CNN Belief Blog ~ Sign of the Times
In order to know what the latest news is in this present world and to be able to communicate with people about the workings of man, we check the latest news items most mornings on the main page of CNN.com. And so it was last month (June, 2011) that we noticed two articles that drew our interest and when we opened them we found ourselves on the CNN Belief Blog, where articles are placed for people to comment and express their opinion.
We decided to write the authors of the articles that were of interest to us and a few weeks later we reviewed more articles and rather than writing the authors we decided to post our comments on the Blog. It did not take long for us to determine that the CNN Belief Blog was a platform that truly reflected a sign of the times, where people were allowed to promote their distorted ideologies/beliefs, hatred, religious diversities and also use it to discredit and personally attack those that oppose a particular view or opinion.
One article that was of particular interest to us was an article that was posted on June 21, 2011 and listed as 'Gay Marriage foes twist Bible'. The article was listed to promote and justify a homosexual lifestyle and for several days we posted comments to point out that homosexuality was a choice and an abomination in God's eyes and as always confirmed our views with written confirmation from the Word of God. We also posted the item Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage on the Current Events page of our website.
By posting our comments we learned that all the dialogue was controlled by a number of people who supported their views with personal attacks and insults, which was made possible by those that had their fingers on the buttons at CNN. The comments by people with opposing views were either blocked and some replies were presented in a most demeaning manner and was sometimes even accompanied with foul language.
We directed our concerns to Mr. Dan Gilgoff, CNN Religion Editor and Mr. Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor but never received a reply. After more incidents we contacted them again after we received personal threats as they started to use words like "I dare you…., and they were also asking people on line to spread a virus through our website, but once again we did not receive a reply.
On a few occasions we even had our website that we referred to in our comments, changed to a website that promoted a so-called Gay Christian church. Obviously, these changes could have only been made by CNN employees.
Now, we know that we are 'no friends' of this world (Matthew 5:10-12; James 4:4) but when people stole our User Name to post their own ill-conceived opinions, we decided to direct our concerns to Mr. Jim Walton, President of CNN and copied Mr. Dan Gilgoff and Mr. Eric Marrapodi, along with many contributing authors to the CNN Belief Blog and CNN Contributors and Employees. Other recipients were Mr. Ted Turner, members of our local media, Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Roger Aisles. In our e-mail we pointed out that Identity Theft is a Criminal Offense and requested corrections without delay. The following is a copy.
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2011 7:32 AM
Subject: CNN Exposed
Gentlemen,
Our earlier suspicions have now been confirmed and our findings are a most disturbing trend in the way CNN controls the dialogue on its CNN Belief Blog and allow people to resort to Identity Theft and the Use of someone's Username to control the dialogue and post lies and misleading information. We wrote the following to Mr. John Blake in response to an earlier article by him that was posted on July 12, 2011, of which most of you received a copy.
"We have followed some of the comments recently of 'Gay Marriage foes twist Bible' and must say that it is an abomination. We have shared a few comments but most of it is indicative of the State of your Nation. There are certain individuals who have been allowed to share their distorted and hate-filled messages perhaps a thousand times since the Blog started. If they find themselves cornered with their misinformed information they get someone else to put in the last word and then anything else is blocked, giving the homosexual community the last word. Crafty but not very healthy if you attempt to educate the general public with righteousness that is able to form solid foundations, unless of course you advocate and want to propagandize Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage.
If you are able to understand the inside workings of the Belief Blog and look through all the deceit, there is a strong possibility that they even could be CNN Moderators, who control the buttons of the dialogue. That would be worse than the scandal Rupert Murdoch is dealing with, whose media empire was besieged yesterday that two more of his British newspapers engaged in privacy violations that included accessing former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's bank account information and stealing the medical records of his seriously ill baby son.
For more than twenty years we have played an important role in the communication about the sexual abuse by the clergy in the churches and in the last few days had five comments blocked on 'One time priest crusades for church's victims.' The comments were short and professional and would only have helped bring understanding to the issue. It is ironic that even the priest involved in this story, Patrick J. Wall has not responded to our e-mails. He is a former priest and is now a Sr. Consultant for the Law Firm Manly & Stewart. They have a Sexual Abuse & Personal Injury Division and make a living ($$$) of Sexual Abuse by the clergy, similar to CNN and other media outlets, who generate revenue from the stories 'Sexual Abuse by the Clergy' have created.
The churches may have had a hidden agenda in dealing with the sexual abuse by their clergy but it is our view that CNN's hidden agenda, along with other media outlets, far exceeds anything that portrays the religious agenda, which is to withhold the truth from the people."
While posting several messages on the Blog for the article 'Gay Marriage foes twist Bible' we learned on July 14, 2011 that a few individuals used our identity to post messages referring visitors to their website www.gaychristian101.com under our User Name. The messages therefore were a total distortion of the principals and teachings of our Ministry.
We use our website www.aworlddeceived.ca as an educational tool to show people how and by whom they have been deceived (Rev. 12:9) and in our comments that we post, refer visitors of the Blog to our website and the many articles and information that we have listed. At first notice we notified Mr. Dan Gilgoff, Sr. Editor and Eric Marrapodi, Ass. Editor, on three occasions yesterday and requested that they correct or remove the distorted messages. We have received no reply and the distortions and illegal notices are still showing at the time of this writing.
CNN obviously does not realize that Identity Theft and the use of someone's name is a Criminal Offense and the individuals responsible should be held accountable for their actions.
We only learned of the CNN Belief Blog just recently but knew from the outset that there was something seriously wrong in what they posted and the messages they blocked to suit their own ideologies.
It is our hope that CNN will implement immediate changes, in order that there can be an honest and open dialogue about the issues and articles that are posted. We also request immediate corrections to the entries and distortions that were posted by certain individuals on the Blog. In our view an apology would be more appropriate.
We would appreciate hearing from you about this reported and serious issue of Identity Theft by CNN staff members and would appreciate receiving confirmation of the corrections we requested.
Yours truly,
Andy & Dianne van den Berg
It should be noted that we never did receive a reply. In this age of technology a person can have as many as ten or more hotmail accounts and therefore have an equal number of User Accounts registered on the CNN Belief Blog. Based on the content and the use of certain and repeating language, it became quite clear to us that there are such individuals that use multiple User Accounts to control the dialogue and to communicate their distorted and hate-filled messages. It would be interesting to find out if they are in fact CNN employees.
In the meantime they posted another article on July 18, 2011 entitled 'Amid Bachmann controversy, many Christians cool to conversion therapy for gays'. We do not involve ourselves in politics but we did involve ourselves in the conversation of Reparative and Conversion Therapy for Gays, to show people how they have been deceived and by whom (Rev. 12:9).
We directed our communication to Al Mohler, the head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, whose name had been quoted in the article and a long list of recipients were copied, including the Presidents of ten USA Universities, media personalities and Mr. John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Also copied was Warren Throckmorton, who was mentioned also in the article. He is a so-called Christian Counselor and an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College, an evangelical school in Pennsylvania.
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 9:07 PM
Subject: Homosexuality is a Choice
Dear Sir,
Recently you were quoted as saying the following in a recent article on the CNN Belief Blog.
'The head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, meanwhile, a leading conservative Christian, has recently chided some evangelicals for characterizing Homosexuality as a choice that's relatively easy to change.
"We have spoken carelessly and unknowledgeably in the past to just say, 'Just change. Just decide right now your pattern of attraction is not homosexual but heterosexual,' " Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler said. 'We have to know better."
"We understand that sexual attraction and a profile of someone's sexuality is a complex of factors, some of which are certainly not chosen," he continued. "It's not just a matter of choice. It's not something that's turned on or turned off."
We know that Homosexuality is a real choice and someone's sexuality is not a complex of factors. We will explain.
First there was homosexuality, then there were homosexuals that claimed to be so-called Christians and then there were so-called Gay Christians that formed there own Churches and now we have what they call Reparative and Conversion Therapy, that they say can turn you from a homosexual back to a heterosexual. Obviously this can only be done by qualified individuals and can only be successful as long you pay a fee. Pathetic, some might say!! You decide.
Recently we learned of the CNN Belief Blog and an article entitled 'Gay Marriage foes twist Bible', it has been listed there since June 21, 2011. In order to defend the righteousness and the Word of God we recently posted The Story of Lot (see copy below) on its Blog and also on the Blog associated with the article 'Amid Bachmann controversy, many Christians cool to conversion therapy for gays'. We have recently written to Mr. Dan Gilgoff, Sr. Editor and his assistant Eric Marrapodi and requested that they list The Story of Lot as an article on the CNN Belief Blog to challenge the article 'Gay marriage foes twist Bible', but to date we have received no reply.
Now the Bible is not a story book and cannot easily be understood, as the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14). For this reason you will not be able to understand the spiritual meaning of The Story of Lot, so we will explain. Now you think that you and your associates at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary would be the ones inside Lot's house with the angels. Wrong!! You would be standing back urging them on and convincing the people that were crowding the door on the outside, that they were OK and whatever the problem was they would be able to take care of it and even correct it if necessary. Sir, you don't know what spirit you are of (Luke 9:55) and your teachings are after the wisdom and spirit of this world and not after God (1 Cor. 2:4-13).
Yes there were serious consequences associated with The Story of Lot and God's judgment has never changed. We wrote the following to Barack Obama on February 5, 2009.
"Ignoring our message will have far greater consequences on the Nations and the people of this world, than you will be able to comprehend. I am not trying to scare you, but unless people become serious about our message of repentance, history will prove that we are heading for a certain future that mankind has not seen since the beginning of creation."
You can read more about our communication to Barack Obama on our website www.aworlddeceived.ca and the article Barack Obama ~ President of the United States of America.
The believers know that on God's watch you cannot turn the clock back and things will wax worse and worse. However, through our writings and admonitions it is our hope that all men be saved and come unto the knowledge of God (1 Timothy 2:4). We know that the Bible is true in all things and when it records that only few will find the narrow road that leads to His Kingdom, it is true also.
We know this with all Godly sincerity, that if two angels were commissioned today to visit the cities throughout the world, they would not be able to find even ten righteous people in most cities, in fact they would have a difficult time finding even 'one'.
Just like homosexuality it is all based on a personal choice.
In His Service.
Andy & Dianne van den Berg
The following is the Story of Lot we posted on the CNN Belief Blog in response to the two articles mentioned earlier.
The Story of Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah
Many people that have placed comments on the CNN Belief Blog have used the story of Lot and his family to justify their deceitful and misleading hypothesis, while in truth it is a story of great spiritual significance and teaching. The Bible is not a Story Book and cannot be understood by the natural man as it is spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14). Abraham and his nephew Lot were considered righteous in God's eyes, while mankind prefers to follow the natural spirit of darkness (John 3:19) and for this reason remains separated from God.
The City of Ur in Babylonia had been a godless place, but Sodom was even worse. Its people thought of nothing but their own pleasures and the pursuit of wealth. The neighboring town of Gomorrah was equally bad and both cities were known for the evil deeds of their inhabitants. These two cities lay in the vale of Siddim, near an inlet called the Dead Sea, or the Salt Sea.
They were a long-time enemy of the king of Elam and when the people of the cities rebelled, the conquering soldiers of king Elam looted the cities and took Lot, Abraham's nephew, captive along with all Lot's goods and many other men and women they had taken for their slaves. Abraham, along with Lot lived during the days of the Patriarchs and they were considered righteous in God's eyes.
After one man had escaped from the enemy camp, Abraham assembled a small army and at a place called Dan he launched a swift attack. It was so sudden and so unexpected, that the enemy broke camp and ran and Abraham rescued all the captives and their stolen possessions.
But though Abraham could have made himself a very rich man, by keeping the goods he had recovered, he would take no reward. Instead, he returned the goods to the people and the people to their cities, accepting nothing in return but the food he needed for his tiny army. Lot and his family went back to the City of Sodom, which became no less wicked for having been saved by Abraham; and Abraham went back to his tent home on the plain of Mamre.
God was well pleased with Abraham and made the promise that he would become a great nation and that he would teach his children and his children's children to be righteous and keep the ways of the Lord.
Now God had revealed to Abraham that he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness but Abraham was concerned for those that did not deserve to die. So he challenged God over the number of righteous people he would be able to find, in order that God would not destroy the cities. Even if Abraham would be able to find ten righteous people (believers) God promised to save the city. But Abraham went to the place of his tents to think of the fate of Sodom and his brother's son and could only hope that the angels of the Lord would find ten good men in the midst of all their wickedness, so that they and their city could be saved.
Of all the five cities in the vale of Siddim, the city of Sodom and the neighboring town of Gomorrah were the worst in sinfulness. Yet Lot had freely chosen to make the city of Sodom his home. The people of Sodom had enough respect for Lot to allow him to become a great man in their city, and as time passed they became to regard him as one of their judges or wise men.
On the evening of the day during which Abraham had been visited by the two angels and the Lord, Lot was sitting in his usual place near the gate of Sodom, when two strangers (angels) approached and entered through the gate. Lot knew how the people of Sodom were used to treating strangers and instead of offering food and rest would offer brutality and cruel harm. So Lot offered them to come into his house but the angels insisted they spend the night in the street.
But Lot knew that the strangers (angels) would not be safe in the streets and eventually they turned into his house. Now before they could lie down there came a loud knocking at the door. The word of Lot's two visitors had spread, and the people of Sodom wanted to amuse themselves by tormenting the two strangers. Young and old, and from every quarter of the city, they swarmed around Lot's house and demanded that he let them in or turn his guests over to them so they could have their fun.
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him. He was so appalled by the behavior of the men of Sodom and said to them: I pray you brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters, which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. But Lot was fully aware of the intentions of the men of Sodom and knew full well that they were not interested in his daughters or any other members of his family, as they were determined to amuse themselves with the strangers.
The people crowded rudely against Lot and almost succeeded by breaking down the door. But the two men inside quickly reached out their hands and dragged Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the door with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Lot was asked by the angels if he had any sons in law, sons and daughters in the city and when he spoke to his sons-in-law, he could not make them understand that Sodom would be destroyed. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
After God had shown Lot the small city of Zoar where he was to escape, He overthrew the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the city and that which grew upon the ground.
They had been informed not to look back but Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters eventually went up into the mountain. Lot's older daughter had a son whom she called Moab, who became the father of the Moabites; and Lot's younger daughter bore a son called Ben-Ammi, whose descendants were the Ammonites.
~
When we started on our journey of Repentance (Mark 1:4) and Transformation (Romans 12:2) twenty six years ago, we were hungry for the truth and during our search for the true and living God He had taught us about the meaning of an angel and He even did send us an angel as confirmation. It is the Spirit of God taking on a human body and He revealed to us that they can come and go as directed by God.
A good example is the angel of the Lord that opened the prison doors by night as recorded in Acts 5:19. Also, the angel of the Lord that came upon Peter, while he was in prison and the chains fell off his hands as recorded in Acts 12:7.
The article 'Gay Marriage foes twist Bible' defends and promotes a certain lifestyle and to see people respond to it, using the very Word of God, which they cannot understand (1 Cor. 2:14) is an abomination. They are separated from God and do not represent those that are inside Lot's house but rather those that are rudely crowding on the outside and who were smitten with blindness. The people today have received even a worse punishment called "Spiritual Blindness".
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:11,12).
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet (Romans 1:26,27).
For a better understanding what mankind must do to be able to stand with Lot's family on the inside of his house with the angels of God, what it means to Repent and what you must do to able to understand the Bible, we invite you to read all the pages and articles of our website. You can locate it by entering 'a world deceived' on Google. It is easy to find as it has been the number one listing for the last five years out of more than 10 million listings.
All of the other pages and articles on our website explain how this whole world has been deceived as confirmed in Revelation 12:9 and the Bible is true, it is just that mankind in the natural state is not able to understand it as it is spiritually discerned: meaning to be able to discern between darkness and light (1 Cor. 2:14,15). The Bible is the discerner of every thought and the intent of the heart (Hebrews 5:12).
This we know with all Godly sincerity that if two angels were commissioned to visit the cities throughout the world today to seek ten righteous people, they would not be able to find them. In fact, in most cities they would not be able to find 'one'.
In Summary:
Homosexuality is a personal choice based on a person's free will. Things like Reparative and Conversion Therapy are an abomination and are according to man's wisdom (1 Cor. 2:4-13). However, there is another choice and all a person requires to do is turn to the right source (spirit) and belief in the Only Physician that is able to provide a Cure (Matthew 9:12; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31).
To repent means to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan (spirit of man) unto God (Acts 26:18) and through the Baptism of Repentance (Mark 1:4) God will bring about the conversion and transformation of spirits and bring healing to all those that believe.
~
As the Voice of the World, the media are the most important element, as society is shaped by what it hears and reads and is conditioned by the events that influence the mind of every person. You reap what you sow.
You also have to take in consideration public opinion, which is critical as most public opinion is the view of the media. If the media does not like something, their bias taints information they communicate to the public, and this forms public opinion. Public opinion is never based on research and facts. The public uses the media for its sole source of information.
You can read more about this in our article Influence of the Media listed on this website.
This past weekend there has been another shooting and more than 90 people were killed in Oslo, Norway. Like vultures the media will be asking the same questions once again: Who, Why, How…..? They asked the same questions in Tucson, Arizona, Fort Hood, Texas and when six people were killed yesterday during a skating rink shooting in Texas, it went almost unnoticed.
For a better understanding of these shooting incidents, we invite you to read the items What motivated the Arizona shooter? and Fort Hood, Texas Shootings and other News Items of the past week listed on the Current Events page of this website.
Through its unbalanced reporting and unwillingness to address the causes of the issues that mankind is facing, things will wax worse and worse, similar to what you have seen with the issue of homosexuality, crime, natural disasters, etc., etc., as recorded in 2 Timothy 3:13: But evil man and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
In addition to a listing of articles CNN displays five main topics on their Belief Blog. Three of them speak about sexual abuse in the churches, homosexuality and why people stick by scandal-plagued pastors. The fourth topic is called 'Actually, that is not in the Bible'. This article was written by John Blake and he was one of the authors we first wrote. The article was posted on June 5, 2011 and its Blog has been a forum where people argue back and forth over a Book they cannot understand (1 Cor. 2:14).
The fifth main topic is called '10 things Belief Blog has learned'. It was written by Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor. It was posted on June 8, 2011 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Belief Blog. In the article the Sr. Editor attempts to point out the things they have learned, e.g. 'Every big news story has a faith angle' and 'Most Americans are religious illiterate' etc. but in truth his article is a compilation of false and misleading statements.
The following is an excerpt from our e-mail to him of July 6, 2011, in response to his article.
"I also read the '10 Things Belief Blog has learned' and the following is our response to your worldly opinion. You may celebrate your first anniversary with balloons and cake but here is the real story.
The CNN Blog confirms that every kingdom divided against itself is eventually brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand (Matthew 12:25-30). The comments and replies by people on your Blog is proof how divided the people are and the divisive and sometimes hatred-filled comments show how divided this world has become. CNN in the meantime benefits ($$$) by continuing to promote false teachers and blind guides (Rick Warren, Robert Schuller, Ty Adams, Joel Osteen, Ted Haggard, Eddie Long, etc., etc.) and benefits from articles by yourself and other reporters that promote false and misleading doctrines, that are after the wisdom of this world and not after God and only stir up more division (1 Cor. 2:4-6).
The reason our messages are such a stumbling-block (1 Cor. 1:23; 1 Peter 2:7,8) for you is because the gospel we preach is not after man, for we neither received it of man, neither were we taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11,12)."
A 2003 Gallup Poll reported that "Forty-one percent of Americans say they are Born-Again". That is almost 128 million people that claim to be 'Christ-like'. Now the Bible teaches us that if two believers shall agree on earth as touching any thing they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name (Christ), there I am in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19,20).
And while 128 million Americans think they know God, they have all been deceived by the spirit of this world (2 Cor. 11:13-15; Rev. 12:9). Please understand that even Christ did not pray for this world and neither do the believers who walk after Him (John 17:9; 1 John 5:19). Why did Christ not pray for this world and whose kingdom is this? You can read about it in Matthew 12:25-27.
The CNN Belief Blog breeds a culture of ungodliness that only the human mind can possibly imagine and fabricate. All you have to do is read the headlines each morning on CNN.com and one can learn of the daily deterioration and degeneration of society.
In the area where we reside, they just celebrated Gay Pride Week and our local paper dedicated more space for pictures to the Gay Pride Parade and wrote more articles about their festivities than they are willing to write about a solution for the people of Africa, where thousands are dying from hunger each week. For there is indeed a solution for world-hunger, if man so desires (Matthew 14:15; 15:32; Mark 6:30; 8:1; Luke 9:10; John 6:1-14)!
This morning they utilized a quarter of the Front Page on Amy Winehouse with the headline 'Music sensation Amy Winehouse dead at 27'. Other than a person that had problems with alcohol and drugs, what is anyone to learn from it? But this is obviously what they refer to as news, especially when the paper makes every effort to sensationalize it.
They also published a story of a local Lutheran Church and their support for the gay community. Last week, the largest Lutheran denomination in Canada voted to allow churches to perform same-sex marriages and ordain gay clergy. The headline read: It's 'an expansion of God's love'. We will write the paper to see if they will allow us equal time for an interview, in order to provide balanced reporting on the issue, and allow us to explain that they have not the love of God in them (John 5:42). Please know that we are not going to sit idly by and wait for the phone to ring, as we have contacted our local paper for more than twenty years. During this time we have learned that the media only reports what they want you to hear and the truth is not one of them (John 14:17).
On the CNN Belief Blog some people speak of the interpretation of the Word of God but as long as mankind remains separated from God, they will not be able to understand the Bible as it is spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14). The Bible specifically teaches in 2 Peter 1:20 that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Many people that place comments or replies on the Blog are backbiters and haters of God, while CNN propagandizes dialogue that promotes hatred, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, profligacy, adultery, sodomy, debauchery, lasciviousness, political and religious scandals, divisions of every description, idolatry, seditions, heresies, emulations, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, malignity and these are all works of the flesh (Romans 1:29-32; Gal. 5:19-21). CNN as a service provider for the Blog is responsible for the fruits thereof.
Most countries in Europe today, along with the United States of America, face bankruptcy and are on the verge of financial ruin but more importantly, they are morally and spiritually bankrupt, as they refuse to give any attention or acknowledge God's message of repentance. The CNN Belief Blog is confirmation thereof and is also confirmation how all the foundations of this world are out of its course (Psalms 82:5).