Syrian Christians are being tortured, crucified and beheaded in Aleppo, Syria because these Christians are reaching out to their neighbors with the love of Jesus. This isn't a bible story. It is happening now. Radical Islamicists in Aleppo ordered Christians in their city to leave or face death. These followers of Jesus refused to leave their hometown, choosing to remain in the city to provide aid in the name of Christ to survivors of the carpet bombings.
When the deadline to leave Aleppo passed, these Christians were apprehended, and their torture began. One Syrian Christian father watched as his twelve-year-old son's fingers were cut off. When the father still refused to renounce Christ and convert to Islam, the radicals then beat both father and son, and crucified them with a sign above their heads that read "infidels." During their torture these Syrian Christians sang, prayed for their torturers and displayed super-human inner strength. One eyewitness said the way these Christians died astounded their persecutors. They died as conquerors, not victims.
Meanwhile, we American Christians sip our lattes and nibble our pastries, but find it impossible to overcome the "hurt and pain" we've experienced in life. Most of us can't even spell Aleppo, much less see the difference between the pain and suffering in their lives when compared to ours. We complain about the songs we sing in church, the lack of Facebook likes we receive, and the various ways people disrespect us. We find it easier to point our finger at someone else as the cause of our pain than to look within ourselves to find the reasons for it.
We American Christians have become masters at playing the role of victims.
Jesus said, "Things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart" (Matthew 15:18). To express "I'm a victim" in life is the ultimate sign of a void within my heart. When I see myself as a victim, I have little or no comprehension of God's love for me in Jesus Christ.
Oh, sure, I may say I understand God's love for me. Maybe I'll even sing about God's love. But the proof is in how I live. When crunch time comes, if I find my satisfaction and happiness in other people, or other things, or in my ability to control life, then I'll play the role of victim. I must play the victim because I am. That in which I trust for my happiness and security has been stolen from me.
Never find the source of your happiness today in what you may lose tomorrow.
I can never lose the love of Christ.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any power, neither heights nor depths, nor anything else in this world, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).If I'm void of a comprehension of Christ's love for me, then when things get out of control - like a son's fingers being cut off by a radical Islamicists - I'll scream and fight, seek to control and manipulate, lie and steal, look back and payback, and ... well, you get the picture. But when "I know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, then I am filled up with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:19).
And when filled with the love of Christ, then what comes out of me when squeezed by painful events is the love of Christ. So God will sometimes allow the heat to surround me to reveal the heart that is within me.
Now for the Good News.
God is at work in all His people, turning us from a mindset of victimization to a mindset of being "more than conquerors." The same passage in Romans 8 that points us to the love of Christ trumpets what it means for Christians to be "more than conquerors" in this life. Read it carefully:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:35, 37).The little phrase "more than conquerors" translates one Greek word - ὑπερνικ. I'll transliterate the root words of this compound Greek word in English - SUPER NIKE.
Super is the Greek preposition which means more than or superior.
Nike is the Greek word for victory. Nike is more than a logo; it's a state of mind.
Christ's love for me makes me "more than victorious" in my mind, no matter the troubling situation that comes my way in my life.
This is really Good News.
The gospel is not just about "going to heaven." It's about being able in this life to be "more than victorious" even when your son's fingers are cut off. It's about having the ability to pray for those who are in the process of actually crucifying you. It's about having the power to be kind to those who hate you and cause you affliction or distress (trouble), famine or nakedness (loss), and danger or sword (harm).
By pointing my finger at someone else as the reason for the loss of my happiness, or the source of my pain, or the one I believe is responsible for my struggles in this life, I am playing the role of victim and am losing any sense of being more than victorious through Christ's love for me.
I must stop it.
For when I rest in the love of Christ - something that no one or no thing can ever take away - I will find that this life's troubles, losses, and painful events only give me an opportunity to show the world that I am more than victorious through Jesus Christ who loves me.
My New Year's resolution is to go through 2017 with a mindset that I am never a victim of my circumstances. I am always more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.
39 comments:
On Internet I saw a picture of a Christian with a rope around his neck about to be hung by ISIS. They published the picture to spread fear, but someone quoted his last words: "This is the happiest day of my life!"
Rex
As I have mentioned elsewhere, there will come a day that is the last day I will be alive on this earth. It's for sure that the most important thing to me, that day, far above all else, will be where I am going to be tomorrow. ALL else will be unimportant to me, that day.
If it's that important to me the last day of my life, then it should be the most important thing to me, today, also.
Amen, Lord. Let it be.
Where does the premise of this article leave recent collective pronouncements against "compromised evangelicals", "angry old white men", the confederate flag, reparations and "racist" police departments?
When the Coptic Christian Martyrs were beheaded in 2015 by Isis, they called upon Our Lord for help and one is said to have asked Him for mercy for the executioners .... and yet these Christian people of one of the oldest communities of Christians in the world are not seen by fundamentalist evangelicals as 'Christians' ..... I would say that by the manner of their deaths, they witnessed to Christ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pYDfI7tJFA
The Coptic martyrs came from a faith that professes Christ with these words prior to the reading of the Holy Gospel in their liturgical worship in community:
“. . . You are the life of us all, the salvation of us all, the hope of us all, the healing of us all, and the resurrection of us all.”
At the moment of their death when they called on Jesus for help, it was not their first acknowledgement of Christ as Lord.
This is especially timely in my life. My mother just committed suicide and I am struggling with the spiritual implications of her actions. I know there is nothing that is beyond the blood of Christ and I look to the depression of Spurgeon or the suicide of William Cowper and see that even great spiritual minds can struggle with darkness. But when I compare this to the idea of living victoriously as you mention.. there is an incongruity present. I am not quite sure what to make of it. I can only assume that, for those who belong to Christ, the sanctification process(here)is different for everyone and that glorification (hereafter) will make us all as we should be before Christ at His throne.
In the meantime, a very wise reminder that we, in the grand view of things, have nothing to complain about.
-Hupomone
Hupomone,
"I can only assume the sanctification process (here) is different for everyone that that glorification (hereafter) will make us all as we should be before Christ at His throne."
Could not have said it better.
"They Kingdom come, Thy will be done ON EARTH as it is IN HEAVEN."
Hupomone on my aunt's death certificate is the word "suicide." She was a cutter, and one day cut herself and bled to death. She wrote a book about the death of Christ and knew Christ personally and intimately, but the pain of this life conquered her mind - instead of her mind conquering her pain through the process of meditating on the transformational truth of His Kingdom and all that means to her.
BUT, just like your mom, in the resurrection of life, they experience the grace to conquer all things when He wipes away every tear. Sanctification now is a divine tissue descending from heaven wiping our tears away now. This grace of the Kingdom conquering power of Christ doesn't always come to every believer, but that no more means that believer doesn't know Christ than the one whose tears are wiped away in midst of suffering because of their knowledge they are more than a conqueror in suffering.
Appreciate your transparency and could not agree more with what you've written.
Christiane: You are exactly right. One of the most vivid memories in my mind from the past year consists of comments from a number of pastors and "church professionals" stating that those Coptics were "not Christian".
Who wants fellowship with that attitude?
Hi Scott,
I don't like that it is true, but it is. The hubris and judgment that comes from pharisees is not valued by God, no.
That think about 'fellowship' is not so present in my own faith where we are 'in community' for prayer but being formed by the Church to 'go' and 'serve' rather than to seek the company of our 'own kind' instead. The social club aspect of some Christian communities seems self-absorbed and indulgent. I suppose it is needed by the young, preteens and teens; but certainly adults ought to grow past the need for an 'in-group' to which they 'belong'. ? Correct me if I don't understand this properly, please.
Wade,
The account of these Christians does not give me a good feeling. In fact, it makes me want to get a "whip" and use it on radical Islamists. (That's words Obama won't say, and use must not use spell-check as it's not spelled right.)
Do you believe they would have stayed if they knew what was going to happen?
If these Christians were the majority in Paul Revere's day, America would belong to England.
Rex
Oops, egg is on my face.
REX,
The Coptics were in Egypt before the time of Islam. They are a very old Church with an ancient liturgy still practiced today. I would think you would not much recognize their ways of praying, no. But you might hear in this link the prayer 'eleison' (for 'mercy') and recognize it as biblical from the story of the publican in the temple, and how God found favor in him. You won't find America's fundamentalists Christians acting in the way of that humbled publican, no. They have chosen the way of the Pharisee, and we know from Scripture that Our God did not find favor with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRLFeldPG3Y
On the way to martyrdom, look at the Stams for the faith that goes back to the ancient days: they were martyred in China and their infant daughter was by the Hand of God (I believe) saved from death. We know that the faith of such people transcends time and place and brings them into the Presence of Our Lord Himself for all eternity. We honor their memory, as they honored the Lord.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyzxuvlLib0
Christiane,
I believe Fundamentalists came close to duplicating King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue for all to worship when they demanded all they had control over to sign their man-made paper god (the 2000 BF&M)or be fired. (Not as bad as the fiery furnace.)
At one time, our SS literature had: “The 2000 BF&M is our guideline.”
I complained the Jerry Rankin, IMB President, that the Bible was our guideline. He replied, “The Church of Christ has that; we must have something different.”
Today’s newspaper told the story of the “Shakers” and also this link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakers
“The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, is a millenarian restorationist Christian sect founded in the 18th century in England. They were initially known as "Shaking Quakers" because of their ecstatic behavior during worship services. They practice a celibate [they never married but recruited others] and communal lifestyle, pacifism, and their model of equality of the sexes, which they institutionalized in their society in the 1780s. They are also known for their simple living, architecture, and furniture.
At one time there were thousands, but now only two people are left. I think that may have happened to Christianity if all had taken Paul’s advice: “…it is better to stay unmarried, just as I am.” (1 Corinthians 7:8 NLT).
I believe that prosperity breeds complacency on the part of we Jesus Followers as well as with the secular society. We tend to be "whiners and complainers".
I believe that persecution breeds a grace-fed faith and supernatural ability to portray unbelievable sacrifice as those Wade mentions. If/when true believers in the US are positioned in similar circumstances they will step up as those mentioned in Syria, but not before. That's what I believe and I think past applications support that.
One of the best you've ever written imo. Physically felt "..the truth will set you free..." as I read. Thank you.
Wade,
Here’s what your dad and I discussed on his blog:
Paul,
Great read.
It’s too bad some Bible writers did not comprehend the love of God as you’ve explained.
“And so my judgment is…we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.” For it seem good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements.”(Acts 15:19-20, 28)
This letter was sent to Christian Gentiles but omitted the words of Peter: “Why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers…We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 15:11-12)
Paul Burleson said...
Rex,
Everyone one was coming to an understanding of things slowly weren't they? Isn't it just like the Lord to allow the scriptures to contain evidence and a record of that continuing struggle for clarity and understanding? One of the many reasons I so LOVE this Divine Record we call the Bible!
Wade,
This is not as evil as you post, but still evil.
World War Two ended in Germany May 1945 but our father was held on false charges for 13 months. During that time we kept asking mother “When is daddy coming home?”
A letter dated March 27, 1946 was written by Philip E. Damon, an officer who had served with our father, to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chief of Staff, War Department, Washington, D.C.
It was a full page pleading for the General to investigate why Chaplain David W. Ray was being detained in France. A General upon failing to court-martial him, demanded him to resign and take a colored discharge without honor. When Ray refused the General ordered him to be detained as punishment.
Eisenhower replied on June 21, 1946. “Dear Mr. Damon: I have just received a report from the overseas commander concerning Chaplain David W. Ray. You will be pleased to know that Chaplain Ray has returned to the U.S…I appreciate your interest in this case…”
The last paper was our fathers discharge on July 24, 1946. The discharge stated: “David W. Ray was one of nine Chaplains in the U.S. Army who was awarded a Cluster to the Bronze Star Medal for Heroic Action.”
I remember we met his troop train stopping in Fort Worth. As the train was about to leave where he would be discharged, he asked my brother and me to go with him. We were 15 and had a ball.
Being in World War I, he was over the age to enlist so he drove to Washington to appeal to the ‘head guy’. When turned down he talked to his friend and neighbor Sam Rayburn (Speaker of the House). Sam told him to try again and if he was turned down: “We will give him the axe.”
Officers were not allowed to ‘horseplay’ with non-officers. Dad was wining in a wrestling match when the Colonel arrived for Sunday service. The Colonel said, “Looks like we have one convert today.” (Dad took on all challengers and never lost.)
Once, at daybreak, the Artillery was about to destroy a town, but stopped when an American jeep drove from the town to them. Dad had been getting his weekly ‘Chapel Chimes’ printed. He told artillery the German soldiers had left during the night.
One couple knew their son was not a Christian. You can imagine their grief when notified he was killed. A letter from dad arrived later telling the Medics had told him they could not help a soldier that was dying. Dad held their son until he left this earth. The soldier told him, “Yesterday I thought I would be killed. I asked Jesus to save me, and he step into my heart. I was so happy I thought I’d live forever. I don’t know why I was hit today, but tell my mother I’ll meet her in heaven.” The mother replied, “You’ll never know how much your letter meant to us.”
Dad left the front to attend a mandatory meeting of all the chaplains in General Patton’s 4th Armored Division. A decision was made to stay 50 miles from the fighting. Afterwards, dad started to drive away.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” (Head Chaplain was a Catholic General) “Back to the front; I take my orders from God; not you guys!” (A non-Catholic on the front caused them embarrassment but his Chapel Chimes caused the most.)
Any appeal made to Patton would have fallen on deaf ears because he wanted everyone on the front. Once dad received orders from Patton ordering him to the rear, but when he went to Patton’s office the secretary said Patton’s name was a forgery.
Their first trick was to promote dad from Captain to Major which he turned down because chaplain Majors were not allow on the front.
I believe Philip Damon that wrote the letter to Eisenhower was the commander who gave dad the Bronze Star. Damon had asked assistance from his men in getting the wounded to safety under enemy bombardment and dad was the only one to help.
Wow, Rex.
What a story.
Your father was a true hero.
Thanks for sharing.
Wade,
This week, I found a picture of my dad with a chaplain cross on his helmet. On the back he’d written, “Old crook had me transferred out of 4th Armored.”
He said the American GI’s were different from German soldiers in that they had fun. After sleeping in fox-holes for weeks, they found a barn full of hay. Even thought they were tired they decided to get even with one of my dad’s assistants because he would not remove his sissy mustache even though dad had asked him to. While the guy was dead asleep, they smeared his mustache with fresh chicken waste. Next morning when the guy woke up, they started talking how bad the barn smelled. They were disappointed when he didn’t say anything, but rolled with laughter when he went outside and started cursing the whole world stunk. (He shaved it off.)
OFF TOPIC
In the news today the question is asked if O.J. Simpson is guilty.
I’ve seen a hundred pictures showing the ‘gloves don’t fit’. It seems the whole cased depends on that.
How in the world could they fit when the thin plastic gloves on his hands were NOT pulled down but lacked an inch or so being in the proper place?
Wade,
For four years I’ve had a venous-ulcer. I’ve had three lazar-vein treatments, skin graph, an artery operation, four $145 medicine put in my veins, Mayo-clinic, two other wound centers, and medicines that cost hundreds of dollars.
A month ago I was worried about walking in Israel since I was using a cane to go from room to room, and a doctor said, “If it gets worse, we’ll have to take your foot off.”
Now, a month later; my ankle looks as good as new with no pain because a friend gave me some of her horse medicine. Her grandfather taught her a combination of several medicines from health stories. She’s been doctoring horses for twenty years. One veterinarian told her to put a horse down because it was cut so badly; then later wouldn’t believe it was the same horse.
She’s working with a lawyer to get a patent. I don’t know if I should give her a kiss or a good choking for not getting me to try her medicine sooner. :)
Since it seems everyone is on vacation
I’ll put a paraphrase of this link:
http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/the-clinton-foundation-is-dead-but-the-case-against-hillary-isnt/
The Clinton Foundation Is Dead
But The Case Against Hillary Isn't
While everyone's been gearing up for President Trump's inauguration, the Clinton Foundation made a major announcement this week that went by with almost no notice: For all intents and purposes, it's closing its doors.
In a tax filing, the Clinton Global Initiative said its firing 22 staffers and closing its offices, a result of the gusher of foreign money that kept the foundation afloat suddenly drying up after Hillary Clinton failed to win the presidency.
It proves the Clinton Foundation was little more than an influence-peddling scheme to enrich the Clintons, and had little to do with "charity. Around the world people stopped giving donations when they would not have access to the next president of the United States.
When Hillary was secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation took money from at least seven foreign governments.
Of the 154 private interests who either officially met or had scheduled phone talks with Hillary while she was secretary of state, at least 85 were donors to the Clinton Foundation.
The Clinton Foundation took $100 million from Gulf sheikhs and billionaires, along with millions from private businesses, who expected — and received — special access to the State Department's top official, Hillary.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Judicial Watch in August obtained emails (that had been hidden from investigators) showed Clinton's top State Department aide, Huma Abedin, had given "special expedited access to the secretary of state" for those who gave $25,000 to $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. These new emails confirm that Hillary Clinton abused her office by selling favors to Clinton Foundation donors.
There is at least one and possibly four active federal investigations into the Clinton's supposed charity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huma_Abedin
At the age of two, Huma Abedin was raised in Saudi Arabia until she started college in America. Her mother was born in Pakistan, and her father was born in India. He was an Islamic and founded the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. Huma was its assistant editor from 1996 to 2008. Also in 1996 she was an intern and personal aid for Hillary Clinton when Bill was President and has remained her friend. Hillary said, if I had a second daughter, it would Huma." In 2009, Huma was appointed deputy chief of staff to Clinton in the State Department, and was a paid consultant to the Clinton Foundation. When Donald Trump proposed banning Muslims from entering America, Huma wrote to Clinton supporters that she was a proud Muslim. In 2012, five members of Congress said she should be disqualified for a security clearance because she had three family members connected to foreign extremist, the Muslim Brotherhood.
I’m glad Hillary and her “second daughter” can no longer hurt America with their political importance.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/75000-children-in-nigeria-could-starve-to-death-within-months-says-un
I’ve got an idea; why doesn’t Trump send the Clinton Foundation money to buy food for these children?
Oh-oh,
I think I know what happened; the Rapture has occurred, and some of us are in trouble.
http://instinctmagazine.com/post/sen-tim-kaine-officiated-same-sex-wedding-inauguration-day
If Hillary was elected, Tim Kane would be the vice-president.
America sure dodged the bullet there. Trump has a big swamp to drain such as:
“The Obama administration sent a $221 million payment to the Palestinian Authority, despite a congressional hold on the funds, only a few hours from President Donald Trump’s inauguration.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/andrew-eicher/levin-obamas-221m-gift-palestinian-authority-what-royalty-used-do.
Too late for impeachment but not for treason.
OK, Wade,
I’m going to tell your daddy on you. I mean you could have at least said you were going to be absent for a couple of weeks. :)
Paul will be speaking at First Baptist Church in Bonham, Texas (5 miles from here) in three days for a men’s conference.
There’s another explanation: Your blog that I see has split off into some kind of ‘twilight zone’ and I’m the only one that can see it. I think that will be some of the punishment in hell…being alone.
Jesus died alone for you and me.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/trump-administration-frozen-obama-quiet-195211333.html
"The Trump administration has frozen Obama’s quiet attempt to send $221 million to Palestine. Obama's unilateral attempt to send the money came as he closed his presidency with a critical eye toward Israel. In December, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding that Israel stop building settlements on Palestinian land. The US refused to vote on the resolution, effectively allowing it to pass."
Purpose of the Church Council was to decided how Gentiles
Were Saved, but James confused the topic to how Gentiles
Were to be accepted by Christian Jews--Acts 15
At the Jerusalem Council
“When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church [a multitude]…But some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the Law of Moses.” (Acts 15:4-5 NLT)
“…after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them…God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit…he cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke…we are all saved the same way by the underserved grace by the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 15:7-11 NLT)
“Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” (Acts 15:12 NLT)
End of story…party’s over…time to go home…meeting adjourned! All are saved through faith in Jesus without obeying the Laws of Moses. But wait, James is going to add some rules for Christian Gentiles to obey because of tradition. Did he know Jesus said, “Why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?” (Matthew 15:3 NLT)
“…James stood and said, “Brothers listen to me.” (Acts 15:13 NLT) “My judgment [who made him the judge?] is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in ever city on every Sabbath for many generations.” (Acts 15:19-21 NLT)
Do you see what James did? He is partly on the side of the Christian Pharisees in requiring some of the Laws of Moses to be a requirement. He proves he is right by saying: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you that these few requirements.” (Acts 15:28 NLT)
Are God and the Holy Spirit arguing with each other? I mean Peter said a burden on the Gentiles would be correcting God; and James said a small burden was in favor of the Holy Spirit. Duh
Manhattan DA’s Office probing death of reporter with possible JFK ties
By Susan Edelman January 29, 2017
http://nypost.com/2017/01/29/manhattan-das-office-probing-death-of-reporter-with-possible-jfk-ties/
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is looking into the mysterious death 51 years ago of newspaper writer and “What’s My Line?” star Dorothy Kilgallen, who was investigating the JFK assassination, The Post has learned.
The stunning development comes after a new book, “The Reporter Who Knew Too Much,” suggests Kilgallen was murdered to shut down her relentless pursuit of a Mafia don, Carlos Marcello, linked to JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald.
Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for DA Cyrus Vance Jr., confirmed that a staffer has read the book, and reviewed a letter from author Mark Shaw citing new leads, medical evidence, and witnesses overlooked when Kilgallen, 52, died suddenly on Nov. 8, 1965, at the peak of her career.
“I’m hopeful DA investigators will probe any records available and interview witnesses still alive today who can shed light on what happened to this remarkable woman,” Shaw told The Post, which featured his findings last month.
“Victims have rights whether their name is Dorothy Kilgallen or Dorothy Doe, and Kilgallen was denied justice in 1965. That’s why I’m fighting for her.”
Shaw said he has received dozens of emails from readers demanding an official investigation. One “called her ‘a patriot’ who should be revered for risking her life to solve the JFK assassination.”
Kilgallen, who wrote a widely syndicated column for the New York Journal-American, was the only reporter ever to interview Jack Ruby, who shot Oswald, and published Ruby’s closed-door testimony to the Warren Commission before its official release. Her enemies ranged from Frank Sinatra to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
The morning after Kilgallen appeared on the hit TV game show, she was found dead in her Manhattan apartment, naked under a robe and still in make-up. The medical examiner ruled it an accidental mix of booze and sleeping pills.
But Shaw contends Kilgallen was drugged. He cites a powdery residue on a glass by the bed, and records obtained from the National Archives showing two additional barbiturates in her system.
Journalist's tell-all on mobster tied to JFK might have gotten her killed
“There was no evidence that Kilgallen was a drug abuser,” Shaw said Saturday. “Despite the odd death scene and heavy doses, there was no investigation.”
Former ME toxicologist Dr. Stephen Goldner told Shaw the Mafia controlled the Brooklyn ME’s Office, which inexplicably conducted the Kilgallen autopsy even though her death occurred in Manhattan.
Weeks before her death, Shaw learned, Kilgallen bought a gun for self-protection and planned a second trip to New Orleans to investigate a Mafia don, Carlos Marcello.
“If the wrong people knew what I know about the JFK assassination, it would cost me my life,” she confided to hairdresser Charles Simpson, one of several witnesses who gave videotaped interviews unearthed by Shaw.
Shaw urges the DA to interview Ron Pataky, an Ohio newspaper columnist and ex-lover seen huddling with Kilgallen at the Regency Hotel the night before she died. Pataky, now 81, later penned a poem called “Vodka Roulette,” typed next to the image of a bartender mixing drinks, that reads, “Make one of ’em poison.”
Mafia Boss Confesses: “I Killed JFK!”
By NATIONAL ENQUIRER STAFF
Nov 21, 2014
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/true-crime/world-exclusive-mafia-boss-confesses-i-killed-jfk/
“YEAH, I had the son of a bitch killed. I’m glad I did. I’m sorry I couldn’t have done it myself!”
With those words, a Mafia kingpin confessed to orchestrat¬ing the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. And now, fifty one years after JFK’s tragic death, The ENQUIRER can finally reveal the blockbuster truth be¬hind the crime that shocked the world!
The government’s version is that lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots to kill the president as he rode with wife Jackie in a motorcade through the packed Dallas streets. But after decades of debate and doubt, The ENQUIRER has uncovered the astonishing story of World War II Army veteran Jack Van Laningham, who risked his life as part of an FBI plot to uncover the REAL story of the assassination.
Now 84, Van Laningham joined the military in 1946 and served brave¬ly in Japan and Vietnam. He was stationed in England in 1963 when he heard about the Kennedy assassina¬tion. At the time, he never could have imagined he’d be sharing a jail cell with the man behind the murder.
Van Leninghram’s life began to unravel in the mid-1980s after he returned to the U.S. and his marriage collapsed. Broke, desperate and intoxi¬cated in 1984, he robbed a Bradenton, Fla., bank using a laundry bag and TV remote, pretending he had a bomb. He turned himself in two weeks later and was sentenced to eight years behind bars at the Texarkana prison in Texas.
It was there that Van Laningham crossed paths with New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello, whose organized crime network spanned the South and into Cuba, where he ran lucrative casinos. [He gave orders to James Files to shoot JFK from behind the picket fence.]
Marcello was particularly bitter to¬ward the Kennedys because Bobby, as U.S. Attorney General, had singled him out in his battle against the mob.
Marcello and Van Laningham were assigned to the same cell at Texarkana and developed an unlikely friendship that soon came to the attention of the FBI, which had long suspected the gangster’s involvement in JFK’s death.
The Feds bugged the cells and told Van Laningham to get the crime mob to open up about his past.
“I was in the cell with him for one and a half years – and EVERYTHING was recorded<” said Van Laningham who now lives in Southern California and is acting as a consultant to upcoming biopic “Legacy of Secrecy” that will star Leonardo DiCaprio as Van Laningham and Robert De Niro as Marcello.
“I agreed basically because I thought that the president was the best America ever had. I loved the guy. The FBI heard everything I got from Marcello – and I got EVERYTHING – who planned it, who was involved and who did the murder.”
Marcello’s explosive confession came on Dec. 15, 1987, during an angry tirade about the Kennedy Brothers. Marcello admitted to having the “son of a bitch” killed, adding he was only sorry he didn’t pull the trigger himself.
During his confession, Marcello explained how he met up with Lee Harvey Oswald, whom he’d selected to take the fall for the shooting, as well as his ties to Jack Ruby, the Dallas bar owner who shot Oswald.
Despite his cooperation, Van Laningham says the FBI never did anything with the information. Marcello died in 1993 at age 83.
Jackie Kennedy’s’ first cousin John H. Davis first revealed the sinister plot in his out –of print books “Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy” published in December 1988 and “The Kennedy Contract” 1993.
But now, Van Laningham was tracked down by author Lamar Waldron who details the mob conspiracy in his new book “The Hidden History of the JFK Assassination”.
In the book, Waldron claims that the FBI’s failure to act on the bugged confession was due to an alliance between the U.S. Government and the Mafia to overthrow the Communist regime in Cuba and assassinate Fidel Castro.
Revealing the conspiracy would have involved exposing the U.S. in a possible Cuba coup and “could have triggered World War III in those tense cold war times,” Waldron writes.
With a major international scandal at stake, the FBI was told to quash the operation.
James Files (still in prison) said he shot JFK in the head with a mercury bullet. Since mercury is like gold that never goes away, traces of mercury would still be in the scull of JFK. If mercury was found it would prove there was a conspiracy because the bullet found on the stretcher of JFK was a lead bullet.
Obituary of Rev. Rex Ray
He was born in Whitewright, Texas November 11, 1875 and died January 31, 1958. He served as a missionary to China and Korea for 36 years. His youngest son, Daniel Ray joined him and his wife in Korea as a missionary. He brought six orphans from Korea to be adopted. He retired at the age of 80 and died two months later. That same month his oldest son, in the Army, was killed in a traffic accident. He conducted his son’s funeral and the man assigned to accompany his son accepted Jesus at the service.
I believe my uncle was broken hearted from being forced to retire, and the sadness of his son’s death caused him to develop Acute Leukemia which is a type of cancer that kills very quickly. At the time of his death, I was attending Southwestern Theological Seminary where I set a record…being the fastest drop-out they ever had. :)
I feel like I’m on a deserted island. I don’t know if the ship sunk or what?
At the Jerusalem Council, Peter said, “So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke…we are all saved the same way by the underserved grace by the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 15:10-11)
“…James stood and said, “Brothers listen to me. My judgment is …we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood…For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you that these few requirements.” (Acts 15:13, 19-20, 28)
Are God and the Holy Spirit arguing with each other? I mean Peter said a burden on the Gentiles would be correcting God; and James said a small burden was in favor of the Holy Spirit. Duh
For the answer; compare the miracles each did.
Oldest Cold Case in the World: Who Killed Paul?
“The Lord said…Saul [Paul] is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings [King Agrippa]…I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16) Did God use a stressful situation to cause ‘righteous men’ to plan Paul’s death?
Did the Jerusalem Church, their pastor, James, and his
elders believe Christians should obey the Law of Moses?
1. Was James bragging or complaining when he told Paul? “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jew there are which believe, and they are all zealous of the law.” (Acts 21:20)
2. “…when some friends of James came. Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.”
(Galatians 2:12)
3. “When Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.” (Acts 11:2-3)
4. Paul condemned teachers preaching the Law to be saved: “Let God’s curse fall on anyone…who preaches a different kind of Good News…” (Galatians 1:8)
5. “…they think that obeying the Ten Commandments is the way to be saved.”
(2 Corinthians 3:15 Living)
6. “…They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.” (Galatians 2:4)
7. “…those false teachers of yours who…bring long letters of recommendation … [from Jerusalem Church?] We do not tell them that they must obey every law of God or die…”
(2 Corinthians 3:1, 6 Living)
8. “I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave…distort the truth…” (Acts 20:29-30)
9. “You are being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law…” (Galatians 5:29)
10. “…If I were still preaching [before he believed in Jesus] that you must be circumcised as some say I do---why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.” (Galatians 5:11-12)
Paul is warned Jewish leaders will turn him over to Gentiles
“He took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it…”The Holy Spirit declares, so shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.” (Acts 21:11)
James and elders told Paul the danger he is in
“The next day Paul went with us to meet with James and all the elders of the Jerusalem church…” (Acts 21:18) Gave them one day to think of a plan of action. Calling him “dear brother” and “what should we do?” influenced Paul to believe they wanted the best for him.
“…You know dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the Law of Moses very seriously. But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs. What should WE DO? They will certainly hear that you have come,” (Acts 21:20-22) James could have corrected their thinking but would that have made him ‘two-faced’?
They told Paul he had a bad problem with Jewish Christians. When Moses was alive, if breaking his Law meant death, wouldn’t Paul preaching AGAINST the Law be worse?
They also had a problem. If the Jerusalem Church killed Paul, the Gentile Christians would revolt because Paul was their hero. They needed a solution that would satisfy both the Jewish and Gentile Christians. With the same breath that presented the problem:
They had a solution that got Paul out of their hair and they could tell Gentiles Paul believed in the Law because he was taking a vow as the Law promoted.
.
“Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have obligated themselves with a vow. Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law.” (Acts 21:24)
They sent Paul to the Temple where the Jewish leaders were! Did they know these leaders had given Paul thirty-nine lashes five times? (2 Corinthians 11:24) Did they know the Holy Spirit said Jewish leaders would turn Paul over to the Gentiles? The vow took seven days.
NO ONE recognized Paul with his head shaved for six days.
How did foreigners identify him the last day unless someone told them?
‘Tell someone that won’t recognize you so it can’t be traced back to us.’
“…Paul was dragged out of the Temple…As they were killing him…all Jerusalem was in an uproar.” (Acts 21:30-31) Before soldiers rescued him, how many thousands of James’ church were in the crowd that shouted? “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” (Acts 22:22)
“…Ananias, high priest…and lawyer, Tertullus, presented their case against Paul to the governor…he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we arrested him.” (Acts 24:1-7)
If James had defended Paul, he would be free, but why was he absent?
I’m sure Paul wondered also but after his ’brothers’ had not visited him for years, he knew. “At my first answer no man stood with me…I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.” (2 Timothy 4:16) I believe Paul repeated the prayer that Stephen prayed because the same crime had been done. “…The time of my death is near.” (2 Timothy 4:6) Paul died in a Roman prison, but the guilt of his death was on those who put him there.
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