Open Letter | Local Church - Living Stream - Please Consider Renouncing Unorthodox Statements from Witness Lee

This is very, very important folks! Please pass this along to all evangelical leaders, pastors and lay people. Most of all, prayerful consideration should be given for the leaders of this institution so that they could consider this open letter with the respect and concern that this has been done with. This open letter is not a "call to arms" but a call to discernment. We hope that they listen to this plead and consider it an invite for dialogue and not litigation.  Please read below:

First, some background from religionnewsblog.com:

The “local churches” (also known as “The Lord’s Recovery”) form a controversial movement that follows the teachings of the late Witness Lee (1905-1997), a Chinese leader who was a disciple of Watchman Nee. For decades, the “local churches” and their publishing counterpart, Living Stream Ministry (LSM), have drawn criticism from a variety of evangelical scholars, writers, and discernment ministries, who have alleged that Lee’s teachings compromise essential Christian beliefs such as the doctrine of the Trinity.

Since the 1970s, the “local churches” have repeatedly responded to criticisms by filing lawsuits or threatening litigation against Christian writers and publishers (see articles at Wikipedia http://tinyurl.com/ybqehb and Apologetics Index http://tinyurl.com/yf2y4p).

Most recently, Living Stream Ministry and the “local churches” sued Harvest House Publishers for $136 million in response to a brief entry in its 1999 book, The Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, by John Ankerberg and John Weldon. In January 2006, a Texas appellate court ruled in favor of Harvest House and the authors by dismissing the lawsuit in summary judgment. LSM and the “local churches” appealed, but in December 2006 the Texas Supreme Court ruled for Harvest House by refusing to hear the appeal. LSM and “local church” leaders are considering whether they will take the case to the US Supreme Court.

Despite Witness Lee’s harsh characterizations of evangelical Christian denominations as “apostate” and “utilized by Satan to set up his satanic system,” Living Stream Ministry has sought alliances with highprofile evangelical groups. LSM was successful in its 2002 bid to join the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) while at the same time suing Harvest House, one of ECPA’s founding members.

An Open Letter 

To the Leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the "Local Churches"

  
 
 
 Living Stream Ministry and the "local churches" (also known as The Lord’s Recovery), both founded by the late Witness Lee, have been involved for decades in legal and theological controversies with noted Christian institutions and leaders. In light of this history of litigation and conflict, we the undersigned make this public appeal.

Because the following statements by Witness Lee appear to contradict or compromise essential doctrines of the Christian faith, we respectfully call on the leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the "local churches" to disavow and cease to publish these and similar declarations:

"The Son is called the Father; so the Son must be the Father. We must realize this fact. There are some who say that He is called the Father, but He is not really the Father. But how could He be called the Father and yet not be the Father?… In the place where no man can approach Him (I Tim. 6:16), God is the Father. When He comes forth to manifest Himself, He is the Son. So, a Son is given, yet His name is called ‘The everlasting Father.’ This very Son who has been given to us is the very Father."

Witness Lee, The All-Inclusive Spirit of Christ
(Los Angeles: The Stream Publishers, 1969), pp. 4-5

"…the entire Godhead, the Triune God, became flesh."
Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1986), p. 230

"The traditional explanation of the Trinity is grossly inadequate and borders on tritheism. When the Spirit of God is joined with us, God is not left behind, nor does Christ remain on the throne. This is the impression Christianity gives. They think of the Father as one Person, sending the Son, another Person, to accomplish redemption, after which the Son sends the Spirit, yet another Person. The Spirit, in traditional thinking, comes into the believers, while the Father and Son are left on the throne. When believers pray, they are taught to bow before the Father and pray in the name of the Son. To split the Godhead into these separate Persons is not the revelation of the Bible…."

Witness Lee, Life Messages
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979), p. 164

"THE SON IS THE FATHER, AND THE SON IS ALSO THE SPIRIT…. and the Lord Jesus who is the Son is also the Eternal Father. Our Lord is the Son, and He is also the Father. Hallelujah!"

Witness Lee, Concerning the Triune God
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1973), pp. 18-19

"Therefore, it is clear: The Lord Jesus is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and He is the very God. He is also the Lord. He is the Father, the Son, the Spirit, the Mighty God, and the Lord."

Witness Lee, The Clear Scriptural Revelation
Concerning the Triune God
www.contendingforthefaith.org/responses/booklets/triune.html

"The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not three separate persons or three Gods; they are one God, one reality, one person."

Witness Lee, The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1970), p. 48

"Christ is of two natures, the human and the divine, and we are the same: we are of the human nature, but covered with the divine. He is the God-man, and we are the God-men. He is the ark made of wood covered with gold, and we are the boards made of wood covered with gold. In number we are different, but in nature we are exactly the same."

Witness Lee, The All-Inclusive Christ
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 5th ed. 1989), p. 103

"God can say to His believers, ‘I am divine and human,’ and His believers can reply, ‘Praise You, Lord. You are divine and human, and we are human and divine.’"

Witness Lee, The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990), pp. 51-52

"My burden is to show you clearly that God’s economy and plan is to make Himself man and to make us, His created beings, ‘God,’ so that He is ‘man-ized’ and we are ‘God-ized.’ In the end, He and we, we and He, all become God-men.’

Witness Lee, A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990), p. 54

"We the believers are begotten of God. What is begotten of man is man, and what is begotten of God must be God. We are born of God; hence, in this sense, we are God."

Ibid., p. 53

"Because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one with the Body of Christ, we may say that the Triune God is now the ‘four-in-one’ God.’ These four are the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Body. The Three of the Divine Trinity cannot be confused or separated, and the four-in-one also cannot be separated or confused."

Ibid., pp. 203-204

 and Denominations

We decry as inconsistent and unjustifiable the attempts by Living Stream and the "local churches" to gain membership in associations of evangelical churches and ministries while continuing to promote Witness Lee’s denigrating characterizations of such churches and ministries as follows:

"The Lord is not building His church in Christendom, which is composed of the apostate Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. This prophecy is being fulfilled through the Lord’s recovery, in which the building of the genuine church is being accomplished."

Witness Lee in The New Testament Recovery Version,
note 184 (Matthew 16:18)
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 99
http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=639

"The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself, taking many other names, such as Lutherans, Wesleyan, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc. … To deviate from the Lord’s word is apostasy, and to denominate the church by taking any name other than the Lord’s is spiritual fornication."

Witness Lee in The New Testament Recovery Version,
note 83 (Revelation 3:8)
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 1256
http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=8759

"I am afraid that a number of us are still under the negative influence of Christendom. We all have to realize that today the Lord is going on and on to fully recover us and bring us fully out of Christendom."

Witness Lee, The History of the Church and the Local Churches
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 132

"In every denomination, including the Roman Catholic Church, there are real, saved Christians. They are God’s people belonging to the Lord. But the organization of the denominations in which they are is not of God. The denominational organizations have been utilized by Satan to set up his satanic system to destroy God’s economy of the proper church life."

Witness Lee, "Message Thirty-Four" in The Life-Study of Genesis
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1987), Vol. 1, p. 464

"We do not care for Christianity, we do not care for Christendom, we do not care for the Roman Catholic church, and we do not care for all the denominations, because in the Bible it says that the great Babylon is fallen. This is a declaration. Christianity is fallen, Christendom is fallen, Catholicism is fallen, and all the denominations are fallen. Hallelujah!"

Witness Lee, The Seven Spirits for the Local Churches
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1989), p. 97

"To know God is not adequate. To know Christ is also not adequate. Even to know the church is not adequate. We must go on to know the churches which are local. If we are up-to-date in following the Lord, we will realize that today is the day of the local churches."

Ibid., p. 23

We respectfully call on the leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the "local churches" to disavow and cease to publish these and similar declarations.

If the leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the "local churches" regard evangelical Christians as fellow believers, we request that they publicly renounce the use of lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits against evangelical Christians to answer criticisms or resolve conflicts. The New Testament strongly discourages the use of lawsuits to settle disputes among Christians (see 1 Corinthians 6:1-8).

If the leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the "local churches" do not regard evangelical Christian churches, organizations, and ministries as legitimate Christian entities, we ask that they publicly resign their membership in all associations of evangelical churches and ministries.

In either case, we respectfully request that the leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the "local churches" discontinue their practice of using litigation and threatened litigation to answer criticisms or settle disputes with Christian organizations and individuals.

Sincerely,

•  Daniel L. Akin, Ph.D.
  President and Professor of Preaching and Theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Forest, NC)
• David L. Allen, Ph.D.
  Dean, School of Theology; Professor of Preaching; George W. Truett Chair of Pastoral Ministry; Director, Center of Expository Preaching, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Ronald B. Allen, Th.D.
  Senior Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, TX)
• John Babler, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor of Pastoral Counseling, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Mark L. Bailey, Ph.D.
  President and Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, TX)
• E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Social Ethics, Knox Seminary (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
• Deron J. Biles, Ph.D.
  Dean of Extension Education Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• D. Jeffrey Bingham, Ph.D.
  Department Chair and Professor of Theological Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, TX)
• James Bjornstad, Ph.D.
  Professor of Philosophy, Cedarville University (Cedarville, OH)
• Darrell L. Bock, Ph.D.
  Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, TX)
• James A. Borror, Th.D.
  Executive Director, Golden Minutes Ministries, Preaching Pastor, El Dorado Park Community Church (Long Beach, CA)
• Alan Branch, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas City, MO)
• Chad Brand, Ph.D.
  Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Associate Dean for Biblical and Theological Studies, Boyce College (Louisville, KY)
• Jerry L. Buckner, D.Min.
  Adjunct Professor, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary; President, Contending for the Faith (Mill Valley, CA)
• Ergun Caner, Ph.D.
  President, Liberty Theological Seminary (Lynchburg, VA)
• Paul Carden
  Executive Director, The Centers for Apologetics Research (San Juan Capistrano, CA)
• Miguel A. Endara, Ph.D.
  Professor, Seminario Sudamericano (Quito, Ecuador)
• Ronald M. Enroth, Ph.D.
  Professor of Sociology, Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA)
• Jorge Erdely, Ph.D.
  Professor of Historical Theology, Centro de Estudios Teológicos y Sociológicos (Mexico City, Mexico)
• James A. Freerksen, Th.D.
  Professor of Biblical Studies, Liberty Theological Seminary (Lynchburg, VA)
• George Joseph Gatis, Esq., J.D., Th.D., Ph.D.
  Director, Graduate School of Church & State, Whitefield Theological Seminary (Lakeland, FL); Chaplain of the Citadel (Charleston, SC)
• Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D.
  Dean, Southern Evangelical Seminary (Matthews, NC)
• Gretchen W. Goldsmith
  President/CEO, Rose Publishing, Inc. (Torrance, CA)
• Alan W. Gomes, Ph.D.
  Professor and Chair, Department of Theology, Talbot School of Theology (La Mirada, CA)
• George Grant, Ph.D.
  Director, King’s Meadow Study Center (Franklin, TN)
• Craig S. Hawkins, M.A.
  Adjunct Professor, Trinity Graduate School (Calif. Campus); President of Apologetics Information Ministry (Santa Ana, CA)
• Don Hawkins, D.Min.
  President, Southeastern Bible College (Birmingham, AL)
• William Honsberger, M.A., AbD.
  Director, Haven Ministries, (Aurora, CO)
• H. Wayne House, Th.D., J.D.
  Distinguished Research Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, Faith Evangelical Seminary (Tacoma, WA)
• Thomas A. Howe, Ph.D.
  Professor of Bible and Biblical Languages, Director of the D.Min. Program, Southern Evangelical Seminary (Matthews, NC)
• Jerry Johnson, M.A.C.S., M. Phil.
  Executive Director, The Apologetics Group (Nashville, TN)
• Jerry Johnson, Ph.D.
  President, Criswell College (Dallas, TX)
• Kevin D. Kennedy, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor of Theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Gordon R. Lewis, Ph.D.
  Senior Professor Emeritus of Christian Philosophy and Theology, Denver Seminary (Littleton, CO)
• Kevin Alan Lewis, J.D.
  Assistant Professor of Theology and Law, Talbot School of Theology (La Mirada, CA)
• Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.
  Executive Director, Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center (Albany, OH)
• Tim Martin, M.A.
  Adjunct Professor, Moody Bible Institute; Illinois Director, Watchman Fellowship, Inc. (Chicago, IL)
• Rev. George A. Mather, M.Div.
  Pastor, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church (St. George, UT)
• Donald G. Matzat, D.D.
  Pastor, Zion Lutheran Church (Bridgeville, PA)
• Craig Vincent Mitchell, PhD.
  Assistant professor of Christian Ethics, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• John Warwick Montgomery, Ph.D., Th.D., LL.D.
  Barrister-at-Law, England and Wales; Member of the California, District of Columbia, Virginia, Washington State and U.S. Supreme Court Bars; Inscrit au Barreau de Paris, France; Professor Emeritus of Law and Humanities, University of Bedfordshire, England
• Ishwaran B. Mudliar, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor of Old Testament, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Vladyslav Olkhovksy, Ph.D.
  Professor, Institute for Nuclear Research, National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine (Kiev, Ukraine)
• Steven M. Ortiz, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor of Archaeology and Biblical Studies, Director of the Charles C. Tandy Archaeology Museum, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Paige Patterson, Ph.D.
  President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Edward H. Pauley, Ph.D.
  Vice Provost and Professor of Philosophy, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Markus Printz, Th.D.
  Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Theological Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Earl D. Radmacher, Th.D.
  President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology Emeritus, Western Seminary (Portland, OR)
• Ron Rhodes, Th.D.
  President, Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries (Frisco, TX)
• R. Philip Roberts, Ph.D.
  President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas City, MO)
• Paulo Romeiro, Ph.D.
  Professor, Post-graduate Program in Sciences of Religion, Mackenzie Presbyterian University (São Paulo, Brazil)
• Alvin J. Schmidt, Ph.D.
  Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Illinois College (Jacksonville, IL); former Professor and Dean of Graduate Studies, Concordia Theological Seminary (Ft. Wayne, IN)
• Alan Kent Scholes, Ph.D.
  Associate Director, International School Project, Campus Crusade for Christ (Littleton, CO)
• Tim M. Sigler, Ph.D. (cand.)
  Assistant Professor of Hebrew and Biblical Studies, Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, IL)
• Robert B. Stewart, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology occupying the Greer-Heard Chair of Faith and Culture, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (New Orleans, LA)
• R. Alan Streett, Ph.D.
  Professor of Evangelism and Pastoral Ministry, Criswell College (Dallas, TX)
• Helen Terry Sullivan, Ph.D.
  Academic Dean, Arlington Baptist College (Arlington, TX)
• Kenneth G. Talbot, Ph.D.
  President, Whitefield Theological Seminary (Lakeland, FL)
• L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr.
  President, Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR); President, Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. (Wonder Lake, IL)
• James K. Walker, M.A.
  Adjunct Professor, Criswell College; President, Watchman Fellowship, Inc. (Arlington, TX)
• James R. White, Th.D.
  Adjunct Professor, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary; President, Alpha and Omega Ministries (Phoenix, AZ)
• Jim Wicker, Ph.D.
  Director, Web Based Education and Associate Professor, New Testament, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)
• Rev. Luke P. Wilson, M.T.S.
  Executive Director, Institute for Religious Research (Grand Rapids, MI)
• Thomas E. Woodward, Ph.D.
  Chair, Division of Bible and Theology, Trinity College of Florida (Trinity, FL)
• Malcolm B. Yarnell, III, D.Phil.
  Director, Center for Theological Research, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth, TX)

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Espanol | Resumen Apologetico

Este sería un ejemplo de un resumen apologético el cual podría sostener una defensa de la existencia de Dios, la realidad de Jesucristo y los argumentos a veces lanzado hacia el uso de las evidencias cristianas (apologética) misma.

Resumen Apologético

 

I. El Argumento Apologético

a. La verdad acerca de la realidad es conocida.

b. Los opuestos no pueden ser verdaderos.

c. Dios existe.

d. Los milagros son posibles.

e. Los milagros realizados en conexión con una afirmación de la verdad son actos de Dios para confirmar la verdad de Dios a través de un mensajero de Dios.

f. Los documentos del Nuevo Testamento son confiables.

g. Como el Nuevo Testamento lo testifica, Jesús afirmo ser Dios.

h. La afirmación de Jesús respecto a su divinidad fue probada por una convergencia única de milagros.

i. Por lo tanto, Jesús fue Dios en carne humana.

j. Todo lo que Jesús (quien es Dios) afirmo como verdadero, es verdad.

k. Jesús afirmo que la Biblia es la Palabra de Dios.

l. Por lo tanto, es verdad que la Biblia es la Palabra de Dios y todo lo que es opuesto a cualquier verdad bíblica es falso.

II. La Necesidad Apologética

 a. Dios lo manda 1era Pedro 3:15; 2ª Cor. 10:5; Fil. 1:7; Jud 3; Tito 1:9

 b. La Razón la Exige – Gn. 1:27; Col. 3:10).

 i. Es por el razonamiento que somos diferenciados de los animales irracionales.

 ii. Sócrates dijo, “la vida no examinada no es digna de vivir.” También se podría decir que la fe no examinada no debe ser creída.

 c. El Mundo la Necesita

 III. Objeciones a la Apologética

 a. Objeciones desde el punto de vista bíblico

 i. La Biblia no necesita ser defendida (E.g., Biblia como León)

 ii. Dios no puede ser conocido por la razón humana.

 iii. La naturaleza humana no puede entenderlo.

 iv. Sin fe es imposible agradar a Dios.

 v. Jesús rechazo dar señales a los hombres impíos.

 vi. No le contestes al necio con su necedad.

 vii. La Apologética no es usada en la Biblia.

 b. Objeciones a la Apologética afuera de la Biblia

 i. La lógica no puede decirnos nada acerca de Dios.

 ii. La lógica no puede “probar” la existencia de algo.

 iii. La lógica es inútil en asuntos religiosos.

iv. No puedes probar por la razón de que Dios existe.

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Great CT Article Quote | NT Wright, Postmodern Evangelism & Gnosticism

What do you make of the popularity of this stuff?

The Gnostic conspiracy theory says that orthodoxy hushed up the really exciting thing and promoted this boring sterile thing with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And of course there’s a great lie underneath that. In the second and third centuries, the people being thrown to the lions and burned at the stake and sawed in two were not the ones reading Thomas and Judas and the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary. They were the ones reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Because the empire is perfectly happy with Gnosticism. Gnosticism poses no threat to the empire. Whereas Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do. It’s the church’s shame that in the last 200 years, the church has muzzled Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and turned them into instruments of a controlling, sterile orthodoxy. But the texts themselves are explosive.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/january/22.38.html 

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The controversy of the Hybrid Human

How would we classify this new Chimera?1 This is something worth pondering because of the impact and implications this will have on ethics, science and life in general.

Early embryos yield stem cells UK scientists planning to mix human and animal cells in order to research cures for degenerative diseases fear their work will be halted. They accuse the body that grants licences for embryo research, the HFEA, of bowing to government pressure if it fails to consider their applications. Ministers proposed outlawing such work after unfavourable public opinion. PM Tony Blair said any new law would have "flexibility" to support scientific research that helped people. He said there were "difficult" issues surrounding creating the embryos, which are more than 99% human but have a small animal component. He added: "I’m sure that research that’s really going to save lives and improve the quality of life will be able to go forward." The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is to discuss if two research requests come under its remit. To shut this down at the moment is a real affront to patients Stem cell scientist Professor Chris Shaw Why create chimeras? Q&A: Hybrid embryos The creation of hybrid human-animal embryos was first suggested as a way of addressing the shortage of human eggs available for research. But the HFEA says it is unresolved whether this type of controversial work is permissible under existing laws - or even whether it falls under the HFEA’s jurisdiction to grant a licence. Opponents say the work tampers with nature and is unethical. The researchers have called for greater understanding of what they are trying to achieve. Public opposition The public was consulted on hybrid embryo work among other issues for an overhaul of outdated laws on fertility treatments and embryo research. Ministers felt the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 needed to be updated as science has moved on significantly. HAVE YOUR SAY Both my aunt and my mother suffered from Alzheimer’s and I applaud any reasonable developments that will cure this terrible illness John Sykes, Nottingham Send us your comments Why are ministers opposed? The new white paper says scientists will be able to push forward research in some areas, such as altering the genetic structure of cells that make embryos. But government proposes prohibiting them from making human-animal hybrids or so-called "chimeras" - where genetic material is taken from humans and put into a host animal egg. That is then allowed to grow to a very early embryo stage in the lab as a source of stem cells for research. ‘Hybrids’ Scientists are hopeful that studies on stem cells - immature cells that can become many types of tissue - could lead to greater understanding and even a cure for many diseases, including Alzheimer’s. They say using human-animal mixes rather than human eggs to get the stem cells makes sense because human eggs are in short supply, plus the process is less cumbersome and yields better results. Professor Chris Shaw from Kings College London, along with his colleague Dr Stephen Minger, has applied for a licence for stem cell work on Motor Neurone Disease. We hope that the HFEA has found this is one hurdle too many and they are not prepared to jump over it Josephine Quintavalle of CORE ethics He said: "To shut this down at the moment is a real affront to patients. We do not have a single drug that makes a difference to the disease course." Dr Minger, who hopes to look at the genetic causes of conditions like Parkinson’s disease, said he had been told that the HFEA was unlikely to grant his application. A second team of scientists, led by Professor Lyle Armstrong at Newcastle University, has applied to research how different tissues grow in the body. Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat member of the Science and Technology Select Committee, warned there would be fierce opposition from scientists and parliamentarians to any draft bill which included such a ban. Scientific progress An HFEA spokesman said: "We need to decide whether the law prohibits this research, whether it falls under our remit at all, and then we can look at whether we have a fundamental view on this type of research. "We have a duty to consider any application put before us." If the HFEA decides it is outside its remit, the scientists will not legally need a licence to continue with their work. A spokesman for the Department of Health stressed that the new law, which still needs to be debated in Parliament, would contain a clause allowing for the possibility that this type of work should be permitted in the future. Josephine Quintavalle, of CORE ethics, said: "This is creating an animal-human hybrid and that has to be acknowledged as something that does not meet with approval. "We hope that the HFEA has found this is one hurdle too many and they are not prepared to jump over it." 1. Wikipedia - Chimera (genetics) In biological research, chimeras are artificially produced by mixing cells from two different organisms. This can result in the eventual development of an adult animal composed of cells from both donors, which may be of different species — for example, in 1984 a chimeric geep was produced by combining embryos from a goat and a sheep[3]. A chicken with a quail’s brain has been produced by grafting portions of a quail embryo into a chicken

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Ben Stein’s Eval of Borat

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Mormon Resource | Josephlied.com

From the site:

What would you say if I offered to sell you a slightly used 2005 Ford Expedition for only $5,000.00?

 

If you were a normal person you would be a bit suspicious. But, after being assured that it really was only five grand and it only had 10,000 miles on the odometer you would naturally grab the deal before someone else beat you to it. Imagine you took your new vehicle home and after just a few days it broke down on you. You would probably call me and ask if there was anything I failed to mention to you about your new purchase. You would probably be furious if I said, "Technically the odometer reads 10,000 miles, but it actually has a little over 285,000 miles on it.  You see, I took the odometer apart and rolled it back to 10,000 to make it a better sell.  However, it is in excellent condition.  It’s only been in 5 major accidents in the past year but the body work done on it has concealed any evidence of damage.  4 of the 5 accidents happened when some sort of electrical short caused the engine to catch on fire and flood the cabin with thick acrid smoke.  However, I’m pretty sure they have figured out the source of the electrical problems and it shouldn’t happen again (knock on wood).  Anyways, it’s a steal at $5,000.  Heck, it’s a steal any way you look at it since it was actually stolen in New Mexico early last year but it now has a clean bill of sale and VIN that can’t possibly be traced back to it’s original (and rightful) owner.  For some reason I was having a heck of a time selling it until I rolled the odometer back and got the nasty odor of smoke out of the interior.  I’m sure glad you came along, I was about to part it out and sell it for scrap." Likewise, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka the Mormon Church) also has a rather shocking history that has been "tampered with" and significantly altered over the past 170+ years that, when discovered, led me and my family to leave it after being faithful believers our entire lives.  If you are LDS (or investigating the LDS Church) and want to know what would cause a very active, temple married couple (he a return missionary, she the daughter of a Bishop) to remove themselves and their children from the only church they have ever known, then read on.   We used to be like most Mormons.  Whenever we heard anything negative about the church we knew it was a lie because we knew the church was true.  However, we discovered we only "knew" what the church wanted us to know.  You might be surprised as you go through this site to discover that there are many fully documented facts about the history of the LDS Church that a vast majority of Latter-Day Saints have never even heard of.  If you continue, like us you will no doubt come to the conclusion that, simply put, Joseph lied.

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Quote of the Day

"Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius in sensu." (Nothing is in the intellect that was not first in the senses) – Aquinas’ peripatetic axiom

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