Has This Really Happened in Only 15 Years?

June 9, 2019

Ruins of the Library of Celsus
Photo by heydrienne

“In Pew Research Center polling in 2004, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a margin of 60% to 31%.

Support for same-sex marriage has steadily grown over the past 15 years. And today, support for same-sex marriage remains near its highest point since Pew Research Center began polling on this issue. Based on polling in 2019, a majority of Americans (61%) support same-sex marriage, while 31% oppose it.”

The quote above is taken from an article entitled Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage which was published less than a month ago.

One can look up numerous articles which try to explain this change.

I think we need to find the Book again, the same Book that was found in 2 Kings 22. The article published by the Pew Research Center shows that the Book has been lost again, at least in the minds and hearts of many Americans. Adherence to that book is the only solution for our nation. I wonder what will happen in the next 15 years.

“On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case Obergefell v. Hodges.”

It has been almost four years. Why does it feel like 40?

Chris Reimers

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“Now he is killing his own people”

August 19, 2018

Francisco Valdivia, Anibal Rosales, Ariel Teran, Augusto Ayala, German Zeledon, and Rommel Moreno
Photo from http://www.ggggnews.com/News.htm


Received here only a few days ago…

“Hi Chris, do you remember me? I am Aníbal Rosales, from your article “Nicaraguan Patriots Visit Hot Springs” in October 2009. It is very sad what Nicaragua is living now, what in 2009 seemed like a distant future has arrived. Ortega took all the powers of the state, the presidency, the supreme court of justice, the electoral power and the assembly, he completed his project of dictatorship. Now he is killing his own people, for having raised us to protest against him, since last April 18, more than 350 people have died, there are more than 500 unjustly arrested, many disappeared and many people fleeing in Costa Rica and others living hidden in safe houses, so that the government does not kill them. We have a real humanitarian crisis, there are thousands of people who need shelter, food and medicine. If you can, tell this story to our friends in Hot Springs.”

After searching the internet for news of this situation, I’ve found that Anibal is not exaggerating. It is very sad news, indeed. The Nicaraguan Patriots who visited Hot Springs were, at the time, working to reverse the corrupt government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. They came here to get ideas on how to do just that. It is one of the highlights of my 23 years in Hot Springs.

From the several news sources that I’ve read, the Catholic Churches are being targeted in particular and, of course, anyone who protests the government policies. Anyone who wishes to see the article Anibal is referring to may see it here:

http://www.ggggnews.com/News.htm (You will have to scroll down to the September 18th, 2009 entry. It is not that far down the page!)

The article describes corruption that these brave men were dealing with at the time. It was bad then, but as Anibal has noted, things have deteriorated substantially.

Please pray for our friends in Nicaragua.

Chris Reimers

Rep. Shelby, Rommel Moreno, Ariel Teran, Dir. Peggy Maruthur, Bob Driggers, German Zeledon, Augusto Ayala, Francisco Valdivia
Photo at http://www.ggggnews.com/News.htm

The few articles I have read recently (The first two were published yesterday):

Nicaragua: How Ortega’s Fragile Alliance Of The Elite Set The Stage For Crisis

Analysts: Nicaragua’s Ortega Using Venezuelan Tactics To Suppress Opposition

Nicaragua Clergy, Siding With Protesters, Becomes ‘Terrible Enemy’ of Ortega

Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo power couple toppled a dynasty – only to form another

Dictatorship the underlying problem in Nicaragua riots, priest says

“Ortega has been president of Nicaragua since 2007, and oversaw the abolition of presidential term limits in 2014. His wife, Rosario Murillo, is also his vice president.”

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What mean these stones?

June 1, 2018

A Sermon by David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (An excerpt)

Let me put it to you like this. Christianity is not a philosophy. What is a philosophy? Well, a philosophy is made up of ideas put forward by men, in an attempt to try to understand life and our problems and how to deal with them and how to solve them. It is a matter of ideas, of thoughts and of teachings. My point is that while there is obviously a teaching and a doctrine which is a vital part of Christianity, that is not the first thing. What differentiates this is that it is first and foremost a record of historical events and historical facts. What mean these stones outside Gilgal? All that they mean is that certain things happened to these people-history. Let us be clear about this. There are so many people today who talk about the Christian attitude-towards war and peace, a Christian attitude towards education, a Christian attitude towards art, drama and literature. Now all that tends to turn it into a philosophy, into a teaching, into a theory, into a point of view. But that is really not to be true to our position. So Christianity, we must remember, is not one of a number of theories and ideas and philosophies with respect to life. It is quite unique because it is teaching which is based upon history.

I can go further and I can say this. That this is the thing that differentiates the Christian faith from religion-from any kind of religion. You take these religions that people, some of them, are turning to at the present time. Buddhism or Confucianism or Hinduism, or any one of these ‘isms’. What are they? Well, they are all something invented by men. They are all teachings. They involve a kind of worship, but they are not based upon facts and upon events. They are all based upon ideas-and they are ideas that are supposed to lead you and to help you to arrive at the particular deity that you want to worship.

Now here again, you see, our Christian faith is entirely different. It calls attention to facts. And that is why this building in a sense is going to do exactly the same as the bread and the wine do in a communion service. They again are calling attention to facts. So, we must start with this all important matter-this principle-and realise that it is vital to our whole situation. The uniqueness of the Christian faith depends upon a series of historical facts and events and the teaching which results from them.

—————————–
It is probably not altogether right to excerpt from one of the greats, though I think the good Doctor would be happy with my reasoning here. How many were saying in 1977, when the sermon was given, that the Bible was a good book but that much of it consisted of “meaningful fables” and “nice stories” and that its historicity was in serious question? This type of liberal Christianity, already quite popular then, was something that Martyn Lloyd-Jones abhorred. How much more are the historical parts of the Bible under attack today? Yes, parts of the scriptures are beautiful poetry and some are eschatological wonders. But there are the parts that, until the past few centuries, were always considered history and still are by men in agreement with Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Remarkably, currently and in the recent past, men are calling what has always been considered history poetry or allegory. There is the “Documentary Hypothesis” and a myriad of similar criticisms which weaken the inspired intentions of the text. Some go so far as to question the miracles.

I admire men like David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Walter Martin, and Charles H. Spurgeon and I agree with them. All great scholars, they upheld the Bible as the inspired word of God in times of question. We are living in times when many consider the Bible as just another book on the shelf. In their time, these great men were astonished that anyone could have such an opinion and if any were with us today I think they would receive more mocking than they did in their day and would respond no differently than when they were alive.

This is a sermon that needs to be heard more today than ever. I am including a link to the text of this sermon and another to the recording of the actual sermon. Either would be more than worth your time.

Chris Reimers

COMPLETE TEXT OF “WHAT MEAN THESE STONES?”

A RECORDING OF THIS EXACT SERMON BY Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Preached at West Street Baptist Church; Crewe; in 1977.)

A sermon WITH THE SAME TITLE was preached at Newport; South Wales; in 1977. Martyn Lloyd-Jones often used this text at the opening of new churches. It was on this text that he last preached at the opening of Barcombe Baptist Chapel in 1980.

MEET DR. LLOYD JONES (INTERVIEW)

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“Timely if mayor Bergheim were to come up with an unreserved apology to the couple”

May 28, 2018

Ken, Vebeke, and Family Reunited
Photo by Lisbeth Lund Andresen
(Click on photo to enlarge)

By Magne Storedal

• • •

The child protection case which is the main subject of the article – that of Ken Joar Olsen and Vibeke Morrissey and their daughter – has been described and discussed on several websites abroad and here. (See below)

This article originally appeared in Norwegian, on 25 May 2018, in Romerikes Blad HERE.

Translation: Marianne Haslev Skånland. All rights remain with the author Mr Storedal.
• • •

The resignation of CPS leader Arnfinn Heimstad on Wednesday augurs well for the process of developing a better Barnevern in the municipality of Lørenskog. The case which triggered his withdrawal – the child protection case against Ken Joar Olsen and Vibeke Morrissey – was deficient on very many levels. Romerikes Blad has in a series of articles given an account of the inadequate and criticisable casework in this CPS case.

The most criticisable aspect was the way the municipality went all the way in their employment of heavy means without attempting to help and support the parents when their daughter was taken into care on an emergency order in January 2015. In what followed, the municipality ignored information and suggestions from not less than eight experts who all found Ken and Vibeke to be competent parents. Parallel with the outcome in the Ken and Vibeke case, the courts have quashed three takings into care and returned the children to their parents. All after decisions made in Lørenskog. In sum these outcomes are so serious that it was natural for Heimstad to resign.

At the same time it is important to note that making heads roll in Lørenskog has never been the goal. Our primary aim has been to have the injustice to Ken and Vibeke’s daughter remedied, but also, of course, that against the parents. With the CPS and the municipality leadership being so restrictively against opening up for reconsideration and self-criticism, head municipal administrator Ragnar Christoffersen has taken matters in hand over the last weeks.

Necessary changes lie ahead. The Barnevern (CPS) case against Ken and Vibeke will face investigation internally and externally. At the same time, the case is before The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The case if far from over; a large sequel which must induce comprehensive learning and change in all of Barnevernet lies ahead. Irrespective of the outcome of such review, the municipality must urgently enter into a dialogue with all child expert personnel who had anything to do with Ken and Vibeke’s case. Between them they possess important proficiency and qualifications, urgently needed to be made use of by the municipality.

While Barnevernet is under fire in Lørenskog, another public service reaps well-deserved honour. Lørenskog’s low threshold ‘Preventive Psychological Health Service’ (Forebyggende psykisk helsetjeneste (FPH)), offering free and fast psychological help for Lørenskog’s citizens, has received the prize of the year for ‘innovation’ awarded by the Norwegian Society for Psychological Science. The service of FPH is monitored through research by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Added to the fact that the municipality has got this service up and running, it also works. People suffering from anxiety and depression have, according to the Institute of Public Health, obtained better life quality as soon as after 6 – 8 conversational sessions. With this expertise being present within the municipality, it is horrible that the two services did not cooperate in this concrete child protection case. Rather, according to FPH itself and the last two experts Anette Svendsen and Evelin Tjemsland, the CPS was active in Ken and Vibeke not getting necessary help after their daughter was taken into care. This is serious and must be checked up on thoroughly.

With the traumas in mind which Ken and Vibeke have gone through, it would probably have been timely if mayor Ragnhild Bergheim came up with an unreserved apology to the couple as well.
———————————

My comment:

This is welcome and encouraging news in the struggle of families who have been devastated by the ungodly actions of the Norwegian Child Welfare Services (Barnevernet). I was not aware of this development and I would like to thank Professor Marianne Haslev Skånland for translating this article and sharing it with me. This is the first occasion involving a Norwegian CPS case, of which I’m aware, where the head of a CPS office has had to resign over the way several CPS cases have been handled by his office. Only God knows how many hundreds of parents in Norway have gotten the same type of treatment only to never have their children returned. This is certainly a step in the right direction but it is one case of so many that must be reviewed!

Here are a few of many articles published here and abroad about this family. To see all of the posts here, just type “Ken Olsen” into the search box on this blog.

“Ken Joar Olsen and his Aria – Norway”

“Ken Joar Olsen speaks at the demonstration against Barnevernet and human rights violations in Oslo 11 June 2016”

“Praise God! It appears that Aria has been returned to Ken and Vibeke!!”

“Ken Joar Olsen, My Good Friend, Speaks in Trondheim”
…

Romerikes Blad, is a Norwegian newspaper published in Lillestrøm, covering especially districts east of Oslo. The Norwegian title was “Forløsende om ordfører Bergheim kom med en uforbeholden unnskyldning til paret”.
Magne Storedal is the paper’s chief editor.

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A case exposing the double standards of Norway’s CPS

May 15, 2018

Jan Simonsen (L) and Marianne Haslev Skånland demonstrating against Norway’s CPS.
Photo private


By Jan Simonsen & Marianne Haslev Skånland

One of Norway’s top child-protection policy experts, Jo Erik Brøyn, was sentenced to prison under the country’s child pornography laws. His arrest further discredits Norway’s Child Protection Services.

A child psychiatrist and top child protection expert, 56-year-old Jo Erik Brøyn, who in 2010 became the single father to two Indian surrogate babies, has been sentenced to nearly two years’ jail under Norway’s child pornography laws.

Brøyn was found guilty of possessing and sharing an enormous quantity of material—about 200,000 pictures and 4,000 hours of video—showing children subjected to brutal sexual abuse. The indictment against Brøyn reads: “Pictures and videos show sexual abuse committed by adults against children, sexual acts between children, and children performing sexual acts on themselves.”

This case is symptomatic of the Norwegian child protection services (CPS) system (known as “Barnevernet”) and our authorities’ attitude to it. It demonstrates the double standards of what people in authority do and say in relation to the strict legislation regarding children that they themselves promote and through which they exercise power.

The Norwegian police were notified of Brøyn’s possession of this material as far back as 2014, from the Swiss police. However, Brøyn was not stopped from continuing as an expert and child psychiatrist in the CPS system for several years thereafter. He has been downloading abuse material from 1997.

…However, Brøyn was not stopped from continuing as an expert and child psychiatrist in the CPS system for several years thereafter…

THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE EXPLAINING YET ANOTHER CASE OF THE NORWEGIAN “PROTECTIVE CHILDHOOD” RUN AMOK CONTINUES HERE…

HERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO SEE THE ARTICLE. (This is Suranya Aiyar’s excellent website. She has spearheaded this series of articles in the Sunday Guardian Live.)

A photo of this “top child protection expert” from 2010

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Praise God! It appears that Aria has been returned to Ken and Vibeke!!!

May 2, 2018

The news is still sketchy but Professor Marianne H. Skanland has alerted me about more than one article in Norwegian newspapers that seem to verify the headline above. Baby Aria was taken from her parents just days after being born and according to the news articles and Facebook comments it appears that she has finally been returned to her rightful parents.

Aria was born on January 13th, 2015 at 10:53 am. Ten days later the “Norwegian Child Welfare Services” took Aria away from Ken and Vibeke for ridiculous reasons. She has been away from her real father and mother almost 2 and 1/2 years now. Ken and Vibeke have worked tirelessly to retain the rights to their daughter whose name was changed at least twice while in custody (in a foster home somewhere unknown to her real parents).

Thank you to anyone who prayed about this situation. I have put up occasional articles about the Family’s situation and this story is at the top of the three active ones that I have been following for some time. This reunion is not an everyday occurrence in Norway. It is quite miraculous. Ken and Vibeke have been persistent, brave, and wisely restrained in their efforts to get their daughter back. I will post more information here as I know more. There has been so much bad news coming out of Norway that I had to post this a.s.a.p. Today is a day for celebration!!!

Chris Reimers

The headline is true. Aria has been returned to her parents. Ken has verified it for me in a Facebook comment (see below).

Ken sent this picture to me today…It is a great day!

Conversation from Facebook today:

Ken Joar Olsen:
“Thank you my friend, and sorry that i haven’t informed in English to you all. But between my tears, from all the praise and congratulations the private messages in my inbox. And especially the two princesses demanding me to be a climbing three, a burping station and a sandwich maker. I had a short appointment with the dentist… So now i am using some free minutes whilst they are in the shop, to get out some thank you messages to GREAT people like you that by your support. Forever will be a part of our now huge family and story. So hugs from us, and best wishes to you and yours.”

Chris Reimers:
“No worries my friend. I saw all of the notes of congratulation on a couple of facebook posts and I knew you were busy. Many people have followed your case and the news is gladly received in many countries. I particularly figured that you would be spending some much needed catch up family time.
How cool is it to be a climbing tree?
As soon as the dust settles a bit, maybe you can write something about how this worked out. It will please me greatly to remove your story from “Recent Accounts of Children Taken” on my blog. I am thankful to God for answering our prayers. Have a great day my friend and may God continue to bless you and your family.”

Posts on this Blog about Ken’s story:

Ken and Vibeke’s Story…What?

Ken Joar Olsen and his Aria – Norway

Always Aria

NOW AND FOREVER OUR DAUGHTER…SEEING ARIA TODAY

BABY ARIA HAS NEVER SLEPT IN HER OWN CRIB

Ken Joar Olsen, My Good Friend, Speaks in Trondheim

My Friend Ken and CPS Recorded/Vibeke Speaks

NORWAY…A COUNTRY WHERE EVEN ART IS UPSIDE DOWN!!!

Recent Accounts of Children Taken

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ESCAPE TO DUBAI

April 30, 2018

Photo from
Step Up 4 Children’s Rights

“In early 2017, a Swedish/Finnish family that once lived in Norway, has now fled to Dubai. Norway’s child welfare services wanted to remove their daughter a second time. Now, they’re fighting to get their rights back. Hear from the mother and her brave 10-year old child as they share their sad story in the linked interview.”
– Step Up 4 Children’s Rights

My Austrian Christian friend, Bjorn Korf, has done a great deal to publicize the sad stories of families being split up without reason by Norwegian “Child Welfare Services” named the Barneveret. Click on the link below to get to the 22 minute podcast described above.

cr

http://stepup4childrensrights.com/podcast/11-escape-to-dubai/

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