Free Republic

As research shows the correlation between spiritual maturity and reading the Bible, one organization is addressing the significant lack of biblical literacy within the Christian community, as few Christians take time to make Bible study a daily practice. Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, says his group's findings indicate that church members may be aware of general themes about Christianity, but they lack the biblical literacy necessary to better understand the full story of what God is doing in the world. "We did a study at LifeWay Research and found the number-one correlated factor to spiritual growth and maturity was...

Subprime crisis claims another German victim Published: Wednesday, 8 August, 2007, 02:49 AM Doha Time FRANKFURT: The stricken US subprime mortgage market showed fresh potential to suck in other investors when another German asset manager froze a fund yesterday, blaming a crisis triggered by the risky US mortgages temporarily closed a 235mn-euro asset-backed securities (ABS) fund after seeing what it said was a sharp fall in its value - 2.4% - over the past week. The development is significant because it is the second fund manager to come unstuck even though it had not invested in subprime assets. The fund...

"The rich are different from you and me," wrote Fitzgerald and I suppose they are, but the differences – they wax and wane with the economic tides. Gilded ages come, go, and are reborn on the monsoon cloudbursts of seemingly intangible forces such as globalization, innovation, and favorable tax policy. For the rich to be truly rich and multiply their numbers, they need help. Adept surfers they may be, but like all riders, the wealthy need a seventh wave that allows them to preen their skills and declare themselves masters of their own universe, if only for a moment in...

Abs-olute madness BY DAVE BARRY (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published on June 30, 1996.) What I want to know is: Why is it important to have visible stomach muscles? I grew up in an era (the Paleolithic) when people kept their stomach muscles discreetly out of sight. Most of us didn't even realize we had stomach muscles; the only people who ever actually saw them were courageous surgeons willing to cut through fat layers the thickness of the Cleveland white pages. I'm not saying we weren't in shape; I'm just saying we had a different concept of...

Beer-Belly Gene Found Gene Type Linked to Fat Abs in Men By Daniel DeNoon Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD on Monday, January 06, 2003 WebMD Medical News Jan. 6, 2003 -- It's the end of the season for too much TV football, too much food, and, well, too much. But now some men can put the blame for their beer guts on something else -- their parents. Men who inherit a certain gene from both parents have a higher risk of abdominal fat, an Italian study finds. "Overweight and abdominal [fat] were more common in men with the [certain gene...