The Holy Great Martyr James the Persian

St. James (Jacob) the Persian (Feast Day - November 27)

From the Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church:

James, the glorious Great Martyr of Christ, was from Persia. He lived during the years of the pious Kings Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Theodosius the Great, who ruled in the year 395 A.D. He lived in Veethiavan of Persia, situated in the land of Elouzeesion. Then, Isdigerdis I and Bahram V, his son, ruled over the Persians. They were cruel and pitiless men. They forced the Christians (whomever they found) to worship, as they did, the senseless idols.

Now James was a lord of merit, notable and of good service to the nation. He was honored and beloved by all, as he was wealthy, knowledgeable and virtuous. Wherefore, he was considered first in the palace, and the king exceedingly loved him. He bestowed on him great importance and abundant gifts. So much did Isdigerdis and his son Bahram love James, that they did not wish to be separated even one hour from him. They displayed such favor, that they had him as a brother, for he was well-mannered and his family prominent. But this was so that they could cunningly lure him to impiety. For James was a Christian from childhood just as were his parents and wife, both pious and faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. So, these villains tried hard to estrange him with gifts and gratuities. They chose to be good-natured and discreet, and to persuade him with benefits and flatteries, rather than with threats and torments. However, this marvellous James, who resisted at first, was defeated by the many generous favors of the ruler, and, alas!, he was captured. He denied the most sweet Christ and worshipped the demons, and became one in spirit with the king.

But do not frown; hearken and strengthen your heart, and attend to this. Because just as one drop of water drips continually onto the hard marble to pefforate it, so also many gifts and favors are able to convert the gratified soul with ease and quickness; thus, did the ever-memorable one have the solid rock of his faith hollowed out. But listen to his end to receive exultation and joy, that God (Who foreknows and foresees) does not overlook but straightens the fallen and illuminates the way of the blind.

It was circulated around the land that James had denied Christ. This news came into the ears of his mother and spouse, who were wounded in their hearts upon hearing these unexpected words. Since they were not present to censure his tongue, they sent him a letter, saying thus:

"It was not proper to your nobility to exchange falsehood for the truth; to defraud the faith for the honor of men and temporary rewards, which pass by as a dream and disperse like smoke; and to love the perishable and temporary kingdom, and abandon immortality and eternity. For this violation you would elect to be cast into the inextinguishable fire and endless torment? You, who are unworthy of His love, denied Christ, in order to gain one worm-eaten man? O the mindlessness! What are you able to benefit by them, when you go together into torment? We have been greatly distressed by you and pour forth many tears and, with all our hearts, we pray to the true God not to desert you, as He is compassionate, but to receive your return. So recognize the mischief that you have created to become a son of darkness, instead of light, which you were formerly. Recover and revert again to godliness. And, if you do not repent speedily, know this: you no longer have any relation with us. But we wish to be as strangers and foreigners to you, and you will inherit nothing from us, so as to be completely separated from our society. Because not one particle has the light with the darkness, and the faithful with the faithless. So make a good return. Whereas, you departed badly; but the Master, Whom you denied, will receive you with open arms and rejoicing. If you disdain our advice and tears, when you reach the divine trial, you will be punished in torments endlessly and your crying will be in vain."

These things James read in the letter, and he remained in a stupor; indeed, as if from sleep and drunkenness, he was roused, realizing the treasure of faith of which he was destitute, and the evil of error into which he had tumbled. He cried bitterly and repented from his heart of the former things and beat his breast, lamenting and crying before the Master to forgive the iniquity, as He is compassionate. In imitation of Manasseh and Peter's repentance, he studied the Holy Scriptures and recalled the bitter punishments. He was not able to cease the tears, and it was evident he repented of his former impiety. Wherefore, certain idolators perceived and learned the reason for his disquiet. They betrayed him to the king. The king's heart was wounded on hearing such things. Infuriated, he summoned him for questioning and inquired if he were a Nazarene. James answered boldly and eagerly:

"Yes, I am a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ."

The king's rage grew, but he remembered their previous friendship, so he did not make a display or an outburst of anger. As in preceding times, he tested him with flatteries and by promising gifts; but at other times, with threats of hideous punishments and torments, to see, perchance, if he would waver. But the coward was not effective, because the saint thirsted for martyrdom.

The blessed James, in order to cause the tyrant to slay him quickly, answered him thus:

"In vain you labor, attempting with feeble means to sow wheat in the guff, or to hold back the winds in a net. In this way, it is not possible any longer to change my belief from piety. So then, lay aside all hope, so as not to conceal your wrath any more. Cut my body into pieces, punish, burn it, do with it as you will, but my soul you will not be able to turn to godlessness."

Again, the king tempted him with flatteries to ensnare him. Hiding his anger, he said to him with feigned love:

"James, pity your body, your blossoming manhood, remember our immeasurable friendship. Be not deprived of any worldly pleasures in this sweet life, in order to receive harsh pains and the bitterest death for these uncertain good hopes. I promise you that you will have wealth and power in my kingdom, greater than before. Yes, my beloved and dearest friend, I entreat you not to have contempt for our great friendship and appear before me ungrateful, because, if you disobey, it is necessary - although I do not want to - that you be taught a lesson. But do not think that I will be lenient later: no, it is not true, but I will change the love that I have for you now, into hatred that is commensurate with your disobedience. And I will deliver you to unheard of, horrible torments."

James boldly replied:

"O king, do not waste time importunely. Do not frighten me with torments, nor insincerely compliment me with tributes and gifts, because I despise from my heart all temporal enjoyments, empty glory, decaying riches and bodily sensuality, in order to inherit the true wealth and the honor, inexpressible delight and bliss. Wherefore, gladly I divest myself of wealth and glory, friends and relatives, mother, wife and all the pleasures of the body. And not only these things, but I am prepared to receive 10,000 deaths, only not to injure my sweet Christ, the Beautiful One among the sons of men, Who fashioned the sun, moon and the remainder of creation, and His divine will is equal to His power. He who denies Him goes to endless death."

This, in addition to other things, uttered the blessed James. And the king went into a furious rage, realizing it was impossible to pervert him. Wherefore, he took counsel with a certain senator, who recommended such severity, that upon hearing it, the king shuddered. That is: to dissever the joints, starting first with the fingers of his hands, and afterwards, the remainder of the joints. O the inhuman decision! What other unsparing tyrant ever revealed such pitilessness towards his friend? O savage judgment and inexorably merciless soul! Whoever heard this felt empathy; not only the faithful, but even those godless idolators among the nations, who wept at such a ferocious verdict. But our true martyr did not shrink back upon hearing such a sentence; rather, he hastened to the stadium with excessive joy and eagerness.

A large portion of the population assembled in order to witness the hideous sight. Not only people, but also the angels and demons were present at this mighty contest and violent duel. The angels were present in order to assist the saint invisibly to receive the crown, and the adversaries to prevent him, if possible, and to frustrate his purpose. Also, the word of the apostle was fulfilled: "...for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men" (I Cor. 4:9). For even the Great Promoter of contests and Heavenly King was there and stood above him to strengthen him in this match and, in the end, to grant him the imperishable crown. As the admirable and magnanimous man observed the fierce executioners and the forbidding instruments with which they were to cut him into pieces, he did not fear those devices prepared. Every kind soul, seeing another suffering thus, would feel sorrow and pity for him as a man. But he did not show any gloom and never uttered anything foul, nor did he suffer to do anything unworthy of his valor. But, as if his flesh was insensible, he stood with a joyous glance and cheerful face.

The executioners tied the hands and feet of the martyr and after, they placed his right arm on the anvil, saying to him:

"Behold what will happen to you for your disobedience. We have been instructed to cut off your members one by one: your fingers, hands, feet, arms, ankles, knees, and finally your head. Therefore, reason before you taste these horrors and do that which is for your own good, for there is no repentance afterwards."

Certain of his friends and acquaintances implored him with tears to have pity on himself and not voluntarily receive such a horrendous and evil death. The saint answered them:

"Weep not for me, O wretched ones, but lament for yourselves and your children, as you will go to eternal damnation with your gods for these temporal pleasures. I, for a day's pain, will inherit the Kingdom of my Lord Jesus Christ and, also, indescribable joy and everlasting bliss."

After saying this, he noticed that the executioners were readying their tools to cut off his limbs. Consequently, he asked time to make a prayer to the Lord, and he prayed that He would strengthen and assist him to complete the contest and receive the crown of martyrdom.

As they began the martyrdom, the executioners cut off his thumb. And he turned toward heaven and said:

"O Lord Jesus Christ, the Help of all those who are helpless, the Hope of all the hopeless, and the Strength of all the weak: receive the first branch of this tree by Thy mercy. For as the vineyard gives forth leaves even when it is trimmed, thus will I appear before Thy judgment seat, safe and upright on the Day of Resurrection."

When they cut off his second finger, he said, "Receive, O Lord, the second branch of the tree that Thy right hand hath planted."

His face was joyous and festive, as if he perceived our Lord's future endowments. Then, they cut off his third finger, and he said, "With the three youths in the furnace, I sing to Thee and honor Thee, O Lord; with the choirs of martyrs, I sing praises to Thy holy name."

As they cut off his fourth and fifth fingers, his mouth was filled with praise, and he said, "In my five senses I bless Thee, O Lord; wherefore, receive the good pains of my right hand as a blessed fruit, O Master."

Then they severed the fingers of his left hand, one by one, and he was grateful at each, saying an appropriate praise and hymn.

Certain of his friends who stood by said to him, crying bitterly:

"Beloved brother, have pity upon yourself, for they will administer upon you an evil death, and in losing your life, you will be deprived of your mother, wife, and the rest of life's enjoyments. Do not grieve for your fingers, as we have doctors here capable of curing them. You have sufficient wealth and do not require the use of your hands. So listen to us, for your own good, and just say one small word with your mouth, so that it will appear as if you obeyed the king's command and, thereby, you will be delivered from the evil torturers. But in your heart, you believe in God and, when you return again to your country, you can repent and ask forgiveness of Him."

And he answered them:

"God forbid! I will not commit such a pretense. One cannot serve two masters. Whosoever puts his hand to the plough and turns back, is not worthy of the heavenly bliss. It is not right for me to love my mother and wife more than I love my God and Savior. Whosoever does not lift up his cross to follow Christ, is an unworthy servant. For these small pains, I go to my Master to receive the laurel of martyrdom. Therefore, I pray thee, do not sorrow for me, but rejoice and be glad with me."

As the executioners heard this, they cut off the toes of his feet one by one, in order to submit him to even more pain. But he was firm and adamant, thanking them at each toe, singing a hymn. At one point he was heard to say, "The afflictions of the present are not worthy of the future glory."

At other times, he encouraged himself, saying, "Why is my soul saddened?" and many other verses.

Then, they cut off his feet at the ankles. And then, they severed them again at the knees. Afterwards, they mercilessly cut off his hands and arms. But the resolute one endured with a great soul, as he saw his fingers, hands and legs on the ground. He did not utter one angry word at the executioners or the judge, but only prayed incessantly, in order to comfort and encourage himself, with verses from the Old Testament, such as: 'I will sing unto the Lord throughout my life, I will chant to my God for as long as I have my being. May my words be sweet unto Him, and I will rejoice in the Lord."

Behold a true martyr's valor! Behold Thy wonders, O Christ King! How did the invincible one withstand such rigorous pains and afflictions? O ye listeners, were you not awe-stricken, or was not your soul grieved at the sight of such an unprecedented mutilation? All those who were present at this fearful and horrid sight (not only the faithful, but even the persecutors, and the very senseless rocks), must have felt pity. Only that unbending soul and friend of Christ did not weep, but withstood those terrifying and awful tortures with a serene and upright face. For such is the love of God. When it possesses a noble soul, it empowers it to overcome nature and not to fear pains and punishments. Without this power, it would have been impossible for him to bear so many torments' as did the others who, for the loss of an arm or leg, died instantly, being unable to bear the excruciating pain. But the praiseworthy and ever-blessed one did not experience three or ten deaths, but twenty or thirty. The blood ran as rivers, the flesh fell, the veins were severed, the nerves plucked out, the arteries destroyed, the members were scattered. The audience fainted and the executioners grew weary. The demons, having been vanquished, were horror-stricken and panicked. The angels marvelled. But he that endured, seemed joyous, and his eye was not morbid, but cheerful, and he looked merry, rather than dismembered.

Then they cut off the thighs of the martyr, and the pain was so acute, that he cried out saying, "Christ, help me!"

And the executioners said to him: "Did we not tell you that you will suffer extreme pains and tortures, and you did not believe us? Now ask your God to save you from these punishments."

And he answered: "I do not ask Christ to rescue me from the torments, but to strengthen me till the end, so that I may receive the laurel, O senseless ones. I felt pain, in order to prove that I am in the flesh. But earlier, my mind was in my Lord Jesus Christ, Who lessened my pains, and I did not feel anything. Truly, just as the anvil is struck by the hammer and feels nothing, also I felt nothing, as I was being tormented. Therefore, I thank my God, and beg of you not to feel sad for me, but do dissolve this old structure of my flesh, that a new and brighter one will be raised up. Since you have cut off the branches, do not hesitate to chop down the tree also, that I may receive the heavenly bliss. For just as a deer wishes to reach the rivers of water, so I desire in death to attain my Creator."

Even though he was dismembered thus, the invincible one safeguarded his piety and won trophies against all of them, with the aid of the Holy Spirit and his unsurpassed desire. He remained, therefore, only with his head and torso, a dreadful sight to behold. Alas! But the villainous rulers, seeing that, even though he was dismembered, he was not afraid, but, rather, they were frightened. They had no further hope for him, so they ordered his honored head to be cut off, as the other members of his body. They ordered this, not because of any merciful sentiments or sympathy, but from their excessive shame, so that it would not seem that James defeated them, dismembered thus, and that the invisible power of the Lord might not be confessed in the saint.

After the decision [to cut off his head], the saint was solaced somewhat. He moved his honored head with difficulty, and prayed thus: "O Lord, Father Almighty and Lord Jesus Christ and Most Holy Spirit, I thank Thee that Thou hast enabled me to endure these torments for Thy holy name. But I pray Thee, make me worthy to complete this contest, for 'the pangs of hell came round about me' (LXX, Psalm 17:5). They have severed all my limbs. I have no legs to stand on and worship Thy majesty, nor hands to lift up to heaven to pray and call Thy name. They left me neither knees, nor arms, the merciless ones, but I remain as a branchless tree without roots. Therefore, I beseech Thee, O Most Holy King, abandon not Thy servant, but take my soul out of the prison of my body, and place it among Thy holy martyrs, so that we may glorify forever Thy majesty in the ages to come. Amen."

After he said these things, they cut off his honorable head, and thus, he achieved all those indescribable blessings: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God bath prepared for them that love Him" (I Cor. 2:9).

If then, as Saint Paul says, each one of us will receive a reward according to his own labor, how great will be his reward, who died a myriad deaths and witnessed suffering above all human endurance? In all truth, just as the pains and anguish were atrocious, so will the pleasures be painless, the rewards countless, the delights unutterable, and the crowns glorious. The blessed James received his martyrdom in Babylon, on Friday, November 27. Immediately afterwards, certain Christians, beloved of God, approached the guards and offered them money, in order to permit them to take part of his holy relics. But out of fear for the king, they did not wish to consent to this. Then the pious ones left, as if to depart, but actually they hid nearby and awaited till it was dark to procure at least a part of the relics. And as the night wore on, the guards fell asleep, the pious Christians crept forward, quietly, and carried away the precious relics of the martyr. They buried them devoutly and with honor, as an everlasting memorial and remembrance to the glory and praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom is meet honor, song and worship, with the Father and the All-Holy Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

A Further Reflection Offered By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

When the executioners severed the thumb of St. James's right hand, he said: "Even a vine is pruned in this manner, so that in time a young branch may grow.'' At the severing of his second finger, he said: "Receive also, O Lord, the second branch of Thy sowing.'' At the severing of his third finger, he said: "I bless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.'' At the severing of his fourth finger, he said: "O Thou who acceptest the praise of the four beasts [symbols of the four evangelists], accept the suffering of the fourth finger.'' At the severing of the fifth finger, he said: "May my rejoicing be fulfilled as that of the five wise virgins at the wedding feast.'' During the severing of the sixth finger, he said: "Thanks be to Thee, O Lord, Who at the sixth hour stretched out Thy most pure arms on the Cross, that Thou hast made me worthy to offer Thee my sixth finger.'' At the severing of the seventh finger, he said: "Like David who praised Thee seven times daily, I praise Thee through the seventh finger severed for Thy sake.'' At the severing of the eighth finger, he said: "On the eighth day Thou Thyself, O Lord, wast circumcised.'' At the severing of the ninth finger, he said: "At the ninth hour, Thou didst commend Thy spirit into the hands of Thy Father, O my Christ, and I offer Thee thanks during the suffering of my ninth finger.'' At the severing of the tenth finger, he said: "On a ten-stringed harp I sing to Thee, O God, and thank Thee that Thou hast made me worthy to endure the severing of the ten fingers of my two hands, for the Ten Commandments are written on two tablets.'' Oh, what wonderful faith and love! Oh, the noble soul of this knight of Christ!

HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Martyr James the Persian

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

The Creator does not lose repentant souls:
He loves a true penitent the most.
James denied Christ the Living God
For the sake of the godless emperor, his flatterer.
His mother reproached him as did his wife:
"All the riches of the earth are as transient as foam.''
James repented, and bitterly repented,
Then openly spoke about what he had kept secret:
"A Christian I was, and again I am a Christian:
Foolish and weak are your idols!''
This James said, as he stood before the emperor;
This he said openly and remained true to it.
The emperor took all his imperial gifts from him,
And clothed the wondrous James with torture.
James was reddened with wounds and blood,
And like eagles on a carcass, men attacked him!
They dismembered the body of Christ's hero,
And cut St. James into bits.
Now James prays before God in Paradise
That all Christians overcome all attacks.


Apolytikion in the First Tone
Be entreated, O Lord, by the sufferings endured for You by the Saints, and we pray You, heal all our pain.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
O stout-hearted James, persuaded by thy noble wife, and fearing the dread tribunal, thou didst scorn all fear of the Persians with their profane decrees, and thou wast shown forth to be a most wondrous martyr of Christ, when all of thy body was pruned like a vine.

Relics

According to St. Nikolai Velimirovich: "His head is to be found in Rome and a part of his relics in Portugal, where he is commemorated on May 22." Portions of his relics are found in many other shrines throughout the world, including the Great Cave Monastery in Kalavryta, Greece as well as the Barlaam Monastery at Meteora.

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Science Doesn't Say Anything - Scientists Do

November 25, 2009
by Frank Turek
TownHall.com

You can’t put honesty in a test tube.

“Science” doesn’t say anything—scientists do.

Those are a couple of the illuminating conclusions we can draw from the global warming e-mail scandal.

“You mean science is not objective?” No, unless the scientists are, and too often they are not. I don’t want to impugn all scientists, but it is true that some of them are less than honest. Sometimes they lie to get or keep their jobs. Sometimes they lie to get grant money. Sometimes they lie to further their political beliefs. Sometimes they don’t intentionally lie, but they draw bad scientific conclusions because they only look for what they hope to find.

Misbehavior by scientists is more prevalent than you might think. A survey conducted by University of Minnesota researchers found that 33% of scientists admitted to engaging in some kind of research misbehavior, including more than 20% of mid-career scientists who admitted to “changing the design, methodology or results of a study in response to pressure from a funding source.” Think of how many more have done this but refuse to admit it! (The researchers said as much in their findings.)

Outright lies and deception certainly seem to be the case with “Climategate.” The exposed e-mails reveal cherry picking; manipulating data; working behind the scenes to censor dissenting views; and doubting what the measurements say because they don’t fit their pre-determined conclusion. Matt Drudge headlined this yesterday as the “Greatest scandal in modern science.”

I actually think there is another great scientific scandal, but its misrepresentations are not quite as obvious. In this scandal, instead of outright lies, scientific conclusions are smuggled in as philosophical presuppositions. Such is the case with the controversy over the origin of life and new life forms. Did natural forces working on non-living chemicals cause life, or is life the result of intelligent activity? Did new life forms evolve from lower life forms by natural forces or was intelligence needed?

Dr. Stephen Meyer has written a fabulous new best-selling book addressing those questions called Signature in the Cell. Having earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in the philosophy of science, Dr. Meyer is at the top of the science food chain. In our August 8th radio interview, he told me he’s been working on his 600+ page book—which isn’t short of technical detail—for more than a decade.

What qualifies a man who has a Ph. D. in the “philosophy of science” to write on the origin of life or macroevolution? Everything. What some scientists, and many in the general public fail to understand is that science cannot be done without philosophy. All data must be interpreted. And much of the debate between Intelligent Design proponents (like Dr. Meyer) and the Darwinists (like Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins) is not a debate over evidence—everyone is looking at the same evidence. It’s a debate over philosophy. It’s a debate over what causes will be considered possible before we look at the evidence.

Scientists look for causes, and logically, there are only two possible types of causes—intelligent causes or non-intelligent causes (i.e. natural causes). A natural cause can explain a geologic wonder like the Grand Canyon, but only an intelligent cause can explain a geologic wonder like the faces of the presidents on Mount Rushmore. Likewise, natural laws can explain why ink adheres to the paper in Dr. Meyer’s book, but only an intelligent cause can explain the information in that book (i.e. Dr. Meyer!).

How does this apply to the question of the origin of life? Long after Darwin, we discovered that “simple” single-celled life is comprised of massive volumes of DNA information called specified complexity—in everyday terms, a complicated software program or a really long message. Richard Dawkins admits that the information content of the “unjustly called ‘primitive’ amoeba” would fill 1,000 volumes of an encyclopedia!

What’s the cause of this? Here’s where the philosophy comes in. Dr. Meyer is open to both types of causes. Richard Dawkins is not. Dr. Meyer’s book explains why natural forces do not appear to have the capacity to do the job, only intelligence does. However, Dawkins and his Darwinist cohorts philosophically rule out intelligent causes before they look at the evidence. So no matter how much the evidence they discover points to intelligence (as a long message surely does), they will always conclude it had to be some kind of natural cause. In other words, their conclusion is the result of their philosophical presupposition.

While Dawkins has no viable natural explanation for life or the message contained therein, he says he knows it cannot be intelligence. That philosophical presupposition leads to what appears to be an unbelievable conclusion: To believe that 1,000 volumes of an encyclopedia resulted from blind natural forces is like believing that the Library of Congress resulted from an explosion in a printing shop. I don’t have enough faith to believe that.

“This is a ‘God of the gaps’ argument!” Dawkins might protest. No it isn’t. We don’t just lack a natural explanation for “simple” life—1,000 encyclopedias worth of information is positive empirically verifiable evidence for an intelligence cause. Consider the cause of the book The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, for example. It’s not merely that we lack a natural explanation for the book (of course we know that the laws of ink and paper couldn’t have written the book). It’s also the fact that we know that messages only come from minds. Therefore, we rightly posit an intelligent author, not a blind natural process.

Why is it so hard for Dawkins and other Darwinists to see this? Maybe they refuse to see it. Maybe, like global warming “scientists,” they have their own political or moral reasons for denying the obvious. Or maybe they’ve never realized that you cannot do science without philosophy. As Einstein said, “The man of science is a poor philosopher.” And poor philosophers of science may often arrive at false scientific conclusions. That’s because science doesn’t say anything—scientists do.

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Religious Icons May Have To Go

Kathimerini
November 25, 2009

Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis admitted yesterday that Greece will have no choice but to remove religious icons from school classrooms and other public buildings if the European Court of Human Rights stands by a ruling it made earlier this month.

“If the European Court of Human Rights sticks to its original decision that religious symbols should be removed from all public buildings, then I think our country will have to adapt to the new situation arising from this decision,” said Kastanidis in response to a question from right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) MP Asterios Rondoulis.

However, Kastanidis added that any change to the status quo, which sees icons of the Virgin Mary hung in classrooms, courtrooms and public service offices, would take place “only after agreement has been reached with the Church of Greece.”

However, it seems that the Church is highly unlikely to concede to the removal of icons or crucifixes from buildings.

The Church of Greece reacted angrily to such suggestions when it emerged earlier this month that the European Court of Human Rights had ruled that the presence of crucifixes in classrooms was a breach of human rights after hearing a case brought by a mother from Italy.

“It is not only minorities that have rights, the majority has them as well,” said the head of the Greek Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, adding that the matter would be discussed by the Holy Synod if necessary.

“Youngsters will soon not have any symbols to inspire and protect them,” said Bishop Nikolaos of Fthiotida. Bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki said he hopes Greek officials will appeal any decision by the court in Strasbourg.

The European court found that the right of parents to educate their children according to their own beliefs, and children’s right to freedom of religion, were breached by the presence of a crucifix in classrooms.

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Ayn Rand and the American Right

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right

Speaker: Jennifer Burns

Date: November 2, 2009

Description:

JENNIFER BURNS, Assistant Professor at U.Va.’s Corcoran Department of History, spent eight years working on Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right (Oxford, 2009). During that time, she received a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley. More information about Professor Burns is online: www.jenniferburns.org.

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Confusing Evidence for Common Ancestry With Evidence for Darwinian Evolution

By Cassie Luskin
Evolution News and Views

Both at the Dover trial and in his lectures and books (such as Only a Theory), one of Dr. Kenneth Miller’s primary responses to Michael Behe’s arguments for irreducible complexity is to cite evidence for common ancestry. This class of evidence does not refute Behe because at most, evidence of sequence similarity in DNA demonstrates common ancestry—not a Darwinian evolutionary pathway. Indeed, on closer inspection, it turns out that much of Miller’s favorite evidence does not even provide a strong case for common descent: Miller assumes that functional genetic similarities must result from common descent, ignoring the possibility that such biochemical similarities might result from common design upon a functional blueprint.

First, one of Miller’s most common mistakes is to forget that evidence of common ancestry is NOT evidence of a Darwinian pathway, and thereby does not refute irreducible complexity. Behe, the leading proponent of irreducible complexity who also accepts common descent, aptly observes that “modern Darwinists point to evidence of common descent and erroneously assume it to be evidence of the power of random mutation.”17

Behe puts it even more clearly in Darwin’s Black Box: “Although useful for determining lines of descent...comparing sequences cannot show how a complex biochemical system achieved its function—the question that most concerns us in this book. By way of analogy, the instruction manuals for two different models of computer put out by the same company might have many identical words, sentences, and even paragraphs, suggesting a common ancestry (perhaps the same author wrote both manuals), but comparing the sequences of letters in the instruction manuals will never tell us if a computer can be produced step-by-step starting from a typewriter....Like the sequence analysts, I believe the evidence strongly supports common descent. But the root question remains unanswered: What has caused complex systems to form?”18

Miller’s citation of similarities in DNA sequences in no way refutes irreducible complexity, nor does it demonstrate a stepwise Darwinian evolutionary pathway.

C. Truth or Dare: Why does Dr. Miller repeatedly offer evidence of common descent as if it refutes irreducible complexity, when it doesn’t logically demonstrate a Darwinian pathway and in fact the leading proponent of irreducible complexity accepts common descent?

Second, even though intelligent design is not necessarily incompatible with common descent (more on this later in Section IV), it should be noted that many of Dr. Miller’s centerpiece examples of evidence for common descent turn out to be quite weak.

As noted, functional genetic similarities may result from common design rather than common descent. After all, designers regularly re-use components or parts that work in different designs—such as re-using cars and wheels in airplanes, or re-using keyboards on both laptops and cell phones. Thus, when we find functional genetic similarity in different organisms, it might indicate common design.

Though he might not admit it, some of Miller’s arguments implicitly concede this point. Miller contends that the way to refute design is not to find shared functional similarities but to find supposed nonfunctional “junk” DNA. As Miller writes: “Intelligent design cannot explain the presence of a nonfunctional pseudogene, unless it is willing to allow that the designer made serious errors, wasting millions of bases of DNA on a blueprint full of junk and scribbles. Evolution, however, can explain them easily. Pseudogenes are nothing more than chance experiments in gene duplication that have failed, and they persist in the genome as evolutionary remnants of the past history of the b-globin genes.”19

Though Miller wrote those words in 1994, he continues to use the β-globin pseudogene as a refutation of ID—it was his centerpiece example of a pseudogene in his 2005 Dover testimony, in his 2008 book Only a Theory, and it’s often mentioned in his lectures. Privately, Miller has cited such pseudogenes as “case-closed” evidence of common descent because “common ancestry is the only possible explanation for so many matching errors in the same gene.”20

Dr. Miller may be closing this case prematurely. Two authors wrote in Annual Review of Genetics: “pseudogenes that have been suitably investigated often exhibit functional roles.”21 According to these authors, functions include “gene expression, gene regulation, [and] generation of genetic (antibody, antigenic, and other) diversity.”21 They further suggest that conserved DNA sequences in pseudogenes implies they have function: “Pseudogenes exhibit evolutionary conservation of gene sequence, reduced nucleotide variability, excess synonymous over nonsynonymous nucleotide polymorphism, and other features that are expected in genes or DNA sequences that have functional roles.”21 Following such sound logic, the British pro-ID group Truth in Science recounts how Miller’s favorite example—the β-globin pseudogene—shows evidence of conserved sequence, implying that it could have function, which would refute Miller’s centerpiece evidence of a functionless, junk DNA “pseudogene”:

“The very fact that the beta-globin pseudogene appears to be conserved in humans, chimpanzees and gorillas speaks eloquently of the fact that this DNA has some important biological function. Genetic sequences are conserved and maintained when any mutation would render them non-functional (or less functional) and when any loss of activity is damaging the organism’s prospects of survival. Such sequences are said to be under purifying (or stabilising) selection which means that deleterious mutations are removed from the gene pool restricting genetic diversity. … According to the recent review by Sasidharan and Gerstein: ‘Although pseudogenes have generally been considered as evolutionary 'dead-ends', a large proportion of these sequences seem to be under some form of purifying selection - whereby natural selection eliminates deleterious mutations from the population - and genetic elements under selection have some use.’ In the case of the beta-globin pseudogene, Wanapirak et al. have reported amazing conservation in the fine structure of the DNA with identical super-helical twists in the human, mouse, bovine, rabbit and chicken genomes. It needs to be remembered that maintenance of the genetic integrity of these structures is biochemically costly. It takes energy to duplicate DNA. The replicating machinery in the cell has built-in proof reading and excising enzymes that constantly check for mutation and damage. Numerous repair mechanisms have been identified to correct genetic damage and to excise incorrect sequences.”22

By assuming that the pseudogenes like the β-globin pseudogene in humans are functionless “junk” DNA, Dr. Miller is not only wrong; he may be hindering the progress of science by discouraging scientists from discovering its true function. This is ironic for someone who has accused ID of stopping science.

Finally, a piece of evidence Dr. Miller commonly cites as demonstrating human/chimp common ancestry is the fusion of chromosome 2 in humans, which he argues has a structure similar to what one would expect if chimp chromosomes 2a and 2b were fused together, end to end. Without belaboring the details (which are covered elsewhere23), the evidence for human chromosomal fusion simply indicates that our ancestors once had 48 chromosomes. But it tells us nothing definitive about whether our lineage leads back to a common ancestor shared with with apes. Human chromosomal fusion merely shows that at some point within our human lineage, two chromosomes became fused. That’s it.

If we step outside the Darwinian box, then the following scenario becomes possible: (1) The human lineage arose separately from that of apes with 48 chromosmes, (2) a chromosomal-fusion event occurred, and (3) the trait spread throughout the human population. In such a scenario, the evidence would appear precisely as we find it, without any common ancestry between humans and apes. The two diagrams at right show two models for explaining the evidence for human chromosomal fusion.

At most, the fusion evidence confirms something we already knew: humans and apes share a similar genetic structure. But this might have been predicted by morphological studies without considering evolution. Again, common design can also account for such functional genetic similarities, and the fusion evidence does not demonstrate that humans share a common ancestor with apes.

Dr. Miller may reply that his model predicts the fusion evidence. But if we didn’t find evidence for fusion in human chromosome 2, would that really refute Darwinism? No. Evolutionists would just claim that the fused telomeres and extra centromere were deleted.

D. Truth or Dare: Has it actually been established that pseudogenes—especially those with conserved sequence like the β-globin pseudogene—are functionless “junk”-DNA? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to take a “wait and see” approach, especially since so many types of once-dismissed “junk”-DNA have turned out to have function? Why must common design be excluded from our explanatory toolkit to account for the genetic similarities between humans and apes? Does the fusion evidence really require we share a common ancestor with apes?

[Editor's Note: Ken Miller speaks regularly on intelligent design (ID), and for years has repeatedly promoted the same misrepresentations of ID when speaking on the topic. This is Part 3 of a series of posts that comprise a lecture guide for those listening to lectures by Dr. Miller against ID. When this series is complete, the entire lecture guide will be released as a single document.]


References Cited:

[17.] The Edge of Evolution, p. 95 (2007).

[18.] Darwin's Black Box, pp. 175-176 (1996),

[19.] “Life’s Grand Design,” Technology Review, Vol 97(2): 24-32 (February / March 1994).

[20.] Private correspondence with Dr. Miller.

[21.] Evgeniy S. Balakirev, and Francisco J. Ayala, Pseudogenes, "Are They “Junk” or Functional DNA?,” Annual Review of Genetics, Vol. 37:123–51 (2003), emphasis added.

[22.] “The Changing Face of Pseudogenes,” Truth in Science (internal citations removed).

[23.] See And the Miller Told His Tale: Ken Miller's Cold (Chromosomal) Fusion (Updated) or Weird Science

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Can Psychics Help to Solve Crime?

By Hannah Barnes
Donal MacIntyre show
22 November 2009
BBC News

"Quite often the victim in the spirit world will come to me and they often lead you to the name or the person involved in their murder."

Joe Power is a psychic medium who has worked with several UK forces trying to solve tough cases.

When asked if he has helped the police solve murders, there is no hesitation: "without a shadow of a doubt," he says.

When the BBC approached the Metropolitan and Merseyside Police forces they were vague about any dealings with Joe. Merseyside said they could not confirm or deny that they had followed up on his information, or that they had actively contacted him

A spokesperson for the Met said: "We welcome any information from people who feel they are able to assist.

"We are unaware of any inquiries significantly progressed solely by information provided by a psychic medium."

A common pattern

The BBC has approached a number of police forces after speaking to psychics who claim that their information has been acted upon. The vast majority are ambiguous in their response.

But there is no denying that some individual officers are pursuing leads that have arisen from someone professing to have paranormal powers.

Earlier this month it emerged that Dyfed Powys Police had spent £20,000 following a line of investigation in a murder inquiry, based on information passed on by a medium.

The Welsh force was widely criticised for wasting taxpayers' money.
Joe Power says that he was contacted by the Metropolitan Police, asking for assistance on a very high profile murder investigation.

"I got an e-mail from the Met police asking for assistance," Joe Power insists.

"I gave them some information that was coming through the murder victim and people on the other side. Without a doubt they followed up on it."

In an initial statement, the Metropolitan Police denied Joe had any involvement in the case.

Major investigation

However, the Donal MacIntyre programme has seen an e-mail which Mr Power claims was sent to his partner by an officer working on the case.

The officer writes, "can Joe or the victim assist with any landmarks that would assist in narrowing the search down?"

Joe is also asked "what sort of vehicle does the killer use, is it a car or a bike? Can the victim be more specific to Joe as to what happened at 2.10?"

When approached for a second time about Joe Power's involvement with the case, the Metropolitan Police issued a new statement, authorised by the senior investigating officer.

It said: "We do not identify people we may or may not speak with in connection with enquiries. We are not prepared to discuss this further."

This reluctance to be open is something Keith Charles can relate to.

A former Scotland Yard man who now practises as a medium, he says: "I think the police are sceptical, but they have a right to be so because some mediums and psychics make false claims."

"But, ultimately officers don't mind where the evidence comes from as long as it proves or disproves the case."

Wasting police time

However, there are plenty who believe that there is no place at all for so-called psychic mediums in police work.

Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe from Derby University has conducted research into psychic detection for 10 years and says, "there isn't any scientific evidence for psychic detectives being able to provide accurate information."

"My advice to psychics is to stop providing information to the police," he says. Explaining that it is difficult for officers to ignore information, Dr O'Keeffe claims that details passed on by psychic mediums are simply "diverting budget and man power away from genuine investigation."

It is not just within policing that the UK shies away from any mention of involvement with the paranormal.

In 2007 the Ministry of Defence was forced to admit that it had spent £18,000 carrying out secret tests to find out whether psychic powers could be used to detect hidden objects. At the time a spokesperson for the MOD said that the study had found that there was "little value" in using the technique in the defence of the nation.

The US military has experimented on a much larger scale with their Stargate Project, which investigated whether 'remote viewing' - the ability to psychically 'see' people and objects from great distances - could be used for potential military purposes.

Some believers have even gone as far to say that US authorities deployed the technique to search for Osama Bin Laden.

Lack of recognition

But for psychic mediums in the UK, the willingness of police officers to use their information, but not publicly acknowledge them, can be frustrating.

Angela McGhee has also contributed information towards an active murder inquiry.

West Midlands Police told the BBC that "officers interviewed Angela McGhee as we would anyone offering information about any offence.

"But she did not have any evidence that was not already known to the investigative team."

Angela rejects the notion she was visited purely out of courtesy: "They said you're telling us things that only people involved would have known; you've told us forensic details."

While police forces across the UK refuse to either confirm or deny their use of psychics in major investigations, it is difficult to gauge how widespread the practice is.

But Joe Power is in no doubt that he and others will continue to play a role in solving crime:

"I predict that in the next 30 to 40 years you will actually get people like me who will find bodies, where there's no question about it.

"The psychic world is moving on very fast and it's getting more accurate with the information all the time."

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Russian Convents Face Obstacles To Restoring Past

by Anne Garrels
November 23, 2009
BBC News

Russia has seen an explosion in the number of Orthodox convents over the past two decades.

After the 1917 revolution, all were closed. Some women continued to live as nuns in secret, but with the end of communist rule, convents had to start from scratch. There are now more than 240, outnumbering monasteries.

Most of the renovated convents — many in remote areas — are based on their distant history and devotion to their particular icons. But for many reasons, restoring the past is far from easy.

Restoring A Convent

The restored convent in the provincial town of Serpukhov, a two-hour train ride from Moscow, is jammed on a Sunday morning. Founded in the 14th century, the convent became known for its miracle-working icon, which the nuns say has long helped those trying to stop drinking.

They believe it can now also help those battling drug addictions — a growing Russian affliction — and they welcome those seeking spiritual rehabilitation.

Mother Superior Aleksiya, 45, was brought up during the Soviet Union, where she says she was unable to find out much about religion. It was only in the 1980s, as restrictions lifted, that she even dared enter a church. As convents reopened in the early 1990s, she decided to become a nun.

"If I was going to serve God, I had to do it completely," she says. "Maybe that's just my character."

Fifteen years ago, she was sent to resurrect the convent in Serpukhov. "There were nothing but ruins, skeletons of buildings, trash and debris," she remembers.

She has since restored one of two churches and a residence. Initially alone, she attracted helpers, then new nuns. Some have since died; two have been tapped to start their own convents. She now has 12 sisters — far fewer than convents in major centers like Moscow.

Nonetheless, the convent is considered a historic monument, and the government has paid for the rebuilding. For daily needs and upkeep, the convent depends on pilgrims, donations and the sale of icons, as well as its gardens and livestock.

Mother Aleksiya says attracting new nuns is not as easy as it was a decade ago.

"Enthusiasm for becoming a nun is not as great as it was with the first explosion of interest in the church," she explains. "But maybe that's not so bad. Some thought it was an escape from poverty in the villages, an alcoholic husband or the loneliness of old age. Now, women fully understand what they are really getting into."

Facing Frustrations

Orthodox nuns live within convent walls, largely cut off from the world, wearing formal black habits and bound by centuries of tradition. While happy with her vocation, Mother Aleksiya still expresses a little frustration.

"The current church does not fully value the role of women. I do not think women should be priests, but in the past women could be deacons," she says. "It's the same in the church as society. Many men don't understand women. They tell us to be quiet. They are wrong."

Orthodox churches have been criticized for being standoffish. Another nun here, 33-year-old Mother Georgia, hopes the Serperkhov convent can be a comforting place.

"People finally come to church for the first time. They don't know what to do. It's not right when people snub them for their ignorance," she says.

Greater Goals, Greater Problems

Compared with the modest goals at Serpukhov, the Spaso-Yeleazarovsky convent in distant western Russia has far greater ambitions — and, with this, far greater problems.

"At first, people were delighted that the convent was restored," says Raisa Shumkina, head of the local government, "and they could live within the sound of its bells. But then the mother superior demanded the only store for miles be closed because it is on what is now convent land.

"She started to expand the convent territory even farther. People are confused and angry."

Wood is still what heats most houses here. There are 10 tiny, poor villages, a beautiful lake and an abandoned communist-era farm, where a century ago there were acres of church territory.

Mother Superior Elizaveta wants to get it all back. She says she is willing to relocate villagers.

Grigory Nikolaichuk, 72, who lives next to the convent, says she has intimidated residents.

"She told those who didn't want to sell her their houses they would end up on the hill — the hill is where the cemetery is," he says. "That's how she curses and threatens people."

Mother Elizaveta believes God is on her side. And she's also got big political support. With pressure from the governor, a recent Kremlin appointee, the entire area was recently declared a protected zone, putting limits on what villagers can build.

A Messy Situation

So much attention is focused on this remote place because it was here that a 16th century monk espoused what many believe is Russia's religious destiny. According to this thinking, ancient Rome fell because of heresy. The second Rome, Constantinople, was brought down by infidels. The third Rome, Russia, is to illuminate the world.

As Mother Elizaveta explains, there is to be no fourth Rome. "Russia is the hope for all mankind. We answer for the whole world," she says. "And through the help of the state, we have been able to restore Russia's spiritual legacy."

Though there are only 20 nuns here, she has rebuilt not only the church but eight substantial buildings, with plans for a lot more development.

Longtime resident Sergei Borodulin has no intention of being pushed out — even to an apartment with modern conveniences — and he is none too happy with how government funds are being spent.

"This is serious money — millions and millions," he says.

Irina Golubeva, a respected art historian who heads the Pskov branch of the Russian Society for Restoration, says ambition, nationalism and bad public relations have created a huge mess.

She agrees this convent has historical importance, but she says Mother Elizaveta has been allowed to create a Disneyland of a convent that may satisfy dreams of greatness, but has little to do with the past.

"And this just adds to the mess," says Golubeva. "The big two-story buildings in no way resemble what was once there. As a historian, I am not happy, the local people are unhappy and, ultimately, she has ill-served the church."

As Russia seeks to restore its past and its identity, nothing, not even a convent, is simple — certainly not where property, money and politics are concerned.

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Egypt Muslims Burn Christian shops

AFP
November 22, 2009

CAIRO — Hundreds of Muslim protesters on Saturday burnt Christian-owned shops in southern Egypt and attacked a police station where they believed a Christian accused of raping a Muslim girl was being held, a police official said.

Police repelled the demonstrators in the town of Farshut using tear gas and also arrested 60 people during the clashes in which seven Coptic Christian-owned shops were destroyed, the official said.

The protesters hurled stones at the police station after they heard that a Coptic Christian man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Muslim was being held there, he said.

Roughly ten percent of Egypt's 80-million-strong population are Coptic Christians, who complain of discrimination and are sometimes the target of sectarian attacks.

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Russian Communists Seek to Eliminate God From National Anthem

Eliminate 'God' From National Anthem.
The Russian Communists Against Putin and Patriarchate

Evgeny Vorotnikov (AsiaNews, November 25, 2009)

Moscow, Russia - The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Kprf) wants to delete the reference to God from the text of the national anthem. Boris Kashin, of the Chamber of Deputies of Moscow (the Duma), has submitted a bill to replace the phrase of the anthem that says "protected by God as our beloved homeland," with "protected by us as our beloved homeland”.

For the Kprf deputy reference to God undermines national unity and disrupts the multi-ethnic society in Russia. Kashin complains that the anthem does not respect the various non-Christian religions recognized in the Federation and offends the feelings of atheists.

Already in 2005, Alexander Nikonov, president of the Atheist Society of Moscow, had stated that the offending sentence is inconsistent with the constitutional rights of citizens and had lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court. Today, as then, no one believes that the anthem will be changed also because the Kashin proposal has not met the support of any political leader in Russia. However, the incident has reopened the controversy that emerges cyclically around the anthem and the summons of God

The proposal of the Kprf exponent was stamped by Lyubov Sliska, vice-chairman of the Duma and United Russia party as a "rude initiative." "If the communists think that the word 'God' is in contradiction with the Constitution - said Sliska - that means they think they can put themselves in the place of God and this is a grave mistake."

Even the Moscow Patriarchate has intervened in the debate arising from the Kashin proposal. Father Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the Synod department for dialogue between the Church and Society, said that "the majority of our people have adopted this anthem and although some are still contrary there is no reason to remove the sentence that mentions God."

The history of the hymn is linked to the Russian Soviet period. The music was composed by Alexander Alexandrov, the text by Sergei Mijalkov. It was performed for the first time in 1944 to replace the International. The text contained praises to Stalin that were later cancelled in 1953 with the end of the cult of personality attributed to the "little father". With the death of the dictator, the anthem was played but without a text until the lyrics realised by Mijalkov in1977. With the fall of the Soviet Union the country remained without an anthem until Vladimir Putin, in 2000, decided to retrieve the music accompanying it with new text in which Russia is celebrated as the "Holy motherland", "unique" and "protected by God."

The controversy emerges cyclically and finds space in public debate, especially because it highlights a very debated Putin era: the use of religion to cement national unity. The premier is accused of wanting to restore a new form of Tsarism where orthodoxy is reduced to the handmaiden of political power.

Boris Nemtsov, former Yeltsin vice-premier and now deputy leader of the coalition of democratic forces Solidarnost, described with harsh tones that line in his latest book "Disaster Putin. Freedom and democracy in Russia. " Nemtsov writes: "Communism had its own ideology, Putin has nothing, so he uses orthodoxy as an ideology." For the former Yeltsin man the Patriarchate of Moscow, especially under the leadership of Alexei II, has neither remained immune from liability. For Putin, the union of political action and religious tradition is the basis of a solid power in Russia today. Nemstov speaks of a "regime" that "is based on two pillars: orthodoxy and self-sufficiency." But he adds that, however strong, "it is a structure that is not destined to last."

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Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church sues Turkey

Reuters
11/24/2009

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- The Orthodox Church announced on Monday (November 23rd) that it has filed a lawsuit against Turkey at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights for allegedly hampering worship in the Turkish part of the divided island. Orthodox Church lawyer Simos Angelides said the lawsuit concerns 520 churches, monasteries, chapels and Orthodox cemeteries. According to him, the religious rights of Orthodox Christians in the north have been violated because their churches have been either deserted, or turned into mosques, barracks, stables or night clubs. Angelides accused Turkey of "ethnic and religious cleansing" in Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of 1974.

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Fire Brought Down Building 7 on 9/11

Fire, Not a Government Plot, Felled Third Tower

RICK FENELEY
November 25, 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

NO PLANE flew into Building 7 at the World Trade Centre. But seven hours after the Twin Towers collapsed in flames on September 11, 2001, this third skyscraper fell too.

Like its larger neighbours, it fell rapidly, vertically, almost symmetrically, like an implosion. It took 5.4 seconds for its 47 storeys to complete their fiery descent.

Building 7 has preoccupied conspiracy theorists ever since. Many believe it was brought down by controlled explosions. And if it was, so were the Twin Towers. And if they're willing to believe that, it is not such a big leap to conclude that the whole atrocity was a US Government plot. They have not been silenced by an official report that concludes their theories are bunkum. It didn't help that it was released almost seven years later, in August last year.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology spent three years investigating Building 7. It names fire as the culprit. Fire - fuelled by office furnishings, aided and abetted by the thermal expansion of structural elements.

"Heating of floor beams and girders caused a critical support column to fail, initiating a fire-induced progressive collapse that brought the building down," said the lead investigator, Shyam Sunder. The conclusion that this was an ''extraordinary event'' - the world's first known total collapse of a tower caused by fire - only emboldened the doubters.

Explosives? The institute concludes that the smallest blast capable of crippling the third tower's critical column would have produced a "sound level of 130 to 140 decibels at a distance of half a mile''. No witness reported it.

The 9/11 Truth Movement points to the discovery of thermite, a potential explosive. The institute replies that the same metal compounds would have been present in the construction.

The institute's finding is less sensational, but perhaps more alarming for people who frequent towers. Debris from the collapse of the first tower ignited fires on at least 10 floors of Building 7. These uncontrolled fires caused thermal expansion of steel beams on lower floors, damaging floor framing on multiple floors.

''Eventually, a girder on floor 13 lost its connection to a critical interior column that provided support for the long floor spans … Floor 13 [collapsed], beginning a cascade of floor failures …''

The really scary part? This happened at hundreds of degrees below what had been anticipated in fire-resistance ratings. The institute recommended urgent evaluation of towers, improved thermal insulation and resistance for building materials, and structural systems to prevent ''pan-caking'' or progressive collapse.

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Pro-Darwin Consensus Doesn't Rule Out Intelligent Design

By Stephen C. Meyer,
CNN
November 23, 2009

Editor's note: Stephen Meyer is director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, which supports research challenging "neo-Darwinian theory" and supports work on the theory of "intelligent design." He is the author of "Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design." He received his Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University.

While we officially celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" on November 24, celebrations of Darwin's legacy have actually been building in intensity for several years. Darwin is not just an important 19th century scientific thinker. Increasingly, he is a cultural icon.

Darwin is the subject of adulation that teeters on the edge of hero worship, expressed in everything from scholarly seminars and lecture series to best-selling new atheist tracts like those by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. The atheists claim that Darwin disproved once and for all the argument for intelligent design from nature.

And that of course is why he remains hugely controversial. A Zogby poll commissioned by the Discovery Institute this year found that 52 percent of Americans agree "the development of life was guided by intelligent design." Those who are not scientists may wonder if they have a right to entertain skepticism about Darwinian theory.

We are told that a consensus of scientists supporting the theory means that Darwinian evolution is no longer subject to debate. But does it ever happen that a seemingly broad consensus of scientific expertise turns out to be wrong, generated by an ideologically motivated stampeding of opinion?

Of course, that does happen. Many ideologically driven crusades in science -- the earth-centered solar system and eugenics, for example -- survived long after supposed evidence for these ideas evaporated. And precisely the same thing is happening today in the ideologically charged field of evolutionary biology. Indeed, there are strong scientific reasons to doubt the consensus about Darwin's theory and what it allegedly proved.

Contrary to Darwinian orthodoxy, the fossil record actually challenges the idea that all organisms have evolved from a single common ancestor. Why? Fossil studies reveal "a biological big bang" near the beginning of the Cambrian period (520 million years ago) when many major, separate groups of organisms or "phyla" (including most animal body plans) emerged suddenly without clear precursors.

Fossil finds repeatedly have confirmed a pattern of explosive appearance and prolonged stability in living forms, not the gradual "branching-tree" pattern implied by Darwin's common ancestry thesis.

There are also reasons to doubt the creative power of Darwin's mechanism of natural selection. While many scientists accept that natural selection can produce small-scale "micro-evolutionary" variations, many biologists now doubt that natural selection and random mutations can generate the large-scale changes necessary to produce fundamentally new structures and forms of life.

For this reason more than 800 scientists, including professors from institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale and Rice universities and members of various national (U.S., Russian, Czech, Polish) academies of science have signed a statement questioning the creative power of the selection/mutation mechanism.

Increasingly, there are reasons to doubt the Darwinian idea that living things merely "appear" to be designed. Instead, living systems display telltale signs of actual or "intelligent" design such as the presence of complex circuits, miniature motors and digital information in living cells.

Consider the implications, for example, of one of modern biology's most important discoveries. In 1953 when Watson and Crick elucidated the structure of the DNA molecule, they made a startling discovery. The structure of DNA allows it to store information in the form of a four-character digital code, similar to a computer code.

This discovery highlights a scientific mystery that Darwin never addressed: how did the first life on earth arise? To date no theory of undirected chemical evolution has explained the origin of the information needed to build the first living cell.

Instead, the digital code and information processing systems that run the show in living cells point decisively toward prior intelligent design. Indeed, we know from our repeated experience -- the basis of all scientific reasoning -- that systems possessing these features always arise from an intelligent source -- from minds, not material processes.

DNA functions like a software program. We know that software comes from programmers. Information -- whether inscribed in hieroglyphics, written in a book, or encoded in a radio signal -- always arises from a designing intelligence. So the discovery of digital code in DNA provides a strong scientific reason for concluding that the information in DNA also had an intelligent source.

Despite the consensus view that Darwin showed that "design could arise without a designer" there is now compelling scientific evidence of actual intelligent design in even the simplest living cells.

The question of biological origins has long raised profound philosophical questions. Is life the result of purely material processes or did a purposive intelligence play a role? It's not surprising that such a worldview-shaping issue would illicit strong passions and disagreements. All the more reason to let the evidence, rather than a supposed consensus, determine the outcome of what is, in fact, a very legitimate and important debate about the Darwinian legacy.

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Hindu Absurdity of the Week: Biggest Animal Slaughter on Earth

Biggest Animal Slaughter on Earth

Gopal Sharma (Reuters, November 25, 2009)

Kathmandu, Nepal - At least 15 000 buffalo and "countless" goats and birds were sacrificed in a temple in southern Nepal, organisers said on Wednesday, a ritual billed as the single biggest animal slaughter on earth.

Hindus in Nepal routinely offer animals for sacrifice to appease deities, Especially power goddesses, for good luck and prosperity.

But the festival held every five years at the Gadhimai temple in southern Nepal was condemned this year by animal rights activists, including French actress Brigitte Bardot, who called for an end to the centuries-old ritual of slaughtering animals.

The temple in Bariyapur is located about 150km from Kathmandu, in Nepal's southern plains bordering India.

"We had more than 15 000 buffalo sacrificed on Tuesday. But the number of goats and birds, including roosters and pigeons, sacrificed on Wednesday is countless," Shiva Chandra Prasad Kushawaha, chief of the festival's organising committee said.

"This reflects the faith of the devotees on Gadhimai, the goddess for power," he told Reuters by telephone.

Scores of butchers carrying big curved knives killed the animals in an open field as thousands of devotees stood by, witnesses reached by phone said. More than 80 percent of Nepal's 27 million people are Hindus.

"It is a tradition and people's faith. How can any protests stop that," asked Mangal Chaudhary, chief priest of the temple, adding there were no protests.

Some devotees said they were offering animals for sacrifice in the hope of being blessed with a son, preferred by many parents in Nepal and India. Thousands of devotees also travelled from neighbouring India for the festival.

See also here.

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The Fight Against Fascists

The Moscow Times
26 November 2009
By Boris Kagarlitsky

Leftist, anti-fascist activist Ivan Khutorskoi, 26, was gunned down outside his apartment building on Nov. 16. A few days later, ultraconservative Russian Orthodox priest Daniil Sysoyev was shot and killed in his church. The killing of Khutorskoi was almost certainly organized by one of the underground fascist groups. It remains unclear who wanted to kill Sysoyev, although suspicion is directed at fundamentalist Muslims or perhaps even an enigmatic group of “pagans.”

These two killings share more in common than the fact that they occurred only days apart, involved firearms and were obviously planned in advance. Regardless of the views of the victims, ideological arguments in our society are increasingly being settled through violent means.

We have long ceased to consider the murders of foreign workers and students or of anti-fascists as sensational news, but some time ago the ultraright switched from spontaneous attacks to carrying out well-planned, premeditated strikes.

It would seem that with the January murders of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, Russia crossed a tragic line. Markelov was shot in the center of Moscow, immediately following a press conference and in front of numerous passers-by. Murder has become an open political provocation. That is why, unlike many other crimes, law enforcement agencies were more active in investigating the murder of Markelov, announcing on Nov. 5 that two suspects had been arrested — Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis. The Khutorskoi killing may have been meant to be a signal from the ultraright: Despite the arrests, the terror will continue.

The threshold for political violence has clearly been lowered. It could be that the attack against Sysoyev was to avenge the priest’s inflammatory comments about pagans, Muslims or Darwin’s theory of evolution, but it also could have been intended to destabilize the political environment by provoking a new wave of religious and politically motivated violence.

Although anti-fascists have had scattered street fights with neo-Nazis for several years, no fascist leader or member has ever been killed. But the situation is heating up. On Nov. 17, after hearing of the murder of Khutorskoi, about 70 young, masked anti-fascists attacked the Moscow headquarters of the Young Russia youth group, which they suspect of having ties to ultranationalists. According to one of the attackers, Young Russia serves as a cover for Russian Image, a radical nationalist organization. Russian Image was granted official permission to stage a concert by the group Kolovrat on the National Unity Day holiday on Nov. 4 in the center of Moscow. The lyrics of their songs speak for themselves: pagan images combined with hatred for Jews and admiration for Slavs who “also served in the legions of the SS.” Perhaps it was the same pagans who organized the murder of the priest?

With leftist radical activists intensifying their struggle against the neo-Nazi threat, it is inevitable that we will see an escalation of violence between these two groups. The authorities have responded with vague calls for fighting “extremism,” lumping together practically every group they find undesirable under this label — from dangerous right-wing radicals to union leaders who wrote a pamphlet calling for a struggle against the lowering of worker salaries during the crisis. Anti-fascist activists face the threat of being persecuted by the authorities and attacked by neo-Nazis, and this is why they wear masks to hide their faces.

As it turns out, in Russia it is much easier and safer for neo-Nazis to conduct their activities than it is for their opponents.

Boris Kagarlitsky is the director of the Institute of Globalization Studies.

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Icon of Virgin Mary Circles the Globe

The Icon of the Virgin Mary Has Flown Over the Earth With the Sacred Procession

Moscow, 25 November 2009, Interfax - Unusual sacred procession round the Earth is made with the icon of Virgin Mary "The Sign".

On September 30 the spaceship Soyuz TMA 16 which had a mission to bring the icon to the International Space Station war driven from the Baikonur cosmodrome, the representative of the Galaxy studying centre initiated the project told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday.

The sacred procession was finished on October 11. The icon has made 176 coils round the Earth and it was delivered back on the "Soyz TMA 14 spaceship.

The icon of the Virgin Mary "The Sign" will be presented on December 8-14 at the Orthodox exhibition at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. It will be possible for everybody to get acquainted with video and picture stories about the sacred procession.

The project was carried out on blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and with the support of the Center of National Glory of Russia, the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation and the Energy space-rocket corporation.

Four years ago the icon from the Transfiguration Monastery of the Valaam island has also been sent to the space. For two months of staying at the station, it was flown round the Earth with cosmonaut Sergey Krikalev for about thousand times.

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Two Greek Shrines of Saint Katherine the Great Martyr

St. Katherine of Alexandria (Feast Day - November 25)

The Monastery of Saint Katherine in Aegina

By Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos

In Aegina there exists the Monastery of Saint Katherine, which is situated next to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity founded by St. Nektarios. Prior to the existence of the Monastery of Saint Katherine there was a chapel dedicated to St. Katherine where an icon of this same Saint was miraculously discovered. Unfortunately this chapel was owned by a man who was known as a great blasphemer. In 1908 two nuns bought this chapel and this pleased St. Nektarios very much. He thanked God the chapel was bought from the blasphemer and said: "This Monastery will be more beautiful than ours!" And truthfully this came to pass, since the Monastery of Saint Katherine is indeed more beautiful that the Monastery of the Holy Trinity built by St. Nektarios.

When the property was bought by the nuns, it did not have any water. In 1924 they dug 30 meters, but still could not find any water. At that time a priest-monk from Mount Athos was visiting the Monastery and prayed to St. Katherine with the nuns. At the same time, he lowered the miraculous icon of St. Katherine down the dry well, censed the area, and prayed with deep faith: "If, my dear St. Katherine, you do not bring forth water for us, we will not remove you from here!"

That night, as the nuns were in prayer, a loud noise was heard that was very strange, and the small monastery shook at its foundations. "The Saint is angry", they said, "and will destroy us, because we left her in the dirt." In the morning the priest-monk went down to the dry well to remove the icon. However, on the walls of the dry well he noticed a Cross stuck within. He noticed also that the bottom of the Cross was wet. As he was removing the icon he called to the nuns and proclaimed the miracle. From 1924 until today this well which was once dry has flowed abundantly ever since, and has adaquetly served the needs of the Monastery.

Many other miracles have occurred at the Monastery of Saint Katherines that are written in a book distributed by the Monastery.

The Monastery of Saint Katherine in Katarraktis Arta in Epirus

by John Foukas
Proinos Logos
August 29, 2009

John Foukas is the former president of the Association of Epirotes of Rhodes and native of the village in which the Monastery is located. To raise awareness of this Monastery and his village, at his own expense he recently took the initiative to issue a limited number of stamps with the image of the Monastery of Saint Katherine for it to gain wider profile throughout Greece.

The Holy Monastery of Saint Katherine in Katarraktis Arta, like a precious jewel, adorns the eastern side of Katarraktis, on a small hill called "Karaouli". It is a monastery which lived out many good old days with devoutness, yet mirth and joy would spree every year during the Feast of St. Katherine.

At the entrance of the Monastery the following is inscribed: "In the year 1827 on September 11, the Sacred and Honorable Monastery of Saint Katherine was founded and raised with the assistance of Abbot Gabriel...and the builders Georgakis Giannoulas and Panagiotis Antonious of the village Pramanta."

It is believed that prior to 1827 a smaller church dedicated to the Saint existed where the Monastery was built.

In the courtyard of the Monastery is a two-story building of Cells to serve the needs of the monks and to house visitors. Adjacent to this was a two-story building (Koulia) which was burned down by the Germans.

There is also an inscription on the silver covering of the miraculous icon of St. Katherine: "This Holy and Miraculous tablature was written by the assistance and cost of His Holiness the Abbot Lord Dionysios of the Holy Monastery Sihoretziani by the hand of Nicholas Apostolis Papageorgiou and his son Apostolos: 1820, November 20, Kalareites."

The silver covering over the image follows faithfully the iconography of the scene and is a valuable work of silver craftmanship. The icon itself remains in relatively good condition. It is miraculous and is in a shrine in the church of the famous Katholikon of the Monastery of Saint Katherine in Katarraktis.

The long history of the Holy Shrine lead to exist here besides the august silver miraculous icon of St. Katherine, holy relics and other icons of great worth and importance.

For many years, the pious from all over Greece visited the Monastery, kneeling before the august icon of St. Katherine, praying for her intercession, each individually offering their problems to St. Katherine so they may be freed. The people of Katarraktis as well as pilgrims come to piously venerate the holy icons as well as the holy relics.

In the past, the priest of the village, accompanied by some villagers, about ten days before the Feast of St. Katherine, would go door to door with the sacred relics to all the houses of the village, as well as the neighboring villages Sgaras, Scloupsas, Aloni Chioni, and Moutsiatras, so that all the households would receive the grace and blessing of St. Katherine. When the priest visited with the relics, the inhabitants of the village, because they had no money, would instead give corn, beans, lentils and nuts. An assistant of the priest would put all these into a sack and bring it back to the Monastery where it was distributed to the poor for free, and some was sold to help financially with the needs of the Monastery.

Today the holy relics along with the silver reliqueries in which they were kept, as a precious treasure, unfortunately no longer exist because two years ago some sacriligious persons violated the door of the Monastery and stole them, causing great distress to all the inhabitants of Katarraktis, among many others. Despite expensive investigations by the police, the sacred relics were never able to be found, and so the space exposed for the veneration of them by the faithful remains "orphan".

The Holy Monastery of Saint Katherine from early on became a place of worship and pilgrimage, not only for the residents of Katarraktis but for those of the entire area mainly because of the many miracles received by the faithful.

Important also was the multifaceted social contribution of the Monastery, which gave "present" whenever warranted by circumstances. Even in difficult economic times, which at times it was difficult to cover the costs of its own operations, the doors were open for the sick, the wayfarer, the poor family man, a destitute student, and every person who had a need was lead there, with the assurance that his request would be met, in other words, the Monastery was always a helper.

While it may seem strange, the Monastery of Saint Katherine was a kind of "mental hospital" in earlier years and as such continued to be until the 1950's. Since doctors and nurses, practitioners, clinics and institutions did not benefit them, the parents and relatives of the mentally ill took them to the Monastery with pain and grief and left them to the divine assistance of St. Katherine and the care of the monk in the Monastery. To get well, they would donate money, land, livestock and valuables. In the peaceful surroundings of the Monastery, together with prayer and fasting, and above all faith in St. Katherine, many of the patients after a long stay in the Monastery were cured completely and with joy and optimism, but also full of gratitude to the divine power of St. Katherine, they returned, now healthy, to their homes. There are cases where the mentally ill, after a long stay of treatment in the Monastery, not only were they very good, but in later life one became a teacher of theology and another an engineer.

The seriously mentally ill were tied with heavy chains that exist today. Apart from the chains were manganese, wooden handles and other practical tools, which the monk with the help of priests of Katarraktis adjusted depending on patients.

In the past there was much income driven into the Monastery and given out, which was mainly given by the faithful and the mentally ill. The offerings to the Monastery of money, land, oxen, horse, mule, sheep, goats and other animals clearly demonstrates that St. Katherines had many miracles so that the faithful donated generously, despite their poverty. The elders of the village report that at one time the Monastery with its shepherds had over 400 sheep, and one villager who was mentally ill and became well offered his two oxen to the Monastery.

Today the Monastery is not as it was in olden times, but it still does not cease to radiate spiritual life. The climate and atmosphere created in this sacred space, the faith which it refreshed, the love for St. Katherine, have been many times the cause for many - to those who had not Communed in many years, who in many years had not lived the Orthodox ecclesiastical life, yet came as pilgrims to the Monastery - to change their way of life, become good Christians, and faithful children of the Church.

At this time, the successful caretaking of the Monastery, I would say, is by Elder Metrophanes. Through the program "Pindos", the renovation of the church has been approved, as well as the Cells and the courtyard, and a contractor has been approved for the project. In a very short time the Monastery will change in appearance, like it merits.




Apolytikion in the Plagal of the First Tone
Let us praise the most auspicious bride of Christ, the divine Katherine, protectress of Sinai, our aid and our help. For, she brilliantly silenced the eloquence of the impious by the sword of the spirit, and now, crowned as a martyr, she asks great mercy for all.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
O friends of martyrs, now divinely raise up a renewed chorus, praising the all-wise Katherine. For, she proclaimed Christ in the arena, trampled on the serpent, and spat upon the knowledge of the orators.

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