As It Was In The Days Of Lot?..... Gay Rights Campaigners Hail Obama's Fulfillment Of Prophecy

Gay rights campaigners around the world hail Obama's message of support

From Russia, to India and Kenya, campaigners welcomed US President Barack Obama's support for same-sex marriage

Russian police detain a gay rights activist during a protest in St Petersburg. Photograph: Stringer/REUTERS

President Barack Obama's support for same-sex marriage in the US has been hailed by campaigners as a significant boost for gay rights around the world – but they warned there was much work to be done.

"President Obama joins the British prime minister and the new French president in backing same-sex marriage," said Peter Tatchell, veteran campaigner and national coordinator of the UK's Equal Love campaign, which is seeking to overturn the twin legal bans on gay civil marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships.

"It's an unstoppable global trend, with more and more countries planning to end the ban on gay couples getting married. There is growing momentum for same-sex marriage in many countries, from Cuba to Nepal, Denmark, Australia and Colombia.

"Obama's support will boost the worldwide campaign for marriage equality and, through media reporting of his support, raise awareness of gay marriage among billions of people in every corner of the earth."

Obama's comments came as New Zealand's prime minister, John Key, broke his own long silence on gay marriage and said his government may consider allowing it "at some stage".

A few mostly European countries – as well as Canada, Argentina and South Africa – already permit gay marriage.

Despite welcoming the announcement, however, many gay rights campaigners pointed out that in their own countries a debate over single sex marriage had yet to even begin.

Russia

Gay rights activists in Russia welcomed Obama's statement, but feared it would have little effect on their own struggle to reverse the crackdown on gay rights at home.

"I respect him for his bravery," said Nikolai Alexeyev, a leading gay rights activist in Russia. "But I don't think it will effect our politics, which are totally retrograde."

In the past few months, five Russian cities have passed laws banning so-called "homosexual propaganda" among minors.

A nationwide law is due to be considered this year. Activists have called the law a throwback to the Soviet era, when homosexuality was illegal.

"Of course, it's a strong move for LGBT rights globally, it always helps," said Alexeyev. "When we talk about issues here, we can say – look at how things are done in a civilised country, the president even gives his support. But in the end, it won't change anything – [President Vladimir] Putin can always say, look 90% of my electorate is against gay rights."

China

In China the situation is even worse, according to activists.

"The government treats homosexuality like it does not exist," said Xiong Jing, an activist who volunteers in gay support groups in Beijing. She said legalising gay marriage there would be unrealistic and impossible.

Sodomy was a crime in China until 1997, and the government considered homosexuality a mental disorder until 2001.

Today gay people are frequently discriminated against and ostracised in the country, which shows little tolerance for activism of any kind.

Xiong welcomed Obama's support for gay marriage but wished he had done more. "If he, as president, was able to not just express his own personal opinion but to support policies on this, that would be even better," she said.

Africa

Obama's comments were sharply at odds with the situation in most of Africa, where every country except South Africa has some form of legislation criminalising homosexuality. Many countries – including South Africa – are considering introducing new laws further stigmatising same-sex relationships.

The plethora of proposed new laws – from Liberia to Nigeria – has the backing of religious and political leaders who have been equally vociferous in their insistence that homosexuality is culturally unacceptable to Africans. Gay rights activists say that the message of tolerance emanating from the White House will only prompt these leaders to defiantly raise the volume on their anti-homosexual stance.

"Obama's comments will provide another opportunity for religious fundamentalists to raise their homophobic rhetoric," said Damian Ugwu, regional Africa programme coordinator for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. "In Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, these remarks are going to get a lot of bashing."

Nigeria's senate has passed a bill which criminalises gay rights advocacy with up to 10 years' imprisonment, although critics say it is unlikely to become law.

"Nigeria has a lot of aspiration to exert influence on the world stage in international affairs," Ugwu said. "I doubt that the executive will allow this bill to be passed, bearing in mind the policy implications.

"Nevertheless, at the moment this bill is still very much alive, and for us as gay rights activists in Africa, it's a welcome development to know we have an ally like Obama. The fact that the most powerful person in the world is recognising the need to respect people and promote the rights of sexual minorities, can only help us."

In Uganda – where consensual homosexual acts are already a criminal offence – the speaker of parliament has resisted pressure to drop a new bill that creates an offence of "aggravated homosexuality" and would make the "promotion of homosexuality" a criminal offence, criminalising the work of human rights activists.

"This bill is not out of the picture yet," said Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop who has been vocal in his support of gay rights. "President Obama is seen as a friend to the people of Uganda, and it is good to hear him speaking out. I think his comments will help to combat some of the ignorance here.

"But what we really need is education, dialogue and time – the ignorance surrounding homosexuality here is a complicated issue. For those of us who are convinced that human sexuality is not exclusive, we will continue to stand up to these problems but it will not be easy."

In Kenya, where homosexual offences carry penalties of between five and 14 years imprisonment, activists say Obama's comments will have more traction with ordinary people because of his own Kenyan roots.

"The fact that these comments come from Obama make it much harder for people in Kenya to sit back and say that gay rights are just a western idea," said Monica Mbaru, a gay rights activist in Kenya. "If it had been say President Clinton, people would have said homosexuality is just a white disease, but with Obama there is an ownership for the people here. Just like we have heard statements from others like Desmond Tutu, these are African elders who resonate with the local people, and their statements are taken very seriously – they are opinion shapers in this region."

"There is still a huge problem here of the law criminalising homosexuality and people being attacked because of their sexual orientation," Mbaru added. "We will be definitely be using his comments to try and get more support from communities in Kenya."

India

In India, where homophobia remains widespread, campaigners said they were "heartened and inspired" by Obama's words, but pointed out that a lot of work remained to be done.

"It's an incredible precedent. It will definitely be having an impact in India. Americans and Europeans and all of us are all the same. We are culturally diverse but all human beings," said Ashok Row Kavi, a veteran campaigner for homosexual rights.

Kavi said that since a key judgement in Delhi high court in 2009 that effectively decriminalised homosexuality, activists had been keeping a low profile. "We are waiting for the supreme court to uphold the judgment and we don't want to provoke anyone. We will have the whole religious right against us otherwise," Kavi said. "If the judgment is upheld then a whole series of rights will flow from that."

Rest of the world

Thai activist Natee Teerarojjanapongs was positive about Obama's statement. "I was starting to lose hope in fighting for gay marriage legalisation in Thailand," Natee said, "but now Barack Obama's endorsement is rekindling my fire and is giving me the encouragement to go on."

In Argentina, which became the first Latin American country to approve gay marriage in 2010, gay-rights activist Cesar Cigliutti said Obama was playing catch-up.

"It seems to me that by taking this position Obama is aligning himself with the entire world, with these times we're living in, with the achievements of rights in other countries," Cigliutti said.

In Australia, however, where there are presently three bills in parliament which would allow same-sex couples to marry, and support is widespread, a change in the law is being blocked because both Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, oppose it.

"I think it just reinforces this as a matter that people form their own views on, a deeply personal question people will think about, work their way through it; obviously President Obama has and he's announced a decision," Gillard said.

France also has a population largely in support of gay marriage and a head of state who opposes it, but that is about to change. François Hollande, who defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy in elections on Sunday, campaigned for marriage rights and set legislative passage for no later than June of next year.

Though Obama's change of heart does not appear to have changed the battle lines in the debate, those on one side feel they have won a powerful ally.

"We're living in other times where acceptance is growing more and more," said restaurant owner Carlos Santiago in Mexico City's Pink Zone gay district. "It's impossible to hold back a wave, against something that is natural."

By Peter Beaumont, Miriam Elder in Moscow, Jason Burke in Delhi, Afua Hirsch in Accra

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/10/gay-rights-around-the-world-obama

Does Obama 'Gay Marriage Support' Fulfill Prophecy? Seen As World Precedent...

President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he supports gay marriage boosted the hopes of gay rights groups around the world that other leaders will follow his example. Vatican and other religious officials who oppose gay marriage stayed largely silent, while others denounced the president's position.

Gay groups lauded what they said was the tremendous precedent set by Obama and hoped for changes in their own countries. In Latin America, for example, governments in Argentina and Mexico City have passed laws permitting gay marriage, but most do not.

"This is incredibly important, it's excellent news. The United States is a global leader on everything, and that includes gay rights," said Julio Moreira, president of the Rio de Janeiro-based Arco-Iris gay rights group. "This will force other nations like Brazil to move forward with more progressive policies."

That message was echoed by some people in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, who said it was about time Obama took a positive stand on the issue.

"It's a civil liberty," said 25-year-old Duncan Bruce while smoking a cigarette outside of a London pub. "This is not to do with religion - it's about two men loving each other. If you can't get a tax break for that, it's a disgrace."

Even as religious officials didn't comment, political leaders and others opposed to gay marriage were not shy about denouncing what they said was a shameless appeal by Obama for votes. In particular, politicians tied to Pentecostal and Catholic churches have spoken out strongly against same-sex marriage in Latin America.

"Barack Obama is an ethical man and a philosophically confused man," said Peruvian congresswoman Martha Chavez of the conservative Catholic Opus Dei movement. "He knows that marriage isn't an issue only of traditions or of religious beliefs. Marriage is a natural institution that supports the union of two people of different sexes because it has a procreative function."

Religion-based opposition was also strong in Egypt's conservative Muslim-dominated society, which rejects same-sex relations. Laws prohibiting "debauchery" or "shameless public acts" have been used to imprison gay men in recent years.

"This is unacceptable, because it is against religion, traditions and against God," said engineer Shady Azer in Cairo. "God created Adam and Eve. He didn't create two Adams or two Eves."

In 2008, four HIV-positive Egyptians were sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of the "habitual practice of debauchery." Human rights groups warned that the case could undermine HIV prevention efforts in Egypt.

Actions by governments worldwide have reflected that diversity of opinion.

In 2010, Argentina became Latin America's first country to approve gay marriage. The next year, Brazil's Supreme Court approved civil unions, followed by several state courts upholding the conversion of civil unions into full marriages. The nation's top appeals court then upheld those marriages in October, setting national precedent.

Gay marriage became legal in Canada in 2005 under the country's previous Liberal government in response to court rulings that gave gay people the right to marry. Thousands of gay Canadians, as well as foreign visitors, have gotten married since then. Spain has allowed gay marriage since 2005.

"This stance will shape the way the rest of the world views the U.S., and will eventually force the way Americans see things to change," said Sasha Mohammed, 30, in Toronto. "It is, after all, impossible to overtly hold onto your prejudices when everyone around you condemns you for it."

Cesar Cigliutti, president of the Gay Community of Argentina group, said Obama was only catching up to the rest of the world.

"It seems to me that by taking this position Obama is aligning himself with the entire world, with these times we're living in, with the achievements of rights in other countries," Cigliutti said.

Meanwhile, voters in North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, mirroring efforts in several U.S. states.

In Brazil, the Catholic and evangelical churches and religious politicians continue to block the approval of any legislation in Congress enshrining gay marriage. Moreira noted that efforts by President Dilma Rousseff to promote anti-homophobia education in Brazilian schools were scuttled last year after it became clear religious legislators would block unrelated legislation in protest.

In France, outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy opposes gay marriage - though recent polls suggest that a majority of French voters support it. This Sunday's electoral victor, French President-elect Francois Hollande, made "the right to marry and adopt for all couples" part of his campaign platform, and has set legislative passage of a bill ensuring that right for no later than June of next year.

Spain adopted its gay marriage law when the country was ruled by the center-left Socialist Party, but the center-right Popular Party took control of the government late last year.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said he would prefer civil unions instead of marriages, but his administration has made no move to change the current situation. His party does have an appeal of the gay marriage law pending before the country's Constitutional Court.

Jamaica's most prominent evangelical pastor and the island's political ombudsman, Bishop Herro Blair, said late Wednesday afternoon that he was just hearing about Obama's announcement and was still taking it in.

"For now, I can say that I cannot be mad at President Obama. We are in a society where people have choices. However, my belief runs contrary to his," Blair said in Kingston, the island's capital.

In Australia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she won't be following Obama's lead in supporting gay marriage.

"I've made my mind up and my position on this is well known," Gillard told reporters in Canberra. "I think it just reinforces this as a matter that people form their own views on, a deeply personal question people will think about, work their way through it; obviously President Obama has and he's announced a decision."

In other words, the gay marriage debate promises to rage on around the world despite Obama's groundbreaking announcement. But for one day, at least, those on one side of the battle won a powerful ally.

"We're living in other times where acceptance is growing more and more," said restaurant owner Carlos Santiago in Mexico City's Pink Zone gay district. "It's impossible to hold back a wave, against something that is natural."

Anat Chen, a 20-year-old bartender in Jerusalem, said she expected more to come.

"Everyone should be allowed to marry whoever they want," she said. "It matters that Obama said it. Whatever happens in America, the rest of the world follows."

By  JACK CHANG

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_OBAMA_GAY_MARRIAGE_WORLD_REAX?SITE=NCAGW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-09-21-18-24

First Evidence of the Biblical King David..... Proof that David was 'No Myth'?

Finds 'strengthen the idea of the Bible as history'

Two small containers unearthed at Khirbet Qeiyafa are believed to be the first-ever archaeological evidence of Judean ritual dating from the time of David, about the 10th century B.C.E.

Archaeologists at a controversial site in the Elah Valley Tuesday announced a discovery that should further stir up the scholarly debate over the Bible's historical veracity.

Two small containers, one of clay and one of stone, unearthed at Khirbet Qeiyafa near Beit Shemesh, are believed to be the first-ever archaeological evidence of Judean ritual dating from the time of David, about the 10th century B.C.E.

	The artifacts discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa.
	Photo by: Michal Fattal

Furthermore, the models resemble the description of Solomon's Temple in the biblical Book of Kings, say the head of the Hebrew University expedition to Tel Qeiyafa, Prof. Yossi Garfinkel, and his associate from the Israel Antiquities Authority, Sa'ar Ganor.

The ruin known as Khirbet Qeiyafa, on a rocky slope overlooking the Elah Valley in Israel's western lowlands, contains remnants of a walled city dating back 3,000 years. Originally the walls rose to a height of some six meters. Along the walls, which still stand three meters tall in some places, archaeologists have discovered the remains of 99 dwellings.

According to Garfinkel, Khirbet Qeiyafa is the first proof of the existence of a regional government during the time of David. This evidence is a significant counter-claim to scholars who say David's kingdom was nothing more than a meagerly populated village in the Jerusalem area. These scholars, known as minimalists, say that in the absence of extra-biblical support, Scripture's depiction of David's kingdom as large and powerful cannot be accepted.

The maximalists, however, who accept the validity of the biblical description, view Khirbet Qeiyafa as the first proof of their claim that David's realm could have been as large as the Bible says it was.

Garfinkel takes a middle position; to him, Khirbet Qeiyafa shows the existence of a regional realm that included Jerusalem, Hebron and the lowlands around Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Garfinkel told reporters that the boxes, 20 and 35 centimeters high, and which they believe contained symbols of a deity, are important because they are "identical to the object the Bible calls 'the ark of the Lord.'"

Containers of this type, which look like model shrines, are known to archaeologists from other sites, but Garfinkel says the Khirbet Qeiyafa finds are unique because they reveal motifs known from the biblical description of Solomon's Temple.

The clay container features a decorated opening flanked by lions and two pillars that Garfinkel says recall "Boaz and Yachin" - pillars that flanked Solomon's Temple, according to the Bible.

An aerial photo of the Khirbet Qeiyafa archaeological site in 2011.Sky View

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Garfinkel says a depiction of three straight beams appears on the clay container, above which are three circles as well as a design apparently representing the curtain that covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies.

Above that, three birds can be discerned on the roof, recalling the sacrifice of birds in the Temple.

According to Garfinkel, the stone container also recalls the Bible's description of Solomon's palace and the Temple: "And there were beams in three rows; and light was over against light in three ranks" (I Kings 7:4 ).

What was inside the boxes? Garfinkel and Ganor do not think there were figurines because no figurines have been discovered at the site.

Garfinkel says he thinks these models, which predate Solomon's Temple, show how depictions of a Solomonic-like shrine were present in the local architecture of the ancient East.

Dissenting opinion

However, Prof. Nadav Na'aman, a historian and archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, discounts Garfinkel and Ganor's conclusions. "These are beautiful finds but they are not special in that similar ones have been found in various places, and they should therefore not be connected in any way to the ark," nor to the Temple in Jerusalem, says Na'aman.

He says believers made models of shrines out of various materials as an act of devotion. "There was no such thing as making a model that represented a temple in another place."

He said he found the combination on one of the items of lions and doves very interesting. "The dove is connected to a fertility goddess, and this combination hints that the model belonged to a cultic site of a fertility goddess. I think Qeiyafa was a Canaanite site that had no connection to Jerusalem," he added.

In invoking Canaanites, Na'aman has touched on the heart of the scholarly debate. For Qeiyafa to play a role in disproving the claims of the minimalists about the meager nature of David's kingdom, Garfinkel has to show that it was neither a Canaanite nor Philistine site.

Garfinkel and Ganor say the shrine models they have found differ from those known so far and that their design underscores a Judean connection.

But Garfinkel says he does not need the shrines to prove that Qeiyafa was Judean - other discoveries at the site do it for him. For example, out of thousands of animal bones unearthed there, none were pig bones, and no figurines were found - two elements some see as alluding to biblical prohibitions. An inscribed potsherd was also found there whose writing some archaeologists identify as ancient Hebrew.

Na'aman has a different explanation for the lack of pig bones: "The Canaanites also did not eat pork. Only the Philistines ate a great deal of pork at this time." As for figurines, Na'aman says places elsewhere in Judea "were full of figurines."

Minimalists also discount the inscribed potsherd, saying it is impossible to differentiate its letters from other languages at that time.

Whether Judean or Canaanite, ammunition for the minimalists or the maximalists, one thing is certain about Khirbet Qeiyafa - the slated expansion of nearby Ramat Beit Shemesh would swallow it up, endangering what Ganor calls "a heritage site of the first order."

By Asaf Shtull-Trauring


http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/archaeological-find-stirs-debate-on-david-s-kingdom-1.429087?localLinksEnabled=false

Religious Sect erects billboards in Toronto ahead of the ‘Transformation’

Aaron Lynett / National Post

A billboard on Bloor Street West in Toronto shows Jose Luis De Jesus. The sect leader's followers believe he is the incarnation of Christ.

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Doris Rosado watches her teenage daughters, Ninette and Kiara Mongrut, get the numbers “666” tattooed on their wrists, beaming with pride. The number typically conjures up biblical symbolism tied to the Antichrist, but this St. Catharines, Ont., family belongs to a obscure Christian sect for which “666” is a positive symbol of their group’s messianic leader.

“They wanted to do it,” Ms. Rosado, 45, said at the St. Catharines tattoo parlour where her daughters were inked. “But now it’s more important because we’re counting down… I’m so proud.”

For this family, and other members of Growing in Grace International, these tattoos are a way of demonstrating their faith as true believers of Jose de Luis de Jesus — who they fervently believe is the second coming of Jesus Christ — before a day of reckoning they believe will wipe out most of humanity.

Armina Ligaya for National Post

The group, which they say has branches in five Canadian cities and members in more than 130 countries, believes that on June 30 (or July 1 across the international dateline), their Texas-based leader and his followers will be transformed, said Alex Poessy, the group’s bishop in Canada.

To spread the word, Growing in Grace put up billboards in Toronto this week featuring Mr. de Jesus.

“That day, the body of Jose de Luis de Jesus, who is a human like you and me, his flesh is going to be immortal…. He’s going to be living forever. And that will happen to him, but also his followers.”

Armina Ligaya for National Post

But, said Mr. Poessy: “All those that are not believers are going to be destroyed.”

Growing in Grace International is not the first to prognosticate that the so-called end of the world will come this year. The Mayan calendar famously picks Dec. 21, 2012.

Courtesy of The Government of God

Jose Luis De Jesus, leader of Growing in Grace International

But Mr. de Jesus also predicts that the “transformation” will endow him, and his loyal followers, with superpowers, such as the ability to fly and walk through walls, said Axel Cooley, the bishop’s daughter.

“[We can] run and not get tired. Go through fire and not get burned…. I could be talking to you right now, and then I could go through that wall. So, you’ll know there is a difference,” Cooley said.

The global economy will collapse as currency markets “fail” and governments around the world will be forced to resign. These predictions are based on biblical passages, she adds.

“The world’s not going to end. What is going to end is the system…. All the governments and the currencies will fall. The new government of the 666 will take over,” she said.

The group’s billboards feature a picture of Mr. de Jesus, with such messages as “666, number of wisdom” or “Countdown to the transformation June 30, 2012.” The group is eyeing billboard locations in Ottawa and Kitchener as well, she said. Growing in Grace has also put up billboards in at least 10 countries, including the U.S., Brazil and Puerto Rico, Ms. Cooley said.

Mr. de Jesus, whom followers lovingly call “Dad,” had a vision in 1973 while living in Massachusetts of two angels coming to him. “The body of Christ manifested in Jose de Luis de Jesus, and all of a sudden, that’s when he knew,” Ms. Cooley said.

By 1986, he founded Growing in Grace, or Cresciendo en Gracia, in 1986 in Puerto Rico. His teachings are based on the writings of the Apostle Paul, Ms. Cooley says.

The group has come under fire and accused of being a cult.

Regina Albarracin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., whose son Alvaro became estranged from his family after he joined Growing in Grace, said its members are “brainwashed.”

Aaron Lynett / National Post

“They’re stupid people who believe in stupidities,” she told the Miami New Times in 2006. “They’re like those people in Waco, Texas. When you go there, you get brainwashed.”

Questions have also been raised about the funds flowing from followers into Growing in Grace’s coffers.

The church had been paying $144,000 a year in alimony to de Jesus’ first wife, considering it part of his salary, according to a 2007 article in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Also, donations from followers in Colombia went to a Colombian bank account in Jose Luis de Jesus’ name, the Sun-Sentinel reported. De Jesus said the Colombian bishop controlled the money earmarked for churches there. However, he also said some of the money went to de Jesus’ wife, including about $60,000 for a condominium.

Canadian member Ana Guevara, 20, brushes the cult claims off.

“All our lives have been enriched with this…. If we were a cult, then I guess we’re a pretty awesome cult. Because it’s teaching you how to live happy. How to live in a good mood,” says Ms. Guevara, whose family is also part of Growing in Grace.

The group has roughly 200 members in Canada, including branches in Toronto, St. Catharines, Montreal and Calgary. Its newest branch is in Vancouver, which officially opened in March, Mr. Poessy said.

‘It’s a strong indicator that their authority is slipping, they’re losing followers’

Ontario Growing in Grace members congregate in hotel conference rooms for what they call “tracings.” During a tracing in January in Niagara Falls, a few dozen members sat in rows of padded chairs facing a screen. The sermon-like Spanish broadcast was streamed live online, beaming in images from other members’ gatherings around the world. Members listened to speakers and sang along with the hymns.

“We’re the ones who will live eternally,” they sang in Spanish.

Usually, Mr. de Jesus addresses his followers during the tracings. But on April 22, his 66th birthday, he gave his last speech before retreating from public view.

In a video posted on YouTube and on their website, cegenglish.com, Mr. de Jesus called for his followers to enter into the final countdown until, he says, their government will come into power. “A government where we will govern everything with a perfect order. This is my last farewell for you. The time is finished… We will see each other soon in Armageddon.”

Dr. Lorne Dawson, a University of Waterloo sociologist and religious studies professor who specializes in new religious movements, says that when a religious group sets a deadline, it is a sign that the “movement is starting to run into trouble.”

“It’s a strong indicator that their authority is slipping, they’re losing followers, not acquiring followers at a level that they used to … and nothing galvanizes a group and galvanizes attention like a new mention of an apocalypse.”

Last year, California preacher and evangelical broadcaster Harold Camping infamously said that the world would end on May 21, 2011. When the day passed without incident — after many of his followers sold off all their belongings — Mr. Camping apologized for the faulty predictions, and subsequently retired.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have prophesied that the world would end eight times, as recently as 1975. The Church Universal and Triumphant, a new age religious group from the U.S., forecast that nuclear war would strike in 1990, says Dr. Dawson.

Even after their prophecies failed, such groups continued to survive at a similar level, or become even stronger, he said. “The leader will quickly come up with an explanation, rationalize, and that rationalization will be spread quickly to all of the membership … and gear them up for another prophecy down the line,” Dr. Dawson said.

‘[I]t’s teaching you how to live happy. How to live in a good mood’

Common explanations include blaming the members who doubted, or that the prophecy happened on another spiritual plane, he added.

Growing in Grace members, however, insist their prediction will come true, and their transformation is on its way.

They cite recent erratic weather patterns and global economic woes as signs that change is afoot.

“We are sure that it’s going to happen,” said Mr. Poessy.

By Armina Ligaya

http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/05/01/the-time-is-finished-religious-sect-erects-billboards-in-toronto-ahead-of-the-transformation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NP_Top_Stories+(National+Post+-+Top+Stories)&utm_content=Googl