text:
Q & A: The Saudi Influence on Fox
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 6:34 AM
From RadicalIslam.org:
In the following interview, RadicalIslam.org National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro speaks to Diana West, a nationally syndicated conservative American columnist and author, about the impact of the partial ownership of Fox news by Saudi Prince Alwaleed.
Ryan Mauro: You have devoted a lot of your time towards covering Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Can you tell us about him and why he warrants this attention?
Diana West: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is usually described as a billionaire Saudi businessman, but he is also a senior member of the Saudi monarchy. He is the nephew of the Saudi dictator, King Abdullah, and the first cousin of the Saudi interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. He is also the largest stakeholder in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. outside the Murdoch family.
We may not realize it, but most of us first heard about Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in the immediate aftermath 9/11. That was when a "Saudi prince" -- it was Alwaleed -- became infamous for having donated $10 million to the Twin Towers Fund only to have then-mayor Rudy Giuliani return the check.
Why did Giuliani return the check? It became clear the prince wasn't making a donation but rather a political statement. After presenting the money, the prince issued a press release blaming the 9/11 attacks on American support for Israel -- while, as Alwaleed's statement read, "our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of the Israelis."
As the San Francisco Chronicle reported at the time, Giuliani hadn't seen see this press release when he initially accepted the Saudi check among others from government and private industry leaders. In a separate letter Guliani did read, Alwaleed had expressed only condolences for "the loss of life that the city of New York has suffered," while condemning "all forms of terrorism." The Saudi prince wrote: "In doing so I am reiterating Saudi Arabia's strong stance against these tragic and horrendous acts."
That was fine. It was the press release attached to the letter that was not fine. This statement, also in Alwaleed's name, sought to blame U.S. policy on "the Palestinian cause" for the attack. It said:
"However, at times like this one, we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.
"Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek."
The Chronicle report continued:
The mayor, who had been told of the press release just moments before his daily briefing but after receiving the check, was visibly annoyed. "I entirely reject that statement," he said. "That's totally contrary to what I said at the United Nations," he added, referring to his address there last Monday.
"There is no moral equivalent for this act," the mayor said. "There is no justification for it. The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification for it when they slaughtered 4,000 or 5,000 innocent people. And to suggest that there's a justification for it only invites this happening in the future. It is highly irresponsible and very, very dangerous."
The mayor added that he might consult with the State Department before deciding what to do with the check; an hour later, his press office released a statement attributed to the mayor that the check would not be accepted.
A spokesman for the prince, Amjed Shacker, who was reached on his cell phone as he prepared to board a plane for Saudi Arabia, said he knew of no such rejection and indeed seemed perplexed to learn of it.
Giuliani's very public rebuff was very popular, including among star personalities at Fox News. At the time, it is important to note, Alwaleed did not own any voting stock in News Corp. Here's what some of them said (I hate to cite Media Matters but so be it):
Sean Hannity: Al-Waleed's statement was "such an egregious, outrageous, unfair offense that I would have nothing to do with his money either." On the October 22, 2001, edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes (accessed via Nexis), Sean Hannity said, "[T]his is a man that blames the United States and their policies for the attack that took place on September 11th. That is such an egregious, outrageous, unfair offense that I would have nothing to do with his money either, and I applaud what Mayor Giuliani did. It showed a lot of guts and character."
Hannity: "This is a bad guy. Rudy was right to decline the money." On the December 13, 2005, edition of Hannity & Colmes (accessed via Nexis), while discussing a grant Al-Waleed gave Georgetown and Harvard universities, Hannity said: "This is a bad guy. Rudy was right to decline the money. Why would these universities take money from him?"
Mara Liasson: "[I]t was an outrageous statement and the mayor did the right thing and refused the money." Discussing Giuliani's decision to return the money on the October 11, 2001, edition of Fox News' Special Report (accessed via Nexis), Fox News contributor Mara Liasson said Al-Waleed's statement was "completely false," "outrageous" and that "the mayor did the right thing and refused the money."
Bill Sammon: "[I]t's blood money, and we're better off without it." During the same discussion with Liasson, Fox News Washington managing editor Bill Sammon said of the money, "[W]hen you think about it, upon reflection, you think, you know, this guy is essentially trying to buy legitimacy for his extreme views, which is, you know, that the American policy towards Israel is to blame for this attack on the World Trade Center, which, of course, is outrageous, as Mara says." He continued: "And so I think it was the right thing to turn it down --especially when you think about $10 million, in this grand scheme of $800 million. I mean, that's less than 2 percent of that. And when you look at the generosity of the American people, you know, that $10 million could be made up by people who are outraged by this very story. So I don't think -- I think it's blood money and we're better off without it."
Following Giuliani's rebuff, Alwaleed opened his purse in 2002 to the families of killers instead, donating a whopping $27 million to a Saudi telethon raising money for the Committee for the Support of the al-Quds Intifada, a Saudi "charity" chaired by the then-Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia (now Crown Prince Nayef, another uncle of Alwaleed's). He gave $500,000 that same year to CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas-linked group.
Also in 2002, however, Alwaleed seems to have had something of an epiphany. From the Arab News (which Alwaleed also owns):
Arab countries can influence U.S. decison-making "if they unite through economic interests, not political," [Alwaleed] stressed. "We have to be logical and understand that the U.S. administration is subject to U.S. public opinion. We are not so active in this sphere [public opinion]. And to bring the decision-maker on your side, you not only have to be active inside the U.S. Congress or the administration but also inside U.S. society."
Soon, the Saudi billionaire was spending his money quite differently -- no more Palestinian grandstanding, no more Saudi telethons, no more CAIR. In 2005, Alwaleed purchased a 5.5 percent stake of voting stock in the Murdoch-owned News Corp (he now owns 7 percent). He also spent $40 million to enlarge Islamic studies on leading American campuses, donating $20 million to Harvard to create a university-wide Islamic studies program, which also boosted Islamic law (sharia) studies on campus, and $20 million to Georgetown to set up the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding under Islamic apologist John Esposito.
The News Corp. investment began paying off right away. Also in 2005, with Muslims rioting in Paris in the worst street violence since 1968, Alwaleed telephoned Rupert Murdoch, as Alwaleed himself told an audience in Dubai, and said "these are not Muslim riots, they are riots." Presto, the Fox News crawl about "Muslim riots in Paris" across the bottom of the screen changed to "civil riots."
Alwaleed has not made further public statements about news coverage he has shaped, but how could this not have been just the beginning? Is this ownership-influence cause for alarm among Americans -- and particularly conservative Americans -- seeking "fair and balanced" news and opinion from Fox News and other Murdoch properties? I maintain that it is.
Ryan Mauro: Alwaleed is known as more of a reformer than a Wahhabist because he believes Saudi women should be permitted to drive, for example. Is he necessarily an Islamist or is it possible he's just a powerful man who believes U.S. support for Israel is the root cause of terrorism?
Diana West: Regardless of how sincere Alwaleed may or may not be regarding women and driving, I don't think we should count advocacy of driving as a badge of reform. Alwaleed's call for the right to drive for women in Saudi Arabia is but window dressing if, for example, he is also silent regarding the right to speak one's mind, which is also denied due to the totalitarian nature of Saudi-Islamic culture.
A primary problem with Islam is its totalitarian control of speech and conscience. One could easily advocate women's right to drive and still sit by quietly as "apostates" are threatened with death under Islamic law -- as indeed Alwaleed does. Two cases came to light recently in which Saudi men expressed (mild) criticism of Islam (one of them via Twitter, which Alwaleed partly owns). They were both arrested; one was specifically pursued on order from King Abdullah, Alwaleed's uncle, and the other by the interior minister, Mohammed bin Nayef, who is Alwleed's first cousin. Has Alwaleed banged the drum over such outrages? Of course not. Neither, I would add, has Fox News. Its one report about the former, a man named Hamza Kashgari, was delivered by Brett Baier. It could have been written by a Saudi censor. Note the use of the passive voice that removes all Saudi government volition, as well as the statement's treatment of Mohammed (treatment Jesus and Moses never get):
"Finally, a young Saudi blogger has been sent back to his homeland to face trial and possible execution triggered by comments he made on Twitter that were seen as blasphemous against the Prophet Mohammed. Hamza Kashgari has apologized for sending three tweets of a fictional conversation with the prophet Mohammed that quickly sparked thousands of angry responses and even death threats. No official reaction from the Saudi government."
Another example: The Daily Mail (not a Murdoch property) recently reported that there are "scores" of foreign women (maids from Third World countries) on death row in Saudi Arabia for convictions of witchcraft, child abuse and killing would-be rapists. I don't see Alwaleed interceding on their behalf -- even after the president of Indonesia asked him to intercede for one Indonesian maid who killed her employer while he was attempting to rape her. That request came over one year ago and she's still on death row. Alwaleed may have made efforts on her behalf privately; we don't know, but he has not, to my knowledge, done anything publicly to call attention to this or other such cases. No one as powerful as Alwaleed who remains silent in the face of what we should think of as the Saudi gulag is anything but an ally of it -- which in my view means he doesn't rise to esteemed level of a reformer.
As for your second question (aside from the fact I don't use the term "Islamist" for reasons we could go into if you like), it's not my intent to rule out one or the other, but rather to consider Alwaleed's potential influence on American conservative media, and the ramifications this has for conditioning the American response to expanding Islam.
Ryan Mauro: Is there any evidence of Alwaleed's influence in the media since 2005? And if his influence is so strong, why does Fox News continue to have people on that are tough on Saudi Arabia, Al-Jazeera and the Muslim Brotherhood, including top foes of CAIR like Zuhdi Jasser?
Diana West: As I will expand upon below, Fox News covers security threats, terrorism, and war. Zuhdi Jasser and others oppose the "extremism" that fuels them all without identifying such "extremism" as the mainstream Islamic doctrine set by Mohammed and the Koran. There's a big difference, which I am happy to discuss if you like another time. Meanwhile, the appearance of one or more such guests is no way compensates for the seemingly strategic and certainly gaping holes in Fox's coverage, also noted below.
Alwaleed has not made news for bragging publicly about his influence over Fox News since that one incident in 2005. As for "evidence" of his influence, I know of no directive, no reported conversation, no "defector" from Fox or News Corp. reporting that Awaleed, or anyone else, has set guidelines for coverage in discussion, let alone in black and white.
But that's not how influence usually works. It is intangible, something no more concrete than a rejected story, something no less natural than the body of stories that develops from such editorial discretion, which, of course, can also includes positive reinforcement. Such stimuli may reflect active owner-influence. They may also reflect a more passive owner-influence as when an employee -- producer, editor, writer, anchor, pundit -- anticipates the boss's desires and writes or reports a certain way. This phenomenon, of course, is by no means unique to Fox, just as it is by no means unique to journalism.
If we examine Fox's body of work I believe the unspoken guidelines for coverage and discussion become quite clear. As noted above, Fox News covers terrorism, war, national security. It does not cover, let alone chronicle, the introduction of sharia -- Islamic law -- into the West. It does not cover the massive ongoing Islamic movement by which the Western world is being rapidly Islamized. It does not cover what the Muslim Brotherhood calls "civilization jihad." It does not cover the disappearance of Western culture in Europe. What we know as "political correctness" probably keeps such issues off the air in the MSM, but Fox makes a point of rising above such PC. I think the news vacuum we can see on Fox is at least partly a result of News Corp.'s Saudi influence. Such influence does not serve the American public interest.
Before I explain, let's go back just to the beginning of last month when Al Gore' sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera was big news, particularly on Fox. As Fox personalities repeatedly (and understandably) revelled in Gore's obvious hypocrisies for selling out to an Islamic oil-and-greenhouse-gas dictatorship, I was struck by something important that was being left out: The fact that a key Fox stakeholder -- the second largest stakeholder outside the Murdoch family -- was himself a leading member of an Islamic oil-and-greehouse-gas dictatorship. It seemed highly relevant at least in the spirit of full disclosure, even if it might have subdued some of the on-air guffaws.
I would also note that the Fox focus was on Gore himself -- much less so on the security-related side of the story, which includes how Al Jazeera is a foreign policy instrument of the Qatari dictatorship, which, in turn, is basically a foreign policy instrument of the Muslim Brotherhood. (Indeed, Al Jazeera's nickname is Muslim Brotherhood TV.) Similarly, with rare exceptions, News Corp. journalists didn't enlighten viewers and readers about the noxious Yusef al Qaradawi, a Muslim Brotherhood cleric, and his central role at Al Jazeera and, indeed, in the wider "Arab Spring."
As I reconsidered the Murdoch-Alwaleed relationship, I was struck anew not only by the 7 percent of News Corp. that Alwaleed owns, but also by the 18.97 percent of Rotana, Alawaleed's Arabic media group, that Murdoch owns. I discovered that just as Murdoch-Alwaleed holdings include Fox, Alwaleed-Murdoch holdings include Al Risala, a 24/7 religious station run by a Kuwaiti Muslim Brother named Tareq al-Suwaidon. Al-Suwaidan, who doubles as a popular on-air host at Al Risala, is not just any Muslim Brother, either. He is an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism-financing trial in US history, the Holy Land Foundation trial. That means the US government believes Al-Suwaidon, too, was involved in fund-raising for Hamas. That means that Murdoch and Alwaleed's cable stable includes O'Reilly, Doocey and Al-Suwaidon, aka, Mr. Hamas.
That's not the only appalling connection the Saudi association brings to News Corp. On the advisory board of Al Risala is Abdullah Omar Naseef, whose Rabita Trust has been designated by the US Treasury as an Al Qaeda financier (see photo).The structural parallels may be somewhat imperfect but they are still illustrative: Just as Alwaleed has a business connection to News Corp. board member Roger Ailes, Murdoch has a business connection to Al Risala board member and al Qaeda financier Naseef.
That's reality.
As for analysis, it is of the utmost importance to begin to notice, to scrutinize and assess what Fox covers and -- I think more important -- what it doesn't.
What becomes clear quickly is that Fox never, ever covers the amazing, shocking and terrifying stories that reflect the undermining incursions of sharia (Islamic law) into the West.
We are living through a cultural transformation of epochal significance as one civilization (Western) yields with barely a peep to another (Islamic). This process is well-advanced on the European continent, where Islamic "no-go zones" proliferate in urban centers (or suburbs) and parallel legal societies have taken hold from London to Berlin. (Sharia courts are even recognized by the British government.) "Desertification" is a new French word for the flight of indigenous French people from Islamized neighborhoods. Government elites of Europe respond to such unrest and unhappiness by silencing the critics of Islamization, putting them on trial for "hate speech" violations, and even sometimes in prison (particularly in the UK). This is what's going on in the democracies of the West -- UK, France, Austria, Denmark, Holland -- and Fox viewers don't know it unless they learn it somewhere else.
This is happening here, too. Mark Steyn, one of Fox's leading lights, went on trial for "hate speech" next door in Canada. Did Fox ever report on his trial, let along interview him about it? If so, I didn't see it.
There is turmoil in many US localities over the proliferation of Islamic centers and the Islamic law that necessarily follows them but that's largely another no-go subject at Fox as far as I can tell. What about a free speech case about Islam in the U.S. military? On the Manhattan subway platform? What about push-back against Islamization by state legislatures to bar sharia from U.S.law? Is any of reported in any sort of consistent and informational, nay, educational way on Fox? Not much, at best. Not even House conservatives, including Rep. Michele Bachmann, who raised questions about Muslim Brotherhood penetration of the US government last summer got a fair hearing on Fox.
I should point out here that the al Qaeda financier Naseef, noted above for his place on the board of Alaleed-Murdoch's Al Risala TV, also financed the institution and journal run by the MB-connected family of Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton's top aide. As Clinton's confidante, Abedin's MB-connections are something Michele Bachmann and her House colleagues raised questions about last summer in the context of Muslim Brotherhood penetration of the US government. Fox didn't cover that piece of it, either. I find the coverage – or lack thereof – of this U.S. story in particular, quite alarming.
But the same silence goes for last week's broad-daylight assassination attempt in Copenhagen on Lars Hedegaard, a Danish newspaper editor and opponent of European Islamization by an Arab or Pakistani gunman. Not newsworthy for a mention on O'Reilly or Greta or The Five. Why not? In 2010, another Musim man tried to kill a Danish cartoonist named Kurt Westergaard over a cartoon of Mohammed that Musims worldwide had reacted to with violence (over 100 people were killed on rioting), mayhem and boycotts. Fox viewers have never even gotten a look at Westergaard'ss cartoon, either -- except for maybe long ago when Michelle Malkin appeared on the air holding it. Similarly, Fox viewers didn't get to follow the Kafka-esque hate speech trial endured by Geert Wilders, democratically elected leader of a significant political party in Dutch parliament, even though Wilders is someone who has made many appearances in the USA. (Wilders did get on with Sean Hannity last year to promote his Regnery book, Marked for Death.)
Could the blackout of such news have anything at all to do with the aims of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation -- the Islamic bloc of 56 Islamic nations (plus the PA) whose headquarters, by the way, is in Saudi Arabia -- and its efforts (lately in conjunction with Hillary Clinton, which is also uncovered on Fox) to introduce international mechanisms to criminalize criticism of Islam everywhere? After all, the OIC has specifically singled out both Geert Wilders and the Danish cartoons for censure, and they are basically non-persons, non-events in the US media, including on Fox News. Is this entirely a coincidence?
I doubt it, even as I also doubt there's much in the way of smoking guns on the topic. It gets in the air and stays there, with fly-bys from the Saudi Prince to provide an insuring chilling effect, while the fortunes of the Big Boss sink increasingly into the sands of desert financial markets. Thus, the Saudi-based OIC's goals, Westerns fear of Islamic violence, the self-censorship of "political correctness" and Fox's silence all dovetail neatly to black out news for conservatives in America.
I am speculating, to be sure, but is it off-base or illogical to do so? For sure, the Murdoch-Alwaleed collaboration ties News Corp. to some very unsavory and anti-American associates. It amazes me this isn't enough to rile the O'Reillys and hound the Hannitys, etc., into complaining that Murdoch is damaging their brand. It also amazes me viewers don't see the brand as damaged. Of course, what they don't know won't make them change the channel.
If I am correct and Alwaleed bought into News Corp to neutralize the jihad opposition, it's one of the most brilliant influence operations ever. The Saudis would have managed to silence the one organization whose coverage of the news could have rallied opposition to Islamization.


text:
Chance the Rapper News Stories
� Chance the Rapper Calls Heineken Commercial 'Racist'
Chance The Rapper has spoken out against a new Heineken advertisement he finds objectionable
� Chance the Rapper Talks Childish Gambino, Kanye West Collaboration
Chance The Rapper gave an enlightening talk at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art Monday night, March
� Chance the Rapper's New Basketball Documentary Trailer Released
Earlier this month, news broke that Chance the Rapper and Dwayne Wade teamed up to produce Shot in the Dark
� Chance The Rapper, Dwayne Wade Making Basketball Documentary
Chance the Rapper has teamed up with Cleveland Cavaliers' Dwayne Wade to produce the new basketball movie
� Chance The Rapper Sued for Copyright Infringement 2017 In Review
Chance The Rapper Sued for Copyright Infringement was a top 17 story of September 2017
� Xzibit Steps Up For Dr. Dre Over Chance the Rapper Diss 2017 In Review
Xzibit Steps Up For Dr. Dre Over Chance the Rapper Diss was a top 17 story of June 2017
� Chance the Rapper and Jeremih Release New Christmas Mixtape
Chance the Rapper and Jeremih are back together with a brand new gift of holiday cheer.
� Chance the Rapper Teases 'Sesame Street' Appearance
Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Just ask Chance the Rapper
� Chance the Rapper Delivers Chicago Weather Report
Is there anything Chance the Rapper can't do? The renaissance rapper has just expanded his resume to include weatherman
� Chance the Rapper Gets New Gig From The Chicago Bulls
Chance the Rapper and his hometown Chicago Bulls have a funny thing going on.
� Chance the Rapper In the Studio With Swizz Beatz
Chance the Rapper has collaborated with everyone from Madonna to Kanye West--and it looks like he has another guest spot
� Chance the Rapper Secures Big Donation for Chicago Public Schools
Chance the Rapper made a surprise appearance at Clark High School in Chicago on Monday
� Chance the Rapper Leads 'SNL' Dance-Off In New Promo Clip
Chance just wants to dance. With Chance the Rapper set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend
� Chance the Rapper Unbox His GRAMMY Awards with Young Daughter
Chance the Rapper has shared an adorable new video via social media showing him opening the boxes containing his GRAMMY
� Chance the Rapper Treats Fans To 'Marshall' Screenings
Chance the Rapper continues to look out for fans in his hometown of Chicago
� Chance the Rapper Debuts New Song On 'Colbert'
Chance the Rapper stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday evening (Sept. 25)
� Chance the Rapper Joins Stephen Colbert For 'Emmy' Open
Sunday night's broadcast of the Primetime Emmy Awards celebrated the year's best television
� Chance The Rapper Sued for Copyright Infringement
A former jazz musician is suing Chance the Rapper for copyright infringement, claiming that the rap star's track 'Windows'
� Chance the Rapper Launching Award Show for Teachers
Chance the Rapper has announced his plans to launch a special awards show for teachers
� Chance the Rapper Grilling Chicken For Chicago Charity
Chance the Rapper is obviously quite the talented guy, and well-versed at a wide variety of things
� Chance the Rapper And Chris Martin Brighten Sick Fan's Day
Chance the Rapper is well known for giving back to the youth of Chicago, and once again he has gone out of his way
� Chance the Rapper Teases New Music
Chance the Rapper wants fans to know that new music is in the works and he took to a social media site
� Chance the Rapper Youngest Person On Fortune's '40 Under 40- List
Chicago champion and all-around good guy Chance the Rapper has yet another accolade to tuck under his belt
� Chance the Rapper Joins Kendrick Lamar For 'No Problem'
Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. Tour has drawn high-profile guests like J. Cole, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott and more
� Chance the Rapper and Young Thug Stream 'Big B's'
Last weekend, Chance the Rapper and Young Thug released 'Big B's,' a surprise collaboration that debuted on SoundCloud.
� Chance the Rapper, Jack White, Snoop Dogg Receive Emmy Nominations
Nominations for the 69th Emmy Awards were revealed yesterday (July 13) and several music stars are up for accolades this year
� DJ Khaled Performs New Hit With Quavo, Lil Wayne, Chance the Rapper
DJ Khaled's 'I'm the One' is currently sitting at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
� Rihanna and Chance the Rapper Among Named Internet's Most Influential
Time Magazine has published their most recent list of the greatest influencers on the internet
� Xzibit Steps Up For Dr. Dre Over Chance the Rapper Diss
Chance the Rapper ignited a hip-hop firestorm when he jokingly represented Dr. Dre's Aftermath label
� Chance the Rapper Tweets Apology To Dr. Dre and Aftermath
Chance the Rapper took to Twitter on Thursday (June 22) to formally apologize to Dr. Dre and Dre's Aftermath Entertainment
� Chance the Rapper Using Sign Language Interpreters For Tour
Chance the Rapper has hired American Sign Language interpreters for the remainder of his Be Encouraged Tour
� Chance the Rapper Joined By David Crosby In New Twitter Campaign
Chance the Rapper and David Crosby have teamed up for a new Twitter commercial.
� Chance the Rapper Backs $2 Million Initiative for Chicago Youth
Chance the Rapper has long been an outspoken advocate for supporting Chicago's youth
� Chance the Rapper and New Edition to Receive BET Awards Honors
Chance the Rapper and New Edition will be honored later this month at the 2017 BET Awards
� Chance the Rapper Featured In Francis And The Lights New Video
Francis and the Lights just took their 'May I Have This Dance' single--from their 2016 debut album
� Chance The Rapper Found His Voice Challenging Kanye West
Chance the Rapper discussed the challenges of working in the recording studio with his mentor Kanye West
� Chance the Rapper Shares Late Aunt's Emotional Breast Cancer Story
Chance the Rapper took to social media last Tuesday (May 9) to break the sad news that his Aunt Kimberly Bennett died
� Chance the Rapper Cancels Summer Festival Appearances
Chance The Rapper has announced that he has been forced to cancel a series of summer festival dates
� DJ Khaled's New Video Features Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Chance the Rapper, More
DJ Khaled has released a new music video for his track 'I'm the One' which boasts a star-studded guest lineup
� Chance the Rapper Covers Kanye West Songs At Tour Kick Off
Chance the Rapper had an energetic tour kickoff last Monday night (April 24) at San Diego's Valley View Casino Center
� Chance the Rapper Plans Special Birthday Bash For Charity
Chance the Rapper has announced that he will be hosting a special bash for his 24th birthday
� Drake Backs Idea Of Chance the Rapper For Mayor of Chicago
In the latest development of the #ChanoForMayor saga that is attempting to recruit Change the Rapper to run for mayor Chicago
� Chance The Rapper Tweets That He Is Looking For An Intern
Are you a college student who loves hip hop? Chance the Rapper is looking for an intern.
� Chance The Rapper Shows Up At Third Grade Class's Career Day
As if donating a million dollars wasn't enough, Chance the Rapper continued to show support for Chicago Public Schools last Friday
� Chance the Rapper Track Featured New 1800 Tequila Commercial
Chance the Rapper lends two verses to a new commercial for 1800 Tequila. The rapper's collaboration with Octave Minds, 'Tap Dance,'
� Chance the Rapper Addresses Critics Of $500K Apple Music Payday
Chance the Rapper has long been a proponent of free music, which is why he hasn't signed with a label
� High School Students Thanks Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper does a lot for his hometown Chicago, including pledging $1 million to support Chicago Public Schools
� Chance The Rapper Believes Kanye West Is A Comedian
Chance The Rapper appreciates Kanye West's sense of humor. In a new, wide-ranging interview with Complex
� Chance the Rapper Pledges To Give $1 Million To Public Schools
Chance the Rapper live streamed a press conference at Westcott Elementary School in Chicago, located only three blocks from where he grew up
� Chance the Rapper To Headline The Essence Festival
Chance the Rapper has just been announced as one of the headliners of the Essence Festival
� Chance the Rapper Reveals Meaning Behind His '3' Hat
Chance the Rapper typically sports a baseball cap with the number '3' emblazoned on the front. But what does it mean?
� Chance the Rapper Announces North American Tour
Chance the Rapper is riding high on the tailwind of his Best New Artist Grammy
� Chance The Rapper Releases 'Same Drugs' Video
Chance the Rapper premiered a music video for his track 'Same Drugs' featuring vocals from Eryn Koehn, and more
� Shawn Mendes Reveals Cover Of Chance the Rapper's 'All We Got'
Even if his own style falls firmly in the pop category, Shawn Mendes is a big fan of hip-hop.
� Little Big Town, Chance the Rapper, Sturgill Simpson Added to Grammys
Chance the Rapper, Little Big Town and Sturgill Simpson will all perform at the Grammys
� Twenty One Pilots, Frank Ocean, Chance The Rapper Lead Sasquatch Festival
The Sasquatch! Music Festival lineup has arrived and big names will descend on Gorge Amphitheater
� Skrillex Recruits Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper For New Video
EDM superstar Skrillex has released the new video 'The Same Place,' which shows him living the dream
� Chance The Rapper Builds Castle for Daughter
What was Chance the Rapper up to on Wednesday (January 11th) afternoon? Building a castle for his daughter
� Chance the Rapper Ranks Every Kanye West Album
It's no secret that Chance the Rapper is a huge Kanye West fan. He's credited Kanye for inspiring his own career in hip-hop
� Chance the Rapper Teases Collaboration With Childish Gambino
Chance the Rapper has been having so much fun during his Oceania tour stops that he's considering permanently relocating to New Zealand
More Stories for Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper Music

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Community, Education, Fundraising, Headline, Homepage, News Blog
Be a Force for Change! Support CBLDF!
by Georgia Nelson • November 11, 2016 • Comments Off on Be a Force for Change! Support CBLDF!
In light of this week's political turmoil, CBLDF would like to feature some items that focus on the power of free expression to affect positive change, no matter what your political leanings might be. These items include Liberty Annual 2016, She Changed Comics, CBLDF's embroidered Free Speech Defender patches, "I Read Banned Comics" t-shirts, and the March Volume One trade paperback, signed by Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell. And if you're not a member, please join today. The free expression rights of all Americans are more important now than ever, and our commitment to protecting them depends upon your support. Follow the links provided or keep reading for more detailed information!
Liberty Annual 2016 was released last week, and features stories about people who have positively changed the world around them throughout history. Available with cover art by Brandon Graham (King City, Multiple Warheads) or Nate Powell (March, Swallow Me Whole). Read these incredible stories by donating here.
She Changed Comics tells the story of the talented women who changed free expression in the medium we love by persevering in the face of censorship, facing down threats and imprisonment, and exploring new topics and territories with comics. Get yourself a copy of this fascinating book by donating here.
Wear your support for CBLDF and the First Amendment with this Free Speech Defender Coat of Arms patch designed by Brian Wood (The Massive, Northlanders), and our "I Read Banned Comics" t-shirts. Let everyone know that you fight for free expression!
March is an inspiring story about the Civil Rights Movement in America as told firsthand by Congressman John Lewis and adapted by Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell. This important graphic novel comes signed by co-author Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, and is available here.
CBLDF's work defending the right to read is more important than ever. But we can't do it without your support! When you join CBLDF in 2016, we'll thank you with the best incentives in the free speech community, starting off with a membership card and member exclusives featuring stunning art by acclaimed cartoonist Craig Thompson (Blankets, Habibi, Space Dumplings)!
Although comics have never been a bigger part of mainstream pop culture, challenges to comics and other books have been rapidly increasing over the last few years — and we expect even more challenges in 2016 if the trend continues. We need your help to continue the fight for the right to read!
Please help us continue to lead the fight to protect free expression in comics by becoming a member today! You'll help us protect all of our rights now and in the year to come.
We have membership plans for donors in every budget, each with its own premiums and benefits, and all of them are tax-deductible. Of course, the number one benefit of membership is peace of mind. You'll know that there's someone at the other end of the phone when a reader's freedom to read is attacked, a retailer gets busted, a graphic novel is challenged in libraries, an artist is brought up on charges — all for exercising their First Amendment rights! Become a member of CBLDF, and help preserve comics as a vital medium for this century!
Here's How Your Donation Will Be Used:
CBLDF takes your support seriously, striving to make the most prudent and responsible use of contributions. Here's a snapshot of how your donations are used to support our fight for the right to read:
Here's what you get for joining CBLDF:
2016 Member — $100
The standard level for membership includes the CBLDF membership card, and an EXCLUSIVE MEMBER-ONLY t-shirt, featuring the art of Craig Thompson! This shirt is printed on organic cotton, available ONLY to Members. You will also receive a CBLDF button set and a CBLDF sticker set, which includes an assortment of high quality CBLDF stickers! Finally, you will get a CBLDF pocket sketchbook and a fully-embroidered CBLDF member patch, featuring the classic CBLDF member logo!
2016 Associate Member — $30
At this membership level, donors receive the CBLDF membership card, featuring artwork by Craig Thompson!
2016 Supporter Member — $50
CBLDF Supporter Members receive the CBLDF membership card and the CBLDF button set, CBLDF sticker set, and CBLDF member patch, as well as the CBLDF pocket sketchbook!
2016 Defender Member — $250
As a Defender Member, you will receive the awesome aluminum CBLDF water bottle and hardcover CBLDF Liberty Annual Volume 1!
YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE: The EXCLUSIVE MEMBER-ONLY t-shirt, CBLDF button set, CBLDF sticker set, CBLDF member patch and CBLDF pocket sketchbook!
2016 Protector Member — $500
As a Protector Member, you will receive an exclusive CBLDF embossed executive journal.
YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE: The EXCLUSIVE MEMBER-ONLY t-shirt, CBLDF button set, CBLDF sticker set, CBLDF member patch, CBLDF pocket sketchbook, CBLDF water bottle, and hardcover CBLDF Liberty Annual Volume 1!
2016 Champion Member — $1,000
As a Champion Member, you will receive recognition in CBLDF Liberty Annual 2016, as well as an exclusive CBLDF executive messenger bag.
YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE: The EXCLUSIVE MEMBER-ONLY t-shirt, CBLDF button set, CBLDF sticker set, CBLDF member patch, CBLDF pocket sketchbook, CBLDF water bottle, hardcover CBLDF Liberty Annual Volume 1, and CBLDF embossed executive journal!
2016 Guardian Member — $2,500
As a Guardian Member, you will receive all of the previous, as well as special recognition in select publications throughout 2016!
Membership also includes a member-exclusive rates (or complimentary at every membership level above Defender) for a subscription to the CBLDF Defender, a quarterly news magazine coming to you from the front lines of the fight for free speech! Each issue of CBLDF Defender will bring engaging creator interviews, detailed analysis of current censorship news, and in-depth features that tell the story of the people fighting for the freedom to read!
Support CBLDF by donating today!
Tags: andrew aydin cbldf liberty annual fundraising nate powell she changed comics
← Why Mike Diana Still Matters
A Look at CBLDF's 30th Anniversary Auction →


text:
Puritan Publications
Westminster Divines
Reformed Theology and Apologetics
Grace Chapel in TN
Semper Reformanda
Dr. McMahon Bio
Support APM
Puritan Bios
Christopher Love (1618-1651)
Francis Turretin (1623-1687)
Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646)
John Owen (1616-1683)
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)
Everything Edwards
William Ames (1576-1633)
William Perkins (1558-1602)
Links to Buy Books
Free Bibles
Download Bibles
Yearly Bible Readings
1647 Westminster Standards
Westminster Standards
1647 Westminster Confession
The Solemn League and Covenant
Shorter Catechism of the Assembly of Divines
Larger Catechism of the Assembly of Divines
Form of Presbyterian Church Government
Directory of Publick Worship
Directory of Private Worship
Westminster Assembly Writings
Calvinism / Arminianism
T.U.L.I.P. and the Doctrines of Grace
Ordo Salutis: The Order of Salvation
CT Articles
Witsius' Economy of the Covenants
Historic Confessions
MP3 Sermons / Podcasts
The Christian Family
Family – A Little Church
Theological Articles
The Attributes of God
Pastoral Theology Main
Pastoral Theology and Expository Preaching Articles
Sermon Preparation Online Course
Pastoral Theology and Expository Preaching Videos
A Quiz for Pastors
Questions for Pastoral Candidates
Questions Pastoral Candidates Should Ask Churches
Puritan Era
What is a Puritan?
Puritan Evangelism
Farewell Sermons
Exclusive Psalmody
Puritan Meditation
Puritan Worship
The Regulative Principle
Magisterial Reformation
Introduction to the Reformation
500 Years Since Martin Luther
Easter: The Devil's Holiday - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Articles on the Christian Walk, Systematic Theology and Practical Theology
Today, many Christians are turning back to the puritans to, "walk in the old paths," of God's word, and to continue to proclaim old truth that glorifies Jesus Christ. There is no new theology. In our electronic age, more and more people are looking to add electronic books (ePubs, mobi and PDF formats) to their library – books from the Reformers and Puritans – in order to become a "digital puritan" themselves. Take a moment to visit Puritan Publications (click the banner below) to find the biggest selection of rare puritan works updated in modern English in both print form and in multiple electronic forms. There are new books published every month. All proceeds go to support A Puritan's Mind.
Knowing Christ More
Take a moment to check out these solid, biblical Christ-glorifying works that will help you draw closer to the Savior.
Grow in Knowledge
These works will help you grow in your knowledge of God.
Workbooks Like No Other
There are no other workbooks like these anywhere that will help you work through the best biblical theology.
Easter: The Devil's Holiday – Recalling the fundamentals of the Papist Holiday and what we should be thinking about as true Christians.
See the "Easter Name Controversy" POST SCRIPT 1
See the "Jelly Bean" POST SCRIPT 2
Easter has little to do with real Christianity. Does that surprise you? It should not. For example, Easter was not popular with the Puritans or the Pilgrim settlers in America. Neither Puritans or Pilgrims had use for ceremonies associated with religious festivals invented in either pagan history, or reinvented by Roman Catholicism. In actuality, here in the America's only after the bloodshed Civil War did Easter "begin again" to be accepted. As Walsh states in his "Holy Time and Sacred Space in Puritan New England" (Walsh, American Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring, 1980), pp. 79-95) "The New England [Pilgrims] like Reformed Protestants everywhere, rejected traditional Roman Catholic and Anglican beliefs and practices that organized time around consecrated churches, railed-off altars, holy shrines, miraculous wells, and that supposed the flow of time to be an irregular succession of holy days and sacred seasons. The Reformers argued, what was intended as a crutch for others had become a cast for Christians who willingly accepted the obligation of constant worship. They for whom all days are holy can have no holidays." (See, for example, The Sermons of John Calvin Upon the Fifth Book of Moses called Deuteronomie, trans. Arthur Golding (London: H. Middleton, 1583).
The Post Reformation pastors and theologians of the day, following the Reformers, abolished Easter, among other things. In June 1647, England Parliament, headed by the Puritans at Westminster, passed legislation abolishing Christmas and other holidays: "Forasmuch as the feast of the nativity of Christ, Easter, Whitsuntide, and other festivals, commonly called holy-days, have been heretofore superstitiously used and observed; be it ordained, that the said feasts, and all other festivals, commonly called holy-days, be no longer observed as festivals; any law, statute, custom, constitution, or canon, to the contrary in anywise not withstanding." (Daniel Neal, The History of the Puritans (London, 1837; rpt. Minneapolis: Klock , p. 45).
The Puritans "proposed a stricter observance of Sundays, the Lord's Day, along with banning the immoral celebration of Christmas — as well as Easter, Whitsun and saints' days." (Patino, Marta, The Puritan Ban on Christmas). The reason the puritans denied the celebration of any holy days was a biblical foundation to deny the "dressing up" of any other day than what God had specifically prescribed in Lord's Day worship. "Holy days' have no such prescription — there is no Scriptural command, approved example, or good and necessary inference, which warrants tying specific acts of redemption to 'holy' days of our own choosing." (Chris Coldwell, The Religious Observance of Christmas and 'Holy Days' in American Presbyterianism) (I would encourage the reader to read the entire article that Coldwell has at that link which covers not only Easter, but other holidays.)
In "The Quest for Purity: Dynamics of Puritan Movements" by Walter E. a Van Beek, he states, "Because Easter invariably fell on a Sunday, this was a problem for Puritan preachers who were consistent with their repudiation of of the traditional calendar. The usual solution was to preach a sermon that had no direct connection with Easter." (Page 77.) How would a congregation today take a non-Easter sermon on Easter Sunday? What would your reaction be, reader?
Rightly so, the Westminster Confession states in the appendix entitled, "An Appendix, Touching Days and Places for Public Worship," the following, "The key clause of interest to this study is, "Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." Later Presbyterian theology followed suit. While people "say" they adhere to the Confession, they dip hardboiled eggs into food coloring, and buy Easter Baskets for their children. Robert Dabney states in abolishing Easter, "The objections are: first, that this countenances "will-worship," or the intrusion of man's inventions into God's service; second, it is an implied insult to Paul's inspiration, assuming that he made a practical blunder, which the church synods, wiser than his inspiration, had to mend by a human expedient; and third, we have here a practical confession that, after all, the average New Testament Christian does need a stated holy day, and therefore the ground of the Sabbath command is perpetual and moral." (Robert Lewis Dabney "The Christian Sabbath: Its Nature, Design and Proper Observance", Discussions: Theological and Evangelical (Richmond: Whittet and Shepperson, 1890) 1. 524-525. See also, "The Sabbath of the State," 2.600.)
What do we find when entering into Roman Catholicism's "borrowing" of paganism? John Gill states, "Popish festivals were observed very early, long before the Pope of some arrived to the height of his ambition. The feast of Easter was kept in the
second century, as the controversy between Anicetus and Polycarp, and between Victor and the Asiatic churches, shews." (John Gill, Sermon 57: A Dissertation on the Rise and Progress of Popery, page 17; Ages Ultimate Library, 2004). We find their continued alliance with breaking the regulative principle, and the replacement of true worship, with worshipping that which is unholy. They institute unscriptural burdens such as Lent, fast days, sacred rites that control their kingdom with superstitions and false religion guised in the cloak of "authority" and hide the truth from people to damn them for all eternity. One such deception is their introduction of the "Christian festival of Easter." Look around and you will see the world-wide acceptance of the chocolate bunny and hardboiled egg. It is harmless, right?
What does one find when looking at the celebration of Easter? The term "Easter" is certainly not Christian, and is of Chalcedonian origin. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people at Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use today. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar – the devil or Satan.[1]
Worship of the devil in this way was introduced to the English people through the Druids who worshipped the devil through nature.
Take a moment and note that Romanism or Druidism for that matter, would not openly say "they are worshipping the devil." Of course they would deny it. However, the Scripture is exceedingly clear that any doctrine not brought to men through the Triune Godhead, and the Savior Jesus Christ, is a doctrine of demons and therefore, a worshipping of the devil. This certainly applies not only to the contemporary church when it introduces destructive heresies, or twists Paul's words to their own destruction, as Peters states, but also applies to false religious ideas that pull people away from the one true Savior and only God Jesus Christ. One cannot introduce false religion without partaking of demonic influences and devil worship in that light.
As a result of Druidic worship, and influences that have penetrated into Romanism, contemporary Christendom of almost every flavor still has those influences lingering today in their worship, and their Sunday morning bulletins around the time of Easter. The Druids would worship in lighting a fire in the center circle and each worshipper putting in a "bit of oat-cake in a shepherd's bonnet; they all sit down, and draw blindfold a piece from the bonnet. One piece has been previously blackened, and whoever gets that piece has to jump through the fire in the centre of the circle, and pay a forfeit. This is, in fact, a part of the ancient worship of Baal, and the person on whom the lot fell was previously burnt as a sacrifice." Scripture deems this "walking through the fire" or "fire sacrifice." God condemns the practice of making children walk through the fire in Leviticus 18:21, "You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD."
Easter, then, traces back through Astarte was also worshipped in ancient times, and that from the name Astarte, whose name in Nineveh was Ishtar, the religious workings during the month of March and April, as now practiced in most of Christendom, are called by the name of Easter. In ancient times the pagans called this time of the year Easter-monath.
Even Socrates, the ancient philosopher, describes the different ways in which Easter was observed in different countries in his time during the fifth century. He states, "Thus much already laid down may seem a sufficient treatise to prove that the celebration of the feast of Easter began everywhere more of custom than by any commandment either of Christ or any Apostle." (Hist. Ecclesiast.) Even Socrates, the philosopher of the 5th Century (not the pagan 5th century BC philosopher) knew Easter was not a Christian doctrine.
Socrates Scholasticus (aka Socrates of Constantinople) said, "Neither the apostles, therefore, nor the Gospels, have anywhere imposed the 'yoke of servitude' on those who have embraced the truth; but have left Easter and every other feast to be honored by the gratitude of the recipients of grace. Wherefore, inasmuch as men love festivals, because they afford them cessation from labor: each individual in every place, according to his own pleasure, has by a prevalent custom celebrated the memory of the saving passion. The Saviour and his apostles have enjoined us by no law to keep this feast: nor do the Gospels and apostles threaten us with any penalty, punishment, or curse for the neglect of it, as the Mosaic law does the Jews. It is merely for the sake of historical accuracy, and for the reproach of the Jews, because they polluted themselves with blood on their very feasts, that it is recorded in the Gospels that our Saviour suffered in the days of 'unleavened bread.' The aim of the apostles was not to appoint festival days, but to teach a righteous life and piety. And it seems to me that just as many other customs have been established in individual localities according to usage. So also the feast of Easter came to be observed in each place according to the individual peculiarities of the peoples inasmuch as none of the apostles legislated on the matter. And that the observance originated not by legislation, but as a custom the facts themselves indicate" (Schaff, P. (1997). The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series Vol. II. Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories. (130).)
Where did people begin worshipping "gods" on Easter? Hislop explains, "The forty days' of fasting during the Romanist Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, "in the spring of the year," is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. It was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, for thus we read in Humboldt, where he gives account of Mexican observances: "Three days after the vernal equinox…began a solemn fast of forty days in honor of the sun." Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt which was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god. At the same time, the rape of Proserpine seems to have been commemorated, and in a similar manner; for Julius Firmicus informs us that, for "forty nights" the "wailing for Proserpine" continued; and from Arnobius we learn that the fast which the Pagans observed, called "Castus" or the "sacred" fast, was, by the Christians in his time, believed to have been primarily in imitation of the long fast of Ceres, when for many days she determinedly refused to eat on account of her "excess of sorrow," that is, on account of the loss of her daughter Proserpine, when carried away by Pluto, the god of hell. As the stories of Bacchus, or Adonis and Proserpine, though originally distinct, were made to join on and fit in to one another, so that Bacchus was called Liber, and his wife Ariadne, Libera (which was one of the names of Proserpine), it is highly probable that the forty days' fast of Lent was made in later times to have reference to both. Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the "month of Tammuz"; in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, sometime in April. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skilful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity–now far sunk in idolatry–in this as in so many other things, to shake hands. The instrument in accomplishing this amalgamation was the abbot Dionysius the Little, to whom also we owe it, as modern chronologers have demonstrated, that the date of the Christian era, or of the birth of Christ Himself, was moved FOUR YEARS from the true time. Whether this was done through ignorance or design may be matter of question; but there seems to be no doubt of the fact, that the birth of the Lord Jesus was made full four years later than the truth. This change of the calendar in regard to Easter was attended with momentous consequences. It brought into the Church the grossest corruption and the rankest superstition in connection with the abstinence of Lent. Let anyone only read the atrocities that were commemorated during the "sacred fast" or Pagan Lent, as described by Arnobius and Clemens Alexandrinus, and surely he must blush for the Christianity of those who, with the full knowledge of all these abominations, "went down to Egypt for help" to stir up the languid devotion of the degenerate Church, and who could find no more excellent way to "revive" it, than by borrowing from so polluted a source; the absurdities and abominations connected with which the early Christian writers had held up to scorn. That Christians should ever think of introducing the Pagan abstinence of Lent was a sign of evil; it showed how low they had sunk, and it was also a cause of evil; it inevitably led to deeper degradation. Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries of the Carnival, was entirely unknown; and even when fasting before the Christian Pasch was held to be necessary, it was by slow steps that, in this respect, it came to conform with the ritual of Paganism. What may have been the period of fasting in the Roman Church before sitting of the Nicene Council does not very clearly appear, but for a considerable period after that Council, we have distinct evidence that it did not exceed three weeks."
So we have the history of "Easter" and its popular observances today confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character, such as the hot-crossed buns that are so tasty.
The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now. The "buns" were used in the worship of the queen of heaven, the goddess Easter, as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens–that is, 1500 years before the Christian era. Jeremiah 7:18 states, "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger." Jeremiah uses the word "bun" which is where the concept was derived. The Hebrew word was pronounced Khavan, which in Greek became sometimes Kapan-os. The Hebrew shows how Khvan, pronounced as one syllable, would pass into the Latin panis, "bread," and the second how, in like manner, Khvon would become Bon or Bun. The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten, on the festival of Astarte; but this leaves no doubt as to where the original idea came from.
What about the Ishtar Eggs? Where do we get bunnies and eggs in baskets and egg hunts during a Christian holy-day? The origin of the Paschal eggs is just as pagan. The ancient Druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. Hislop says, "In the Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg. The Hindo fables celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden color. The people of Japan make their sacred egg to have been brazen. In China, at this hour, dyed or painted eggs are used on sacred festivals, even as in this country. In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples. From Egypt these sacred eggs can be distinctly traced to the banks of the Euphrates. The classic poets are full of the fable of the mystic egg of the Babylonians." Hyginus, the poet states, "An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess"–that is, Astarte, or Easter. So the Easter Egg became one of the symbols of Astarte, and its occult meaning had reference to the ark during the time of the flood, in which the whole human race were shut up, as the chick is enclosed in the egg before it is hatched.
The egg, then, became used as a symbol for the whole world as Noah and his family, after the destruction was the "whole world" floating on the waters of the flood. Hislop states, "The coming of the egg from heaven evidently refers to the preparation of the ark by express appointment of God; and the same thing seems clearly implied in the Egyptian story of the mundane egg which was said to have come out of the mouth of the great god. The doves resting on the egg need no explanation. This, then, was the meaning of the mystic egg in one aspect. As, however, everything that was good or beneficial to mankind was represented in the Chaldean mysteries, as in some way connected with the Babylonian goddess, so the greatest blessing to the human race, which the ark contained in its bosom, was held to be Astarte, who was the great civiliser and benefactor of the world. Though the deified queen, whom Astarte represented, had no actual existence till some centuries after the flood, yet through the doctrine of metempsychosis, which was firmly established in Babylon, it was easy for her worshippers to be made to believe that, in a previous incarnation, she had lived in the Antediluvian world, and passed in safety through the waters of the flood. Now the Romish Church adopted this mystic egg of Astarte, and consecrated it as a symbol of Christ's resurrection. A form of prayer was even appointed to be used in connection with it, Pope Paul V teaching his superstitious votaries thus to pray at Easter this specific prayer, "Bless, O Lord, we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance unto thy servants, eating it in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ…" (Scottish Guardian, April, 1844).
That Semiramis, under the name of Astarte, was worshipped not only as an incarnation of the Spirit of God, but as the mother of mankind, we have very clear and satisfactory evidence. There is no doubt that "the Syrian goddess" was Astarte (LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains). Now, the Assyrian goddess, or Astarte, is akin to simply worshipping the devil. Astarte is not Jesus Christ, is not the Triune Godhead, is not biblical, but everything that God prohibits. The bunny with its fertility connotations and the ancient pagan festivals that used rabbits as symbols of fertility in Babylonian times or the use of eggs, or the use of candy (which derived from the use of pomegranates and oranges that were also used in ancient times of pagan rituals) is identified as devil worship by any thinking Christian. It is no wonder that the use of the symbol of the dove itself as a Christian symbol did not come from the idea of the Spirit resting as a dove upon Christ during His baptism, but as a representative of the Mother of the gods, in whom that Spirit was said to be incarnate, was celebrated as the originator of some of the useful arts and sciences. And we find very readily in Greek mythology that the character attributed to the Minerva, whose name Athena as a synonym for Beltis, the well known name of the Assyrian goddess. Athena, the Minerva of Athens, is universally known as the "goddess of wisdom," the inventress of arts and sciences.
We have Rome borrowing pagan rituals to change the date of Christ's entrance into the world by 4 years to compensate amalgamating the celebration of devil worship with Christianity; the adoption of Ishtar, or Astarte, Easter, as a Papist degradation of worship; the violation of the regulative principle in deeming a day to be worshipped as such, the entrance of eggs from Druidic worship, or pomegranates and oranges that turned into chocolate bunnies and Ishtar eggs for a candy basket to give on Easter Sunday, and the Babylonian influences of pagan rituals through every aspect of Easter and we find you, reader, going out this week to apply this all to little Johnny and little Debbie because everyone else is doing it at church.
If you want to be a Papist, then call yourself a Papist, or a Druid, or a Grecian worshipper of the devil. Don't call yourself Christian by upholding a blatantly obvious demonic holy-day that God abhors. When you partake of such wicked schemes, God's anger is aroused, and He states in Deuteronomy 32:17, "They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known." When you give your child their Easter basket, recall God's words, and heed the Psalmist in Psalm 106:37, "They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons." Know that you serve the same blasphemies that Romanism has brought into Christendom, and that the Scriptures rightly warns the covenant people of God that they should abstain from such things and be separate. 1 Timothy 4:1 states, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." When you worship using the devil's teachings, you give heed to demonic influences and introduce them to your children. You might say, "Hey, come on. It's just a chocolate bunny, some jelly beans and a few hardboiled eggs right?" No. It is a giving of your mind, heart and family over to the trinkets of the devil and the worship of his holy-day that has been resurrected and founded on demonic influences and teachings – it is devil worship. If you celebrate Easter, you spit in the face of Jesus Christ who is to be worshipped not on one day in the year on "Resurrection Sunday", but all the days of all your life – for He is the Redeemer of the Covenant people of God every day. One should not desire to carry parts of the package of Romanism following papist theological ideas with Lent, Good Friday, Palm Sunday, Easter, etc. The Romanist Holy Week is the culmination of events marking the final days of Jesus before Easter Sunday. These are the days:
Palm Sunday – The Sunday before Easter Sunday recalling Jesus' entry into Jerusalem a week before dying on the cross.
Holy Monday – Jesus' cleansing of the temple and turning over the tables of the money changers to purify the house of worship.
Holy Tuesday – Jesus' talk with his disciples on the Mount of Olives about the soon to come destruction of Jerusalem.
Holy Wednesday – The day Judas decided to betray Jesus in exchange for 30 pieces of silver.
Maundy Thursday – The Last Supper of Jesus and his time in the garden with his disciples who would not stay awake before his arrest.
Good Friday – The day Jesus died on the cross.
Holy Saturday – The final day of Lent and the Holy Week.
Easter Sunday – The resurrection of Jesus.
However, we have been delivered through the Scriptures from following such man-made things.
There is a great difference between the works of the devil and the works of the Triune God. The devil deceives by subtle manipulation (Hey, Easter is not all bad; or – redeem it for God!), and the Triune Godhead commands nothing more than perfect obedience to His will and Word (Thou Shalt not worship any other gods, nor shall you worship God according to the commandments of men). The devil wants you to worship Jesus Christ in the manner that demonic teachings lay out Easter. God commands you to worship Him as His Word dictates. Deuteronomy 4:2 states, "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you." The devil is the father of lies and wants you to believe the lie that Easter is a Christian holiday, like Lent and Christmas. But our true Father is in heaven who commands us today, as Acts 17:30-31 states, "to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead," who is Jesus Christ. You should talk about that day and wonder, Christian, if you will stand when He appears. There is safety in appearing in the righteousness of Christ on the Day of Judgment. But there is no safety in any degree of comprises for the sake of a few jelly beans.
Some feel that the word "Easter" is not of pagan origin. They believe it is of English origin deriving from a German word. According to a number of different sources, the name "Easter" has its origin with a goddess of the Anglo-Saxons named Eostre (also called Estre, Estara, Eastre, Ostara, and similar spellings). It is believed that she is the goddess of the dawn and was worshipped in the spring by pagans in Northern Europe and the British Isles. In The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop claimed "Eostre" is actually a name derived from the Babylonian goddess Astarte. Hislop extended this connection to include goddesses from around the world: Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Venus, and others. (Similar claims are made by Ralph Woodrow in his book "Babylon Mystery Religion," (1966) but he drew heavily from Hislop's work to support his claims. Both might be overkill in dealing with the association of the name itself.
The church scholar Bede who lived in England (673–735 AD) recorded the names of several of the goddesses worshipped by early Saxons. He identified Eostre as one whose festivals were celebrated in the month given her name. "Eosturmanath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month," and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance."
In our English Bibles, like the KJV, we find the word "Easter" translated for Pesach. In the Hebrew, Passover is Pesach. The Greek form of the word is a transliteration and takes the form Pascha. Virtually all languages refer to Easter as either a transliterated form of pascha or use resurrection in the name. English and German stand apart in their use of Easter (Ostern) to refer to the celebration of the Resurrection.
Look at the way the following translators used the word pascha:
Luke 2:41—This passage refers to a Passover festival before the Resurrection, using pascha (πάσχα).
Wycliffe: And his fadir and modir wenten ech yeer in to Jerusalem, in the solempne dai of pask.
Luther: Und seine Eltern gingen alle Jahre gen Jerusalem auf das Osterfest.
Tyndale: And his father and mother went to Hierusalem every yeare at the feeste of ester.
KJV: Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
Acts 12:4—This passage refers to a Passover festival after the Resurrection, using pascha (πάσχα).
Wycliffe: And whanne he hadde cauyte Petre, he sente hym in to prisoun; and bitook to foure quaternyouns of knyytis, to kepe hym, and wolde aftir pask bringe hym forth to the puple.
Luther: Da er ihn nun griff, legte er ihn ins Gefängnis und überantwortete ihn vier Rotten, je von vier Kriegsknechten, ihn zu bewahren, und gedachte, ihn nach Oster dem Volk vorzustellen.
Tyndale: And when he had caught him he put him in preson and delyvered him to .iiii. quaternios of soudiers to be kepte entendynge after ester to brynge him forth to the people.
KJV: And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
1 Corinthians 5:7—This passage refers to Christ as the sacrificial Passover lamb, using pascha (πάσχα).
Wycliffe: For Crist offrid is oure pask.
Luther: Denn wir haben auch ein Osterlamm, das ist Christus, für uns geopfert.
Tyndale: For Christ oure esterlambe is offered up for us.
KJV: For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.
Is the word Easter, then, useful or dangerous? Does it refer solely as a goddess or can we use it? This is where you start making that grimacing face, and begin shaking your head in great doubt. And so, to make it easier, delete the idea of the word use of Easter altogether and use what we have become more accustomed to today which is RESURRECTION DAY.
This, however, does not discount the paganism and Roman Catholicism of the "Easter" holiday. That day in and of itself as it stands out to be deleted as a Satanic ploy to ruin the Regulative Principle of worship.
POST SCRIPT 2
I do not want Christians to be leery of buying a bag of jelly beans or eating a Cadbury Egg. It is not that jelly beans or chocolate bunnies are evil in and of themselves. Buy some jelly beans during the 4th of July and have at them. Make some chocolate bunnies and eat them up during January or September. But do not associate yourself or your family with the Romanist amalgamation of pagan rituals during the March-April time of Lent, Good Friday, Palm Sunday and Easter. Those associations are in direct violation of God's commands, and those associations overrule your plea to Christian Liberty because God is very clear about His worship. As Revelation 19:10 states, "Worship God."
[1] See Alexander Hislop's work, "The Two Babylons" which outlines the history behind these pagan origins in great depth. The work can be found online here: http://philologos.org/__eb-ttb/intro.htm
Bible Verse:
"I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless," (Gen. 17:1).
APM Newsletter
APM HOME
Adoring God in Heaven - by Ezekiel Hopkins (1633-1690)
Book Reviews - Take and Read
Calvinist Articles
Christian Stewardship - What Every Christian Needs to Know
Covenant Theology - God's Master Plan
Justification By Faith Alone
Pastoral Theology and Expository Preaching
Puritan Biographies and Works
Puritan Evangelism - Gospel Proclamation and the Christian Witness
Puritan Worship and the Regulative Principle of Worship
The Attributes of God on A Puritan's Mind
The Christian Walk and Practical Theology
A Brief History of Halloween - by Dr. C. Mathew McMahon
A Brief Systematic on the Work of the Holy Spirit - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
A Funny Little Story about Hymns and Praise Songs - by Author Unknown
A Meditation on Judah - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
A Meditation on the Doctrine of the Person of Christ - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
A Puritan's Mind World Missions - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
A Sad But Instructive History - Disobedient Children - by William Plumer (1802-1880)
A Summary of The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
A Thought Concerning The Unconverted Religious Zealot - by Dr. C. Mathew McMahon
Adoring God in Worship - by Matthew Henry
Adoring God Who is the Christian's Hope - by Samuel Hopkins
Almost a Christian - by Rev. Matthew Meade (1661)
An Inquiry into the Sum and Substance of the Gospel - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Angels - by Dr. A. A. Hodge
Are You a Real Christian? - by C. Matthew McMahon
Atonement and the Covenant of Grace - by Hugh Martin (1821-1885)
Bio of Loraine Boettner - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Calvinist Cartoons and Arminian Cartoons
Can You Really Tell a Tree By its Fruit? – by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Carnal Christian? - by Albert N. Martin
Christ - Mediator of the New Covenant for Believers - by Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
Christ and God's Eternal Purpose by Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664)
Christ and His Kingdom by A.A. Hodge (1823-1886)
Christ Ascended and Exalted by William S. Plumer (1802-1880)
Christ Humbled Himself - by Samuel Willard (1640-1707)
Christ the High Priest by Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
Christ the Intercessor by Wilhelmus a Brakel (1635-1711)
Christ the King by John Flavel (c. 1630-1691)
Christ the Mediator - by William Whitaker (1548-1595)
Christ the Mediator by William S. Plumer (1802-1880)
Christ's Certain and Sudden Appearance to Judgment - by Thomas Vincent (1634-1678)
Christ's Manifestation of Himself Unto Those Who Love Him - by Thomas Vincent (1634—1678)
Confidence in Our Brethren - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Corporate Sanctification - by Dr. John Brown of Wamphray
Direction in Our Life - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Divine Spectacles - How Angels See Christians - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
False Doctrines and False Teachers by William Plumer (1802-1880)
God Bless America - by Dr. James White
God's Patience Abused - by Dr. Stephen Charnock (1628-1680)
Have you Ever Considered the Lilies of the Field? - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Holy Feasting - by Lewis Bayly (1575-1631)
How Can We Give Thanks in Everything? - by William Cooper
How Faith Prepares The Soul For Christ - by Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680)
How God's People May Make Great Attainments - by William Plumer (1802-1880)
How May We Know Whether We Love God? - by Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
How to Deal with Those Who Differ from Us - by Dr. Roger R. Nicole, Ph.D.
Hypocrites and Christ - by Rev. Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)
Is Harry Potter Really Necessary? - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Jan Amos Comenius - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Job's Trials and Mercies - by William Plumer (1802-1880)
Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions
Lessons for the Seeker Movement - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Living Carelessly Before the Means of Grace - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Love the Lord Jesus Christ - by Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)
Matters of Conscience - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Maxims to Live By
Mel Gibson's Passion Movie - Why Modern Evangelicals Don't Have A Problem With Nestorius - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Motives to Love Jesus by Thomas Doolittle (1630-1707)
Nascars and Boils - Musing on Job's Sufferings - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Necromancy - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
No Doctrine More Excellent than Christ by John Flavel (1630-1691)
Of Christ's Offices - by Thomas Boston (1676-1732)
Of the Holy Trinity - by Rev. Thomas Boston (1676-1732)
One Special Duty - Thankfulness - Thomas Manton (1620-1677)
Personal Prayer Outline - by C. Matthew McMahon
Practical Godliness by Vincent Alsop (1629-1703)
Recapitulation in Revelation 20:1-10 - by Dr. R. Fowler White
Seeing Jesus, The Misplaced Faith of Idolaters - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Solomon's Folly: The Revival of Religious Syncretism in America - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Spiritual Scotoma - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Suicide by Samuel Miller (1769-1850)
Systematic Theology - by Louis Berkhof
Thanksgiving for Mercies Received - by John Flavel (1630–1691)
The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity - by Dr. Benjamin B. Warfield
The Compassion Of Christ To Weak Believers - by Rev. Dr. Samuel Davies (1723-1761)
The Covenant of Redemption Between the Father and the Redeemer - by John Flavel (1627–1691)
The Cross in Revelation - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Cross: A Call to the Fundamentals of Religion - by Bishop J.C. Ryle
The Devil's Advertising - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Divine Trinity - by Dr. Herman Bavinck
The Doctrine of Continuous Creation - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Doctrine of Endless Punishment - by Dr. William G.T. Shed
The Doctrine of Fasting and Prayer and Humiliation for Sin - by Arthur Hildersham (1563-1632)
The Doctrine of Hell - by Thomas Boston (1676-1732)
The Duty of Every Believer to Join a Church by Wilhelmus à Brakel
The Eschatological Mastery of the World & Meditation - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Eschatological Mastery of the World & the Bible - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Eschatological Mastery of the World - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Eschatological Mastery of the World and Prayer - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Evil of Apostasy - by Ebenezer Erskine (1680-1754)
The Fear of God by Wilhelmus A'Brakel (1635-1711)
The First Thanksgiving - The Pilgrims Landing and a National Day of Thanks
The Genealogy of the Pope - by Anthony Gilby (1510-1585)
The Gospel - by James Haldane
The Holy Spirit - by Dr. Charles Hodge
The Holy Spirit, Regeneration, and Sanctification - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Immutable Mercy of Jesus Christ - by Thomas Adams (1583-1652)
The Mercy of the Master - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Method of Grace - by George Whitefield (1714-1770)
The Mountains of Brass - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Mystery of Sanctification - by William Plumer (1802-1880)
The Names of Jesus Christ in Scripture - by C. Matthew McMahon
The Nature of the Moral Law - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Necessity of Christ's Death - by Stephen Charnock (1628-1680)
The New England Primer
The Poem "Martin Luther" for Reformation Day - by Dr. C. Mathew McMahon
The Pope is in Hell - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Practice of Idolatry Within the Church - by Richard Bennett and Randall Paquette
The Pursuit of Excellence In Our Work - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Reformed Faith - by Dr. Loraine Boettner
The Scriptures - by Rev. John Hales
The Self-Existence of the Son - by William Romaine
The Tract Series
The Trinity - by Dr. Louis Berkhof
The Trinity - by Dr. RL Dabney
The Trinity - by Rev. John Hales
The Twin Towers, 911 and God's Sovereignty - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The White Devil - by John Bunyan (1628-1688)
The Wicked Who Hate Jesus Christ Go To Hell - by The Almighty God
The Wisdom of God Displayed in the Mystery of Redemption - by James Haldane
The Word of God - by Dr. Theodore Beza
Thoughts and Reflecting on the New Year - by Dr. James Buchanan
Thoughts on Rebuking - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Three Persons but One God - by Rev. Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
Twenty Motives that Christ Might Have the Love of Your Hearts - by Rev. Thomas Doolittle (1630-1707)
Utter Insanity - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
What Can the Puritans Teach Us Today? - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
What Is A Biblical Christian? - by Albert N. Martin
What is The Gospel? - by Zacharias Ursinus (1534-1583)
Where Did the Bible Come From? - A Timeline of the Bible
Why All Should be Thankful - by William Cooper
Why NT Wright is NOT Reformed - by Rev. Fred Greco
Youth and Glory - by Mr. Andrew Myers
The Creeds and Confessions of the Church
The Puritan Era - What is a Puritan?
The Puritan Practice of Meditation and Pondering God: Thinking Rightly Through Godly Meditation
The Puritans: All of Life to the Glory of God by C. Matthew McMahon
The Wild Boar Podcast
Westminster Standards - 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith
1647 WCF
Witsius' Covenants
Puritan Books
A Puritan's Mind © 1996-2020 | Puritan Publications | Reformed Theology and Apologetics | Grace Chapel in Crossville, TN


text:
Editor Jay Hartman of Untreed Reads talks about epublishing
UNTREED READS PUBLISHING
Today I'd like to welcome Jay Hartman, Editor-in-Chief, of Untreed Reads Publishing to the blog.
How long have you been Editor-in-Chief of Untreed Reads?
I partnered with K.D. Sullivan in December of 2009, and we launched Untreed Reads in late January of 2010. Previously, I had been running Untreed Reads as a blog about the ebook world, and had previously been the Content Editor for KnowBetter.com which had been the Internet's leading site for all things ebook.
What was your inspiration for going into electronic publishing?
Publishing had always been a dream of mine. As the ebook landscape expanded, I found it more and more difficult to find ebooks that I wanted to read. In a business dominated by romance and erotica, I couldn't find enough literature or mystery to interest me. I felt there was a niche there that needed to be filled, and fortunately for me my business partner agreed with me.
What types of books do you represent?
We publish pretty much any genres except romance, erotica and poetry. We don't mind if a story has a romantic element, but that can't be the main focus. We're expanding out now into more non-fiction, children's and foreign-language titles. We hadn't planned originally on being so strong in short stories, but there's a big demand in the market and we're one of very few publisher willing to publish them as stand-alones instead of in anthologies.
How much editorial work do you provide your authors?
Typically, we expect the submissions to be in "ready-to-go" status. That means they've already been looked over by a copyeditor and a proofreader. However, we do provide what we call a "content assessment." Ours is really more of a surface polish, indicating sections that we think don't work particularly well for one reason or another. I'll send that back to the author to make changes or defend their manuscript. Except for actual proofreading, we don't do the editing for the author.
The author gets all of my content assessment notes, then has the right to defend any changes they feel shouldn't be made. We'll go back and forth, compromise and compromise, until the final manuscript is good to go. Then, after proofreading, the author gets to look at THOSE changes and give input.
Do you have a graphic artist on staff?
We do have a phenomenal cover artist named Dara England (http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/previous-designs/ to see some of her work) that I work with directly on the ideas I have for the various covers. Sometimes I get stumped and forward the whole work to her to read and give me some ideas. She usually hits them out of the park.
How involved is the author with the cover graphics?
The author is EXTREMELY involved with the process. It is critical to me that no matter how big Untreed gets, I never lose that dialogue with the author. The final decision on cover art is ultimately ours, but we usually bounce three or four mock-ups off the author to consider. I can't think of a single time yet where the author and I weren't on the same page with the cover. Not bad, considering we have 25+ titles out there right now and a lot more in the pipeline.
How long does it take from submission to publication?
Due to high volume, it typically takes us 60-90 days to respond to submissions. Once we've approved a title, it takes on average 3-5 weeks to bring the title to market, depending on what types of editing or proofreading might need to be done.
Where do you distribute your client's books?
The shorter list might be where DON'T we distribute! We have distribution agreements with Lightning Source, Overdrive and Kobo that take us throughout the world, but we also work with Apple, Baker and Taylor, Amazon, Smashwords and so many more. We are constantly researching new vendors with whom to place our titles. In addition to our site, Untreed Reads titles are currently available at about 50 retailers worldwide and for every reading device.
What is your royalty split with authors?
It's a 50/50 split after vendor fees. I know the industry has gone back and forth on this one, but we've received plenty of support for our model from not only our authors but from several very large New York literary agents as well. Incidentally, authors who have agents usually have to give up 15% of their royalties to their agent. We're very unique in that we actually split those fees with them if we work with their agent directly. We're now partnered with several agents who are bringing us some really great work.
How much publicity do you provide your authors?
Tons. We partner with a LOT of review and interview sites. We're also active on Facebook, Twitter, Kindleboards, Mobileread forums, Yahoo Groups and anywhere and everywhere we possibly can. Every release gets publicity blitz that goes out to approximately 30 different places, and we are always looking for more.
One last question, do you charge the author any up-front fees?
OUCH! Charge the author fees?????? Are you kidding???
Ahem! REAL publishers don't charge their authors ANYTHING to publish. :) That would be vanity publishing or POD or something. We don't make any money if our authors don't, which is the way it should be. Our authors don't pay for covers, ISBNs...nothing. Just bring us clean manuscripts and we'll take care of the rest.
That's one of those touchy subjects for me. Too many ebook publishers forget that they are in business because of their authors. Authors should be treated like gold, ALWAYS. :) :)
Thanks Jay. It's been a pleasure learning about Untreed Reads. I wish you great success in the e-publishing world.
Labels: ebooks, epublishing, interview
Interview with Sara Elizabeth
Let's All Take a Breather
Kindle Author - My Interview
Interview with Bryl R. Tyne
The Reality of Friendship
Interview with Imogen Rose
Interview with H.P. Mallory
Interview with Victorine Lieske
Interview with David Derrico
RUN, a thriller by Michaelbrent Collings
My Other Artistic Endeavor
Interview with Frank Zubek
Editor Jay Hartman of Untreed Reads talks about ep...
The Indie Spotlight-I'm Today's Featured Author
Indie Books Blog features QUEST FOR NOBILITY
Interview with Karen Cantwell
Interview with Jenna Johnson
Interview with DB Henson
Interview with Donna Fasano
Interview with J. Dean
Fiction for Dessert blog posts excerpt for "Quest ...
Interview with Melanie Nilles
Interview with T.L. Haddix


That's too bad. That means I'd remembered correctly.
makes for an annoying palette).
It seems that with platinumfb, 16bit color is wrong in both console and X.
'vmode 17 8' in console and 'startx -- -depth 8' make the colors sane again.
Monitor sense value = 0x60b, using video mode 17 and color mode 1.


text:
Logan Paul blames KSI loss on illness and says he "thought he was going to die"
Logan Paul was beaten by KSI in their long-awaited rematch at the Staples Center in Los Angeles
Updated 08:56, 10 NOV 2019
Want the day's sports headlines straight to your inbox? Our FREE newsletter will keep you ahead of the game
Beaten boxer Logan Paul blamed his defeat to KSI on illness - and claimed he "thought he was going to die".
Paul suffered a points defeat via split decision in the lucrative rematch between the YouTube stars at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The American was the pre-fight favourite but could not come out on top in their second encounter having drawn in Manchester as amateurs last year.
And Paul revealed he "woke up sick" and was far from at his best as a result.
Paul told BBC Sounds: "My gameplan kind of went out the window. That was the worst I've performed out of every sparring session I've had, ever.
Logan Paul blamed illness for his defeat to KSI in Los Angeles (Image: Melina Pizano/Matchroom Boxing USA)
"You can hear in my voice right now I'm sick, I'm nasally. I woke up sick, I've been sneezing all day and I tried to ignore that but it took probably 30-50% out of me.
"I don't know if I was trying to conserve energy, because I thought I was going to die because of my lungs, I don't know."
Paul was also unhappy with a crucial points deduction without prior warning which cost him victory.
Paul scored a knockdown but was docked two points in round four (Image: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA)
He was deemed to have hit KSI on the deck after knocking him down with an uppercut in round four.
"I thought it was a legitimate knockdown," Paul said. "I didn't get a warning.
"I got two points taken away from me and that's the reason I lost tonight. I would love to contest the commission because I think I should have got a warning. I don't think it was fair at all."
His younger brother, Jake Paul, also accused boxing of being rigged in an x-rated rant.
KSI was given the nod by the judges by the narrowest of margins with a split decision (Image: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA)
"With that decision, that's just b*******," he said.
"At the end of the day, I've been in this sport for a year now and, I probably shouldn't be saying this, but all this s*** is f****** rigged.
"You see people wining and dining each other, people at the Staples Center. Who was at the Staples Center last night with KSI? Joe Markowski.
"This sport is rigged, that's for sure."
Jurgen KloppJurgen Klopp's secret Liverpool exit clause as he makes honest Liverpool sack statementLiverpool boss Jurgen Klopp saw his side slump to another disappointing defeat against Brighton in the FA Cup on Sunday - just two weeks after they were thrashed in the league
Special Report: Football's battle against homophobia amid "worst possible start to year"
The first month of 2023 has seen a surge in homophobic incidents at Premier League, FA Cup, EFL and grassroots games, with the LGBT+ community left feeling unsafe in the sport
Tadhg Furlong wary of Rugby's 'Drive to Survive' doc but praises the Warren Gatland effect
Tadhg Furlong
Ahead of Saturday's Six Nations opener in Cardiff, the Ireland prop is grateful for what the returning Wales boss did for him on two Lions tours
Silvio Berlusconi promises sex workers for football players after beating Juventus
Former owner of Milan and previously Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has spoken of his promise to give his Monza players sex workers after they defeated Juventus
Willian has 'top clubs' trying to sign him despite saying he was "finished" at Arsenal
Fulham winger Willian has attracted interest from several "top clubs" after impressing at Craven Cottage - just 18 months after a hugely underwhelming stint at Arsenal
Lorraine KellyLorraine begs King Charles not to weigh in on Harry and Meghan drama in new BBC interviewLorraine Kelly discussed the reports on her programme that King Charles could be set to give an interview to the BBC in the wake of his son Prince Harry's memoir, Spare
Susanna Reid 'at complete loss' how Prince Andrew bath mock-up discredits accuser's claim
Ghislaine Maxwell's brother has released a staged picture, which shows two people in a bath - which he claims disproves Virginia Guiffre's accusations against Prince Andrew


text:
Issues: Education & Title IX, School Discipline & Pushout Prevention
In 2020, Black Women Kept Democracy Safe, but Will Democracy Keep Black Girls Safe? A Series on Creating Better, Safer Schools for Girls of Color
By November 7, 2020, it became clear that we owed the 2020 election to Black women across the country, like Stacey Abrams, Latosha Brown, and the 91% of Black women who voted for Joe Biden—many of whom began working well before November 3 to organize their communities, protect the vote, and stand up for Black lives. The national attention and praise these women have received since the election has been long overdue, but we must do much more to thank them for their efforts. We must focus 2021 on creating learning environments where Black girls have more opportunities to grow into Black women leaders.
A positive learning environment is critical to any student's success. Many factors can impact how students experience their learning environments, like how a school deals with safety, supports trusting relationships among teachers and classmates, and manages discipline. Over the last few years, research has overwhelmingly shown that discipline practices like removing children from classrooms, hiring police officers, using corporal punishment, and enforcing zero-tolerance policies create a poor learning environment.
Even worse, these practices often lead to school pushout, mostly of Black and brown students, and fuel the school-to-prison pipeline. Black and Native girls, specifically, are the most disproportionately impacted by harsh discipline practices. For example, Black girls during the 2015-2016 school year were four times more likely than white girls to be arrested at school, and Native girls were two times more likely to be suspended at least once.
The Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma (PUSHOUT) Act was introduced in the House of Representatives on December 1, 2019. To celebrate the anniversary week, this series will focus on several federal bills that have been introduced (and one state bill that has been passed) that Congress and state legislatures should take up in the new year. The first highlighted bill in this series is the Ending PUSHOUT Act. These bills address ways to improve school learning environments by getting rid of practices that have historically marginalized Black and Native girls in favor of practices that will allow them to thrive in 2021 and beyond.
Sabrina Bernadel
Counsel, Education & Workplace Justice
DC Is Going Back to School, and This Time Black Girls Will Not Be Left Behind
Is Your School Following Title IX and Treating Girls Who Report Sexual Harassment Fairly?
Why You Should Send Your Kid to "the More Dangerous College"
Dear President Trump: About That Speech…


text:
Zambiabarbett (Lybius chaplini) är en fågel i familjen afrikanska barbetter inom ordningen hackspettartade fåglar.

Utseende
Zambiabarbetten är en 19 centimeter lång afrikansk barbett. Fjäderdräkten är vit med svartaktiga vingar och stjärt. Ansiktet är rött, viingarna gulkantade och näbben tydligt naggad. Den skiljer sig från vithuvad barbett genom att ha rött och gult i fjäderdräkten.

Utbredning och systematik
Fågeln förekommer enbart i södra och centrala Zambia, i ett område mellan Kafue Park och Moshi i väster och Lusaka i öster. Den behandlas som monotypisk, det vill säga att den inte delas in i några underarter.

Status och hot
Zambiabarbetten har en liten världspopulation bestående av uppskattningsvis endast 5200 vuxna individer. Den tros också minska i antal till följd av habitatförlust. Fågeln är därför upptagen på internationella naturvårdsunionen IUCN:s röda lista över hotade arter, kategoriserad som sårbar (VU).

Namn
Zambiabarbettens vetenskapliga artnamn chaplini hedrar Francis Drummond Percy Chaplin (1866–1933), brittisk koloniadministratör i Rhodesia och Nyasaland.

Noter

Externa länkar

 Läten på xeno-canto.org

Afrikanska barbetter
Fåglar i etiopiska regionen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia