The Religion WAR (04-08)
Reading between the lines, thinking outside the box, and seeing the forest...
Devil down-under...
Pope Benedict has left Rome for Australia, where he will meet hundreds of thousands of young people celebrating World Youth Day. As he did during his recent US trip, Pope Benedict is expected to offer apologies to Australian victims of sexual abuse by priests.
Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.
Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the 2nd time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church.
Benedict XVI is reportedly working on his 3rd encyclical this summer, which could be ready as early as this fall.
According to the secretary of state, the encyclical "comes and goes from the Pope's desk, because he doesn't want to repeat common concepts of the Church's social doctrine, but wants to offer something original, according to the challenges of today."
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops. They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church.
They met members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful of the Vatican's departments, the successor to the medieval Inquisition, which enforces doctrine. The names of the bishops are known to The Sunday Telegraph, but they have asked for anonymity because the talks are of such a sensitive and potentially explosive nature.
Religious leaders in Venezuela have criticised a recently formed church that openly backs President Chavez's socialist politics. The Reformed Catholic Church was set up by a group of Anglicans and Catholics who wanted to put more emphasis on helping the poor. But the ruling body of the Catholic Church says its members are criminals who are trying to divide the Church.
German couples will soon be able to get married in church without first going through a civil ceremony in the registry office for the first time in 130 years. Civil marriages were introduced in Germany in 1875, when purely religious unions were made illegal.
A 3-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after 3 days.
A plan is being discussed by lawmakers in Iran that would require the death penalty for anyone who leaves Islam for Christianity or someone who promotes such a conversion even on the Internet.
Christian radio stations are broadcasting adverts in which Barack Obama describes how he let Jesus in his life as he knelt before a cross in a Chicago church 23 years ago.
Although not formally linked to Mr Obama's campaign, the network is part of a concerted effort to prise off a chunk of a Christian vote that has long been regarded as the more or less exclusive preserve of Republican presidential candidates.
John McCain is preparing to ramp up his efforts to reach out to Catholic voters with a "very, very aggressive" campaign, spearheaded by the newly created Catholic Outreach Coalition.
I'd like to take some time to examine the issue of how Christians should react to the prospect of martial law in America.
An American pastor who made news in April by studying NASA's eclipse calendar to speculate on the return of Jesus Christ to Earth is now planning a worldwide blast of trumpets this fall to get God's attention.
Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake, Wash., is organizing the global "Day of Shouting" for the evening of Sept. 29, marking the annual biblical holiday known as the Feast of Trumpets.
"God wants us to look at the biblical calendar," he said. "The reason we need to be watching is [because] He will signal His appearance. But we have to know what to be watching as well. So we need to be watching the biblical holidays."
[WAR: So close, but yet so far -- by 3 days. The Feast of Trumpets will be on "Oct 3", from dawn-to-dark. Let the heavens prove it: On the night of "Sept 29," there will be no Moon visible -- both it and the Sun are in the upper portion of Virgo.
The next night (30th), there will also be no Moon visible -- being at the waist of Virgo. The next night (1st), there will be a crescent -- at the feet of Virgo, but will have disappeared by the time night falls when the stars rule.
The next night (2nd), there will be a crescent Moon (with earthshine making it look full) that will be reigning with the stars -- with the Moon being under Virgo's feet, in Libra. So looking up at the heavens on this night, a person would literally see "a woman clothed with the Sun, with the Moon under her feet..." (Rev 12:1)]
[Bible Study][The 7th Day Sabbath][[Day-Night Map][Tonight's Sky][Moon phase][Interfaith calendar][Multifaith calendar]
[WAR: I believe I've posted this before, but just received a reminder of it. It's a great visual presentation!]
Eight debates – including a Christopher Hitchens vs. Dinesh D'Souza bout over religion and terrorism – headline this year's FreedomFest in Las Vegas, which describes itself as the tradeshow for liberty and the world's largest gathering of free minds.
The British journalist Hitchens, who calls himself an antitheist, is the author of the recent best-seller "God is Not Great," while D'Souza hit the charts with "What's So Great About Christianity?"
Researcher Dr. Michael Gazzaniga discussed how the structure of the brain defines humanity. He detailed how studies show that certain values are hardwired into peoples' brains, as opposed to being the result of outside forces. Aversion to murder, cheating, and incest are some of the moral judgements that cut across all cultures.
(And: He oversees an extensive and broad research program investigating how the brain enables the mind.)
[WAR: What is Satan's best way to get to people's mind? By altering the functioning of the brain -- via drugs (legal/illegal), alcohol, eating and drinking the wrong things. If the brain is not operating correctly, then the mind/behavior/emotions are ipso facto effected. For more info on the link between brain dysfunction and wrong behavior, check out Crime Times.]
Eternal life and promised land in return for money and soul
Specialists have not found a common definition to the word sect. Some determine it as a religious group, which does not have the recognition of the general public. Others say that a sect is an ideological group of people who follow their charismatic leader. Both of these definitions say that a sect leader has a very strong influence in his supporters. Here is a list of the most dangerous sects in the world.
Religion has existed since man's first thought, and this list probably illustrates that it is unlikely to go away anytime soon. So here is a list of 5 religions that you (probably) never knew existed.
It was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century and hailed as the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. Half a century after being redated to the 6th century, the exquisite silver treasure known as the Antioch Chalice is coming to Britain for the first time as part of an exhibition of the glories of Byzantium.
God wants us to understand the message He has given to us in the Bible. He hasn't hidden it from us; He wants us to know it so we can make it the foundation of our lives.
posted by The Daily Warrior | 12:06 PM
