Month: April 2009

bryan gallant believes the christian God and the muslim god is the same

3 Comments / sigh and cry / April 30, 2009

I’ve had contact with Brother Gallant a couple of times over about a 3 year span, and thot he was honestly trying to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Muslims. Today tho, i read an article by him that explodes that idea, and shows his feet are firmly planted on the “Christian God and Muslim god are the same” sinking sand platform.

The short article is here:
http://www.thequiethour.org/images/
echoespdf/echoes0109.pdf

Near the beginning of this article is the most powerful statement that this is gross error from Satan: “Muslims worship the Creator God. This would be the same Creator God referenced in the Bible as the God of the Jews and Christians.” There is one more egregious error: “Based on this simple answer the first step in building a bridge is to recognize Muslims as fellow people of faith who are looking to the God of all grace and mercy to bring about ultimate peace in a world racked by sin and war”.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? But it is all wrong – horribly wrong. The Allah spoken of in the Qur’an says over and over “I have no son”. The God spoken of in the Bible says “This is my beloved son, hear him.” Allah likes to doom unbelievers to a place where they will suffer forever, where they “will neither die nor live”. God destroys unbelievers in the lake of fire, and then creates a new earth. Allah says not to make friends of the Christians, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, to pay money to atone for your sins, to wash your body in a certain way etc. etc. etc.

If Allah is God, then please leave me out of that heaven where he says he will feed us fowl meat. Gross. I love chickens, not eat them.

For a comparison i made between the Qur’an and Bible, look here:
http://www.timeoftrouble.com/quran/
quotes-from-quran.html

Why would any Seventh-day Adventist ever be confused about WHO God is? Please Bryan Gallant, please repent, and return to the Lord your God, and stop spreading lies that some hateful god who says to “Fight until all is for Allah” is the same as the God who sent his only Son to die for us.

Thank God we do have the pure word of truth, and that sin and sinners will one day be no more, and there will never again be anyone in all the universe who denies that Jesus is the Son of God.

man of the year

Leave a Comment / daily rambliniscings / April 27, 2009

This won’t happen again for another 12 years.
In the Chinese/Japanese cycle of things, each year has a special animal assigned to it. As there are 12 animals, your “year” comes up every 12th one. I’m year of the bull, and today is my day.

Let’s see, the very first one (birth) was in Kansas, the 2nd in Tennessee, the 3rd in Georgia, the 4th in Japan, and now the 5th – back in Tennessee.

Sure hope Jesus comes before this cycle rolls around again……

organic farming for the end times

Leave a Comment / daily rambliniscings / April 27, 2009


Homegrown Nutrition Seminar March 22, 2009 Collegedale Community Church Fellowship Hall
Presenters Daniel Parson & Scott Arrington

The first presenter (i believe it was Mr. Arrington) is a Seventh-day Adventist, and quite a “big business is bad” incoherent speaker. The following man is not SDA, and was very calm and collected, and gave the impression that you do not have to be a little crazy to be interested in organic farming.

Following are some pointers picked up at this seminar i attended.

Most consumers will go up to 10 miles extra to buy fresh produce.
You can net 50% of gross.
You need land that is irrigated and deer-proof.

For example, in one project they worked on near Atlanta, they did something called “Community Supported Agriculture”. The basic idea, as far as i could gather, is that a developer will intentionally leave a parcel of land open for farming, and the people who buy into that community will have to pay a certain fee each month for the privilege of having that farm land near them. In return, they get first chance to buy the produce, and can walk their dogs or just relax or whatever in the “community space”.

Their income sources and yearly amounts in USD:
1. One acre Community Supported Agriculture 26,000
2. Once per week Farmer’s Market 13,500
3. Workshops 2,000
4. Farm tours 2,000
Gross Total 43,500

Don’t just throw stuff on soil to make it good, but think about what microbes need.
Throwing nitrogen on the soil makes the crops grow well, but increases nitrates in food.
Insects don’t eat healthy plants (really now?!)
Charles Walters wrote “Eco Farm”
We don’t like vegetarian bugs.
Be careful that your fertilizer doesn’t kill good bugs and fungus etc.
Don’t irrigate the whole field – just where you plant.
For a winter cover crop, buy a “deerfeed mix”.
The less you till the soil – the better.
Weed early and often. Weed shallow. Use a very long hoe with your thumbs pointing up, so you don’t have to bend your back.
If you must buy fertilizer for organic gardens, look for “OMRI” on the bag.
Cut and plow and mulch when the crop starts blooming (cover crops).
Avoid wood chips and straw for mulch because they take up nitrogen.
Mix green and brown matter together to make a good compost. Use leaves for carbon, grass clippings for nitrogen. A good mix is around 80% brown and 20% green.
You don’t need much lime, but if you do use it, get high-calcium lime.
Take soil tests every 2 years.
Have a map of your garden and measure it for crop rotation purposes.
Plant sequence-style. Instead of 100 heads of lettuce now, plant 10 now, 10 the next week etc.
Think of plant families when rotating.
Think of fertilizer, heavy and light feeders.

One of the most interesting things i got out of this seminar, is that we should think of ths soil as being alive, because it is the microscopic bacteria in it that really determines if you have good or bad soil. So instead of just putting something on the soil to make the crops grow fast or big, think first of what the microbes in the soil need to be healthy. When the microbes are healthy, the soil will be good, and you can grow good crops.

stephen dickie “islam, god’s forgotten blessing” video review

26 Comments / sigh and cry / March 12, 2012

F

I went to a seminar held by Jack McNeilus at Southern Adventist University on the last Sabbath of March. It was titled “Islam, God’s Forgotten Blessing”. There was a book of the same name being promoted there, authored by Stephen Dickie.

Now i’ve had contact with the Adventist/Muslim Relations director – Jerald Whitehose, and know that he is not promoting Christianity. So i was intrigued that perhaps this would be a Biblically-based approach to Muslim evangelism. But i was destined to be disappointed again.

The main point of the meeting i attended, was that the Muslims fit into God’s plan in the 7 trumpets of Revelation. That point was brought out by a nicely-done chart. While there were no overtly false things said, there were a few subtle things that made me wonder, but i kept my peace until the end of the seminar. When it was down to just 4 of us left, and i had heard quite a bit, i was mostly satisfied that this man was trying his honest best, in the fear of God, to promote the truth to the Muslims. The last of my 2 or 3 questions/statements, was something like: “AMR people are trying to make SDA Muslims, but you seem to be trying to make SDA Christians”. His reply was along the lines of “There is no saving value in any name”. I left, mostly dumbfounded that he had so misinterpreted my statement, to make it mean something so common and worldly, rather than taken in a spiritual sense. But wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, i wrote it off, and told the people around me that this group was trying to do something far better than what the AMR people are currently doing. (oh yes, he said the AMR leaders are going to be shunted elsewhere soon).

I followed up my interest by looking for info on Stephen Dickie, and found several of his videos on Better Life tv. Islam, God’s Forgotten Blessing is here:
http://betterlifetv.tv/media/video/st372.wvx

While mostly sounding good, there were the little, almost passed-by type of comments that really worried me, so i sent Brother Dickie a email. Below is our exchange.

—————————————————–
From: earlysda@hotmail.com
To: sdickie@hotmail.com
Subject: questions about presentation on betterlife tv
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 08:25:20 +0900

Hello Brother Stephen Dickie,
Last week i attended one meeting of a 3-part seminar given by Jack McNeilus at Southern Adventist University, Tennessee. He promoted your book, and as i am very interested in spreading the gospel to Muslims, i have been looking for more information on the internet about what you are teaching in that book.

While i have not been able to find the contents of the book on the internet, i was able to find a video presentation you gave on Better Life tv. I have some questions about comments you made on that video, but first, some background on myself —

I have read the Qur’an, and in comparing it to the Bible, saw that it is clearly a book inspired from Satan. I made some web pages showing some of the more egregious errors here:
http://www.timeoftrouble.com/quran/quotes-from-quran.html

Around 1 1/2 years ago i met Jerald Whitehouse at one of his seminars in Bangkok. He said some things that showed he is more a promoter of Islam than of Christianity.

So i am quite interested in how to reach Muslims, and your new method looked to possibly be the best tool today to do that, but in viewing this video, i am quite worried about your approach too.

Some concerns:
1. You said “Allah is the same god that you and i pray to.”
Actually, the Allah of the Qur’an is Satan, as you well know, so i’m trying to understand in what sense you mean this.
2. You said “Islam’s reformation is in front of them today”
But Islam never was a true religion. It was founded by Satan, so what good will a “reformation” do?
3. You said “The Qur’an teaches that when you die, you’re dead”.
Surely you have read the Qur’an, like in 20:74 where it says the people neither live nor die in hell???
4. You said “Mohammed was the star that fell”.
You are probably very close in this one, as Mohammed was one of the most effective agents of Satan ever.

These are large concerns, and i pray that you will answer them in an honest manner.
May the Holy Spirit work on the hearts of the Muslims today.

May we uplift Jesus always,
Daniel Winters
———————————————
This is the reply i received from Brother Dickie:
———————————————
From: sdickie@hotmail.com
To: earlysda@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: questions about presentation on betterlife tv
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:13:47 +0000

Mr. Winters:
Your reputation precedes your email letter. My book is not on the internet for a purpose, I have chosen not to put it on, as it would not sit well with the world of Islam as it is only a book for SDAs. I have other things for Islam. You can find my book at the Collegedale ABC or you can order it from our web site at www.StrawberryMeadowAssociation.com .

It is interesting to see how you have already judge my work without reading it. Years ago I was told you were a very sharp person, but I would think you would at least read it first then bring your concerns or go public with your findings. I would read what I am saying first and not take what someone is saying I say.

May the Lord lead you and in your search.

Stephen Dickie
—————————————————
And my reply:
—————————————————
Brother Stephen Dickie,
The concerns i raised were your EXACT words taken from your video. I’m not taking what someone is saying you say. And i’m not quoting from or judging your book at all.

Do you stand by what i have quoted you on in the videos on Better Life tv?

Look to Jesus,
Daniel Winters
—————————————————-
As of today, April 23rd, there has been no reply to this last email.
…

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mountaintop

Leave a Comment / travel spreading 1858gc / April 14, 2009

This has really been a “mountaintop” experience Sabbath here at Uchee Pines. It is so encouraging to not only see so many souls hungering and thirsting for truth, but to have the Spirit of peace present among so many members is a very rare, and precious sight. The tornado sirens give a sense of urgency too!

Friday i spent around 5 hours with Sister Thrash, with her showing me the almost-completed Lifestyle Center, then lunch, then around 3 hours of shoveling wood chips (supposed to be chips, but is more like “sticks”) into the pickup, then around the azalea bushes.

During lunch at the cafeteria Friday, a lady came up to me and asked if i had some Ellen White book on audio. Taken aback, i replied “yes” with a wondering smile. She said she had downloaded my 1858gc audio off the internet, and listened to it while doing stuff around the house. (She did make me feel puffed a little when she turned to her husband and said “he sounds better in person than on the audio” – ha!) Seeing their enthusiasm for the book, i asked if they would be interested in translating it into Spanish as she is from Mexico and he is from Panama. They looked at each other, then she said “we had just been talking a while back about whether the Lord wants us to translate something else or not. (They just finished “Creeping Compromise” by Joe Crews). So praise God, they said “Yes”, and didn’t even take my offer to pay a little for translation. She is a dentist, and he is a doctor, but without an American license yet, and have just been at Uchee Pines since the start of the year. What kind of timing is that?! Wow! God is so good.

Then in the evening i was given the time, and we covered chapter 32 of the 1858 Great Controversy Between Christ and His Angels, and Satan and His Angels with about 40 people present.

Now the people who have assembled around this campus are quite well-read, and desiring a deeper experience with the Lord, they have moved to this area. So many of them have already read this book, and it would not be unusual if some/all of them raised their voice to object to something or present differing opinions – — but none of that happened. There was a sweet spirit of harmony and oneness in wanting to dig deeper into the words of the prophet, and following what is written there.

On Sabbath afternoon, at 4:30, is was given the time again, this time to cover chapter 30 – “Spiritualism”. This chapter always causes more discussions/contentions/strife than any other, but i went in with a light heart, seeing how God had preserved the spirit of unity the evening before. And i was not to be disappointed. Even tho about half the members were not at the previous study, and there were more adults and highly-educated people among them, there was still a nice spirit of peace and harmony which made my heart sing.

Even the part about what the apostles wrote was “dictated by the Holy Ghost” did not cause any stir at all. That is a first! But after the meeting, two people approached me and asked why that point should cause any division, and i realized that i had not explained it properly to them. Perhaps a little i was trying to avoid divisions? Yes, but i really thot i had explained it…. Probably something that i have experienced so much i projected onto others, while it was there first time to experience such a thing, so they could not easily grasp the significance of the passage. One of these people said that they had thot too that there were small mistakes in the Bible, unimportant to salvation, but in reading this, could see how that was a very shaky foundation, and they thanked me and thanked me for coming to help strengthen their faith.

Amazing things God has done for us.

The evening closed with a good talk with some of the students in the men’s home about the various editions of The Great Controversy, and then discussed one man’s thinking on the 2nd commandment, about not having pictures of Jesus in books.

Sunday i spent the day mowing grass, roto-tilling the small garden, and watching others pull a huge log a couple of miles by heavy-equipment, wondering if the rope would break (it did, twice), and log rolling into traffic and killing everybody….

This evening i have been asked to do one more study, so am wondering whether to do chapter 34 or 35. What to do? Give me an answer Lord, and may the sweet spirt of harmony still be with us.

1979

2 Comments / daily rambliniscings / May 28, 2009

highland academy class of 1979

That’s my graduating class, at least all of them who came to the 30th reunion last Sabbath at Highland Academy in Portland Tennessee.

I arrived a bit early, and while signing up, was suddenly spirited off by two lively young ladies, one grabbing each arm. Whoops, forget the “young” part. This small gesture tho really made me feel at home, and welcome here in this place where i spent so much of my life growing up.

As usual, many of the people hang around in the foyer talking, while inside only a handful are sitting down. It used to be that the whole church would meet in the gym on Alumni Sabbath, and there would be probably close to 700-1000 people. But this year only the alumni were in the gym, so the number of people attending was much smaller.

One of our own class, Kevin Shelley, gave the sermon about complacency. Then most of the people ate lunch, while i went out searching for more people. I found the old P.E. teacher, one who used to treat us all very harshly, and we had a nice chat. One classmate told me a week earlier that this teacher remarked to her how he was sorry he treated us as he did, and of course i’ve forgiven him in my heart long ago. No doubt he was just doing what he thot best at the time, but to have the humbleness to admit he was wrong – that requires a heart that is rarely seen today.

My old 6th grade teacher saw me, and caused my eyes to water a bit. She told how she always prays to God to take care of her “little lambs”, and as i had been in the first batch, she always had something special for that first group. After answering her question about how people respond to the 1858 Great Controversy book, she confided: “Most people will never understand people like you and me.” That shook my heart to its core….so true, absolutely true. She is planning to retire this May after teaching at Highland for 36 years, and i really thank God for leading her to this place at such a time in my life – when i was just 12 years old.

Most of the time i spent with one classmate who i had gone to one of the junior-senior proms with. She has had a rollercoaster life, but is still wanting to have that deep walk with Jesus. Hopefully i can meet her again in the remaining part of this month while in America.

Around 4pm we all met in Ponce Hall, and went around in a circle explaining what has happened in each of our lives. It started out with a lot of laughter, but got more serious, then dragged a bit long. For some reason i had lots of butterflies in my stomach when i saw my turn approaching, but once started, all those butterflies flew away somewhere, and i had lots of clear thinking (that’s why i didn’t eat lunch) and talking, and could give one of these 1858gc books to everyone. Someone asked me to speak some Japanese, so i said John 3:16. Yes, that felt a little prideful maybe, hehe. Actually, i do still love Japan very much, but God is calling in different directions now…

The evening ended with me giving away some coins from various countries. One classmate has two sons in Pathfinders, so they should enjoy them.

The gravesite of my parents, with my name listed among the children on the back, of course brought tears to my eyes. The place is so peaceful, in an open field, with cows grazing nearby. If Jesus doesn’t come back soon, it would be nice to rest there, but as i won’t know anything anyway, it really doesn’t matter does it?

getting up there…

Leave a Comment / daily rambliniscings / April 3, 2009

Next week i’m scheduled to go to Uchee Pines and give studies of the 1858gc with the people there. Please remember me in prayer.

My plan is to go to my old SDA high school (Highland Academy) for our 30th year homecoming this Sabbath. I hope to introduce these 1858 Great Controversy books to my old classmates.
I’m old!!