as his trying to substitute state security personnel with personal Islamic guards from the TAWUNIL organization (he says he is only supplementing with the guards); others his fans cheerfully admit as true – such as his openly and rancorously threatening to remove the governor of another state from office for the gross “sin” of refusing to change political affiliations. Hardly Omoluabi, to say the least! (see details in www.osundefender.org/?p=27647 for instance). Our candid advice will be that the governor squarely face the business of governance to justify and sustain the considerable goodwill he still enjoys from the state’s citizenry. In the meantime, Governor Aregbesola seems to be going ahead full-steam with the Islamic garb agenda. For now, he has decided that all public school students should wear the same uniform all over the state – and the state would design and provide the uniforms - with hijabs included, naturally!. (http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/apr/21/national-21-04-2011-08.html). Hence if this idea is eventually implemented, students will no longer be identifiable as students of particular schools (e.g. during school debates or sporting events), but rather as Muslim students versus Christian/animist/etc students. Quite sickening.

Chip lets smartphones see through walls, clothes

Researchers at the University of Texas, Dallas have designed a chip that could give smartphones the ability to see through walls, clothes or other objects. This was achieved when the team led by Prof Kenneth O tuned a small, inexpensive microchip to discern a "terahertz" band of the electromagnetic spectrum. All objects emit radiation spanning a wide band in the electromagnetic spectrum. Radiation with frequencies in the terahertz frequency range (between microwave and infrared) have the peculiar ability to pass through clothing, paper, cardboard, wood, masonry, plastic and ceramics. It can also penetrate fog and clouds, but not metal or water. However, their low intensity makes it difficult to detect them, compared with the radiation within the visible range, for instance, which can be detected by our eyes. What Prof O and his team have done is to devise an inexpensive microhip made using Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology to detect radiation within the terahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum. T-hertz signals coming from objects ordinarily hidden from view can be detected by the chip and they can be further processed into an image that would be displayed on the screen of the phone or similar device. "We've created approaches that open a previously untapped portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for consumer use," Professor O said, "There are all kinds of things you could be able to do that we just haven't yet thought about." (see http://news.yahoo.com/chip-lets-smartphones-see-walls-clothes-203036226.html)

Meanwhile, Some Psychiatrists are set to re-brand Paedophilia.

A group of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, going by the name B4U-Act says it's time to change the way society views paedophiles - people who have sexual attractions to children. To achieve this end, the organization is lobbying for changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, - the guideline of standards on mental health put together by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). That was exactly how homosexuality, which used to be listed in the DSM as a mental disorder got re-defined, some 40 years ago after intense lobby by gay advocates and activists (see CA! Vol 7 No 6 and also our previous article at http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2006/feb/072.html) B4U-Act attempts to justify its call for a revised view of paedophilia on its website, arguing that: "Stigmatizing and stereotyping minor-attracted people inflames the fears of minor-attracted people, mental health professionals and the public, without contributing to an understanding of minor-attracted people or the issue of child sexual abuse," Critics warn of a slippery slope to a time when pedophilia is "just another lifestyle choice" that won't warrant criminal charges—and will leave young children at risk. "Absolutely," Dr. Judith Reisman, a visiting professor of law at Liberty School of Law said. "Oh, they're very clear about that. Their goal is to take all shame out of the lust for children." For now, the APA official position, last documented in 2003 is that: "An adult who engages in sexual activity with a child is performing a criminal and immoral act and this is never considered normal or socially acceptable behavior." Unfortunately, this position may not stand the test of time in the years to come seeing how so many NGOs are active on the field in the service of people bent on redefining human sexuality in these so-called emerging post-modern days. For instance in a recent development, a New York court has ruled that viewing child pornography on-line is no longer a crime in the United States (Yahoo, Slideshow, May 9, 2012) Read more: www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/24/mental-health-group-looks-to-remove-stigma-from-pedophilia/#ixzz1uTf2cZlr

Historical trial with Catholic archdiocese begins – targeting those who hid pedophile priests

(CNN) – Opening arguments have begun in Philadelphia in the first case in which an official of a Roman Catholic archdiocese has been accused of protecting abusive priests by moving them from parish to parish. Monsignor William Lynn has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. Lynn served as the vicar of clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, a position in which he was responsible for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children – mostly boys. A grand jury alleged that he knowingly allowed priests accused of abuse to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to children, according to the district attorney’s office. Lynn “acted as if his job was to protect the abuser, never the abused,” a January 2011 grand jury report concluded. Read the rest of the story at the CNN blog here: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/25/philadelphia-priest-abuse-trial-to-draw-plenty-of-attention/ In a related development, the attitude of another abusive Catholic Priest has been described as “A slap in Face to victims”. Former Belgian bishop, 74-year old Roger Vangheluwe admitted he had abused one of his own nephews for 13 years, beginning from when the boy was just 5 years old. But he said the whole situation was no more than “a little piece of intimacy” and that he paid the boy tens of thousands of euros in support while it lasted. His sexual abuse of another nephew he said was very short. Despite all these, the Priest insisted he had no plans to abandon the priesthood, though he has resigned from the office of Bishop. He said he fully realized what he did was wrong, and often went to confession about it.

Now, National Security Adviser Names Boko Haram Sponsors

Despite pockets of desperate acts - suicidal shootings and bombings - still directed squarely at the Church of God in Northern Nigeria, there are rising hopes that the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel might just be around the corner. That the Boko Haram matter is fast approaching its climax and eventual terminus became evident when the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, General Gabriel Owoeye Aziza recently went public on who are the major actors behind the entire wicked saga. Incredibly, some people are insisting that even the NSA does not know what he is saying! (http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/may/08/national-08-05-2012-0018.html). Here is a man who sees all the reports, is familiar with all the arrests made (even though no known prosecution still!), and eventually gets all the blame for security lapses in the country. Yet people who are unhappy with his prognosis wasted no time in trying to discredit him and reduce his very weighty statement to a mere peppersoup-joint analysis. Any wonder why nobody had shown any enthusiasm about names-naming prior to this time? The personalities involved have got well established machinery most people would prefer not to get entangled with. Starting from their minions in the “free press”, the battery of SAN lawyers under retainership, to the professional killer squads. But even the NSA stopped short of mentioning names. Northern politicians within the ruling Party who were aggrieved at the zoning policy of the Party are behind the bombs, he had said. And he really did not need to say anything more! In any case, as if we didn’t know! When at the peak of zoning or no zoning palaver within the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar said he would make the country ungovernable and that violent change had then become inevitable, we all heard and the records are still there. Strangely the press, depending on their individual sponsors and their peculiar agenda all now comment as if Abubakar never said those things. The next episode in the tragi-comedy show ongoing in Nigeria is Charles Orkar now saying it was actually the President, Goodluck Jonathan, that organized the independence day bombing. Jonathan was having his first major outing as an elected president and he had invited the whole world to come celebrate Nigeria’s Jubilee with him - even despite severe threats by terrorists who insisted he must cancel the celebrations lest they bomb. The whole point of the threats was clearly to portray Jonathan as a weakling not fit for the office, and would have been followed even by more and more threats. Jonathan’s defiance and the resulting explosions at the precincts of the Eagle Square are now history. It is then comical that Mr Orkar should imagine anyone dumb enough to buy the words of a notorious terror-monger suggesting Goodluck Jonathan as the mastermind behind the bombing. More is the tragedy that some national dailies (for example the PUNCH) had the guts to put this accusation as screaming front-page headlines, with all manner of silly analyses insinuating that the allegation might just be true! Even more interesting is Orkar’s deposition (from his cell in South Africa) that the President organized the bombing in order to push the blame on Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB). Now that is some real, raw names-naming! IBB was one of the figures who desperately appealed, to no avail, to the Zoning formula of the PDP in order to edge out Jonathan from the presidential race in 2011. He was conspicuously absent at the Independence Day Jubilee ceremonies when the bombs were booming. It seems evident to us that Orkar is merely attempting to jump the gun. Now, before names become publicly named in Nigeria, and before hard evidences are produced in Court in South Africa - all no doubt implicating IBB (as if we didn’t know!) and Raymond Dokpesi (IBB’s right hand man and chief campaign manager), the desperate game plan is to make the association in public and reduce the trial to a media one rather than a sober legal one. As a media mogul (owning the very influential African Independent TV and sister radio stations), Dokpesi and his principal would be far more comfortable with a hyped media trial than a real one that will certainly send them to jail. Just like ex-governor James Ibori was humiliated at the courts in London, IBB and cohorts know what await them in a fair trial, particularly in a foreign land. Taking the cue from the NSA, the various security organizations are now putting together, for the first time, a Watch List comprising names of major actors to be placed on active surveillance with the goal of proving their culpability in the Boko Haram killings. And so, with fingers crossed and trusting in the wisdom of God to catch the crafty in their own conceits, we await the next developments which will help Nigeria permanently put these security failures behind.  The good news then about the NSA’s disclosure is that it indicates that the heat must be really getting to the bad guys, hence these desperate pranks. What broad lessons can Christians learn from all these developments? We see a desperate devil troubling the world using all means possible and all agency available (Rev 12:12). We take courage playing our God-mandated patriotic duties and thus not only saving ourselves from corruption, despair and despondence, we actually rise to save others, shine and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). Thus we confirm the Scriptures: “and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not” (John 1:5). Shalom.