More than 25 million people live in the vicinity of Mt. Popocatepetl, including Mexico City’s 18 million residents. At 2:32 local time on Tuesday morning, the most dangerous volcano in Mexico roared to life in spectacular fashion, and this has many experts extremely concerned about what is coming next. Popocatepetl is an Aztec word that means “smoking mountain”, and historians tell us that once upon a time entire Aztec cities were buried in super-heated mud from this volcano. In fact, the super-heated mud flows were so deep that they buried entire Aztec pyramids. A full-blown eruption of Mt. Popocatepetl would be a catastrophe unlike anything that modern Mexico has ever experienced before, and considering what has been happening in Ecuador, Japan and at Yellowstone over the past week, I believe that there is great reason for concern.

The eruption of Mt. Popocatepetl very early this morning took residents of the area very much by surprise. The following is how one Mexican news course reported the news…

The volcano Popocatépetl came to life at 2:32 this morning, sending out a column of ash that fell on much of the city of Puebla and closed the airport.

The National Disaster Prevention Center, Cenapred, said the volcano spewed ash to an altitude of about three kilometers above the crater.

The explosion was accompanied by the emission of incandescent fragments which were reported to be landing up to 1.6 kilometers away, northeast of the volcano, which is commonly known as El Popo.

But words cannot really describe just how spectacular this eruption was. If you are interested, you can view video footage of the moment when Popocatepetl erupted right here…

For example, scientists in India believe that the tremendous amount of tectonic strain that has built up out there could ultimately produce a magnitude 8 or magnitude 9 earthquake, and they are convinced that this quake “can come at any time”…

A subduction process similar to the one that caused the Ecuadorean quake is happening under the Himalayan region as well, where the Indian plate is getting inside the Chinese landmass.

This northward push has been creating a huge amount of tectonic strain in the region, making it particularly prone to earthquakes.

Scientists believe there is so much energy stored in the area that an earthquake of magnitude greater than 8, possibly even 9, would be needed to release it. This earthquake can come at any time.

Here in the United States, some experts are deeply concerned that the west coast is particularly vulnerable. One of those experts is former USGS scientist Jim Berkland. The following is what Wikipedia has to say about him…

Jim Berkland studied geology at the University of California, Berkeley earning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. Thereafter he worked for the United States Geological Survey while pursuing graduate study. In 1964, he took a position at the United States Bureau of Reclamation.^[3] After further graduate study, he taught for a year at Appalachian State University, 1972–1973, then returned to California to work as County Geologist for Santa Clara County from 1973 until he retired in 1994.^[4]

During a recent interview with Bobby Powell, Berkland explained that most “megaquakes” take place either during a new moon or a full moon, and he pointed to the San Andreas Fault and the Cascadia Subduction Zone as areas that he is particularly concerned about at the moment…

Is “The Big One” imminent? Famed USGS scientist Jim Berkland, the man who predicted the Loma Prieta “World Series Earthquake,” has a terrifying warning for the West Coast of the US in the wake of massive earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan that have left hundreds dead, awakened volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” and kicked off earthquake swarms in Hawaii, Arizona, and Yellowstone National Park.

“Beware the new and full moons,” Berkland says in this exclusive interview. The “maverick geologist” says that 20 of the last 25 “megaquakes” have occurred on the dates of new and full moons, the result of “equinoctal tides,” extreme gravitational forces that cause solid earth to expand and contract much as ocean tides rise and fall.

Berkland says that he is particularly worried about the San Andreas Fault in the LA Basin and the Cascadia Subduction Zone along the coast of Oregon and Washington State, where a long overdue earthquake would undoubtedly be accompanied by a massive tsunami that could kill thousands and cause billions of dollars in property damage.

Even though I recently wrote a major article about the vulnerability of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, I want to make it clear that I am not forecasting that any particular disaster will hit any particular area at any particular time.

But what we can say with certainty is that the crust of our planet is becoming increasingly unstable. Our world is being pummeled by dozens of earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater, and as you read this article a total of 38 volcanoes are erupting worldwide.

And it is quite interesting to note that in 1906 there were major earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan that preceded the historic San Francisco earthquake.

On January 31st, 1906 an enormous magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Ecuador, and that was followed by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Japan on March 17th.

Of course most Americans have already heard about the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit San Francisco on April 18th of that year, but most people don’t understand that it came in the context of these other major quakes.

Could we be witnessing a similar pattern today?

In Matthew 24, Jesus warned us that earthquakes in diverse places would be one of the signs that His return was drawing near. He also explained that the time immediately preceding His return would be the worst time in all of human history.

Could it be possible that we are now entering that period of time?

Please feel free to tell us what you think by posting a comment below…

8:36 pm, April 17, 2016

MASHIKI, Kumamoto — The magnitude-7.3 earthquake that pounded Kumamoto Prefecture early Saturday was more powerful than a foreshock that struck two days earlier.

The seismic activity then moved northeast to reach areas in Oita Prefecture about 100 kilometers away from the focus of the magnitude-7.3 quake. Experts are concerned that quake activities could spread to a major active fault that lies further ahead in that direction.

On Saturday morning, Yomiuri Shimbun reporters entered the town of Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, where aftershocks continue to rattle the area. Many houses in the town’s Dozono district have collapsed. A large crack ran through a field, leaving a line of what looked like overturned earth. A road crossing the field was buckled out of alignment.

According to a calculation by Masashi Omata of the Japanese Society for Active Fault Studies, the ground here moved about 20 centimeters vertically, and about two meters horizontally. This measurement was taken in a northeastern section of the Futagawa fault zone, which extends for at least about 64 kilometers. “Part of the Futagawa fault zone shifted and caused the magnitude-7.3 temblor,” Omata said.

Another fault zone, the Hinagu fault zone, lies south of the quake’s focus. The Hinagu zone is at least about 81 kilometers long, and a magnitude-6.5 quake that struck on Thursday evening was centered in its northeastern section. Nagoya University Prof. Yasuhiro Suzuki, an expert on active faults, said, “The faults are connected, so the earthquakes on Thursday and Saturday occurred as a series of movements.”

The Japan Meteorological Agency initially thought Thursday’s temblor was the main quake. However, it turned out to be a smaller foreshock that was a precursor to the main magnitude-7.3 quake. “When a magnitude-6 level quake happens, it’s difficult to predict whether an even bigger earthquake will occur,” said Gen Aoki, head of the agency’s earthquake and tsunami monitoring section.

Activity moving northeast

The quake activity that began on Thursday became even more heightened following Saturday’s main quake. Furthermore, the location of this activity, which started in areas around Kumamoto city, moved northeast and expanded to include the Aso region of Kumamoto Prefecture and central Oita Prefecture.

These three areas where large quakes have recently occurred are in or near what is called the Beppu-Shimabara rift zone. The ground structure in the Kyushu region is subject to forces that pull it north-south. Many active fault lines, including the Futagawa and Hinagu fault zones and the Beppu-Haneyama fault zone in central Oita Prefecture, have developed where the ground has been warped in parts of the rift zone.

According to the agency, whenever a fault slips, it can place additional stress on the ground further along the line. “Earthquakes in the three areas are likely affecting each other,” an agency official said.

Yasuhiro Umeda, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University and a seismology expert, was surprised by the distance between the epicenters of the quakes. “I didn’t anticipate that an earthquake might be set off so far away,” Umeda said.

(The Japan News)

Robert Eggers' period horror film “The Witch” has been one of the surprise hits of 2016. It’s even gained a second wind since its February 23 release: the first weekend of April it played on 666 screens around the country, raking in an additional USD$465,000.

The tale of a Puritan family turning on each other as they attempt to root out the supernatural evil plaguing their farm, the film won Eggers the award for best director at Sundance – and even frightened horror master Stephen King.

But neither of these accolades has generated as much buzz as an endorsement from The Satanic Temple (TST), a satanic political movement that first appeared in 2013.

In December, TST and A24 studios began collaborating on a four-city tour called The Sabbat Cycle, which consisted of screenings of the film followed by politically driven satanic rituals. The stated goal of The Sabbat Cycle was to inspire a “satanic revolution.”

TST believes that the separation of church and state is currently under attack by radical religious conservatives. They also believe there is a silent majority that opposes this agenda, but remains too apathetic to do anything about it.

The Sabbat Cycle was an attempt to raise political awareness by piggybacking on “The Witch”’s appeal. This is part of larger PR model the group has used since its inception, in which the shocking and the frightening are used to lure media attention to their cause.

As a religion scholar, I find TST fascinating. Not only do their campaigns raise serious questions about the First Amendment and religious pluralism, they also challenge the public to think about what counts as a “religion.”

To learn more, I attended the Sabbat Cycle at its Austin stop, and spoke with attendees about their religious and political views.

Political movement, religion or both?

Since its founding, TST has waged a highly active campaign to demand greater separation between church and state, and to challenge the privileged relationship Christianity has with government.

A cornerstone of their campaign has been tongue-in-cheek “stunts” intended to show how government institutions favor Christianity in ways that would never be tolerated for other religions.

TST first made headlines in 2013, when it held a rally in Florida, ostensibly to congratulate Governor Rick Scott for passing a bill that would allow students to read “inspirational messages of their choosing” at assemblies and sporting events.

While Scott probably envisioned the law permitting Christian students to offer public prayers and Bible readings, it could not, constitutionally, specify what sort of “inspirational messsages” were allowed – including satanic messages. And so the rally featured a sign declaring, “Hail Satan! Hail Rick Scott!”

Whether or not TST is a “real” religion has been a subject of debate. But some members insist that while the movement is atheistic, the group, like other religions, has a shared set of values, concerns and symbols (like Satan as a symbol of rebellion).

Religion or not, no one can question TST’s appeal or its sincerity about its political goals.

Today TST has 17 chapters in the United States and Europe and claims an estimated 100,000 members – a figure based on the purchase of membership cards and various forms of online support.

Masters of media attention

TST chapters across the country have launched campaigns demanding the same religious rights and privileges afforded to Christianity.

These have included the creation of satanic coloring books for distribution in schools in Florida and Colorado; bids to erect satanic “nativity scenes” on government property in Florida, Michigan and Indiana; offering prayers to Satan at a high school football game in Seattle; and demanding that a monument to the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol be accompanied by a monument to Baphomet (a goat-headed idol associated with witches' sabbaths).

The 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) reinforced the religious freedoms outlined in the First Amendment. When the Supreme Court ruled that RFRA applied only to the federal government and could not be applied to the states, many states passed their own versions of RFRA. Several of TST’s campaigns involve using RFRA laws to claim religious accommodations for satanists.

For example, since 2014 TST has invoked state RFRA laws in Michigan and Missouri to demand a religious exemption from laws dictating that those who seek an abortion need to review literature or endure a waiting period.

In January, TST’s Tucson chapter demanded that the Phoenix City Council include them in public prayers offered before their council meetings. The council responded with a new rule that only chaplains from the police and fire departments may offer the prayers before meetings. (TST has threatened to sue.)

Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman has argued that James Madison would have supported the Tucson satanists. Madison was concerned that individual rights could be threatened by a “tyranny of the majority,” and saw laws guaranteeing individual rights as “paper barriers” that offered no real protection. Only a diverse coalition of minorities could effectively check a majority and protect individual freedom.

“We do not seek followers, but collaborators”

It was exactly this sort of coalition that TST spokeswoman Jex Blackmore hoped to forge through events like the Sabbat Cycle.

In Austin, Texas, Blackmore took the stage before a screening of “The Witch” at the Alamo Drafthouse and explained that the film was a “microcosm of a patriarchal theocratic society that results in satanic revolution.” In Blackmore’s reading of the film, the titular witch was driven to witchcraft by Puritan oppression.

Afterward I got to chat with Drafthouse employee and film buff Laird Jimenezabout this assessment. He noted that “escaping patriarchy” is currently part of a cultural zeitgeist that includes films like Oscar-winner “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which depicts women escaping – and then overthrowing – a patriarchal warlord.

Following the screening, everyone migrated to a bar and music venue called The Sidewinder, where TST held their ritual. Members from the Detroit and San Antonio chapters began setting up and handing out satanic American flags painted in only black and white. I mingled with a small crowd of Satanic sympathizers and the curious. Leather jackets, tattoos and pentagrams were in abundance.

During the ritual, a speaker played an excerpt from a speech by Baptist pastor Dr. Jeff Owens, in which Owens warned his congregation, “Satan does not want you to do what he wants you to do. Satan wants you to do what you want to do.” (Other eyewitness accounts of the ritual can be found here and here.) Owens had been warning that Satan uses people’s pride and selfish desires against them, but the ritual imposed its own interpretation onto his message: To TST, Satan represents moral autonomy and personal responsibility.

Blackmore eventually appeared from beneath a hood and took to a podium to deliver what can only be described as a “satanic jeremiad.” She warned that Christian theocrats were taking over America and that those present – atheists, satanists, fans of heavy metal and punk music – were allowing it to happen: “There’s too much apathy and not enough resistance!”

She told the audience, “We do not seek followers, but collaborators.”

Afterward I spoke with some young people from the crowd. One explained that he was attracted to Satanism because “It’s about knowledge,” not dogma.

Another, Jonathan – who identified as a witch – seemed the most likely to be sympathetic to TST’s politics. He said that when he attended high school in Virginia Beach, his classmates targeted him for openly identifying as a Pagan. Someone even pretended to be him and called in bomb threats to his school. The events attracted the attention of Detective Don Rimer, a notorious “occult crime expert,” who confiscated all of Jonathan’s books on witchcraft as evidence. There was an attempt to forcibly commit Jonathan to a mental institution.

I asked Jonathan if he thought TST was really a religion.

“Definitely,” he said, “Some people treat Christianity as a hobby. But no one thinks it’s not a real religion.”

Can the satanists win?

As the event wound down, I was able to interview Blackmore. Like Marx, Blackmore saw her revolution as inevitable: the Christian Right would naturally drive people to rebel against it.

She told me that she’d recently met a French journalist who said that nothing like TST could happen in France. The French model of laicité – a much more ingrained version of America’s professed separation of church and state – leaves nothing to rebel against. By contrast, TST wants to challenge the popular belief that America is a “Christian nation.”

Many TST members and allies I spoke to described strict Christian upbringings. In Blackmore’s assessment, progressive cities like Austin are paradoxically the most apathetic about resisting the Christian Right because people in progressive cities feel they are unaffected by religion-influenced laws. Blackmore saw “The Witch” as an opportunity to get more people involved and hasten their political revolution.

But Jonathan pointed out that this dialectic can swing both ways: revolution begets counterrevolution. For example, in the 1970s, the New Christian Right formed, in part, as a response to the perceived excesses of the 1960s.

Likewise, there is a risk that an openly satanic presence in American politics will energize the very forces TST opposes. Right wing news sites such as Breitbart.com and LifeSiteNews have given TST heavy coverage precisely because their rhetoric can be used as fodder for antiabortion activists.

Conservative voices have claimed TST “proves” what they have said all along – that God is with them and their political opponents are literally demonic.

In many ways, TST is the heir to the “New Left” of the 1960s and such figures as Abbie Hoffman and Allen Ginsberg. Events like the “exorcism” of the Pentagon in 1967 demonstrated an understanding of ritual and semiotics: the strategic use of religious symbols could change what the Pentagon represented to the public.

But the New Left also intentionally straddled the line between prank and sincerity in order to draw media attention to their cause. It is contested today what effect the New Left actually had toward the goal of ending the Vietnam War and it is similarly unclear what effect TST might have on America’s political center of gravity.

Nonetheless, millennials now outnumber baby boomers. They’re a more diverse generation than their predecessors, and major changes to the political landscape seem inevitable.

Still, supporters like Jonathan remain skeptical of TST’s true viability.

“It’s not that they’re wrong,” he said, “But this is Austin, and look how many people came out? And how many people here are actually going to do anything?”

(the conversation)