To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Religion Today items(12/29/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 08:46:20 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

Christians on camels with full costumes will recreate the trip of
the Magi in 2000. The Holy Land Trust, a humanitarian
organization endorsed by the Middle East Council of Churches,
will sponsor a 99-day pilgrimage through four countries and the
Palestine Autonomous territories. Fifty Christian pilgrims of
many races and denominations are scheduled to arrive in Bethlehem
on Dec. 25, 2000, Reuters said.
...They will travel through Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and into
the Palestinian-ruled town of Bethlehem. In the predominantly
Muslim countries they will highlight the need for religious
tolerance and cooperation, leader Robin Wainright said. The trust
plans to build a planetarium in Bethlehem to attract tourists,
create jobs, and provide an educational benefit to schools, he
said.
...The procession will be televised as it moves through Iraq.
"There is going to be a big celebration," Wainright said.
"American viewers will see thousands of people on the streets
cheering as the camels and the Magi pass through." One reason for
the trip is to interest American Christians in the church in the
Middle East.

Americans believe in God but don't know who God is, a USA Today-CNN-
Gallup poll found. The survey of 1,037 adults found that 30% described
themselves as "spiritual" but not interested in attending church.
"I can go on a 40-mile bike ride and get as much from it as I can
from going to church," Stephen Kelley of Brooksville, Fla., a
onetime Roman Catholic, told USA Today. "Nature to me is what God
is all about. It's a renewal."
...About 54% of respondents said they are religious, but 45% of
those said they are more likely to follow their own instincts
than denominational teachings. "People are saying, 'I have faith,
I believe in God, but I don't believe in church," Joan Brown
Campbell of the National Council of Churches said. That can lead
to ignoring traditional religious beliefs. For example, 79% said
they believe God will decide who goes to heaven or hell, but 44%
said that atheists, if they are good people, will enter heaven.

Many British clergy doubt the Genesis account of creation. A
survey of 103 church leaders showed that 97% say they do not
believe the world was created in six days, and 80% do not believe
in the existence of Adam and Eve, Conservative News Service said.
About 25% said they do not believe in the Virgin Birth, but the
majority believe in the Resurrection and the validity of the Ten
Commandments. Those surveyed included Roman Catholic and Anglican
bishops, and Protestant ministers.

December 29, 1999
http://www.religiontoday.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (12/29/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 09:03:28 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

*** Update: Del. couple charged for leaving son

ROCKLAND, Del. (AP) - The head of a $500 million-a-year company was
arrested along with his wife for allegedly leaving their sickly
10-year-old son at a hospital with a note saying they could no longer
care for him. Richard Wallace Kelso, 62, president and CEO of PQ
Corp. and his wife, Dawn, 45, were charged with abandonment of a
child and conspiracy. They were freed on bail Tuesday after spending
the night in jail. Police said the Kelsos left their son, Steven, in
his wheelchair at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children Sunday.
The boy's mother "turned to the desk clerk to say she wanted her son
admitted and left his clothes, toys, medical supplies and equipment
before she left," said hospital spokeswoman Terri Volker Greenley.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562893924-f5e

*** Update: 2nd killer storm batters Europe; 120 dead

PARIS (AP) - Thousands of people in France faced the prospect of New
Year's Eve without electricity after a second killer storm in three
days brought fierce winds, torrential downpours and violent waves
along the coast. Across Western Europe, the death toll from the
storms reached 120 Tuesday. The brunt of the regional storm hit
France's southwestern corner, leaving a trail of destruction similar
to the one that struck the north Sunday: fallen power lines, uprooted
trees, collapsed roofs and streets strewn with debris. By dawn
Tuesday, the storm that had rolled in from the Atlantic that morning
had rolled out, leaving weather conditions calm across most of
France. No new storms were forecast, but much chaos remained. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562889220-efc
*** Also: Versailles nature's battlefield, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562887936-e41

*** Schroeder to Europe: Unite vs. U.S.

BERLIN (AP) - Europe must act more like a single country if it wants
to challenge U.S. economic and political dominance, Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder said Tuesday. Asked in a TV interview whether the
U.S. lacked consideration for its allies, Schroeder said, "Yes, that
certainly is so. There is a risk of America looking inward because of
its huge economic power and its huge political weight, and it would
be regrettable if that process continues." But European nations have
to do their part by uniting behind common goals, Schroeder said,
noting the 15-nation European Union's decision this year to appoint a
senior diplomat as a first step toward a hoped-for joint foreign
policy. "Whining about U.S. dominance doesn't help. We have to act,"
Schroeder said in the interview with Phoenix public TV. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562889557-7e1

*** Jerusalem no place for Y2K party

JERUSALEM (AP) - While much of the world celebrates New Year's Eve,
it'll be "Lights out!" in Jerusalem. Rabbis have barred hotels from
staging parties. The only organized event for Christian tourists - a
performance of Handel's Messiah at the Jerusalem Convention Center -
has been canceled for lack of funds, and police have scrapped a dance
party at the city's main soccer stadium for security reasons. Some
say it is simply unreasonable to expect big bashes in Israel. For
observant Jews, sundown Friday is the start of the Jewish Sabbath,
not New Year's Eve. Saturday is an ordinary day in the Hebrew
calendar year 5760, rather than the dawn of a new millennium. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562887586-ed9

*** Stars joining Clinton for Y2K gala

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hundreds of stage workers, scaffolding technicians,
electricians and camera and sound specialists crawled over the front
of the Lincoln Memorial Tuesday, setting up a huge stage, a ton of
marble scenery, more than 250 miles of cable, three movie screens and
75 generators to light and heat it all. They were setting up for the
three-hour, $12 million Hollywood extravaganza in which President
Clinton and thousands of celebrants will ring in the next century
Friday night. Organizers say the show is being financed by private
donations from corporations and individuals. There will be an
18-minute Steven Spielberg film, song-and-dance numbers, a symphony
orchestra, pyrotechnics and an array of stars. The televised show,
produced by Quincy Jones, will be set at the base of the Lincoln
Memorial near the Reflecting Pool. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562891173-8e3

*** Bug engineered to eat toxic waste

(AP) - The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans already holds the title
as the world's toughest organism: It can survive an atomic blast. Now
scientists have bioengineered it into a "superbug" that can digest
the toxic leftovers of the nuclear age. Government geneticists said
they inserted genes from another form of bacteria into Deinococcus,
producing a superbug that transforms toxic mercury compounds commonly
found at nuclear weapons production sites into less harmful forms.
The scientists said the development shows how bacteria can be
customized to attack the heavy metals, radioactive wastes and other
substances that pollute the soil and groundwater at nuclear sites.
The superbug works in laboratory experiments but has not been tested
in the field. Details of the research were published in the January
issue of the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562892734-f4b

*** Flu cases flood emergency rooms

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Linda Lindquist thought things might slow down
at Thunderbird Samaritan Medical Center after the Christmas weekend.
But the flood of sniffly, feverish patients that started flowing into
her emergency room last week has just kept coming and coming. The
hospital turned to extra staff and volunteers to help comfort
patients. And for several days in a row, it has diverted ambulances
until it could get the waiting room under control. Hospitals in the
Phoenix area are overrun by patients complaining of coughs, fevers
and sore throats. Emergency rooms in Southern California and
Wisconsin also report being flooded with flu patients. Nineteen
states reported widespread or regional flu activity during the week
of Dec. 12-18, according to the most recent CDC data. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562897464-esu

*** Military closing Web sites for Y2K

WASHINGTON (AP) - Taking last-minute precautions, the Pentagon and
the federal personnel agency are shutting down some of their public
Internet sites this weekend to keep them safe from computer hackers
as the calendar rolls over to 2000. And the Department of Veterans
Affairs has decided to mail January benefit checks to more than 2.5
million veterans Dec. 30, a day early, to avoid potential delays
related to the Y2K computer bug, officials disclosed Tuesday. The
early mailings "will mitigate unexpected year 2000 interruptions of
benefit payments arising from anything outside our control," said VA
spokesman Terry Jemison. The Social Security administration announced
last week that checks and electronic deposits for 44 million elderly
and disabled Americans also would be dispatched for delivery a day
early. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562890234-584
*** Also: Workers cash in on Y2K, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562889214-63b
*** And: Y2K briefs, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562890706-263

*** As Y2K nears, hoarding not rampant

NEW YORK (AP) - Store shelves are far from empty and many merchants
say it's business as usual as Y2K draws near, with few Americans
hoarding goods in preparation for possible troubles in the new year.
While some Y2K-fearing consumers are buying up baby formula, electric
generators, and sleeping bags, most aren't purchasing a thing or are
just stocking up on basics, such as water and batteries. "We have not
seen our customers hit the panic button," said Don Harrison,
spokesman for Home Depot, the Atlanta-based home improvement chain.
As the calendar changes, there have been concerns that computers will
misread 2000 as 1900 and disruptions will occur, from electricity
failures to disabled ATM machines. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562895366-9ac

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (12/28/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 09:06:18 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

Israeli Attorney General: Halting Temple Mount construction will lead to
bloodshed

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Tue Dec 28,1999 -- Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein says that any
Israeli attempt to halt ongoing Muslim construction on the Temple Mount will
likely lead to bloodshed that could consume the entire country. Rubinstein's
remarks came in a written affidavit he submitted to the Supreme Court at the
end of last week in response to a petition from a Jewish group that wants the
construction stopped.

In the affidavit, he urged the court to reject a petition by the Temple Mount
Faithful seeking to freeze all work at the site known as Solomon's Stables
and to return the situation to the way it was before recent construction
began. The Waqf insists that it needs to widen the entrance gate to the area
to create an emergency exit for the many visitors to Al Aqsa mosque.
Rubinstein argued that halting the construction "is almost certain to bring
about the shedding of blood and the inflaming of passions that could easily
spread from the Temple Mount and Jerusalem to the territories and to all of
Israel." None of the affidavits mentions the harsh statements reportedly made
by the three in a recent meeting on the matter held in the office of Public
Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami. During the meeting, Rubinstein
reportedly said that the Waqf was destroying vestiges of Jewish history on
the Temple Mount. Drori referred to the Waqf's activities as an
"archaeological crime" and Yitzhaki accused the Waqf of refusing a police
directive to halt all work at the site. In the affidavit submitted by the
Jerusalem municipality, its legal adviser Asa Eliav wrote that, in response to
the complaint by members of the "Chai ve Kayam" organization, a municipal
building inspector was dispatched to the site and reported that the Waqf had
dug a 12-meter-by-50-meter trench, a serious violation of building laws.
Nevertheless, the affidavit claims, the attorney general has not allowed the
municipality to take the case to the courts in order to put an immediate stop
to the work.

The affidavit of the Antiquities Authority states that the Waqf has already
lined the bottom and sides of the trench with concrete in order to turn
"Solomon's Stables" into an entrance gate. According to the archaeologist's
report, two of the three arches in the stables' northern wall have already been
broken through not far from the eastern wall of the Temple Mount, and arches
four and five had been uncovered but were ultimately left sealed. A large
underground structure was exposed by the Waqf's digging on Saturday,
opposite the third arch. The Waqf did not report the discovery to the proper
authorities and dismantled it piece by piece. The arched, tunnel-like
structure, was built with large stones roughly placed.

Israel agrees to give up some control of Jerusalem neighborhoods

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Tue Dec 28,1999 -- Israel has agreed to give the PA civilian control in
Jerusalem's northern Arab neighborhoods of Beit Hanina and Shuafat similar
to the control that the Palestinians exercise in Area B of Judea and Samaria,
and joint control of the Atarot airport in northern Jerusalem. Israel's
willingness to cede civilian control over the areas was conveyed to the
Palestinians during talks between the two sides on an eventual framework
agreement. The proposal does not involve any concession of Israeli
sovereignty in these areas, nor does it grant the PA any responsibility for
security. But almost all areas of day-to-day life - planning and construction,
financial administration, sanitation, municipal supervision, health services,
patrolmen and other areas currently under the auspices of the Jerusalem
municipality - would be transferred to the PA. The arrangement implies de
jure recognition of the ties that already exist between various Arab Jerusalem
neighborhoods and the PA. It will also set clear guidelines for what the
Palestinian security services, already active in East Jerusalem, may and
may not do within the city limits. Oded Eran, head of the Israel negotiating
team, handed over details of the proposal to Yasser Abed Rabbo, head of the
Palestinian team. Palestinian sources claim that Israel intimated that
sovereignty over these areas would also be discussed, but at a much later
date. Palestinians who examined the proposal were of the opinion that the
Beit Hanina-Shuafat proposal was a test case for other Arab neighborhoods
in the city that would follow suit later on. The proposal does not discuss the
Old City of Jerusalem.

The Israeli negotiating team has also adopted the concept which was
discussed in the past as a possible solution to the question of Jerusalem.
The concept involves broadening the city limits of Jerusalem to include
Jewish towns beyond the Green Line, such as Ma'aleh Adumim, Givat Ze'ev
and Beitar, while at the same time allowing Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem
to become part of the PA.

As part of this proposal, it has again been suggested that the Abu Dis
neighborhood east of Jerusalem or Aram, north of Jerusalem, serve as the
capital of the Palestinian Authority and be called Al Quds. Such a proposal
would create two Jerusalems, one Israeli and the other Palestinian. All the
Arab residents of East Jerusalem, those who remain within the borders of the
Israeli Jerusalem as well as those who live in the areas controlled by the PA,
will be eligible to vote for and be elected to the institutions of a future
Palestinian state.

A number of proposals have been offered to resolve competing claims over
the Old City. One involves "vaticanizing" the Old City, giving the various
religions joint sovereignty over the city and divesting it of all political
sovereignty. Even under this type of arrangement, the overall security
responsibility for the Old City would remain in the hands of Israel. In
discussions recently held by Barak associates, it was decided that the
government would emphasize that the removal of Arab neighborhoods from
Jerusalem would maintain the city's Jewish majority.

Washington: Flesh-eating bacteria kills two

Weekend News Today
By Weekend Staff
Source: Yahoo!

Mon Dec 27,1999 -- Two Pierce County men have died after being infected
by a flesh-eating bacteria. A state Health Department spokesman says there
is no reason to fear an outbreak in the area, however. The Centers for
Disease Control indicate there are anywhere from 500 to 15-hundred cases
of the bacteria a year. (TACOMA)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Rev 8:11
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 12:40:53 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Hi everyone...

I came across this reference in regards to Rev 8:11. I do not have
the primary source that is cited and would appreciate any
additional info anyone may have on the "luminous demon idol"
that is mentioned.

"Why did John choose to use the simile of the great star as
wormwood? The Egyptians had a luminous demon idol who presided
over a third of the waters. The Popular and Critical Bible
Encyclopedia and Scripture Dictionary (Vol. 3, p. 1735) says,
'The vocation of this star was to destroy by poison, not by
fire, sword, or famine. St. John seems to employ this symbol of
Egyptian poison and bitterness as the prototype of a great anti-
christian power, which would poison and embitter the pure waters
of christian life and doctrine, converting them into wormwood,
mitzraim, being a figure of apostasy and rebellion."

(Kenison, Fred. The Apocalypse of Revelation, Purkaitheion
Press, p. 119)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pluto/Chiron conjunction
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 13:25:32 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

There will be a conjunction of Chiron (half comet/half planet or asteroid) and
Pluto on December 30, 1999. The last time they were in conjunction was
July 18, 1941 (about the time Nazi Germany was initiating its final solution
to the "Jewish problem").

Full article:
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Sky_Signs/ss-010.htm

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