In this world of busy schedules and never-ending obligations, our lives leave little time for reflection upon the bigger issues… Like God. To help make sure He is not forgotten, Luddite Creative LLC introduces BiblicalMail.com.
BiblicalMail.com, the first, exclusive email-based daily bible, allows people the opportunity to read the Bible in small, manageable portions via email. Unlike other “scripture of the day” emails, BiblicalMail sends daily emails of the entire bible in order at intervals of the user’s choosing. BiblicalMail.com is free, simple to sign up, and easy to opt-out. It allows the user to set the time, frequency, and length of readings in addition to giving the user the option to receive the Old or the New Testaments.
BiblicalMail.com, a pet project of founder and CEO of Luddite Creative LLC, Matthew Harp, was designed to help spread the Gospel to those whose, those who had not been prior-exposed to the bible or whose daily lives distracted them from Bible study.
The initial reaction to BiblicalMail has been quite favorable, averaging about 500 hits per day within the first week of operation. Future plans of extension are already in the works, including providing content in multiple languages, adding scripture analysis by renowned theologians, and the option to read the Bible in different versions.
www.biblicalmail.com
Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West is an award-winning feature film that documents the call for world domination and global jihad made by Islamic leaders on a daily basis. The controversial film features exclusive footage from Arabic TV rarely seen in the West, as well as interviews with former terrorists, and experts including Alan Dershowitz, Steve Emerson, John Loftus, Caroline Glick and Nonie Darwish. The film demonstrates parallels between Chamberlain’s doomed strategy of appeasing Hitler prior to WWII, with the West’s current attitude of appeasing Iran and radical Islamists.
Almost 70 years ago, Europe found itself at war with one of the most sinister figures in modern history: Adolf Hitler. When the last bullet of World War II was fired, over 50 million people were dead, and countless countries were both physically and economically devastated. Hitler’s bloody struggle sought to forge the world anew, in the crucible of Nazi values. How could such a disaster occur? How could the West have overlooked the evil staring it in the face, for so long, before standing forcefully against it?
Today, we find ourselves confronted by a new enemy, also engaged in a violent struggle to transform our world. As we sleep in the comfort of our homes, a new evil rises against us. A new menace is threatening, with all the means at its disposal, to bow Western Civilization under the yoke of its values. That enemy is Radical Islam.
Using images from Arab TV, rarely seen in the West, Obsession reveals an ‘insider’s view’ of the hatred the Radicals are teaching, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination. With the help of experts, including first-hand accounts from a former PLO terrorist, a Nazi youth commander, and the daughter of a martyred guerilla leader, the film shows, clearly, that the threat is real.
Islam is being hijacked by radical extremists, who actively seek to destroy the shared values we stand for. The world should be very concerned.
www.obsessionthemovie.com
Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West
That’s the dilemma facing leaders of the United Methodist Church, and it may bring the long-standing practice of guaranteed jobs for pastors to an end.
Since the 1950s, United Methodists and their ministers have had a deal: Ministers went where they were assigned, even if it meant leaving a church they loved, and the denomination guaranteed ministers they would always have a job.
“It’s kind of a sacred trust,” said the Rev. Ann Moman, associate general secretary at the Nashville-based Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
But shrinking membership and budgets may make that system unsustainable. Methodist bishops and two denominational committees want to end job security for ministers, known as guaranteed appointment.
“There’s a good deal of momentum towards doing away with guaranteed appointment,” said Lovett Weems, who runs the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Membership Declines
Job security for Methodist ministers dates to 1956. At that time, Methodists had begun ordaining women pastors, but at least one bishop refused to appoint them to churches. African-American pastors ran into similar problems.
“It started as a restriction to the power of bishops,” Weems said. “A few years later, it became a right of clergy.”
But as membership has dropped, so has the number of churches able to afford pastors. In 1960, United Methodists claimed about 10.8 million members. Today, membership is at 7.8 million. Average Sunday attendance is about 95 people. And half of Methodist churches draw 50 or fewer people to Sunday services.
The Methodist job guarantees apply only to full-time ordained clergy, known as elders in full connection. Weems said that a church needs about 125 people to support a full-time minister. In some cases, elders serve two or more churches at a time. Many churches are served by part-time or local pastors who have no job security.
Article Source: www.tennessean.com
REPORT TAKEN FROM gothamist.com
The campaign will take over 20 Manhattan buses for about one month, and president of New York City Atheists, Ken Bronstein, says the test run could be reaching other boroughs later this year (the group’s website is taking donations for the next roll out). The ads read: “You don’t have to believe in God to be a moral and ethical person.”
Joseph Zwilling, the director of communications for the Archdiocese of New York, told CityRoom the ads were “not offensive in the Catholic Church’s view, given their wording. They’re not attacking or disparaging the Church as far as I can see.” While the message isn’t a rebuttal to that of another religious group’s, the site reports that the inspiration came from a similar campaign in London last year, which was in response to a Christian group’s whose message told nonbelievers that they would “spend all eternity in torment.”
The goal of the $10,000 NYC ad campaign is to increase membership—Bronstein says there has been an “atheism awakening” lately, and the practice was made more acceptable when President Obama included a reference to “nonbelievers” in his inaugural address. Previously, the MTA explained that the Jews for Jesus ads in the Times Square subway station were protected under the First Amendment.
Report Taken from townhall.com
An anonymous donor is apparently donating thousands of dollars for the express purpose of advertising atheism in the New York City subway system. According to blogger Gothamist, yesterday kicked-off a month-long advertising blitz in a dozen Manhattan subway stations with signs advertising the slogan, “A Million New Yorkers Are Good Without God. Are You?”
In addition to promoting godlessness, the advertising will reportedly also be promoting a new book called Good Without God, by Greg Epstein.
The ads are being coordinated by “New York City Coalition for Reason,” an umbrella organization comprised of local atheist groups, City Room reports. According to their website, “All Big Apple COR organizations share common ground—promoting wider acceptance of a more rational and realistic view of the universe—but each has its own particular emphasis. Some advocate for scientific knowledge, reason, and skeptical inquiry. Some focus on the promotion of dogma-free humanist ethics, and an appreciation for life and the lives of other persons.”
New York isn’t the only city being targeted by these outspoken atheists. Chicagoist is also reporting on billboards that have popped-up in the Windy City: The billboard, located at LaSalle and Grand and paid for by the Chicago Coalition For Reason, says, “Are You Good Without God? Millions Are.”
The CCoR describes itself as “an exciting group of organizations in the Chicago area, each of which celebrates a human-centered and naturalistic approach to life. For us, non-dogmatic and rational approaches to ethics, culture and the human experience are the most meaningful and satisfying.”
High on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey, there is a baffling mountainside “anomaly,” a feature that one researcher claims may be something of biblical proportions.
Images taken by aircraft, intelligence-gathering satellites and commercial remote-sensing spacecraft are fueling an intensive study of the intriguing oddity. But whether the anomaly is some geological quirk of nature, playful shadows, a human-made structure of some sort, or simply nothing at all remains to be seen.
Whatever it is, the anomaly of interest rests at 15,300 feet (4,663 meters) on the northwest corner of Mount Ararat, and is nearly submerged in glacial ice. It would be easy to call it merely a strange rock formation.
But at least one man wonders if it could be the remains of Noah’s Ark, a vessel said to have been built to save people and selected animals from the Great Flood, the 40 days and 40 nights of deluge as detailed in the Book of Genesis.
The Genesis blueprint of the Ark detailed the structure as 6:1 length to width ratio (300 cubits by 50 cubits). The anomaly, as viewed by satellite, is close to that 6:1 proportion.
According to researchers, the bible states that Noah’s Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, the same location as the anomaly in the above photograph.
Source Article: panachereport.com
Source Article: space.com
At Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip, the congregation can get more than just prayer at the Sunday worship services.
If a lucky — or “blessed and highly favored” — churchgoer is in the right seat, they can also receive a cash prize.
At each of the three Sunday services, the Rev. Dan Willis pulls a number of one seat from a bag and the worshiper in that seat wins a cash prize. Two of the churchgoers win $250 and the third gets $500. The church gives away $1,000 each Sunday, Willis said.
The cash prize is part of Willis’ recent focus on helping his congregation pay bills and begin a debt-free life, he said.
“We’ve had soooo many of our people displaced from jobs, facing foreclosure,” he said. “When people’s faith was high, their debt was down. When their faith was down, their debt was high. I realized the two are connected.”
Willis concedes the cash prize is a gimmick to fill the pews. But he’s unapologetic about the plan, because it’s working. On a typical Sunday, his church draws about 1,600 people to its three Sunday services. But since the money giveaway started, about five weeks ago, the congregation has grown to about 2,500 each week, he said. The money for the giveaway comes from the church offering. Lighthouse is a non-denominational church.
“If I can get someone in here and teach them and give them money, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.
David Kinnaman, the Barna Group president who oversaw the research between 2006 and 2009, said that the younger generation’s reliance on social networking and interpersonal relationships is an indication future generations will distance themselves further from the Bible if their societal interpretations are discounted.
“The central theme of young people’s approach to the Bible is skepticism,” Kinnaman said. “They question the Bible’s history as well as its relevance to their lives, leading many young people to reject the Bible as containing everything one needs to live a meaningful life. This mindset certainly has its challenges, but it also raises the *With each generation of young people there seems to be a greater need to question authority. A recent study shows when it comes to the Bible that need is no different. According to Christian Everyday, a new survey by the Barna Group Christian research firm reveals that different generations of Americans read and interpret the Bible differently. possibility of using their skepticism as an entry point to teaching and exploring the content of the Bible in new ways.”
Similarities across age ranges show that a vast majority consider the Bible a sacred text. Also, similar proportions regardless of age subscribe to the polar opposite views that the Bible is infallible or that it is not inspired by God.
Source: eurweb.com
* Jose Feliciano and the rectory where Rev Ed Hinds’ body was found.
A caretaker has been charged with the murder of a priest whose body was found in the rectory of his US church.
Jose Feliciano, 64, stabbed and slashed Rev Ed Hinds 32 times with a kitchen knife after the pair had an argument, according to prosecutors.
The 61-year-old pastor had been in his clerical robes when he was killed and Feliciano was one of two people who said they found the body, it is claimed.
The body was discovered at about 8am on Friday after Rev Hinds failed to attend Mass at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Chatham, New Jersey. Feliciano, who had worked at the church for 17 years, was arrested the following day and also faces weapons charges.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said investigators found the priest’s mobile phone, bloody clothing and a bloody towel at Feliciano’s home in Easton, Pennsylvania.
The pastor had wounds on his upper torso, the back of his body and his head that were created by a kitchen knife, officials said. Rev Hinds also had defensive wounds on his hands and face, according to Mr Bianchi.
A post-mortem found the cause of death was severe trauma. Mr Bianchi told reporters: “Mr Feliciano had got into an argument with the pastor at approximately 5 pm the night before (Thursday night).
“It was during that altercation that the pastor was assaulted. “Mr Feliciano grabbed a knife inside of the rectory and inflicted the multiple stab wounds that led to the unfortunate demise of the pastor.”
CLICK HERE to READ MORE:huffingtonpost.com
Read the Remarkable Story of Woman with One Leg Serving Sudanese Orphans
Born without her left hip and leg, Michele Perry is no stranger to seeming impossibilities. So when she arrived in war-torn Southern Sudan with little more than her faith in God’s promises she did what everyone told her was crazy: she opened a home for orphaned children in the middle of guerilla warfare territory and has now become “mama” to over one hundred little lives.
“How did I wind up here doing this?” asks Perry. “I began a journey. I said yes to a downward trail of humility to find His heart, to find what is really real. I prayed a dangerous prayer a little over a decade ago: Jesus, teach me how to love.” And He did.
With a deft pen, she recounts unforgettable stories of life in the bush, stories that capture the reader with the stark realities of living in a war zone and the power of God’s love to transform them. “I am no super saint,” says Perry. “There are moments a hot shower would be lovely, but it cannot compare to being in the middle of God’s dreams.”
Her own story is just as compelling as the ministry she is living. From working in the slums of India to finding her home in war-ravaged Africa, Michele’s life has been a journey deeper into the supernatural power of God. A journey she eagerly invites readers to join.
“All journeys that really matter start deep inside us,” says Perry. “Yet no matter where in the world we reside, it is this journey into God’s heart that will lead us home.”
Churches from all denominations are being invited for the first time to sponsor a national advertising campaign in the run up to Christmas.
ChurchAds.net plans to place posters in bus shelters across the United Kingdom carrying the message “Christmas Starts with Christ” and depicting the nativity.
Mike Elms, trustee of ChurchAds.Net, says: “For years churches across the U.K. have produced posters to promote Christmas, but no one has attempted to run a fully national campaign, with a long-lasting slogan that runs and builds year on year.”
According to Elms, this is the U.K.’s first ever church-sponsored Christmas advertising campaign and it is planned to run over the next five years.
Churches are being asked to sponsor a bus shelter carrying one of the posters and airtime for an accompanying radio advertisement for the campaign, which will run in the last three weeks of December.
“If churches all over the country buy 2,000 bus shelters and fund 2,500 airplays of the radio commercials, the campaign would be seen or heard by around 60 percent of the U.K. population,” Elms said. “Imagine the impact that will be created by this powerful Gospel proclamation.”
A poll by Theos think tank last year found that more than a third of the British public believed that the virgin birth really happened, while more than half agreed that the birth of Jesus was “significant.” Further research by Theos also found that only 12 percent of adults know the facts of the Christmas story.
LOCAL COUNCILS ISSUE NOISE ABATEMENT NOTICES TO CHURCHES
In an extraordinary decision, All Nations Church in Kennington, South London, has been served with a noise abatement notice by Lambeth council after complaints from a couple of local residents about the level of noise coming from the church.
This is the first complaint that the church has received since it began meeting at the premises in the 1960s. Church leaders have been ordered not to amplify its music or sermons – something which will make worship very difficult for the 600-strong congregation – some of whom are elderly and hard of hearing.
The decision, which imposes a restriction on the freedom of expression of religion will, according to one of the church’s pastors, Victor Jibuike, seriously affect the congregation and potentially mean that some members will leave and worship elsewhere – something he does not want to see.
Orissa Christians in refugee camps told a visiting Living Letters team from World Council of Churches (WCC) that they had begun to rebuild their homes and lives, but added they were afraid to return to their villages permanently in case of further attacks.
The Living Letters team travelled recently to Kandhamal district in the eastern Indian state of Orissa to show solidarity with the victims of the violence that broke out following the murder of a hard-line Hindu leader in August last year. Hindus blamed Christians for the killing even though Maoist rebels publicly claimed responsibility for the murder.
The christiantelegraph.com reports: Benny Hinn was denied entry into the UK for this past weekend’s Fire Conference and Miracle Service at the ExCeL centre in London, (October 1-2, 2000) yet according to his website, bennyhinn.org, live video links allowed him to still minister to those in attendance, reports Peter Wooding, special to ASSIST News Service.
According to the Daily Telegraph Border Agency officials turned back Mr Hinn, who landed by private jet, because he had failed to bring a valid sponsorship certificate from his church, required under rules introduced last November.
The Pentecostal preacher, who was due to perform at the three day event, flew on to Paris, and attempted – and failed – to regain entry to Britain via Luton. Thousands of people who had travelled to see Mr Hinn minister at the London Excel centre were left disappointed after officials at Stansted airport would not let him in the country.
His website explained that a recent immigration regulation caused the blocked entry and the large crowds met the announcement during the services with disappointment. But they continued to express widespread enthusiasm for Bishop John Francis, who stepped in to preach each service, and for the live links that allowed Pastor Benny to both explain the unfortunate situation and to minister during the Miracle Service.
Benny Hinn was denied entry into the United Kingdom
blackweb20 Reports:
American Gospel artist Kirk Franklin tweeted as he was caught up in riots in Kampala, Uganda! Fri, Sep 10, 2009
Tweet
KIRK FRANKLIN, an American gospel singer and author, was yesterday caught up in the Kampala city riot on his way from the Vice-President, Gilbert Bukenya’s home in Kakiri, Wakiso district.
The riot, which started at around mid-day with civilians battling security operatives, arose from rumours that Buganda Kingdom premier Eng. John Baptist Walusimbi had been arrested on his way to Kayunga.
Franklin had just paid Bukenya a courtesy call, ahead of his show at Nakivubo Stadium today. His team from the US has about 100 people.
Witnesses said by the time Franklin got to Nansana, a city suburb, the road to Kampala had been cut off with logs and the rioters were pelting motorists with stones.
With him were an American pastor, John Petton, and several other Ugandan pastors.
The fleet was forced to seek refuge at Nansana Police Station. By press time, the group was still at the station under tight security.
REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY?
A Michigan church is enlisting Satan in advertising campaign to increase attendance at services and spread the word. Metro South Church in the Detroit suburb of Trenton is posting signs saying the non-denominational Christian congregation “sucks” and “makes me sick.”
In turn, it has grabbed the attention of the local community and media outlets through the marketing campaign.
The ads are signed by Satan. Church leaders even created a website to explain why Satan hates the church.
“MetroSouthChurch.com Makes Me Sick” says one sign. “MetroSouthChurch.com Sucks,” says another.
The signs are plastered throughout the Detroit metropolitan area and lead viewers and passers-by to the website SatanHatesMetro.com.
In an interview with a local TV station youth Pastor Adam Dorband said the church is trying to reach out to people and cut through the “noise.” Dorband said Jesus “wants us to be creative and he wants us to … use whatever it takes to reach people,” according to the Associated Press.
Lead Pastor Jeremy Schossau said the campaign isn’t meant to offend anyone. He felt the Satan signs were clever and the campaign is not meant to be whimsical.
Madonna…
the entertainer, has some religious leaders up in arms over her scheduled performances in their countries.
Poland…
According to OK Magazine, many of the music icon’s performances, like the recent one in Poland, took place on a Roman Catholic holy day.
Bulgaria…
And now Orthodox church officials in Bulgaria are none too happy she’s scheduled a concert in the capital of Sofia on one of their important religious days. The show is scheduled for Saturday, which coincides with an Orthodox Christian holy day, where the beheading of St. John the Baptist is marked with a day of fasting.
UK Preacher threatened with arrest for reading out extracts from the Bible in public!!!
A street preacher is at the centre of a row over freedom of speech after police threatened to arrest him for reading the Bible in public.
1
Unlawfully and unfairly treated
Lawyers acting for Miguel Hayworth, 29, have demanded an explanation over the alleged intimidation and abuse of power by three officers.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, has written to Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, over the incident. She claims that Mr Hayworth and his father, John, 55, were unlawfully and unfairly treated as they preached Christianity in the city at the end of July.
“They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested,” she wrote.
“Furthermore, they were subjected to abuse and intimidation. They were told that they were being monitored and filmed,” she wrote.
Critics claimed that a Muslim preaching his religion in the street would not have been treated in such a way by police.
St Ann’s Square in Manchester
Mr Hayworth, a voluntary worker who is married with two children, has been a street preacher in the Manchester area for five years and he is often accompanied by his father.
He said that he and his father had decided to preach from 11am at St Ann’s Square in Manchester instead of their usual place on nearby Market Street.
Reading passages from the Bible
He was reading passages from the Old and New Testaments while his father distributed leaflets containing the message of the gospel.
When it comes to spiritual guidance for President Barack Obama five heads could be better than one.
According to the NY Times, Obama prefers to consult a team of evangelical pastors instead of one spiritual advisor.
That team has counseled him through private prayer sessions on the telephone and for discussions on the role of religion in politics.
President without a church home
The president has been without a pastor or a church home since he cut ties to Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. in the heat of the presidential campaign. And despite being slow to choose a church home in Washington, D.C., Obama has received spiritual guidance from a collective.
Let us pray for Mr President
The 5 advisers are all men
All are men, two of them white and three black – including Rev. Otis Moss, Jr., a graying lion of the civil rights movement; the entrepreneurial dynamos Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, who also served as occasional spiritual advisers to President George W. Bush; and Rev. Jim Wallis, who leans left on some issues such as military intervention and poverty programs, but opposes abortion.
Read More Now on OBAMA’S SPIRITUAL COUNCIL: Five pastors advise the president
