Uncategorized – Page 43 – The Faithful Watchman

Eisenhower strike group, submarine arrive in Middle East

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group, as well as an Ohio-class submarine, have entered the Middle Eastern waters of U.S. Central Command as concerns continue about a larger conflict erupting in the region as Israel’s war with Hamas grinds on.

Ike’s arrival also comes amid continued attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria that Pentagon officials have blamed on Iran-backed proxies.

Eisenhower transited the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea on Saturday, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

The Eisenhower’s presence in the region marks the first time a carrier has operated in Central Command’s area of responsibility since the end of the Afghanistan war in 2021.

“The arrival of [the Ike Carrier Strike Group] to Middle East region displays our speed and agility to flex as our nation’s leaders determined a balance of maritime capability in support of national security priorities,” Rear Adm. Marc Miguez, commander of Carrier Strike Group 2, said in a Navy news release. “The strike group brings an unparalleled combat superiority to CENTCOM and we will be leveraging our presence in the theater to enhance regional security and operate alongside our allies and partners.”

Additionally, CENTCOM issued a rare announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that an Ohio-class submarine entered its waters on Sunday, although it did not disclose the name of the submarine.

“The submarine’s rapid deployment in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility demonstrates flexibility and dynamic ability to deter potential adversaries, reassure partners, enhanced maritime security, and ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce,” the Navy said in a news release Monday.

CENTCOM did not provide additional details, although it did include an image of a submarine appearing to transit the Suez Canal.

The U.S. has a total of 18 Ohio-class submarines, including four guided-missile submarines outfitted with 154 Tomahawk missiles.

Vatican says transgender Catholics can be baptised

Transgender believers can be baptised in the Catholic Church, if it would not cause scandal or “confusion”, the Vatican said Wednesday, clarifying a sensitive area of doctrine.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, tasked with promulgating and defending matters of Catholic faith, also raised no objections to baptism for the children of same-sex couples, either adopted or born through surrogacy.

The comments were made in a document responding to questions from a Brazilian bishop, written on October 31 but only made public now.

It was approved by Pope Francis, who has repeatedly said the Church should be open to everyone, including LGBTQ believers.

However, he has made clear that he considers homosexuality “a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage”.

Catholic teaching defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman in order to have children.

In the document, the dicastery said transgender faithful “can receive baptism, under the same conditions of other faithful, if there is no situation in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or uncertainty among the faithful”.

This is true of someone who has undergone hormone treatment and/or sex reassignment surgery, it said.

In response to a question on whether a same-sex couple could be viewed as parents of a child who must be baptised, the dicastery said only there must be a “well-founded hope” that the child would be educated in the Catholic religion.

World Series Champs Only Team in MLB Not to Hold Pride Night

Only one team in Major League Baseball has refused to bow down to the Alphabet Activists. Only one team has refused to ever hold a Pride Night celebration. And tonight, that team won the World Series.

The Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 to become World Series champions for the first time in the 63-year history of the franchise.

Earlier this year the Rangers defended its policy of not pandering to the radical LGBT activists.

“Our commitment is to make everyone feel welcome and included in Rangers baseball. That means in our ballpark, at every game, and in all we do — for both our fans and our employees,” the team said in a statement to Associated Press. “We deliver on that promise across our many programs to have a positive impact across our entire community.”

The team even faced backlash from Fox News Channel. The news organization’s website posted a critical story titled, “Texas Rangers face criticism for lack of Pride Night: ‘Just Ridiculous.’

“The fact that there’s so much resistance is a huge point of contention, not just for the gay folks, but for everyone,” a former employee was quoted as saying. “It was always something that bothered me greatly about the organization. They do a lot of things well, where they have all these other nights for different fans and cultures. The fact that they omit one group very clearly is just ridiculous.”

Ray Davis, the majority owner of the Rangers, acknowledged during the trophy ceremony tonight that he is a man of faith.

Orwellian nightmare: British woman FINED for ‘silently praying’ outside of abortion center

You know you live in scary times when the simple act of prayer lands you in trouble.

Although this happened in Britain, America, which shares much of the same Western ideology, likely isn’t far behind.

Pat Gray plays the clip of a woman being confronted by law enforcement for “silently praying” outside an abortion center in Britain.

The officer, reading from some kind of handbook, asked a range of questions, such as, “Are you here as part of an organized protest,” “Are you part of a pro-life organization or pro-choice organization,” and “Are you protesting?”

The woman responded “no” to all of the questions.

“Can your action be carried out elsewhere?” the officer pressed.

“I can pray elsewhere, but I want to pray here today,” the woman responded.

“Are you aware that there is a Public Space Protection Order in place here?” the officer inquired, to which the woman responded that she was aware of the order but did not believe she needed to move because she was only praying silently and not protesting.

The officer then informed her that she would be issued “a fixed penalty notice … for failing to comply with the Public Space Protection Order and the Antisocial Behavior Crime and Policing Act of 2014.”

“Just to make it clear, I’m not protesting,” the woman said again, but the officer’s only response was “OK” before she issued the fine anyway.

“She wasn’t hitting people with a hammer as they walked by. She wasn’t blocking an entrance. She wasn’t doing anything but praying on the sidewalk,” sighs Pat Gray in disbelief, “and you can’t do that in Great Britain?”

Nearly 100 Ohio churches leave UMC amid homosexuality schism

Nearly 100 congregations in Ohio have left the United Methodist Church amid the denomination’s ongoing debate over homosexuality, joining thousands of other churches in the United States that have done the same.

At a special session of the UMC West Ohio Conference held last weekend, 96 churches were granted their request to disaffiliate from the mainline Protestant denomination.

The session was held at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, with around 800 clergy and laity in attendance. Bishop Gregory V. Palmer presided over the gathering.

In addition to the 96 disaffiliations, the session also dealt with budgetary issues, recommending the sale of two camping properties and electing additional delegates to the UMC General Conference.

“We were empowered to make some challenging decisions,” said Palmer in a statement. “We brought glory to God by the patient, honest, and respectful way we engaged one another. In spite of the challenges, we have come through, our future is open because God is able.”

In June, the West Ohio Conference voted to allow 172 congregations to disaffiliate from the UMC, having allowed 80 churches to leave the denomination last year. It is estimated that, at present, the regional body covering over 50 counties has a little over 600 member congregations remaining.

“Our calling is to serve this present age, even if there’s a storm … in the midst of passing over. One of our storms is disaffiliation,” Palmer said in a June statement.

“That’s not a blame thing; it’s just the way it is. It’s in the book. We’ve given a lot of attention to it. Let me be clear. It is not our mission. We gave attention to it. We’ll finish up what there is to be finished up.”

Over the last couple of years, more than 6,600 congregations have voted to leave the UMC amid the debate over whether to change the denomination’s rules to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of clergy in same-sex relationships.

We’re Entering A New Era In The United States, Where There Will Be A Cost To Following Jesus

For those of us who call the United States home, we have—for the most part—lived a life of religious freedom. We have not had to fear for our health or our family as we have worshiped our Savior.

This is not the case in other areas of the world. I’ve met a pastor in India whose skin is scarred from an acid attack. In Nigeria, Christians are regularly killed for their faith. In some parts of the Middle East, you can be murdered by your own family if you profess Christ.

In some ways, even the freedom of religion in our country feels like it is slipping away, as “cancel culture” seems to take ever-greater precedence over the First Amendment.

Some might debate me on this, but it certainly feels like we’re entering a new era in the United States, where there will be a cost to following Jesus.

This is nothing new, of course. Approximately 2,000 years ago, shortly after Jesus physically walked the roads of Jerusalem, Christians were already suffering for His Name.

In 1 Peter 4:12-19, we are told how we should respond when the world attacks us for our faith.

As Christians, we must expect sufferings (v. 12). Peter advises us to expect and anticipate suffering. It is unavoidable.

We occasionally act like we should get a free pass because we’re Christians—even questioning God’s goodness when bad things happen—but God promised that difficulties would come our way.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

If God promised us that we’re going to go through hard times, we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens.

We can rejoice when we go through trials (vv. 13-14). It sounds odd to say we can rejoice during suffering, but there are several reasons why we should:

1. First, we can rejoice because when we suffer we are identified with Christ. This is exactly what the disciples did in Acts 5:41: “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

2. Second, we can rejoice because we share in God’s glory. Just as we suffer with Him, we will also share in God’s glory when He returns in the near future.

3. Finally, we can rejoice because when we are reviled, insulted, persecuted or mocked, God’s Spirit will rest on us.

Our suffering will be a result of following Christ (vv. 15-16). We often want to play the victim, and claim we are being attacked when we’ve actually brought the suffering onto ourselves by our own actions (and it has nothing to do with our faith).

There are consequences for our sin. If you are a thief or a gossip, you brought the punishment upon yourself.

Peter makes it clear that we should not suffer in that way, because—as followers of Christ—we should live a life set apart for Him. Rather, we will suffer the wrath of the world because of our faith.

We should glorify God in our suffering (vv. 16-18). We are not to be ashamed if we suffer for Christ. Rather, Peter instructs us to glorify God instead.

Why? Because the suffering we endure on this earth in our service to Christ pales in comparison to the hope of eternity that awaits us in Heaven. On the other hand, “those who do not obey the gospel of God” must still face eternal judgment.

The passage is summed up in 1 Peter 4:19, which says, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”

Worldcoin scans eyeballs and offers crypto. What to know about the project from OpenAI’s CEO

Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world, with the Kenya’s government going so far as to shut down the service indefinitely.

The international ID startup, backed by big names in Silicon Valley, is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure.

Here’s what to know about Worldcoin and the concerns its raising:

Worldcoin is the creation of Sam Altman, best known as the CEO of OpenAI, the company that has gained widespread recognition with its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.

The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or duplicated. Worldcoin creates a “World ID” by scanning someone’s eyeballs through “orbs” — a device that captures an image of their irises, the colored parts of the eyes.

One possible use for such an ID would be online services, where oftentimes people are having to remember multiple passwords and usernames for various websites they have signed up for.

The security of those sites can be flawed, however, and there have been numerous security breaches where usernames and passwords have been stolen. Instead of using old technology like passwords, a person could just sign up using their World ID.

Nightmare Wedding: Over 100 Christians Burned Alive, Iraqi Gov. Says ‘Accidental’

Over 100 Christians were burned alive after a fire broke out during a Christian wedding ceremony in Iraq on Oct. 3, 2023; another 150 attendees were seriously injured. Nearly 60 of those killed in the inferno were directly related to the bride and groom.

To quote from one report:

Tragedy struck the Assyrian Christian town of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province … during a joyous wedding when scenes of celebration and laughter soon derailed into a hellish nightmare when the banquet hall caught on fire. At least a hundred died and over 150 were also injured.

The town of Hamdaniya, it is worth recalling:

…is one of Iraq’s only Christian-majority districts, located in the Nineveh Plains near Mosul, a historic Assyrian region. Like many Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains, it was taken over by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists during their brazen sweep of northern Iraq, where they declared a so-called “caliphate” and inflicted grave atrocities on minority groups, including Christians.

In a press conference held on the same day of the tragedy, the Iraqi government announced that its investigation had “conclusively concluded” that the fire was “accidental” and “not intentional at all.”

Minutes later, the Syriac Church slammed the announcement: “We reject it [the results], we don’t accept it,” said the Archbishop of Mosul Benedictus Younan Hanno, adding that “political conspiracies” might be afoot.

The archbishop especially rejected the idea that the fire was caused by fireworks: “there are tens of videos,” he said, “showing that they were not the reason.”

The archbishop is voicing the opinion of most Iraqi Christians. After also categorically rejecting the fireworks claim, the groom of the wedding, Rivan, 27, strongly implied arson:

We demand the rights of those whose blood was spilt. Why did their blood have to be spilled? We demand their rights and we demand the perpetrator of this action, him and all who are behind him. We demand an international investigation, not a local or federal investigation.

It is worth noting that this scenario — a fire claims Christian lives only for Muslim authorities to say it was “accidental”—has played out many times in the Middle East. Take Egypt, for example, where the region’s largest Christian minority resides.

Most recently, on Mar. 29, 2023, a massive fire broke out and completely consumed an ancient church in Assyut. Even before a proper inspection could be carried out, the fire was immediately blamed on a “leaky gas bottle.”

The most tragic of all examples, however, occurred on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, when the Church of Abu Seifein in Cairo caught fire during morning mass. At least 41 Christians — 18 of whom were children — were killed in the flames. As usual, minutes after it broke out, officials immediately attributed the fire to faulty wires, etc. Arson was, without any real investigation, ruled out.

Indeed, in just that same month of August 2022 alone, a total of 10 other Coptic churches “caught fire” in Egypt.

There appears to be no shortage of examples. On Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, a fire broke out in and “devoured” a church in the Giza Governorate. It was blamed on a small candle left on a votary stand. However, images from surveillance cameras clearly show that “the candle ignited suddenly and in an unusual way.”

It should also be noted that sometimes after officials conclude that a church fire was due to some accident, it comes out that arson was indeed the true cause — not that the authorities will admit it. On Aug. 16, 2022, the Church of Saint Mary the Egyptian in Alexandria caught fire. Although it too was instantly attributed to “natural causes,” at least one eyewitness saw someone on the balcony of a residential building adjacent to the church hurl some combustible substance onto the church, starting the fire.

Considering the severe persecution of Christians in nations such as Egypt and Iraq and the willful targeting of their churches — hundreds of Coptic and Assyrian churches have been torched in recent years — it is, of course, difficult to automatically rule out terrorism or arson in all of these “accidental” fires.

Princeton Students Chant Call For Murdering Jews

Students at Princeton University, often considered the most prestigious university in the nation, chanted “Long live the Intifada,” a call for murdering Jews.

The First Intifada started in 1987 and lasted nearly six years. According to the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, during the Second Intifada, which began in 2000, 887 of the 1,137 Israelis murdered in attacks from September 2000 — 2005 were civilians.

Just between May 2001 and May 2002 there were the following massacres: five Israelis murdered by a suicide bomber at the HaSharon Mall in May 2001; 21 Israelis murdered by a suicide bomber at the Dolphinarium Discotheque in June 2001; 15 Israelis murdered by a suicide bomber at Sbarro’s Pizza in August 2001, including six children and a 31-year-old woman who was the only child of her parents and was five months pregnant; 11 Israelis murdered in a bus bombing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem on December 1, 2001; 15 more Israelis murdered the very next day in a Haifa suicide bombing; 11 more Israelis murdered in a bus attack 10 days later in Immanuel; six Israelis murdered in an attack at a bas-mitzvah in January 2002; 11 more Jews killed in an attack on a yeshiva in March 2002, including a five-month-old child; 11 Jews murdered in a bombing at Café Moment in March 2002; 30 Israelis killed as they celebrated Passover in Netanya on March 27, 2002; 16 Israelis murdered in a suicide bombing four days later at the Matzah restaurant; and 16 Israelis murdered in Rishon LeZion in May 2002.

At MIT, another highly prestigious university, students at a campus protest chanted “One Solution, Intifada, Revolution” at a rally.

Hollywood Security Companies Say Requests From Jewish Stars Have Increased Following Terrorist Attacks

Hollywood personal security companies said that requests from Jewish stars and those in the entertainment industry have definitely increased following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israelis.

New York City and L.A.-based Global Threat Solutions CEO Kenneth D. Bombace told the Hollywood Reporter that they have “had a sharp increase in requests from our Jewish clients. They’re afraid they could be a target.”

He noted that his company provides real-time “geofencing” data that alerts clients “to an assault, to shootings, even hostile social media posts” in the area. Bombace — whose list of clients includes stars and billionaires — said “We provide detailed reporting on protests that could potentially turn violent — and where they are in relation to where our clients’ offices are.”

A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism showed that in the two weeks since the Hamas attacks, a total of 193 antisemitic incidents have occurred in the U.S., 77 of which were directly linked to what is happening in Gaza.