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Shofar Christian cult mobilizes in the Western Cape

05/15/07

Shofar Christian cult mobilizes in the Western Cape

04:31:38 pm, Categories: Life Views, Theory and Theosophical, Views and Reviews, 931 words

Over the last couple of weeks I have heard more and more disturbing information about this strange Christian sect called Shofar . The straw that broke that proverbial camel's back was when a fellow blogger informed me that he had had his website taken down by this cult.

I decided to do a little more investigation and what I have found out scares the heck outta me. This cult activly goes around to pubs and clubs, harassing and recruiting vulnerable lonely youth for sect.

The more I learnt about this cult sect, the more I was reminded of Scientology. People in this cult are "not allowed" to date people outside of their cult. Reminds you of Scientologist's "disconnects" does it not? However Shofar take it to a new level. Not only are you not allowed to date someone outside of this cult, but you have to date someone on the same "level" as you (apparently you get levels 1-7). Simple things like holding hands is also considered taboo.

This cult actively talks about "harvesting souls" for the "Lord of the Harvest". When reading their site I had to keep reminding myself that I was not reading up on ancient Celtic pagan sect, but rather a 'supposed' "Christian Church" in South Africa.

A bit more research revealed the following comments from people in the area who have had the misfortune on been on the receiving end of their brainwashing techniques.

"I'm one of those unfortunate people who have been prayed for by Shopharites in a pub. I would probably have moered those okes if I wasn't so stunned by their blatant lack of respect!", Jakes Lombard

"There was an incident on campus this week where a guest lecturer (lecturing on evolution) was intimidated by a few members of the Shofar group. After the lecture, they asked him whether he was an atheïst? After replying yes to this question, they spat at his feet and left. I find this degrading and feel that it is extremist!" Student at Stellenbosch University.

That second quote scared me even more! Here was a evangelical group, actively promoting religious myth over real life science! I don't know about you, but I sure think that South Africa has had enough backwards ideologies, and this is not helping the future prospects of our students on any level.

The fact that these people actually go after recognised and accepted scientific theory (that actually has sweet nothing to do with religion) should identify to you the problems this cult faces to us.

Lets make a quick list of the negative impacts the Shofar cult has had so far:

1) Negative impact on the person's social abilities. I have had numerous emails from people telling me how they got 'disconnected' from their friend's, how almost ever aspect of their social lives is controlled by the Church, and other techniques which appear to follow normal sect brainwashing patterns.

2) Shofar are against freedom of speech. Yup they so are. Not only are their recruitment methods very similar to Scientology and other cults, but they also attack our constitutional right to free speech like the Scientologist's. As noted earlier on, a fellow blogger of mine had his site taken offline by this cult, with threats from their lawyers. I asked my blogger associate on what grounds they wish to sue him on, his reply was, "defamation of company".

Shofar cultists... are you a church or a company? Make up your minds please. PS, Please ask your lawyers to email legal@pickledbushman.com. My advocates are standing by.

3) Shofar will 'harass' you in public places where you should be enjoying yourself such as pubs and clubs. Perhaps we should all go to their "Church" and get pissed? Fairs fair right? Since the damaging days of the Dark Age, mankind in enlightened cultures has tried to seperate religion from as many aspects of public life as possible. We learnt in the Dark Ages what happens when religious cults take power. Let us hope we do not allow them back into our public spaces.

4) Shofar seems to have a negative effect on a real education, such as their hostility towards scientific theory such as the theory of evolution. Imagine a world where all your biologists, and all those doctors where creationists... Imagine how much worse of our health and education systems would be due to religious bigotry...

A cult sect as militarized as this one needs to be investigated as quickly and thoroughly as possible to find out what harm it might be doing to local Western Cape community. I am instantly suspicious of people who offer prayer in return for cash or pretend to know what God wants. For those of you who are not worried yet, I advise you go see the documentary "Jesus Camp" http://jesuscampthemovie.com

I would like to find out more about this cultist sect known as "Shofar Christian Church", and if you have been harassed or have any information about this sect please email me at pb@pickledbushman.com . I did try contact Shofar for comment, but a lot of the links on their site are broken (including the contact link). If you think any of the above information is incorrect, please contact me on the email address mentioned earlier.

I will be writing more about this sect and others as I get more information. For more information please see:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2381216748
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=456264

EDIT

Shofar Christian Campus Cult Part 2: http://www.pickledbushman.com/index.php/2007/05/29/shofar_campus_christian_cult_part_2

49 comments

Comments:

Comment from: Carl Kirstein [Visitor]

Goodness gracious! Which sources did you
use in your "investigation" of this church?

I am afraid you should perhaps go and check
the church out for yourself, instead of
lending out your ears to such unconfirmed
nonsense.

I am sure you would probably only hear
what you want to hear, but at least check
out FACTS before broadcasting... you will
end up looking very foolish at the rate you
are going now.

05/18/07 @ 07:17

Comment from: pb [Member]

Strangely enough Mr Cult dude. The Sunday Times agrees with me :)

05/18/07 @ 09:53

Comment from: Hugo [Visitor]

Nice post...

I will be doing some serious blogging about these churches as soon as my thesis is finished. That's a couple of months still, unfortunately.

05/19/07 @ 18:26

Comment from: Tidez [Visitor]

It seems many people think they know what God wants. I believe theres a lot to be learned from ones own feelings on the subject - to find out more, read Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch or see www.cwg.org

05/21/07 @ 21:36

Comment from: Hugo [Visitor]

Only checked out the Sunday Times link later though. Wow, grouping SG with His People and Shofar... that's odd. And they misplaced His People and Shofar as well. I dislike this article.

05/22/07 @ 14:23

Comment from: danie le roux [Visitor]

Do read more about the shofar and every nation cults on:
http://prometheusongebonde.wordpress.com/2007/02/23/when-ignorance-is-called-god/

It seems that they are really messing up the lives of students on campus.

06/01/07 @ 11:25

Comment from: sandy [Visitor]

People all across the world are leaving
Every nation due to hurts.
The leaders seem to be the problem.
Why is Steve Murrel the Senior pastor of
2 churches.How does he handle
Victory Church and Every nation?
Doesn't he have one vision,why 2 churches.
It seems that these people are just all about name changes when things go wrong.
They should deal with their problems,
changing a name doesn't make the problems
go away. The sin didn't change when
His People became EN.

http://www.stevemurrell.com/about

06/04/07 @ 10:37

Comment from: Esterhuyse family [Visitor]

We have been members of church for the past 5 years until we moved to Sydney Aus. The church greatly impacted our lives for the good. Your levels theory is truly rubbish (we actually had a good laugh about it!) The church is not aimed at hurting people but actually they pick up broken lives and restore past wounds by God's healing power. They are actively envolved in Kayamandi and donates a lot of money to good causes. Please visit the church yourself!

06/24/07 @ 02:48

Comment from: pb [Member]

I may in the future and I dont care if they are doing good. They are doing bad as well. Regarding the "levels" that information comes directly from someone who experienced that situation. Perhaps has a family... you see things differently.

06/24/07 @ 10:35

Comment from: Quintin [Visitor]

I am a 31 year old intelligent level headed man. I have been a member of Shophar for the past ten years. The only comment that I can make about your 'findings' on shofar is that none of it is true. Not even a shade of true. I am a regular guy with lots of regular friends in the church. On a hot summersday braaivleis en bier is my thing. The church has never made any prescription as to how I should lead my life in order to qaulify as a shofar member. The church leaders are all stand up good people that love and obey Jesus. That is really all there is to it. I have had ten years to check it out.

Ps. From your writings it is abundantly clear that you in fact have a problem with Christianity and any true manifestation of it. You also seem like an intelligent man and I am doubtfull whether you belief any of these assertions against Shofar or that you care wether they are true or not.
Perhaps you should engage your intellect,take a step back and see what it is you want to accomplish and be honoust about it. At least to yourself.

08/27/07 @ 12:29

Comment from: pb [Member]

Hi Quintin,

Thanks for responding. First off as to the accuracy of my claims. The claims made about the owners of Shofar and their underhanded ways unfortunately come from a lot of eye witnesses, and eye witnesses whom I trust very deeply. Might I suggest you read the book, "Acid Alex" to get more perception on why I believe these people.

Before I go onto your assumption that I have a problem with Christianity lets rather first have a look at a problem why I dislike Shofar (you see.. Shofar and Christianity are not the same thing, though one could say Shofar is a derivative of Christianity). Three things I despise... lies, bigotry and hypocrisy. Lets go through the list quickly, and see how much I can identify my dislikes with Shofar:

Lies - Shofar constantly lie about the theory of evolution. I know a REAL lot about this topic and spent hundreds of hours researching and debating it. There is more evidence to support the theory of evolution than there is for either gravity or the germ theory of disease. It is a sound and valid theory that can be tested and proven to a reasonable man.

Now since Shofar (most likely out of their own ignorance) thinks that it deals with the origin of life, they believe it is competition to a literal interpretation of one of the two creationist stories in Genesis. Since evolution does not deal with the origin of life, you can understand how stupid this must look to a thinking man from the outside. The other problem Shofar people have with evolution is the time scale. Life has being around for approx. 4 billion years. These nuts think the world is just over 6000 years old. So therefore all associated sciences (geology, evolution, astronomy) are lies, which clearly they are not.

When debating with people from Shofar, I have noticed they hide behind Jesus while shouting their lies out from the pulpit. I have major problems with information dishonesty, and if I say something, its normally fact checked (would you like to meet some of the people who have had a different life experience with Shofar than with you?). Learn exactly what evolution is, so that you can tell the truth about it, and not spread right wing religious sponsored lies about it. I am more than happy to publicly debate this issues with ANYONE... to clear up any possible misconceptions one may have about evolution.

Now onto bigotry. Bigotry is when you go.. "my gender/race/religion/sexuality/etc is better than yours, and yours is wrong therefore I am going judge you based on my own beliefs". The particular form of bigotry (there is a lot) that I want to cover here is sexual discrimination against homosexual people. People with homosexual insecurities LOVE quoting Leviticus to echo their own bigotry. In their little minds it makes perfect sense to make God a bigot and instill onto God their own insecurities. God a bigot? bwhahahahahaha. Clearly we have different levels of excellence for what is required from a powerful being such as God. Bigotry and discrimination are two actions I find impossible to apply to a God, because such a God in my mind would not be worth my time of day to worship. Such a God is too human.

The bigotry leads straight onto the hypocrisy, because being gay is not even a big thing in the Bible.. its a rule.. yes, but only mentioned twice, other "sins", such as greed and gluttony are covered a hang of a lot more... but you wont see the televangelist bringing those up too often. Everyone loves to be greedy and a glutton, more specifically those who give the church a lot of money so the pastor can get his new car. Leviticus also has a lot of other rules, such as not wearing two types of cloth, or beating your kids to death if they are disrespectful, but its so much easier to beat up on the homosexuals and just obey the bits you want to out of Leviticus isn't it? HYPOCRITES!!!! You do remember what Jesus said about hypocrites right?

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.'

"You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated.' You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell? (Extracted from Matthew 23)

Just like everyone else, you cherry pick the bits of the Bible that you want to believe, and ignore the bits that you don't. Hypocrite.

Now moving onto your generalization that I have an issue with Christianity. Wow.. what a blanket statement. Just so you know, I have no problems with Christianity. I may have problems with certain books in the Bible which (since I know what I am talking about) I don't believe should be in the Bible. It was only around 400 years after the death of Jesus that the Bible became more important to Christians than the actual message of Jesus. Jesus certainly did not use, or endorse a Bible, and you will clearly remember Jesus saying that the way to God is through Jesus.. and not "through Jesus and some politically motivated book about God and Jesus"

My brother is training to be a pastor, and man... he makes me so bloody proud. He actually puts actions behind his belief. He has just come back from Mozambique where he was digging toilet holes for the very poor. He was OUT THERE practicing his beliefs. Do you often go out there with the poor? Do you work your ass off trying to help those less fortunate than you have a more comfortable a life? Or do you just go to Church, give some money and think you are a Christian? If you do, refer to my previous statement from Mathew.

It is clear I am not the one with honesty issues, and if you took the time out to stop lying to yourself, perhaps you would see it as well. Now if you really want to challenge my intellect.. use yours... don't make such stupid generalizations like "it is abundantly clear that you in fact have a problem with Christianity and any true manifestation of it." Without A) defining Christianity, and B), defining "true manifestations" of it. You debate from a generalistic point using passive aggressive means that are only too common with people like you.

You don't refute a single thing I say, you simply say its "all wrong". Since my information comes from many many sources.. and well.. you are just one person who clearly missed the boat, I am going to have to stick to my sources until you can be more specific so I can make an EDUCATED decision based on reason and logic.

Since I cant debate for those who have told me their experiences I have to debate on 3 points I am sure about: 1) Information dishonesty and evolution, 2) bigotry and 3) hypocrisy. Now the ball is in your court to show me where I got it wrong with those 3 points.

08/28/07 @ 12:13

Comment from: Ben [Visitor]

I am from Shofar

These "levels" are called foundations. They don't give you any status in the church, they are optional courses you can go on to sort out things in your life, like any psycological course, just Bible based.

Enjoy your ranting and raving, but get your facts straight please.

Quote "Strangely enough Mr Cult dude. The Sunday Times agrees with me :)"
Is that something to be proud of? lol

10/23/07 @ 12:22

Comment from: pb [Member]

Emailed in privately:

To whom it may concern,

I read your article about Shofar and I would like to inform you of even more bizarre stuff that have been happening here at the University of Stellenbosch. They are absolutely everywhere! They have 'church' in the lecture rooms in the buildings that the students use to study in. And even more disturbing...

My one friend was in a High school here in Stellenbosch. His little brother is currently in the same High school. About two years ago his little brother lost his hand while playing with fireworks. My friend joined Shofar last year. What I heard is that first they ask you to come with your parents. Your parents then pay them for some reason. Then, when you 'don't' need' your parents anymore, you are not allowed to bring your parents to 'church' anymore, because you can think for yourself now (after your parents paid them). What a priest or someone at Shofar actually told my friend is that, if his parents pay a huge amount of money (I think it was R5000), God will let his brothers' hand grow back. And the best part is he actually believed it will work, that is how much he was brainwashed. Needless to say, I'm not friends with him anymor

10/23/07 @ 13:06

Comment from: Izak Burger [Visitor]

1) You have your facts wrong about this church. I am not myself involved with Shofar, but I know some of it's members. I find that they take the Bible more literal than is healthy but no more than that.

2) I can see where your negative experience might come from. Let me give you an example. In South Africa there is a group called the "Pro Afrikaanse Aksie groep (praag)" whose official position seems above board (it is actually quite similar to many black and/or women's movements out there). Unfortunately a great number of supporters of the "Israel Vision" (which IS a cult, and a very dangerous one at that) have joined this organisation, leaving the impression that it is one and the same thing. It is not. In similar fashion I think some dangerous people feel "at home" at shopfar, leaving a similar impression.

10/30/07 @ 23:51

Comment from: fred [Visitor]

Hey guys.
You all seem pretty fucked in the head.
Why don't you get something better to do than these
meaningless arguments, which probably will never end.
Pb, leave shofar alone. And shofar, leave the non-believers alone. Let each other be what they want, and stop
acting like children fighting over opinionated bullshit.
Go outside and do something useful like playing golf
and enjoy this short life.

11/12/07 @ 18:15

Comment from: pb [Member]

Wow, you Shofar people truly are a vicious lot. I notice a lot of the posts come from Stellies. Let me guess... not a single one of you have theory and studies in any biological fields?

11/13/07 @ 08:27

Comment from: fred [Visitor]

Pb, I am an atheist. But after all these stories
about Shofar, I decided to pay the church a visit.
What I realised is that ideologically this church
went totally against what I believed, but what
they are doing is great and they aren't harming
anyone.
Now, you started this argument, and after
a few people have been friendly enough
to post their thoughts, you claim
that you are the only one with academic/
biological background.

I don't think that's fair.
Why don't you pay this church a visit, then
you come and leave your thoughts.

11/13/07 @ 16:07

Comment from: pb [Member]

Sorry, if I dont believe you Fred, people from Shofar have a terrible habit of lying to themselves and others. And that comment is spoken from the heart.

11/14/07 @ 07:37

Comment from: Jack [Visitor]

I have been in shofar the last two years and have not experienced it as a brainwashing cult. The head-pastor, Fred May, is a very kind man. At a time when I was still just visiting the church, he agreed to see me after I had heard him touch on a problem I had in a sermon of his. He went out of his way to accomodate me and saw me several times. His commitment to help me was ultimately life-changing. All this was done without any "fees" being charged and with me not even being a member of the church! Needless to say, I joined not long thereafter and am still enjoying everything it has to offer. Shofar is not a dangerous cult but a place where the love and power of God is manifested.

01/13/08 @ 11:48

Comment from: pb [Member]

I see the Stellies Cult Group are in full operation. I wish these people would stop spending so much time creating the biggest fan club for Jesus, and rather out there, in the harsh reality of our country... helping people.. kinda like Jesus would want and do.

And by help I dont mean gay love bomb preaching. I mean digging toilets and feeding poor people.

01/14/08 @ 06:36

Comment from: Anne [Visitor]

How dare you jugde the church, get your facts straight. They have helped me in so many ways without asking any money. The churched helped me, a perfect stranger, to restore my life after my friends and people like you destroyed me. You dont know what you are talking about, get a life!

01/24/08 @ 19:42

Comment from: Vivian [Visitor]

My My MY

All I can say is that you really dont know what you are talking about pb I wonder if your sources are really as reliable as you think because I know for sure that what your saying is not true I am a member of Shofar in Pretoria and this church has changed mt life by giving me the the tools I need to better serve God and guess what its all right there in the Bible according to the word spoken by Christ. You said that your brother is studying to become a pastor in that case is he not part of the faith that Shofar and the people in Shofar is part of. Somewhere along the line someone hurt you be it from Shofar or some other church and now all youy can do is bash a church THAT PREACHES NOTHING BUT THE WORD OF GOD straght from the Bible so why dont you just visit Shofar and go there without your judgemental spirit and see for yourself that that church wakls with Christ in everything they do and that includes me here in Pretoria. May God bless you and I will pray for you from now on. Good day.

02/27/08 @ 09:19

Comment from: pa [Visitor]

Jesus loves you!!!!!!!!!!!!

03/03/08 @ 15:04

Comment from: ghosty [Visitor]

I think it's about time carte blanche airs this growing cult situation.. Why don't you boys use your contacts and get the story going!!!
SA needs to know!~

04/27/08 @ 18:39

Comment from: Carla [Visitor]

"Religion as the Earth human knows and pursues it, in the form of the adoration of a god, adoration of saints, and as faith in a god, is a horror to the Pleiadians. They consider this form of religion a blind faith based on cult activities, false teachings, lies, and other falsehoods. It is faith that can never be proven as true, and one which contradicts all the truthful and logical foundations of the Creative laws and commandments, and also defies intelligence. Religion embodies a deprivation of the spiritual freedom of the human being. Religion is also a brutal, criminal and exploitative enslavement of the human consciousness, reaching from total dependence, serfdom, and a lack of willpower al the way to uncontrolled fanaticism, mental illness, demonic obsession and utter idiocy."
http://us.figu.org/portal/BillyMeier/InterviewwithBilly1988/tabid/62/Default.aspx

06/21/08 @ 21:43

Comment from: G [Visitor]

Hi

I've been attending shofar church in Hatfield for the past few weeks, and though they are quite extreme in certain ways, I haven't found them to be a cult - yet. Though, I must say, I do not always feel safe and would like more information and prefferably to speak to someone with personal experience in the church. I believe in God and Jesus Christ as my Saviour, but I also do have a lot of knowledge on Evolution and the Bible and do not agree with all statements made by Shofar and it's followers. Jesus preached quietly, with worship and praise, under tree's and any other spaces he could find. He preached to those in need without asking for anything in return. He preached to help, not to be helped. And he certainly didn't preach for us to give more in order to recieve more. I am not convinced that the Shofar I am attending is a cult, but I am weary and will keep my eyes open.

Thank you very much for opening your mouth and starting a debate - only through well knowledged debate can the truth surface!;-)

08/06/08 @ 09:43

Comment from: Lisa Eksteen [Visitor]

A family friend of mine is in that church. They were sent on a beautiful exotic trip to India, to go and covert the Hindu peoples from their 'idol worshipping' at the ganges....

09/01/08 @ 17:10

Comment from: marida [Visitor]

shofar is awesome!! and so is Jesus!!! Yayaya

10/17/08 @ 13:06

Comment from: P [Visitor]

Interesting debates - Shofar is overrated and in most instances undermine good education. Above all it indoctrinates (especially through its "god-fearing-talks") young people to such extend that their emotions begin to affect their physical behaviour. I have huge problems when religion is used so careless! From a Lecturer in Multireligion @ US

11/06/08 @ 14:01

Comment from: fran [Visitor]

dude, you should seriously try an attend one of these services, learn about the foundations, their teachings, and hear about the missions they go on!
The problem is deception... and they are definitaly not the ones who are being lied to.

01/25/09 @ 11:23

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

I believe that a fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. Many scientific people are also Christians. Francis Bacon springs to mind, as well as George Washington Carver. Look them up on wikipedia. I embrace the creation account and stand baffled as to what God has made, I do believe evolution as the world knows it is a myth seeing as the advanced processes in cells require too much fine tuning that not even time would allow. Try and get hold of a book called Darwin's Black Box, by Michael Behe. He sets out a great argument in favour of intelligent design versus evolution.

02/20/09 @ 17:56

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

On another note, get a copy of the Bible and actually study it. Embrace the doctrines. I'm in a baptist church, feel free to get a copy of the Baptist confession of faith. If you want to see if someone is truly a Christian, ask him if Jesus Christ is the Son of God who walked the earth in the flesh. It only requires a yes or no answer. I answer in the affirmitive. Worship is meant for God alone, with Christ as the only mediator between God and man. Worship of angels, individuals, saints or the virgin Mary is evil and idolatorous. So watch out for personality cults. I don't know much about Shofar, but I am doing my research. Watch out also for people who love to give themselves titles and love the praise of men, true Christians should never seek their own glory.

02/20/09 @ 18:10

Comment from: DB [Visitor]

Yo

Christianity has a handbook called the Bible. If you are a christian, you believe the Bible. Thats all that Shofar does my friend, as pure as possible and with as much love as possible. Go speak to any one in the church or any leader in the church, your claims are rediculious and if you despise lying so much, you should check your facts. 7 levels...? Its all about love and obiedience to Gods word my friend.

05/11/09 @ 05:38

Comment from: pb [Member]

Rubbish.

And for the record.. most of the "positive" comments come from indoctrinated Stellies youth posting under false identities.

There nothing honest about your form of Christianity. You are creationists for God sakes. That makes you INSTANT liars. Sick buggers.

05/12/09 @ 01:22

Comment from: Nailed him [Visitor]

Hey freaks, the jesus dude died. Killed by the Romans. The Roman empire was destroyed by savages, but the Almighty God couldn't even protect his own son from them. Oh, wait. It was his will! Gah, what rubbish, grow up!

05/16/09 @ 10:54

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

Another "man of science" who was a devout Christian was Isaac Newton. He gave full credit to God as the Creator of all we observe. Science doesn't undermine God and God doesn't undermine science. The two complement each other perfectly. Science merely seeks to explain the way God's creation operates. Each year we know more and more, only proving how little we knew before.

05/30/09 @ 16:15

Comment from: pb [Member]

The above comment (in my humble opinion), is the first smart thing any Christian has said on this site. Yes, since Science is specific in how it does does. Its there to provide explanations for the natural world that we can observe and measure.

Since we can not observe God and we can not measure God, the concept of God (if its real or not), is completely beyond the limitations of Science. Science can not prove nor disprove God. Most Scientists are aware of this.

God does not undermine Science but I can promise you that Gods followers do try subvert science and education to their politically motivated agendas.

You just need to go back to Copernicus and Galileo, or how about when they fought that the atom existed.... or that the earth is flat (they still do this.. theres a Flat Earth society still in existence today.. thats religiously motivated). Today they fight the existence of Gods force of Evolution.

Its not God we need to watch out. Its its stupid followers who only know faith (the complete absence of thinking) that we need to keep an eye on.

05/31/09 @ 01:05

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

Actually, to have faith in something requires you to know what it is about. It isn't merely blindly accepting facts. It is up to us to investigate them for ourselves. If after having made a thorough investigation of the facts and knowing that they are true and we still deny them, we are fools. God makes all things possible through his sustaining power.

It is evident by the fact that we can rationalize and also by our conscience. Despite what Dawkins may have you believe, we are not a collection of memes and random ideas, because there is nothing random about God.

05/31/09 @ 09:07

Comment from: pb [Member]

Hi,

You can word play the word "faith" as much as you want. At the end of the day it is the unquestioning belief in something with limited or no evidence. What type of God glorifies that kind of stupidity? Surely God wants you to grow and improve? To become better people, to be sceptical and ask questions? To never stop asking questions about this infinite multiverse God has presented us with?

My spine chills at the limitations and future possibilities of a God that glorifies faith and blind worship.

A real God does not require faith.

Christians paint a narcissistic (mass murdering.. and Im talking genocide here) God that glorifies the stupidity of faith. What makes it worse, you glorify a God that has a "Revelations". Its nothing more than a death cult worshipping the event of death rather than embracing the miracle of life.

You dont know how many hundreds of Christians I have spoken to that cant wait for the "Rapture" and the "end of days" (every generation says its theirs, hehe).

Give me a God that loves me for me, not because I brown nose him so much. Give me a God that judges me on my actions in life to myself and to those around me rather than hanging my eternity on his other bit called Jesus. Give me a God that loves unconditionally and doesnt commit genocide and infanticide (using the Bible as evidence here).

Give me a just and reasonable God.. something worthy of my worship, something that doesnt have stupid concepts like hell and Satan.

The Christian God is too human, too limited.. to evil for someone like me. I cant embrace it.

As you can see by my response I am not an atheist. For when people ask.. I am currently a Pantheist (though my mind will change should I come across a burning bush that tells me otherwise).

05/31/09 @ 15:19

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

You should also remember that while Christ was compassionate, meek and kind, He also expected people to repent (turn from their sins) and place their trust in Him. He also mentioned the horrors of Hell more than the pleasures of Heaven. He did that out of love also so people could make the right choice, believe and live or refuse and die. To believe in a God that doesn't expect obedience from His creation is idolatrous, because then we are shaping Him to our tastes. We might as well go on as if He doesn't exist. There is a very good author I can recommend, John Blanchard. Get a copy of his book, "Does God believe in Atheists?". It covers a wide range of topics such as "The case against God", Christ's resurrection and even science. Also check out the CRI website www.equip.org. It is headed by Hank Hanegraaff, he is a very good apologist and offers good evidence against the concept of Macro evolution. And that bit about hanging eternity on Jesus? That's our only hope. Our "good works" in God's eyes are like filthy rags, they will never earn us a way into Heaven. The flesh (that's us on our own) profits nothing, the Spirit profits everything, so God get's all the glory not us. Remember, it is only by God's undeserved, unmerited favour that we are saved, not by works, lest any man should boast. That is something we Christians call GRACE or God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Totally free, yet at great cost to Himself.

06/01/09 @ 05:06

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

Hi Pb, I often check out your other pages, quite cool. Like a lot of people you seem to lack insight regarding the Dark Ages. Back then, the Catholic Church started becoming corrupted and many people in those days were illiterate. Corrupted church leaders started acting like Pharisees and made up rules and regulations that kept people in bondage. These regulations were nowhere found in God's Word and when John Wycliffe wanted to translate the Bible into English so the common man can read it for himself, they were outraged. Having a Bible and letting people see for themselves what God's word says regarding issues of life was a threat for them. We had Dark Ages, because God's truth was supressed and it's going on even now, because we as sinful human beings would much rather have it our way than God's way.

In no way do I think I am better than anyone in terms of character. Before I became a Christian, I thought I was a really nice and pleasant guy, but as the years go on, I realize I am not so nice after all and I simply have to thank Christ the Lord for His sacrifice. I'm a work in progress like any other Christian and I fight against my own hypocrisy, vile thoughts and words. I strive to be all I can be in Christ and it gets rather intense.

Other than that, I enjoy a proper exposè on frauds (I hate the freaks on TBN by the way, the prosperity doctrine is from Hell) and you seem to have a desire for the truth. I hope Christ finds you soon, because your talents could be put to great use. I'll be praying for you.

06/30/09 @ 16:59

Comment from: Doug Lees-smith [Visitor]

It seems very clear to me that this sit is very one side and not based on truth or fact. However one can debate for hour yet my experience with this is if a person dose not want to hear they refer to personal attack like "This nuts" and idiots ect. So I like you in your world of deceit and trust in time you will be blessed with the truth.

07/12/09 @ 00:58

Comment from: Monique [Visitor]

Hi

I just want to say, I am from stellenbosch. I've been attending Shofar now for 2 years. I'm in grade 10. Shofar completely changed my life and I'm now actively involved in the Lifelight Youth aswell as the kiddies departement. You can say all you want, bashing the church and all that, but I will never be put off. You go on saying Shofar doesn't go out and help the poor....Rubbish.

They had so many mission team groups going out in the June Holidays I was actualy shocked. I didn't even know they reach out so much! Last year for the first time I decided to join a mission group, aswel as this year...It was really amazing. My heart bled for the little chlidren...missions really makes you appreciate what you have!

I really enjoy the church and they have not pressured me at all...Infact I've done some stupid things that I'm not very proud of, but I wasn't kicked out or anything. They helped me back on track! Yes, there are a few weird people in the church. Well, WAKE-UP! There are always some funky people in any church. Nothing is perfect, Humans aren't perfect!! Only God is perfect. No one has the right to judge anyone, because we all have our weaknesses and own sins to think about. If you think you are completely sin-free and perfect, you are deeply deceived my friend.
I'm not trying to promote Shofar in any way. As long as you are in a church and you experience the true love of Jesus Christ, then stay there.

I really wish people would stop raving about Shofar. If you don't like the church, leave it there then. Find something else to do, but stop wasting your time and other people's time.

07/28/09 @ 14:58

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

Also remember, The Sunday Times is not exactly a respectable newspaper. They have gone the way of Huisgenoot, You, Rapport and The Argus. They may be good at writing articles on issues such as women's abuse and children going wayward, but at the same time they rub our noses in moral filth by advertising stripclubs and holding up dodgy values, all in the name of "freedom of speech". A bit ironic, don't you think?

07/29/09 @ 05:16

Comment from: Mr. X [Visitor]

I completely agree with this article! My father, being a NG - church preacher and whom also has a PhD in study of these kinds of stuff, also agrees with it... Shofar is modern Scientology! Anyone that is in shofar, ask yourself the question, where do I see myself in a few years from now, and think... Shofar is a brainwashing scam. Awe

08/12/09 @ 17:00

Comment from: Sven Swart [Visitor]

"Give me a God that loves me for me, not because I brown nose him so much. Give me a God that judges me on my actions in life to myself and to those around me rather than hanging my eternity on his other bit called Jesus. "

That brown nosing aspect of people's lives is just an attempt to justify themselves in the eyes of a God who is infinitly just and moral, that's why we need Christ as the mediator. If you want to bypass Christ, you are attempting to jump the fence, if you rely on "good deeds", you are trying to bribe God with fake currency. Our only hope is the tight squeeze and narrow gate of Christ's all sufficient sacrifice called mercy and grace. Those who are redeemed are also rconciled, we were enemies, now we are God's dearly beloved children. We will face hardship in this life, but it only makes us hunger more for the world to come. Jesus is coming soon and mockers and scoffers will be present. So if you hear God's voice, do not harden your heart as they did in the rebellion in Moses's day. Listen to Him and submit.

10/19/09 @ 15:54

Comment from: Jack [Visitor]

Shofar is a fucked up cult. My friend is a member. The world would be a much better place without any religion. All religions are crazy. The only "religion" I respect is Buddhism. The only religion that actually seeks and brings peace. All other religions are just about a sense of superiority, judging and fear. The way the Bible describes God, makes God the sickest most insane person ever. But you people can go on worshipping this sick thing that is supposed to be all "good".
Shofarians reading this please rather spend your time making a difference in the world. There are people starving and dying of disease. Think.

01/15/10 @ 15:43

Comment from: St.Clair [Visitor]

Pb.
Remember,no one on this earth is perfect.Maybe one day you will realise that God loves each and every one just the way they are.
you can say what you want about Shofar.They dont have to prove anything to you.
the funny thing is that you have never been to Shofar but you say all these things.your resources are people.like I said,people are peolpe and nobody is perfect.
I can promise you,all these things you say about God - HE STILL LOVES YOU.
God will never push you into believing in Him,but he will always wait for you to come to Him.the choice is in your hands.
If you really seek God,you will find Him and I can Promise you it will be life changing.
You say Shofar brainwash peolpe,first take a look at yourself before judging others.
remember,people are just humen.nobody is perfect.
Shofar is a church who tells people about how Great our God is.
I will pray that you will realise the greatness of our God.

02/09/10 @ 23:05

Comment from: pb [Member]

Email received :

Just an interesting fact on your "Shofar Campus Christian Cult Part 2"

I was at school with the son af Mr May. On the finacial issue.
Hes sons name is stefan.
Anyways.
Stefan got a Cagiva Mito (R40 000) motorcycle for his 16th birthday.
Wonder how many poor people can be fed with R40 000.
His mom (lucille) is driving a mercedes.

Totsiens

02/14/10 @ 09:51

This post has 4 feedbacks awaiting moderation...

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leet software

Kubuntu
Leetest form of linux there is. The primary OS I now use. Kubuntu, Dapper Drake, 6.06 LTS. I really think people should use this as their default OS
Really cool open source game. Warsow
For those of you who dont know, I run Kubuntu OS as my desktop OS. With all the queerness of Microsofts Anti Piracy campaign, I have decided to completely leave the MicroSoft world. Sure, I loose windows media player and some gaming choices. However, you do get awsome games like warsow that are completely open source, and LOADS of fun to play. If you are in South Africa, there is a South African warsow server gracefully hosted by Web Africa. When in the game just type "connect warsow.webfafrica.co.za" And you will connect to the server to be able to jam with the rest of us.

leet sites

Acid Alex written by Al Lovejoy
I consider this a book that every South African should read to get perspective in their lives. Its honesty is most refreshing and Al Lovejoy`s ability to capture in words the essence of a culture and history of a generation of south Africans is amazing. Al Lovejoy has earned a lot of respect from a generation of youth who appretiate the truth. Thank you Al.

Other reviews:

‘Acid Alex is quite simply one of the most shocking autobiographies I have ever read. It is also well-written, addictive, excellent.’

– Sue Blaine, Business Day

‘Heartbreaking! Entertaining! Intelligent!’

– Erns Grundling, SL magazine

‘Nothing I have read has sketched the scorched social landscape of South Africa’s last half-century with such intensity and honesty. Read it.’

– Charles Thesen, Marie Claire

‘There are elements of Hunter S Thompson, Herman Charles Bosman, William Burroughs and William Wharton. But in the end it is an amazing story told in a unique voice. A voice moulded by pain, a voice honed by a government reformatory..., whetted by the SADF, and sharpened by Pretoria Central.

It is the story of a man who went to hell and came back, a morality tale, a Bildungsroman, the narrative of a f*ckup who found redemption, and the anthem of a lost generation.’

– Caspar Greeff, Sunday Times

‘Truly, as Koos Kombuis says, this is “an astonishingly breathless story” … Besides being a great read, Acid Alex is an invaluable record of a type of mania that gripped a certain type of South African in the last quarter of the 20th century. It’s a book that’s going to appeal to many young South Africans who currently have to turn to the United States for their myths of pointless excess, and it’s going to inspire them. Not necessarily in a particularly savoury way.’

– Chris Roper, Mail & Guardian

This book is more than just a suggested read.
British indie band offers their album online for free!
In what has to be a remarkable show of insight into the power of social networking, a British Indie band is offering their album free to download off their website. This is one band, that seems to have googled it. It looks like the older corporate models are failing and hopefully the world will not have to tolerate the insanity that is RIAA much longer.

I love artists with scope.
Calling South African Science Bloggers
South Africa needs science and South Africa needs prominent scientific voices. Unfortunately, like the media in much of the rest of the world, South Africa's media is not nearly welcoming enough to the skeptical and scientific views of the world. Luckily, we have great examples from the United States and elsewhere of how self-publication through blogs can affect public discourse, promoting science and acting as a counterweight to indifference, ignorance, and gullibility. However, unlike our comrades elsewhere, South African science bloggers are unconnected and not organized. I propose to change that...Read More
Its the end of the world as we know it... and I feel fine
Really funny flash video depicting the end of the world as the result of a nucleur fall out.
Learn to speak Safrikan
For those of you who dont know, I am South African. Im a born and bred white native african, and damb proud of it. However, I will often use words that you may not understand, local slag u wont pick up on. Click on this link to learn a little more about South African slang, aka, Safrikan!
MIT release their course work to the world
The entire catalogue of information from 1,800 courses at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be available free online by the end of the year. Once uploaded, it will represent one of the internet’s most important resources.
New Age search engine website
MsDewey.com

I never have never used a search engine this cheeky before :) Its great fun for about 10 minutes.
Seaward Real Estate
Seaward.co.za for South Africa`s best coastal real estate.
Snake bursts after gobbling gator
In what has to be classed as bizare, a clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps.
Stats to shame you. Causes of Poverty
I came across this site by Anup Shah that has a detailed look into the causes of poverty. I found some of the statistics he shows to be very embarrassing and a shameful reflection on humanity today.

* Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.

* The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined.

* Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

* Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.

* 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).

More facts and stats

Anup Shah shows us the institutions, policies and people behind many of today's causes of poverty.

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty.asp
Suicide Bunnys!
Haha, these poor lil bunnies. A bunch of pictures of bunnies trying to come up with imaginitive ways to kill themselves.
The Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science is a nonprofit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. A most excellent link for those of you wanting access to some amazing science.
Travian forum signature generator
A really nice Travian signature generator
World of meters
Ever wondered how many babies are being pushed out every day, or how many people are dying every minute? Well this is the place for you then! This meter currently records those tpes of things, and with a population of 6.5 billion, there are lots of interesting stats for you to check out.