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Where to begin? Delving into this particularly sordid bit of Failed Academic Dementia is difficult, both because one hardly wants to start the day wading through a sewer, and because there are so many angles and implications to the story that it makes for large and unwieldy blogposts. For those who have been in a cave since last week, PZ Myers, a washed-up academic at a third tier school who takes out his bitterness on Christians, claimed that some human toothache named Webster Cook had received death threats for stealing a Eucharist and threatening to desecrate it. Reader John Farrell...

New York, Jul 18, 2008 / 02:50 pm (CNA).- A group of Catholic dissenters plans to publish an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI in a major U.S. and a major Italian newspaper criticizing Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae on the fortieth anniversary of its promulgation, July 25. The group Catholics for Choice (CFC) claims that the encyclical’s teaching against contraception has been an “utter failure” that endangers women’s lives and leaves millions at risk of HIV. However, a major pro-life leader said the group’s accusations were hard to take seriously.According to the version of the open letter...

James Tramel went from convicted murderer to priest while in prison, a transformation that the Episcopal Church used to successfully lobby for his parole and celebrate him before politicians and the press. But the church is now grappling with the sexual abuse of a parishioner under his care. Tramel has been suspended for sexual misconduct, temporarily stripped of his priestly authority and left searching for a new job. The San Francisco-based Episcopal Diocese of California now faces questions of whether, in its haste to proclaim Tramel's story, it redeemed and promoted him too quickly. Convicted of second-degree murder in a...

Though this story was written nearly 2 years ago, Bishop Su's whereabouts are still unknown. The search continues. Perhaps you or someone you knows, can help solve this mystery. Searching for Bishop Su: Persecuted Chinese bishop gone but not forgottenTheresa Marie Moreau  (TMMoreau@yahoo.com)From the back seat of the gypsy cab, Ming-Chuan “Joseph” Kung watched Beijing blur by. Everything had been pre-arranged. Everything. As the hired driver steered through the streets of the capital city of the People’s Republic of China, the seven passengers – a small delegation of Americans in town for a human rights conference – rode mostly in...

Knife crime is at epidemic proportions in Britain's inner cities, with an attack of some kind taking place every four minutes. In London alone 21 young people have been stabbed to death this year. A church group has come up with a new solution. It's reported here. The suggestion is that church leaders should move into crime ridden inner city areas to work with the youths and become role models since most of the boys who stab each other don't have Dads. Whoops! problem is, since women's ordination the Anglican Church has been turned into a matriarchy remember? Nearly half...

Roman Catholic Womynpriests are up to their play-acting again. This time in Boston. Roman Catholic Womenpriests, who are neither Roman Catholic or Womanpriests, claim to be "ordaining" three additional women. In fact, it is actually an excommunication ceremony. [Boston] Three aspiring Catholic priests will be anointed and prayed over this weekend in an ordination liturgy that will resemble the traditional in most ways but one: The three being ordained are women. The ordination ceremony Sunday, at a historic Protestant church in the Back Bay, is the first such event to take place in Boston, one of the most Catholic cities...

In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of Notre Dame University wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine’s fragmented view of human sexuality. Citing Humanae Vitae, this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once “the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity.” If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, “There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes.” Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic as was Pope Paul VI when he penned Humane...

Is Pope Benedict a “rock star”? The question came up recently in Tim Drake’s coverage of World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, at the Register’s weblog, Pope2008.com, where we are following World Youth Day activities. He found two stories in the the Sydney media comparing World Youth Day to a rock concert and calling Pope Benedict XVI the concert’s “headliner.” It’s a good question to ask, because there are so many superficial similarities between the weeklong World Youth Day and rock-’n’-roll festivals that have attracted young people since Woodstock. But we can think of at least 10 ways World Youth...

Melbourne: Catholic priests should watch porn – in a bid to prevent sexual abuse, claims a US porn star. Actress Belladonna – who has starred in 250 x-rated films with both men and women – is in Australia to push her career in the same week the Pope is visiting for World Youth Day. The married mum is on her fifth visit Down Under for the Sydney Sexpo event, which starts next week. And she had some advice for Pope Benedict XVI. "The Pope has indicated he might apologise to victims of sexual abuse and that is a positive thing...

A local priest was charged with assault yesterday after he allegedly fondled a 16-year-old girl on an airplane. The Rev. Tomasz Adam Zielinski, 31, was removed from his position at Christ the King Church in Manville as a result of the federal charges, according to church officials. Zielinski, a Polish citizen, served as an associate pastor at the Somerset County parish since April and is staying in the United States on a religious visa. The incident occurred aboard a July 5 flight from Poland on which Zielinski was returning from a vacation. He allegedly groped the girl and attempted to...

Gabriel DeJesus Back At Work At Sacred Heart School For The Arts On Monday; N.Y. Archdiocese Investigating. GREENBURGH, N.Y. (CBS) ― A Westchester County Catholic school principal is in serious trouble after he was arrested for allegedly going on a naked sexual romp with two other men in the backyard of a vacant home in the Orchard Hill section of town on Sunday. Gabriel De Jesus, 41, of Ossining told police he was the principal of Sacred Heart School for the Arts, a Catholic elementary school at 71 Sharpe Blvd. in Mount Vernon. DeJesus was still running the elementary school...

The treasurer of the Roman Catholic shrine of Lourdes was yesterday at the centre of a major fraud inquiry. Father Raymond Zambelli, 65, rector of the site of 66 recognised miracles, has been asked to explain how at least £350,000 raised for the sick and dying ended up in his account. More than six million pilgrims visit the town in south-west France every year, many of them donating huge amounts of money to its upkeep. Police confirmed that an inquiry into the ' misappropriation of funds' had been launched, looking at several individuals including a priest. Much of the money...

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - This year 2008, the Marian Shrine of Lourdes is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In these 150 years pilgrims have continued to flock to this place of grace, to honour the Mother of God. All the many places “visited” by Our Lady have a special mysterious touch of her presence in our midst. Our Lady seems to make a continual visitation to peoples and nations and now and then she stays a while, just as she went to her cousin Elisabeth and remained with her for three...

If you and your church are called by His Name, you qualify!! Our goal is, at the very least, one church in each state! Will your church represent your state? We are coming together as Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals and any Bible believing church to to get on our faces, fast, pray and seek God for our families, cities and nation! It was once a common thing in our early nation for our Presidents to call us together for a time of prayer and fasting! Each church is free to organize their fast as they choose! Each church is encouraged to...

You hear a lot of stories when you're in a pub having a pint. So I thought I'd start our time together tonight with a story. Now, some of the tales you hear when you're sitting with friends over a beer might stretch the truth a little. But I promise: the one I'm about to tell you is true. It's about a young man named Franz who lived about 60 years ago in a small village in Austria. Franz was the illegitimate son of a farmer who later died in World War I. He was a wild kid. Everyone...

Verified” Lakeland Resurrection from the Dead was a Lie Thanks to poster ’Arise My Love’ for pointing this video out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toGYy-H3pCw&feature=related From 6.20 minutes onwards on the video explains how the Fresh Fires Ministries passed through their ‘audit’ process an email, and Todd Bentley read out this same email of an alleged raising from the dead, without even attempting to check out any of the facts, let alone verifying them. Update 17th July: despite explictly being told the story was false, they haven’t retracted this story from their website or verbally.

Chuck Pierce and Kabbalah: The Month of Iyar Last week, I posted an article exposing the occultic origins of Chuck Pierce's so-called "ministry," explaining that most of what he claims are "Words from the Lord" actually comes from astrology and Kabbalah (a New Age form of Jewish Mysticism). The latest post from Chuck Pierce is just more evidence that "Dr." Chuck Pierce is not a Christian minister, but an adherant of another religion, Kabbalah. According to him (and Kabbalah), we have just entered the Hebrew month of "Iyar." Here's a comparison of what Chuck Pierce and Kabbalah have to say:...

Please watch Segment 14 and comment on the following discussion items.1. Do fallen angels control human actions? If yes, please give an example. 2. Is it possible to yeild control of one's mind to demonic influences by joking as Carl does? Is it possible to yeild control of one's mind to demonic influences by surrounding oneself with negative music, books, and movies? 4. Do fallen angels use religious leaders to accomplish their agenda? 5. If Satan exists as an active force in the world, what are the limits of his power? Does prayer help? Segment 14: In this segment, Carl...

max behrman The UCF student who removed a Eucharist from a Catholic Campus Ministry mass and made national headlines is still caught in the wake of his actions. Webster Cook, who is a Student Government Association senator, is now facing an impeachment investigation by the rest of the Senate as a result of an affidavit filed against him due to the incident. In response to the complaints filed against him, Cook brought hazing charges against Catholic Campus Ministry, filing with the Office of Student Conduct regarding the physical force used against him. The charges were formally dropped yesterday. The Legislative,...

Contact: Phil Magnan, President, Biblical Family Advocates, 619-962-0659, phil@bfamilyadvocates.comSAN DIEGO, July 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- "The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men." Psalm 12:8 Biblical Family Advocates passionately implores Pastors and Churches to educate themselves regarding the Biblical and societal implications of engaging in homosexuality. Readers are encouraged to go to the Biblical Family Advocates website and read the article, "15 Reasons Why Homosexuality is Wrong and Hurts Society." The article discusses such things as the higher infidelity and domestic violence rates of homosexual relationships, why homosexuality is not genetic, as...

P.Z. Myers / Bill Donohue Morris, MN, Jul 16, 2008 / 03:58 am (CNA).- University of Minnesota at Morris biology professor P.Z. Myers has repeated his threat to desecrate the Eucharist, saying “I have to do something. I’m not going to just let this disappear.” Speaking in an interview with the Minnesota Independent, Myers characterized the Eucharist as a “cracker.” He said that the vitriolic responses he received from self-described Catholics had strengthened his resolve.“I have to do something,” he said in the interview. “I'm not going to just let this disappear. It's just so darned weird that they're...

P.Z. Myers Morris, MN, Jul 16, 2008 / 01:11 pm (CNA).- University of Minnesota Morris biology professor and science blogger Dr. Paul Zachary Myers, who last week threatened to desecrate the Eucharist and to broadcast the act on the internet, says he has acquired Eucharistic Hosts consecrated at a Catholic Mass. Prof. Myers explained in an e-mail to CNA that he has received the Eucharist from several people. “So far, the crackers I have received have been given to me in person or sent to my home address.”Myers has been derisively referring to the Eucharist as a “cracker.” He...

This is a Gospel video, with a balloon message and is created with scenic pictures of autumn and the song is, “ Higher “, sung by: Evangelist Ezekiel Cash.

Another step toward the persecution. My emphases and comments.  FAITH UNDER FIREMajor U.S. city officially condemns Catholic ChurchInstructs members to defy ‘Holy Office of Inquisition’ Posted: July 15, 2008 San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge A San Francisco city and county board resolution that officially labeled the Catholic church’s moral teachings on homosexuality as "insulting to all San Franciscans," "hateful," "defamatory," "insensitive" and "ignorant" will be challenged tomorrow in court for violating the Constitution’s prohibition of government hostility toward religion.Resolution 168-08, passed unanimously by the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors two years ago, also accused the Vatican...

The youth pastor once charged with sex abuse is sharing his story. It’s the first time he’s said anything publically since the charge was dismissed in court. Clayton Pruett says he’s been fighting to get his name and reputation back. He says he knows it won’t be the same, but he is out to prove that he did nothing wrong. His family is behind him and he wants people to know how serious it is when allegations of sex abuse are brought to police. Pruett says he believes the teen and her mother brought the charge against him to get...

Tonight the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre featured the UK premier of For The Bible Tells Me So, “a provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today,” produced by Dan Karslake. It was followed by a conversation and Q&A with the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen, Shakespearean actor and star of The Lord of the Rings. The evening started with a beautiful bass voice giving the standard instructions for everyone to turn off their cell phones and pagers. Turns out it was Sir Ian, who arrived on stage a few minutes...

Friend and fellow blogger Dawn Eden, touring Australia for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the country for World Youth Day, reported on her site on Tuesday that she fell prey to the Down Under version of liberal media bias. "A Current Affair," a program on Sky Television that shares the same name and ilk with the Maury Povich program, interviewed Eden, an author and convert to Catholicism, for a segment they labeled "No Sex Pilgrims" (video available here). The Aussie tabloid television reporters who featured her seemed incredulous that anyone in this day and age would live chastely. ...[C]orrespondent Ben...

The Eucharist was stolen Friday from the tabernacle at Corpus Christi Cathedral on the 500 block of North Upper Broadway, police said. Corpus Christi Police Lt. Raymond Lara said the Eucharist, the consecrated bread used in Catholic Mass, was taken after someone entered the church through an open door. The exact time of the theft has not been determined and there have been no arrests made in the case, Lara said. Corpus Christi Cathedral officials would not comment when reached Monday.

In an unusually long and detailed ruling, the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the 2006 conviction of Toledo Catholic priest Gerald Robinson for the 1980 murder of a nun. -snip- Robinson, 70, was arrested by Lucas County cold case investigators on April 23, 2004, and convicted on May 11, 2006, for the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. The 71-year-old nun had been choked nearly to death and then stabbed 31 times in the chest, neck, and face with a saber-shaped letter opener. Her partly naked body was found by another nun on the morning of April...

AS one would expect of the leader of a billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI is a leading theologian, one of the major thinkers of our age.But he is also a sharpshooter - the kind of man who can explain complex ideas in simple ways, and then act decisively. People everywhere welcome his gifts. As a young Catholic studying in a modern university where relativism and other intellectual trends pushed against Christian truth, beauty and goodness- I often found Benedict to be speaking directly to those who wanted to push back. But even non-Catholics have something to learn from him. Benedict regularly describes,...

Presidents “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” GEORGE WASHINGTON Commander-in-Chief in the American Revolution; Signer of the Constitution; First President of the United States “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” JOHN ADAMS Signer of the Declaration of Independence; One of Two...

Yesterday, Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a news release calling attention to the plea that Paul Zachary Myers made on his blog: he solicited the Communion Host for the express purpose of desecrating it. Donohue now responds to the reaction he has received from the University of Minnesota Morris professor, as well as others:“Myers went on Houston radio station KPFT last night saying that Bill Donohue has ‘declared a fatwa’ against him. He should know better—I don’t need others to do the fighting for me. I’m quite good at it myself.  But he’d better be careful what he says,...

Systematic contraception — and sterilization — is part of modern life. Tens of millions of women the world over, inside and outside marriage, are on hormonal contraception (mostly, the pill) and as far as powerful organizations as the UNFPA and IPPF are concerned, many more millions must be added. In countries with intensive pill habits like the Netherlands, there are still increases in pill use among adolescent girls (27% between 1990 and 2000), so that half of them are now on the pill. With few exceptions, this does not seem to alarm anyone, because modern contraception is believed to...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE July 11, 2008 Women of the ELCA Tackles Community, Church, Global Issues 08-110-FI/JB/LT* SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- A hearing and three briefings offered participants of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) opportunities for education and conversation July 10 between their 2008 convention and gathering. The hearing was related to the ELCA's draft social statement on human sexuality. The briefings dealt with commercial sexual exploitation, water issues, and women and children living in poverty. Women of the ELCA's Seventh Triennial Convention was July 8-10 here at the Salt Palace Convention Center. More than 2,000...

Bruce Reyes-Chow "PCUSA" is a "mainline" denomination of 2.3 million members. This is the spirit of the times (zeitgeist): certainly not the Holy Spirit. According to a story from the Catholic News Agency: San Jose, CA., Jul 8, 2008 / 11:57 pm (CNA).- Reaction continues to the decisions of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), which took place between June 21 and June 28. The assembly nullified proscriptions against sexual behavior outside of marriage and called for a vote to delete the church’s constitutional standard requiring fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness. It also...

p class="blog">In my mail I got a "breaking news alert" from the National Catholic Reporter.  You know it has to be pretty silly when they get in high dudgeon on something concerning the Church.  In covering The archdiocese of St. Louis and the attempted ordination of women let us see what upsets them. The archdiocese of St. Louis authorized the video recording of a Catholic women's ordination ceremony that took place in a synagogue last November. It then used the video, along with photographs apparently taken from the video, as evidence to punish a Catholic nun who attended the liturgy, according...

The nature and extent of the violations of religious freedom were not only severe, they also were tolerated by the government and, in some cases, committed by forces within the government. As such, a bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom included Iraq on a "watch list" of countries where religious liberty is severely threatened. Religious leaders have made numerous attempts to broker resolutions. In 2007, American president George W. Bush recounted, the pontiff " was concerned that the society that was evolving (in Iraq) would not tolerate the Christian religion." Indeed, Iraqi Christians have continued to find themselves in...

THE EX CATHEDRA STATUS OF THE ENCYCLICAL "HUMANAE VITAE" Brian W. Harrison, O.S. FAITH & REASON, Christendom Press, 2101 Shenandoah Shores Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, (800) 877-5456, Vol. XIX, No. 1, Spring 1993. The article originally appeared in the September/November 1992 issue of "Living Tradition: The Organ of the Roman Theological Forum" In "Living Tradition," No. 12 (July 1987),[1] the present writer favourably reviewed a recent book by Fr. Ermenegildo Lio, O.F.M., "Humanae Vitae e Infallibilita" (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1986), in which the thesis is sustained that the teaching against contraception in Pope Paul VI's encyclical...

DECATUR, Georgia, JULY 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Lorraine Murray went to college with a basic Catholic education, an education it only took a few philosophy classes to undo. Murray, who has a doctorate in philosophy, is the author of “Confessions of an Ex-Feminist," in which she traces her journey from Catholicism to radical feminism, and back. In this interview with ZENIT, Murray, who is a religion columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Georgia Bulletin, comments on the insights she has gained in her journey back to the Catholic faith. Q: You were born and raised in the Catholic faith but...

San Jose, CA., Jul 8, 2008 / 11:57 pm (CNA).- Reaction continues to the decisions of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), which took place between June 21 and June 28. The assembly nullified proscriptions against sexual behavior outside of marriage and called for a vote to delete the church’s constitutional standard requiring fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness. It also initiated a process that could remove mention of the Bible’s prohibition against homosexuality form the Heidelberg Catechism. The moves are seen by some as an attempt to clear a path for the eventual ordination...

Death threats for stealing 'Body of Christ' Student fears personal attacks since swiping wafer from Catholic Mass A student at the University of Central Florida says he's now getting death threats after he stole and later returned a wafer representing the "Body of Christ" from a Catholic Mass in Orlando. The student senator, Webster Cook, originally claimed he merely wanted to show the Eucharist to a friend who had questions about Catholicism before consuming the host. Cook, who was raised Catholic, said he decided to bring the wafer home June 29 after a church leader tried to physically pry it...

Well, It's official. Jack Kevorkian, Dr. Death, is on the ballot in Michigan in his run for the U.S. Congress. [Det. news] Jack Kevorkian -- nicknamed "Dr. Death" for the high-profile assisted suicides he performed -- gathered enough valid signatures to be on the November ballot and try to unseat veteran Rep. Joe Knollenberg, the chief of elections for Oakland County said Monday. "He has enough qualifying petition signatures," said Joe Rozell, director of elections for Oakland County. "They are valid." Now we realize that Dr. Death's campaign is an uphill battle. Therefore, we once again make our offer...

Surveys show a growing number of Roman Catholics say they are going to vote for pro-killing-womb-infants B. Hussein Obama. Yet the official Catholic position is definitely pro-life. In addition, John McCain states he is pro-life. Then why are Catholics going against the moral stance of their church? The answer of course is individualized and confusing. Yet no matter the answer, Christ weeps for the children slain. Thousands upon thousands of little ones are discarded from females’ bodies. This is the Old Testament pagan idol Moloch set up throughout the world. Moloch was where mothers brought their offspring, placing them on...

Today is a little different. I am not writing something specifically for the PROLIFE, but it is a request going out to everyone. The effects of this praying will touch the country, the prolife issues, the troops, everything that our country stands for. Please consider what is written below. It was sent to me by a dear friend, and I agree with the power it will have. This is the scariest election we as Christians have ever faced, and from the looks of the polls,the Christians aren't voting Christian values. We all need to be on our knees. Do you...

Jeremiah Wright boasts on reciting Black Liberation Theology authors. He did so repeatedly when trying to nail Sean Hannity, co-host of "Hannity & Colmes". He’d say to Hannity, "How many Black Liberation Theology authors have you read? How many of their books can you name? You don’t know anything about theology." On and on he went. What Wright did not know is that Hannity does know his theology, having graduated from St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary. It’s just not the lowbrow excuse for theology known as "Black Liberation Theology." This mix-and-match of revolutionary schemes by which to create racist wars...

A man of the cloth and his family got the shock of their lives Monday morning after finding a four-month-old fetus hidden in a basket of fruits.Monsignor Gerry Santos had just celebrated Mass at the Quiapo Church in Manila around 9 a.m. when he received a basket of fruits from an unknown donor."After the mass, pinauwi sa akin ng mother butler. I brought the fruits to my parents' home because it was our regular lunch and my parents' house helper showed it to me. It was inside a bottle of Cheez Wiz. Maybe it's four months old," Santos said in...

Orange County, FL -- One week after a University of Central Florida student snatched something sacred from church, armed UCF police officers stood guard during Sunday Mass to protect what Catholics call "The Body of Christ."Minutes before the Mass began, Student Senator Webster Cook returned the Holy Eucharist he was holding hostage in a Ziploc bag ever since smuggling the blessed wafer of bread out of the Catholic Mass service Sunday June 29.Carol Brinati with the Diocese of Orlando said the Catholic community was "concerned about the possible desecration of the Eucharist," and pleaded for its safe return.Cook, who was...

Make no mistake, the Anglo-Catholics were done over at the General Synod in York in the debate over women bishops. This being the Church of England, their humiliation was accompanied by lots of hand-wringing, a good deal of guilt and a late attempt to stop the beating entirely, when the Bishop of Durham intervened like a worried boxing referee. The Synod was fraught and emotional But it was bloody just the same. After nearly eight hours, all that the Catholic Conscience had to show for its pains was a motion that now indicates that it is the wish of a...

Her skin was flawless, her manner graceful, her laugh infectious। Further, she came from an upper-middle class Christian home। She had attended a Christian college। Her boyfriend went to her church. When she sat with my wife and me, however, her glance was anxious। And her hands twisted one another. Her shoulders bent under troubling weight. How else does one look after having had an abortion? "We sat in the clinic," she said, "and we saw others from my college।" She and her boyfriend had huddled together in the outer room of the abortion trade. There had been none of...

When a pastor says something in a sermon that you do not like, goes the old joke, he has “gone from preaching to meddling.” He has stopped telling pleasant and comforting stories (or enjoyably convicting stories about the sins you don’t commit) and started interfering with your life. Many traditional Christians and cultural conservatives love what the family scholar Allan Carlson has called “the Natural Family” as a theory, because Americans love anything “natural.” It seems more direct, more genuine, more authentic, untainted by commerce and calculation. And it has its political uses: They love to appeal to Nature to...