http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/current-religion/ en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:48:18 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051376/posts Pope Benedict receives PM Nouri Al-Maliki Vatican City, Jul 25, 2008 / 10:31 am (CNA).- Today at Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father met with Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Kamel Al-Maliki.  During the course of their meeting, Pope Benedict stressed the need to end violence in the country, and received an invitation to visit Iraq. According to a press release from the Vatican, their discussion, “provided an opportunity to examine a number of fundamental aspects of the situation in Iraq,” and its surrounding region.The heads of stated focused on the struggles of the “many Iraqi refugees, both inside and outside... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051376/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:48:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051231/posts Just a Humble Public Servant As the Great Man triumphantly tours Europe... I'm reminded to lookin in on the Obamamessiah blog. They have been doing yeoman work compiling all the deranged messianic tributes to this god for the godless. I continue to be astonished at the towering humility of the Lightworker and his disciples. Here's just some of the press the Son of the Living God is getting (and is in no hurry to discourage): Barack Obama isn't really one of us. Not in the normal way, anyway. No, it's not merely his youthful vigor, or handsomeness, or even inspiring... Catholic and Enjoying It http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051231/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:58:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051187/posts Mosques are multiplying across the country and their inspiration may come as a bit of a surprise – Christian megachurches. Similar to many megachurches, new mosques are popping up as extension campuses to a main mosque with the stated goal of making it more convenient for Muslims in an area to worship. These extended mosque sites are sometimes referred to as “mosque chains” and tend to be adopted by more progressive Muslim congregations. "Because of how streamlined we are, you can get off the highway from anywhere and find a mosque that is well-maintained, well-structured and that will always be... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051187/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:24:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051105/posts Pope Benedict XVI's refusal to address the European parliament for fear it is becoming "militantly secularist" initially struck me, a humanist MEP, a triumph of equality and rationality for the EU. But on deeper reflection, I think it's a cop-out of the grandest scale, setting a dangerous precedent for other cultural and religious leaders to "opt out" of EU proceedings if they are dissatisfied with their values and methods. By refusing to take part in the parliament's Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the pontiff is effectively holding the EU to ransom. Declining to speak to MEPs, giving the excuse of other... The Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051105/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:47:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050993/posts The son of beloved evangelist and pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California was killed this morning in an automobile accident. Christopher Laurie was 33 years old and worked in his father’s ministry. Read more of the story below and see photos and a video. RightPundits.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050993/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:51:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050960/posts I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus's tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel. My apologies to those who hoped for more, but the worst I can do is show my unconcerned contempt. By the way, I didn't want to single out just the cracker, so I nailed it to a few ripped-out pages from the Qur'an and The God Delusion. They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God... Pharyngula Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050960/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:01:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050743/posts Castelgandolfo, Jul 23, 2008 / 08:15 pm (CNA).- Having returned from his visit to Australia for World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI has moved to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. After three days of rest, he will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki on Friday and travel to the northern Italian town of Bressanone the following day.In Bressanone, a German-speaking town near the Italian border with Germany, the Pope will stay with his brother Father Georg Ratzinger in a medieval seminary from July 28 to August 11. According to ANSA news agency, a grand piano has been... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050743/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:18:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050703/posts The Risk of Love July 23rd, 2008 by Mark Shea Recently a reader wrote me to say, “I read a story on the Internet about a Catholic couple whose new baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and anencephaly (no brain). They chose to abort it. How on earth would you deal pastorally with such a horrible situation?” Such questions involve several parts. What does God think? What would I do? What should I make of those people over there? We feel torn between obeying God’s commands “Don’t kill” and “Don’t judge.” And in our culture, “Don’t judge” has much the... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050703/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:10:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050680/posts Breaking, big, news: The St. Louis Archdiocese filed suit today against the St. Stanislaus Kostka church in an attempt to regain control of the former Polish parish. Six parishioners, including three recent board members, joined the archdiocese in the suit. They are asking a St. Louis judge to void any changes to the St. Stanislaus' bylaws since 2001 and give the archbishop the authority to appoint a pastor and board there. Last month, the St. Stanislaus board voted 4-3 to dissolve itself and allow parishioners to elect a new board at its annual meeting in August. Eight St. Stanislaus... American Papist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050680/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:29:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050631/posts Madrid, 2008 In 1936, during the great Socialist Terror of the early months of the Civil War, the large monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Cerro de los Ángeles, near Madrid, was attacked and demolished, a symbol of one of the harshest large-scale persecutions of the Church in History. From one of the stones of the demolished statue, a small sculpture of the Sacred Heart was sculpted and placed in the public garden outside the Parish Church of San Antonio de la Florida, in Madrid - otherwise a very famous building due to the extensive paintings of... Rorate Caeli http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050631/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050308/posts Kiev, Jul. 23, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The two most powerful leaders of the Orthodox world-- Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow-- will be in Kiev, Ukraine, this weekend to join in celebrating the 1020th anniversary of Christianity there. The "Baptism of the Rus" is seen by the Moscow patriarchate as the historic foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Alexei will preside at a liturgical celebration of the event on July 28. Patriarch Bartholomew, the acknowledged "first among equals" of the world's Orthodox patriarchs, will also be in Kiev to commemorate the event. But his... CWN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050308/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:08:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050295/posts Rome, 23 July (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI will meet Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki on Friday for the first time during his official visit to Italy. Al-Maliki is due to arrive in Rome on Thursday to meet his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi on the second leg of his European visit after talks with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin on Tuesday. The Iraqi prime minister will meet the Pope at the pontiff's summer residence at Castelgandolfo, outside Rome. He will then hold separate talks with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state. Iraq is home to the Chaldean... AKI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050295/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050293/posts Sydney certainly knows how to throw a party. The extraordinary scenes played out on the city's streets over the course of the World Youth Day week, and relayed on television screens for huge world audiences, or reported in newspapers or on radio bulletins, have been in some respects reminiscent of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In other ways they have surpassed them. For this was a party quite unlike any other: five days and nights of peace, love and Christianity, enjoyed by young pilgrims from around the world; no alcohol, little trouble, barely even a hint of disorder. To cap it... Otago (NZ) Daily Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050293/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:45:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050265/posts In Israel, a resurgence in the number of Jews who believe in Jesus is getting a lot of attention. Many leaders say it's the strongest growth since the time of Jesus and that the Messianic movement could be on the brink of a great revival. "This is the first time where we've seen Israeli society in general being so open to consider who Yeshua is," said Messianic leader Asher Intrater. "This is a real miracle, and there's beginning to be grace and favor with us in the land." Although Jesus and the early disciples were Jewish, for nearly 2,000 years... CBN News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050265/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:59:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050235/posts We are not contending against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). “This combat rages fiercely even today, aided and abetted by well-known secret sects, Satanic groups and New Age movements, to mention but a few, and reveals many ugly heads of the hideous anti-God monster: among them are notoriously secularism, which seeks to build a Godless society; spiritual indifference, which is insensitive to transcendental values; and relativism, which is contrary to the permanent tenets of the Gospel. “All... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050235/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:49:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050216/posts Yes, the sad little cracker has met its undignified end, so stop pestering me. The cracker, the koran, and another surprise entry have been violated and are gone. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the details, what little of them there are. Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050216/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:28:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050162/posts When Gov. Alfred E. Smith ran for president in 1928, his candidacy was derailed in large part by anti-Catholic prejudice. It has been nearly 48 years since John F. Kennedy became the first (and so far only) Roman Catholic president, but experts say that anti-Catholic sentiment — much of it originating in, or as a response to, immigrants in New York — remains an enduring force in American culture. That was the consensus of a panel assembled at the Museum of the City of New York on Tuesday night to consider the question, “Is Anti-Catholicism Dead?” ...The Rev. Richard John... NY Times City Room Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050162/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:47:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050150/posts Religious images seem to have appeared over the years in everything from a sliced potato to 400-year-old granite, and some lucky finds from around the world have sold for thousands of dollars on eBay and reportedly delivered divine messages. One of the latest "discoveries" is a piece of beef at a restaurant in Nigeria that seems to depict the name of the Prophet Muhammad and has diners flocking to see it from miles around. Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050150/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:23:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049943/posts After years of being booed offstage, the curtains have again opened and God is being greeted with tumultuous applause. World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney was a triumph for the Catholic Church and its 81-year-old head, Pope Benedict XVI. About 400,000 people attended a final Mass on Sunday (July 20), briefly making the pilgrims’ destination bigger than the nation’s capital, Canberra. Some baffled journalists described it as a Catholic Woodstock – the 1969 orgy of, drugs and sex and rock ‘n roll which became an iconic moment for baby-boomers. But 40 years later, the world has moved in an unexpected... Mercator Net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049943/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:25:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049904/posts TULLAHOMA, Tenn. (BP) | A 28-year-old man accepted Christ in jail after causing a tragedy that had left a pastor feeling responsible for the death of a church deacon. Tim McGehee, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Tullahoma, Tenn., and first vice president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, said he was returning home from a hospital visit April 28 when he noticed a car speeding up behind him on a rural road. McGehee then noticed a Lowe's truck parked in front of a home along the road ahead. "When I looked back in the rearview mirror, that car was on... Illinois Baptist State Association http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049904/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:10:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049882/posts Lebanon, Indiana - A woman is recovering in a Boone County hospital after injuring herself with a three-foot sword over the weekend. Katherine Gunther put a hole in her left foot in a cemetery early Saturday with a sword she was wielding as part of a Wiccan ceremony. "The I plunged the sword into the ground and my foot was there," said Gunther, a practicing Wiccan. "I don't do animal sacrifices or anything like that." "I didn't even know they existed in Lebanon, 'til I got the call," said Keith Neher of the Lebanon Police Department. The ceremony involves finding... WTHR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049882/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:29:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049687/posts The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan today declared that Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, "should resign for the sake of the church." In a press conference at the decennial Lambeth Conference, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul said that homosexual ordination "is not what is found in the Bible" and that it is "not the norm of the Anglican world." Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049687/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:53:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049677/posts A Statement from the Virginia Annual Council of the United Methodist Church July 11, 2008 On June 27, 2008, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County declared constitutional—as applied to the case before it—a Virginia statute which gives ownership of church property to breakaway congregations of a church denomination, which for years had held the property in trust for the purpose of worship within the denomination, according to denominational doctrine. The statute, known as the “Division Statute,” was enacted by the Virginia legislature only a few years after the end of the Civil War, and was used then as a vehicle... The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049677/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:35:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049396/posts The Mediator (the quarterly newsletter of the awesome evangelical outreach to Hollywood, MasterMedia Internatonal) reports that Oprah Winfrey now airs a one-hour daily radio show on her XM satellite radio channel that takes listeners through the 365 lessons in the New Age tome "A Course in Miracles." The folks at MasterMedia got their information from truthorfiction.com If you're not familiar with the teachings of A Course In Miracles (which were supposedly channeled to the author by Jesus) you can check out the quotes on the truthorfiction page above (some of the quotes are from other New Age books, but... Thermonuclear Thought http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049396/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:42:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049391/posts BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Abraham didn't exist? The Exodus didn't happen? The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor. "It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down." The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics... Orlando Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049391/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:35:47 GMT