In great, but not unexpected news, Geert Wilders, who stands against the Islamification of Europe has been acquitted from the claims that he was inciting hatred against Muslims. Bill Muehlenberg reports further.

Wilders, Holland, and Hope

Bill Muehlenberg, 23rd June 2011

Just when things start looking the darkest, things can suddenly turn around. One of the best examples of this, in my eyes, is the European nation of Holland. For decades now it has been one of the darkest, sleaziest and most secular nations on earth.

Every lousy anti-faith, anti-family and anti-life initiative one can imagine seems to have occurred there. And in many instances the Netherlands actually led the way. This was the first nation on earth to legalise same-sex marriage (April 2001). This was the first nation on earth to legalise euthanasia (April 2002).

This was a nation noted for its brash and vulgar red-light districts, at least in its major cities. This was a country noted for its marijuana cafes (again, in places like Amsterdam). Drug dealing, crime and violence were rife in all the major cities. This was a country so keen on "tolerance" that just about anything and everything was permitted.

The place was a cesspool in other words, and like much of Europe looked to be heading down a one-way street to oblivion. It was radically secularised and seemed to be in a major moral freefall. I know this from firsthand experience, since I lived in that nation for five years in the early 80s.

But incredibly things have been turning around there. Let me begin with the most recent bit of news. Just today a Dutch court has acquitted the anti-Islamist politician Geert Wilders of charges of discrimination and hate speech. This is how one news report covers the story:

"Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders, cleared today of hate-speech and discrimination charges for his statements against Islam, said his acquittal was a victory for freedom of speech. 'You are being acquitted on all the charges that were put against you,' judge Marcel van Oosten told Mr Wilders, who has been on trial in the Amsterdam regional court since October last year.

"The flamboyant MP faced five counts of hate speech and discrimination for his anti-Islamic remarks on websites, internet forums and in Dutch newspapers between October 2006 and March 2008, and in his controversial 17-minute movie Fitna (Discord in Arabic).

"He also compared the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf while in Fitna he shows shocking images of the September 11 attacks in the US and other onslaughts against Western targets interspersed with verses from the Muslim holy book. 'The bench finds that your statements are acceptable within the context of the public debate,' the judge told the platinum-haired politician, whose case was boosted by a prosecution unwilling to take aim at him.

"'The bench finds that although gross and denegrating, it did not give rise to hatred,' said Judge van Oosten. The 47-year-old Mr Wilders, whose right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) lends its support to a right-leaning Dutch coalition government, told journalists afterwards he was 'overjoyed and very happy' to have been acquitted. 'It is not only a victory for me, but also a victory for freedom of speech,' he said outside the courtroom. He added: 'It means it is legal to criticise Islam.'

"The acquittal comes after Mr Wilders last month argued before judges that he was 'defending freedom in The Netherlands' against Islam. One of Europe's most heavily guarded politicians, he told the court he was 'obliged to speak' because The Netherlands was 'under threat' from Islam."

This is tremendous news indeed, and as Wilders said, it is a significant win for freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of conscience. It seems there is hope yet for this spiritually malnourished and woefully PC nation.

Indeed, others fighting for freedom should take real hope and reassurance out of this. Perhaps Andrew Bolt will also find a win for freedom of speech here in Australia. It will hopefully result in many more people being willing to stand up and be counted - even if a heavy price must be paid for doing so.

Now Wilders of course is not a Christian - as least as far as I am aware. But since all truth is God's truth, I think this was in many ways a victory which believers should also greatly savour. Secularists like Wilders and Christians alike would have had much to lose if this case would have gone the other way.

Indeed, his case was a real battle between Islamist totalitarianism and Western freedom. And if a Dutch court can side with him against those who would drag us into an Islamist police state then there is real hope indeed. I would say it is another sign that God is still at work in even dark and decadent places like Holland.

God has not yet abandoned Europe

I mentioned before how I once lived and worked in Holland as a Christian missionary. It was an uphill battle. Back then it was such a spiritually dead and morally vile place. It was not easy living in such a sin-soaked city such as Amsterdam.

But the good news is that God is able to turn around the most miserable and diabolical situations. Let me finish with a quick story. A few years ago I went back to Holland. After some 25 years I was again walking the streets of Amsterdam.

It is such a beautiful city in so many ways. It is rightly called the "Venice of the North". Its many canals, quaint historic buildings, and tree-lined streets filled with bicyclists is a joy to behold. But all the sin, corruption and degradation makes the experience a bittersweet one for any Christian who longs to see God's will done on earth as it is in heaven.

I vividly recall one day during that 2009 visit sitting in a third-story room overlooking the streets of Amsterdam. As always it was a hub of activity with people scurrying about everywhere. My heart was very heavy as I looked out my window and prayed for this lost city.

I remember telling the Lord, 'There must have been millions of prayers uttered over the centuries for this perverse and godless city. How many thousands of God's people have prayed and wept over this city? How long O Lord before you move again in this place?'

Soon after that time of intercession I made some amazing discoveries. God in fact had been at work in Amsterdam, and in other parts of Holland. When I lived there decades ago all the churches that were even half alive were quite small and struggling.

But things have really begun to change in the past few decades. Indeed, when I returned from Europe I wrote up a piece entitled "Europe: God is not finished yet." Let me quote a short part of that here: "There are clear signs of God at work. Holland at the moment is actually being run by a coalition of Christian political parties, and the Prime Minister is a Christian.

"Some of the famous Dutch liberalism and tolerance has been tightened up a bit. The once ubiquitous drug dealers around Amsterdam's central district and the sprawling red light districts have both been cleaned up and curtailed. Even some of the drug cafes have been restricted in number and scope.

"But it is the revitalisation of the church in the nation that is especially intriguing. There are now numerous evangelical churches in Holland with large and thriving congregations. One church in Amsterdam has over 2000 members. Such numbers were unheard of a few decades ago.

"And the amazing thing is, many of these large and spiritually vital churches are led by migrants who have come to Holland. The large Amsterdam church has as its head pastor an African. Indeed, many of these big churches are being led by Nigerians and Ghanaians. Missionaries and church planters from places such as South Korea, Brazil and Uganda are doing great works for God in the Netherlands and throughout Europe."

So the prayers I had uttered just hours earlier I found were in fact already being answered. In between my two times in Holland God was in fact at work in a major way. Revival is breaking forth in Amsterdam, and in Holland, and in Europe.

Of course whereas before Christian missionaries from Europe went to the developing world to reach it for Christ, now Christian missionaries from the developing world are going to Europe to re-win it for Christ and his Kingdom. This is tremendous.

God is not finished yet with the ungodly, immoral continent of Europe. He still has a plan and a purpose for it. And the just-declared victory of Geert Wilders can be seen as part of God's bigger plan for Holland and the continent. Secularism and Islam are both working overtime to take control of Europe and its millions of souls.

But God is also at work to see Europe once again become a place where the name of Jesus Christ is honoured and where the glorious gospel goes forth. There is still reason to hope. There is much darkness and discouragement, naturally. But with our God we shall prevail and do great things.

So please everyone keep fighting the good fight. We owe it to a broken and needy world to not give up. And we owe it to the one who died on a cross so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/dutch-anti-islam-mp-geert-wilders-acquitted-of-hate-speech-charges/story-e6frg6so-1226080840626
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2009/08/25/europe-god-is-not-finished-yet/

Used with Permission

Click here to go to Bill's full article.

An article arguing the advantages of spanking your children has appeared on Online Opinion. Here is an excerpt:

So, pro-spanking parents aren’t Nazis?
Ben-Peter Terpstra, 13th April 2011

"Here’s some honesty for you: “Children are selfish, self-centred, egotistical little monsters. They are also, and often at the same time, gorgeous, loving, wonderful creatures,” writes Irish columnist, Sinead Ryan.

Nor is corporal punishment evil, or ineffective, she concludes. “Finally, it is its very rarity that makes it work. It shocks a child (and indeed, many a parent), and that is the point.”

Of the don’t-smack-your-darling camp Ryan states: “Smacking has been hijacked by the PC-parenting brigade, who probably frown upon the naughty step, too. They are very possibly the same parents who regularly get notes home from teacher about bad behaviour, but who cannot mete out effective punishment. Hint: that's what they want you to do.”...

You see, it’s too easy to sniff at pro-smacking parents, in their working-class suburbs with no time for “I feel…” sentences. It’s too easy to pontificate about the alleged benefits of talk-therapy when you have one child, and a nanny.  It’s too easy to lecture working-class families.

The raw truth: Pro-spanking/smacking parents aren’t Nazis, and campaigning elites feel threatened by parents making politically-incorrect choices, with better results. So, how about we put the establishment’s professional do-gooders on trial?...."

Click here to read the full article.

Go to our forum to discuss whether you believe spanking is an appropriate form of parenting.

There are days for everything it seems. There is the National Condom Day which coincidentally falls on Valentines Day. There is Cupcake Day, Pillow Fight Day, the National Hoodie Day and so many more. Some of these days support the awareness of very damaging illnesses or causes, while others the causes are not so noble.

Today is June 2^nd and like nearly every other day on our calendar it too has significance. Because today is International Whores Day. I kid you not (although I wish I was). Today we are meant to cast our thoughts on the hard-working prostitutes and the inequalities they face in their workplace.

Despite claims that prostitution is the “world’s oldest profession” it also is the profession which morally undermines the framework of nearly every country across the globe. But, of course, in this “equality” world we should be doing our part to ensure that sex workers are not being discriminated against.

Now, don’t get me wrong, prostitutes are people and are in need of some rights like anyone else. However, the promotion of an industry that deals in the despicable is hardly the best outcome. Perhaps our energies would be better spent if we endorsed an International Abstinence Day in the hopes of promoting awareness on the positives of abstinence until marriage.

Of course this is not how we roll in this day and age. You see, we all have the right to get our sexual fantasies satisfied in any way we deem. The proviso is that both parties should be consenting and that’s all that matters. So if we wish to look to pornography to satisfy our curiosities, well that’s easy, because we really only need one person to consent to that, “numero uno”.

The same approach really goes for prostitution. The client is consenting because they may not be able to receive sex any other way or because they are horny and just feel like doing something “wrong”. And the employed prostitute is consenting because she is receiving large wads of money for doing something that is just natural to our evolved consciousnesses.

Both parties are short-changing themselves. The client may have a wife who he is cheating on (in which case the wife has not consented to being hurt so deeply) or he may not believe that anyone else would find him sexually attractive. Well, I have unfortunate news for you, the prostitute who is sleeping with you, she doesn’t find you attractive. She’s doing it for the money, even if she doesn’t realise that this is not easy-made money. All the riches made in the sex industry (be it pornography or prostitution) costs the worker emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Sure, you’ll find the occasional worker or porn star (i.e. Jenna Jameson) who will profess to loving their career because they “enjoy sex so much” but the marks and the hurt of these people cannot be hidden behind the layers of make-up.

So, is it really beneficial to merely be promoting rights for sex workers? Well, this really falls short of helping those involved out of these self-destructive lifestyles. Unfortunately, some politicians have other ideas. Stephanie Key, Labor MP for Ashford in South Australia, is calling for reforms to:

“ decriminalise the four main types of sex work in this state. The introduction of the Bill will take place after further consultation with interested parties over June and July this year.

My intention is to amend the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 and the Summary Offences Act 1953 to achieve change. Some of the features of reform should include the following:

• Ensure sex workers have the same industrial rights and responsibilities as other workers.
• Prevent minors under the age of 18 years from being involved or associated with sex work.
• Disallow sex services or such premises to be established within 200 metres of schools, centres for children or places of worship.
• Allow for Local Government to regulate public amenity, noise, signage and location in relation to sex services premises with more than three workers.
• Promote safe sex education and practice by clients and sex workers.
• Enable sex workers to be able to report criminal matters to the police like everyone else in the community.”

The Punch, June 2^nd 2011

Such stupidity is dumbfounding. Of course there are regulation problems with the sex industry and prostitutes are unwilling to go to state police for help because they are practicing an illegal act. But the solution is not to legalise prostitution. In this industry women exist to service men sexually. Surely there is nothing more degrading than that. Isn’t prostitution promoting inequality between the sexes?

Of course I will be attacked for being “archaic” and “old-fashioned” but I believe some people need a good dose of common sense. Does Stephanie Key actually believe she’s helping these sex workers with her amendments? Bah, if we actually cared about these people we would be exhausting our energies trying to bring them out of this self-destructive line of work rather than trying to paint over the sex industry with rose-coloured paint. You can’t try and fix the cracks when you’re missing the giant hole in the wall beside you. Who knows, maybe someday soon we’ll have International Pimp Day.

Article by Cameron Spink

Kevin Rudd has told us today that he is overwhelming impressed by Generation Y young adults and how they have rallied to help in the wake of the disasters of Brisbane.

Rudd's tone sounds surprised as he cites his Gen Y stereotype as "locked up in their bedrooms, on Facebook 24 hours a day, playing computer games, comfortable in the world of anonymity". This is a ridiculous concept that speculates that those of you who are in your twenties do not know what is going on in this world and do not care.

We've all seen and heard about the animal torturing that has made the news. Bill Muehlenberg points out some similarities with abortion.

Tortured Cows and Babies
Bill Muehlenberg, 31st May 2011

"In a civilised society we want to treat animals humanely. I would like to think that we would also want to treat human beings humanely as well. But that is not always the case. A new TV documentary has aroused a lot of passion about cruelty to animals, but we await a similar TV doco highlighting cruelty to unborn babies.

Last night the ABC aired on 4 Corners a program about how Australian cattle were treated in Indonesian abattoirs. I did not see the program but it has caused quite a stir – and evidently rightly so. The footage was apparently quite graphic as it exposed some pretty horrendous treatment of these animals.

One thing of interest however: In a major AAP story about this in today’s press, no mention was made of why this is occurring. The truth is, the Australian killing of cattle is fine, but these cattle are going to Muslim markets, so they have to be killed in accordance with halal methods.

Halal slaughter processes appear to be far more inhumane than non-halal processes. One writer puts it this way: “Let’s be perfectly clear and reiterate that the concern is not for how cattle are treated by Australian farmers or station managers. By all accounts, and as one said on the program last night, they like their animals. A lot. But to make money, the cattle have to be sold. And Indonesia is a big market.

“In regular abattoirs, the cattle are stunned and knocked unconscious before being slaughtered. It’s quick and about as pain-free as you can get. But halal rules (Islamic dietary rules for the consumption of meat) require the animal to be alive when it is killed. To many, being unconscious does not count as being alive. But halal also requires one clean cut across the throat. As 4 Corners uncovered last night, many deaths are the result of blunt knives and require on average at least 10 ‘goes’. Sometimes up to 30.”

An article in the press two years ago gives a slightly different slant on whether such halal methods are required under sharia (Islamic law): “The King of Jordan’s sister has appealed to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to stop the ritual slaughter of conscious animals for halal meat in Australia, saying it was not necessary under Islamic principles.

“Princess Alia bint al-Hussein of Jordan, who is the sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, said she had written to Mr Rudd saying that any lowering of animal welfare standards in Australia for religious reasons would be a blow to the country’s reputation and undermine progress in the Middle East.

“‘Contrary to some claims, killing without stunning is not necessary under Islamic principles,’ she said. The Australian standard on ritual slaughter for halal and kosher meat states that animals must first be rendered unconscious by electrical stunning before their throats are cut. But under a disputed federal guideline, the Government has allowed at least four Victorian abattoirs exemptions to kill without stunning to fulfil Middle Eastern export contracts over the past two years.”

The exact Islamic requirements for halal slaughter thus may not be fully clear, at least in some quarters. But I raise this issue since the AAP story did not mention this aspect at all. I presume the 4 Corners story did mention it. But another thing not being mentioned is another horrific form of slaughter which happens every day, yet without any MSM exposure and outcry.

I refer of course to the 100,000 unborn babies who are killed every year in Australia, and the 45-50 million killed every year around the world. This slaughter is really far worse, yet will we ever see the ABC or other MSM outlets running a story on this? Will they feature a full-colour, graphic, no-holds-barred documentary on this at prime time for the Australian public to witness?

I somehow don’t think so. Not only do we know that unborn babies experience pain at an early age (but are given no anaesthesia for their killing), but we know that most of the abortion methods are horrifically barbaric and painful. I have described one of them elsewhere:

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/05/20/late-term-baby-killing/

And see the illustrations here:

http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBA_Images/PBA_Images_Heathers_Place.htm

Simply to be aware of what takes place during a D&X, or late-term abortion, should put most people off from ever considering having an abortion. But this information is being wilfully, deliberately, and maliciously kept away from people. Almost no one in the MSM will run with this info, because it is simply not politically correct to do so.

The pro-abortion lobby has effectively censored out any contrary views on what actually takes place during an abortion. Undoubtedly the Indonesian authorities did not want the outside world to see what happens inside their abattoirs. In the same way, the abortion industry does not want the outside world to see what happens in their abortion mills.

We wait for the day when the world can see the truth of what happens there. The ABC may think it was brave in airing this show on the mistreatment of cattle. But we will not hold our breath as we wait for it to display some courage on an even greater calamity and cruel massacre.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/government-told-to-end-live-cattle-exports/story-fn7x8me2-1226066100178
http://www.mamamia.com.au/weblog/2011/05/live-cattle-trade-youll-feel-sick-to-the-stomach.html
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/mideast-princess-in-plea-to-rudd-on-animal-slaughter-20091101-hrkx.html"

Used with Permission

Click here to go to Bill's website.

Article by Cameron Spink

It is not often when the President of the United States feels out of his weight division but right now US President Barack Obama is facing off with Chinese President Hu Jintao about several important issues and he is clearly outmatched.

First, Obama encouraged President Hu to reconsider China's policy on human rights. Hu lent him an ear but will not be inclined to take any further action. And now Obama has "warned" China to put pressure upon North Korea to stop their east-Asian antics. While China certainly does not approve of North Korea's aggressive actions against the South there is no reason to think they will condemn them.