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You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still ahead, Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of the doctrine of salvation, please stay with us. CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here is this week’s question: Dear Dave and Tom: I have friends who are conservative Roman Catholics, and they just went through the experience of seeing their daughter become a Roman Catholic Buddhist. I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms but it’s...

Franciscan School looted and classrooms burned to the ground Nuns subjected to abuse as they were paraded through the streets Two Christians killed since government moved against protesters Dozens of churches, homes and businesses owned by Christians attacked A mob marched nuns through the battle-torn streets of Cairo ‘like prisoners of war’ in the latest outrage against Egypt’s Christian minority. Sister Manal, principal of a Franciscan school in suburban Cairo, watched for six hours as a mob looted the building, knocked the cross off the gate and replaced it with a black banner resembling the flag of Al Qaeda. The...

Wife just got a phone call with horrible news from niece in Bombay. Ceiling collapsed in multi-story apartment building in the middle of the night. Very poor area. Wife's older sister currently is semi-conscious and bleeding. There seems to be no emergency service who will pick her up and family has no vehicle. The next few hours would seem to be critical. The sister, Margaret, was practically a saint in helping raise my wife as a child. A wonderful person. Prayers badly needed. Thank you. I will read but probably not reply tonight. Thank you.

SCIENCE has always fascinated me. As a child in Tibet, I was keenly curious about how things worked. When I got a toy I would play with it a bit, then take it apart to see how it was put together. As I became older, I applied the same scrutiny to a movie projector and an antique automobile. At one point I became particularly intrigued by an old telescope, with which I would study the heavens. One night while looking at the moon I realized that there were shadows on its surface. I corralled my two main tutors to show...

This translation of a televised conversation reveals a rare glimpse into the outlook of Muslim scholars who are concerned about Christianity’s growth. The invited guest is Sheikh Ahmad Al Katani; the president of The Companions Lighthouse for the Science of Islamic Law in Libya, which is an institution specializing in graduating imams and Islamic preachers. Katani starts off describing the overall problem: Islam used to represent, as you previously mentioned, Africa’s main religion and there were 30 African languages that used to be written in Arabic script. The number of Muslims in Africa has diminished to 316 million, half of...

Father Gabriele Amorth is an old school priest. The octogenarian told The London Times this week that, since he was ordained way back in 1954, he has cast out some 160,000 demons. I believe that gives Father Gabriele some authority on the devil. So when he told the Times, “Practicing yoga brings evil,” he got my attention. I’ve long considered yoga a benign form of exercise, no more harmful than, say, aerobics or Pilates or, the apparent latest craze, Zumba. But after doing some research, I’m inclined to agree with Father Gabriele, the exorcist. While yoga indeed has a physical...

Everyone knows that Europe is Islamophobic, but for some reason it’s also Buddihiphilic*. Maybe the French actually judge religions based on their behavior. Or maybe, like everyone else, they’re irrationally afraid of being murdered by Muslim terrorists even though there is no reason for them to be because that never happens. Almost three French people in four (73%) say that they have a negative image of Islam, while other religions enjoy the approval of a clear majority, according to a poll published on Tuesday. Questioned by the agency Tilder and the Institut Montaigne, in the context of the program “Place...

MessageToEagle.com - Normally, as a matter of personal preference I don’t get into politics, but when we have a presidential campaign that begins to cross over into the strange twilight zone of religious weirdness that centers on the one person who’s going to control the most powerful government and army on the face of the earth, well, it brings up some unusual scenarios to wonder about. It is being reported in the media today that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney only wrote a victory speech for Election Day; presumably a harried, last minute scramble to revise his speech was being...

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) A key difference between Latter-day Saints and many other Christian churches is that Mormons believe that there are various post-judgment kingdoms in the outskirts of heaven. There’s the Telestial Kingdom, for anyone from Hitler to that lawyer who’s cheating on his wife. There’s the Terrestrial Kingdom, for those decent folks who said “not now” when the missionaries came by the door. And then there’s the Celestial Kingdom, the jackpot prize. But even the Celestial Kingdom comes in degrees. According to Joseph Smith, there are three degrees of glory...

It doesn't sound right: someone claiming to be both a follower of Jesus Christ while still identifying himself as a Hindu or Sikh. But some respected missiologists are defending the new communities in India called Yeshu Satsang as biblical. Formed as a direct response to broken relationships that Hindus or Sikhs in India who convert to Christianity often must endure, members of Yeshu Satsangs seek to follow the Bible while still retaining their cultural identity as Hindu or Sikh, and thus retaining harmonious relationships with their family members and community. The communities are also a pushback against Western ways of...

<p>An ancient Buddhist statue that a Nazi expedition brought back from Tibet shortly before World War II was carved from a meteorite that crashed on Earth thousands of years ago.</p> <p>What sounds like an Indiana Jones movie plot appears to have actually taken place, according to European researchers publishing in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science this month.</p>

THE best view of the Goa coast of western India can be seen from the topmost turret of the ruined Portuguese fort above Chapora. From the dark upper slopes of the Pernem hills down to the level ground of the coastline stretches kilometre upon kilometre of banana and coconut groves, the deep-green of the palms offset by the white sand of the shore and the foam of the breaking rollers. In the palm groves, you can just see the toddy tappers throwing ripe king coconuts down from the treetops. Further up the beach, lean fishermen are beaching their catamaran-canoes on...

A national census has revealed that while most Australians profess Christianity as a belief, the religion as a whole in the country has been on a steady decline, while the number adherents of Eastern faiths like Buddhism and Hinduism has grown. The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently revealed its first set of findings for 2011, which showed that Christianity remains the dominant religion among Australia's 21,507,717 population, and was claimed as the faith of practice by 61.1 percent of respondents – although that figure was down by almost 3 percent from 63.9 percent in 2006. Of those Christians, 25.3 percent...

Report and pictures of the Dalai Lama robed and in choir.

Know that when we follow Jesus Christ we follow what the Father wants. To know HIM is to know the LORD. Love one another. Speak only in HIS goodness. HIS grace and mercy endures forever.

We try to protect ourselves from many things, yet still never know when is our end. GOD created us. GOD knows our beginning, end, and knows what's within us. It's better to trust in HIM, then to trust in ourselves. We are trying to figure ourselves out. But it's better to listen to our creator who knows what we are all about.

From the mouth the heart speaks. From our eyes our actions trigger. From our emotions our imaginations peak. From our thoughts we must figure. Jesus is the way that's what we must seek. Follow HIM every day and life gets bigger.

Praise the LORD JESUS CHRIST in all HIS splendor. GOD is great, amazing, honest, and true. HE will walk with us, guide, and teach us through all we go through in this life. Make sure your hearts are focused on HIM!

On October 26, 2011 the UK's Telegraph newspaper ran an obituary which read Disgraced former leader of US Hare Krishna community dies at 74 and recounted the bizarre life and passing of cult leader Swami Kirtanananda Bhaktipada (1937-2011). Kirtanananda was born Keith Gordon Ham in upstate New York the son of an extremely conservative Southern Baptist minister. Keith inherited his father's zeal and recruiting tactics and successfully converted many classmates to "born again" evangelical Christianity. Despite a childhood case of polio, he excelled in high school academics graduating with top honors in 1955 and received a degree in History from...

Bishop From Northeast India Speaks on Christ's AppealROME, FEB. 3, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The northeast corner of India is the place where the Catholic Church has grown most over the past 30 years, with an average of about 10,000 adult baptisms every year -- and this despite the fact that for many generations missionaries were banned. Mark Riedemann for Where God Weeps in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need spoke with a bishop from the region, John Thomas Kattrukudiyil of Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. Q: Since the 1970s the Catholic Church has exploded in this northeastern corner...

To all, GOD BLESS US ALL!! Just a message to think about! Life unravels at it's time. No one can stop time fully, whether they believe in GOD or not. We are all given different talents, different facilities, and different thoughts. Yet , not very different, because we can always find a "group" of people or at least another person on this earth that believe in what we believe. There is someone for everyone. So, we are all not completely that different. There are many systems in this world created by humans to validate what they believe and they think...

THE HINDU THEORY OF WORLD CYCLES In the Light of Modern Science Traditional Hindu scriptures view history as cyclical in character, with vast repeating series of ages. Each age has its own particular qualities. Interestingly, this system seems to be taken literally by modern Yoga masters such as Swami Muktananda, Baba Hari Dass, Swami Vishnu Tirtha, and so on. As a Western devotee, I found myself wondering exactly what the full system of Hindu cycles is, and how it relates to the findings of modern science. Following is my attempt to explain what I found out. Traditional Puranic Model...

FRiends, The edema and infections are getting worse and I'm scared that I will lose one or both of my feet or even my legs. My feet are about two-and-a-half times their normal size. It will be very hard to take care of my wife (stroke last year) and myself if I lose my mobility. I appreciate any and all prayers, thoughts, best wishes or whatever. This is like a second home for me and I have many good friends here that I've never met in person. Thank you!

Rasanath Das, a former New York investment banker who gave it all up to become a Hindu monk, was recently spending his Sunday afternoons leading Occupy Wall Street protesters in meditation until police cleared their camp at Zuccotti Park this week. The 32-year-old monk isn’t sure now where his next session will be. He’ll keep following the protesters to offer meditation sessions, though, convinced they will only roll back the inequality they see around them if they find equanimity deep inside. “Anger won’t solve anything,” he told Reuters. “We have to work from the heart… there is so much distrust...

“If your right hand causes you to sin cut it off”! < Mark 9:43 >> What did Jesus meant? Here is the answer Beinsa Douno gives: "Can our hand lead us into temptation? - Yes, it is possible. Every material thing, power or body that we possess can lead us into temptation...." According to Beinsa Douno - The hand is an expression/symbol of the reasonable/intelligent in man..... "If your right hand causes you to sin." If your unreasonable life leads you into temptations and gives one twisted/wrong understanding, one twisted/wrong theory, through which (which causes) your mind, your heart, and...

From a Middle East correspondent: Beirut Arab news agency al Nashra reported on Saturday November 22, that [White House Muslim envoy] Dalia Mogahed has succeeded in canceling a meeting between the Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon and President Barack Obama. Writing in al Nashra, the reporter said “an unnamed US source told the news agency, that those who sought canceling a visit of (the spiritual head of the Maronite Church) Patriarch Beshara Rahi to the White House are Dalia Mujahid (Mogahed), the highest adviser on Arab and Islamic Affairs in the State Department, who is from Egyptian origins. And that,” according...

Across the U.S., temples frustrate investigators by insisting they have no control over monks' actions, whereaboutsThe meeting took place at Wat Dhammaram, a cavernous Theravada Buddhist temple on the southwest edge of Chicago. A tearful 12-year-old told three monks how another monk had turned off the lights during a tutoring session, lifted her shirt and kissed and fondled her breasts while pressing against her, according to a lawsuit. Shortly after that meeting, one of the monks sent a letter to the girl's family, saying the temple's monastic community had resolved the matter, the lawsuit says. The "wrong doer had accepted...

In many ways, 29-year-old Rishi Bhutada is a traditional Hindu, not so different from his Indian-born parents. An officer at his dad’s pipefitting company, Texas-born Bhutada had an arranged marriage in India three years ago and then brought his wife back to his hometown, where they recently welcomed a son. Bhutada is a strict vegetarian and avoids alcohol, as do many observant Hindus. And the dashboard of his Toyota Prius is adorned with a small metal statue of Ganesh, an elephant-headed Hindu god known as the remover of obstacles. Bhutada prays to it each morning before leaving his driveway. And...

A former Capuchin seminary in New York State is now the site of the Garrison Institute, a retreat house where leading Buddhists from across the United States recently gathered. “Crosses still adorn one wall of this former Roman Catholic monastery, but a six-foot golden Buddha now anchors the main room,” the Associated Press reported. One of the institute’s three spiritual advisers is a priest: Father Thomas Keating, the 88-year-old Trappist and leader of the centering-prayer movement. American Buddhism Facing Generational Shift Garrison Institute

As a follow-up to my “Orthodox in Communion with Rome” post and the so-called Ratzinger proposal and the later clarification I present a different angle to this question. Thank you to Eastern Catholic Spiritual Renewal for sending me this link. It is the speech of Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch (the Melkite Patriarch) at last years middle eastern Synod in Rome. It touches on the Melkite Greek Catholics Churches idea of Ecclesiology and Ecumenism and it is a bold statement. Of particular note is the comment by the Patriarch We are an Eastern Church in communion with Rome and faithfully...

A BETHESDA woman claims to have spotted an apparition of Jesus Christ on, of all things, her boyfriend’s garden shovel! Andrea Jones was having a cigarette in her garden when she noticed this ‘image’ in the shovel which was leaning against a rabbit hutch. “I was deep in thought at the time, miles away,” she said. “Then I saw the shovel and what looked like a face on it, but I’ve seen this shovel so many times before and hadn’t noticed a thing. “I thought it looked a bit like Jesus and pointed it out to my boyfriend Neil and...

There's "things you have missed " and things you will never see , That is why I send My prophecy , So do not despise for what you think is wrong ?! Is My Kingdom's tapestry singing it's song , Each thread I create and ~ needle through ~ , Your tapestry of Me in you , So pay attention when I come to call , Or you 'll be wearing rags and not Me at all ! For as you reject the ones I send ,(Exodus 23:20-21) You wear what you 've created every bitter end , But My...

Journalist Simcha Jacobovici believes that the nails discovered in a Jerusalem cave are revolutionary in their implications regarding the birth of Christianity. The Peace Forest is a small grove of pines sandwiched between the Abu Tor neighborhood and main promenade in Jerusalem. Anyone walking along the road that snakes through the grove can see a green pipe rising from the ground and reaching a height of several meters. This pipe, if journalist Simcha Jacobovici is to be believed, this is the physical tip of an archaeological detective story in the style of the Da Vinci Code. And this pipe is...

"Nostra Aetate" is enough by itself; but if you are anti-Vatican II, have a look at "Quanto conficiamur moerore"Last week, I wrote a piece explaining my view that, as I put it in my headline “To call the Pope’s meeting at Assisi a betrayal of the faith is an utter absurdity”. This elicited the following response (there were many thousand more words from the same writer, but this was the general gist of it all: “if you really believe that God is pleased with these pagan shindigs, where two popes in succession have emphasised that they are not interested in...

HYDERABAD, India (AFP) – One of India's best-known spiritual leaders, famous for his apparent miracles and long list of influential followers, is on life support in a southern hospital, officials said on Tuesday. Satya Sai Baba, 85, who has devotees in more than 100 countries, was admitted to a hospital funded by his organisation in the town of Puttaparthi with lung and chest congestion on March 28.

The Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church should accept each other not as rivals, but first and foremost as allies, working to protect the rights of Christians, said Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the ROC’s Department for External Church Relations in a speech at an international meeting of Christians in Wurzburg, Germany. "The future of Christianity in the third millennium depends on the joint efforts of the Orthodox believers and Catholics,’’ Hilarion said. Bishop Hilarion later expanded on his statement: “The idea of a strategic alliance with the Catholics is an old idea of mine. It came...

Orissa: For Christians, the Terror Returns New wave of anti-Christian violence in India -- no trace of police reaction in the most recent incidents. Bhubaneshwar, India (kath.net/Fidesdienst) A new wave of violence sparked a renewal of fear and terror in Christian Communities in India: as on the scenes observers of Fidesdienst report since last December in the last year in the district of Malkangiri in the State of Orissa, renewed attacks have been made against Christians by the local tribal people of the region. In the last month the attacks have become more serious: there have been a total of...

As some of you know, we've both been having some health issues. My leg is frequently infected from diabetic wounds on my feet. I can't afford to lose my leg because there's no one else who can help my wife who had a stroke last year. Now my ancient car's brakes are giving out, which will make it almost impossible for us to get to the doctor, pharmacy, hospital and store. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes and don't forget JimRob as well. Thanks in advance.

Rush Limbaugh accuses Obama of 'character assassination' The president is trying to trick Rush Limbaugh into talking about himself and would rather engage in "character assassination" than debate conservatives in the "Arena of Ideas," the conservative talker charges in an e-mail to POLITICO. Two days after President Barack Obama labeled Limbaugh and conservative television host Glenn Beck "troublesome" in a CBS interview, Limbaugh says Obama is trying to get him off his game. "I think the president is trying to distract me, to get me talking about ME on my show instead of talking about him and the regime's agenda....

18 Bishops [13 Catholic] participated in a silent hunger strike on the property of St. Mark-University of Bangalore, among them the Archbishop of Bangalore, Msgr Bernard Moras. At the protest and the hunger strike the Bishops present, the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) and the Christians of Karnatakas have forged a counter-report with the title: "1000 Day Government, 236 Attacks, 1000 traumatized people". The official report of the Somsekhar-Investigative Commission exonerated the radical Hindu organizations Bajrang Dal and Sangh Parivar. The Bishops called a press conference to make note of this, that this exoneration is "politically motivated". At the...

(VIDEO AT LINK) Here is a video of Oprah spreading her New Age Eastern religion, or at least attempting unsuccessfully to indoctrinate these Christian ladies. Oprah says she doesn't want to get into a religious argument with these women because she knows she'll lose the debate at that point.

Nevada, Jan 24 (IBNS) Famous Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago (USA) is now offering ‘Catholic Yoga’ classes. Website of this Cathedral, which is both a parish and the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, says: “Join us as we explore the multiple spiritual and physical benefits of yoga practice while explicitly integrating prayers and spiritual themes of our Catholic faith.” “Typical sessions will include an opening prayer, inspired movement & strengthening, and contemplative prayer to close. The program will be focused around various themes to coincide with the liturgical calendar and progression of our faith life across the seasons”,...

The topic of New Age movements, once a budding campus phenomenon, is now mainstream and as close to us as our local bookstore or DVD movie. New Age refers to forms of spirituality that draw from old systems of knowledge such as Zen, Gnosticism (secret knowledge) and Eastern meditation. New Age concepts and ideals are even becoming part of our vocabulary. I know this terminology well, as I had a former involvement with Eastern meditation practices before my reconversion to my Catholic roots. I have been steeped in both traditions. So, I may have some insights for Catholics who are...

The largest Buddhist denomination in South Korea is clamoring for a Protestant lawmaker to immediately resign for what they say is his anti-Buddhist bias. The Buddhist Jogye Order’s Committee for Religion and Peace said in its Jan. 17 statement that Hwang Woo-yeo’s recent remark that the number of Protestant Supreme Court judges was decreasing shows the government’s and ruling party’s religious bias. Local Buddhist groups have been protesting against the government’s alleged preference for Protestantism and bias against Buddhism since President Lee Myung-bak, a Methodist, assumed office in 2008. A spokesperson of Hwang’s office told ucanews.com today that the lawmaker’s...

The map is a representation of the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual list drawn up by Transparency International. [snip] The remarkable fact is the clean line dividing Protestant nations and Catholic ones. The Protestants are all on top of the list. [snip] Catholic nations across the world tend to be more corrupt than Protestant nations. [snip] Every other Catholic nation is more corrupt than its Protestant neighbour. How can we explain this difference between two streams of Christianity? [snip] The sociologist Max Weber (died 1920) noticed the difference in prosperity levels between Protestant states (the US, UK and Germany)...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Coptic Church Bombing In Egypt 11-002-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), assured the bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles of the ELCA's "heartfelt desire" to stand in solidarity with Coptic Christians in the United States and the world in the wake of the New Year's Day bombing in a Coptic congregation in Egypt. At least 22 people were killed and 79 injured as a result of the car bombing that occurred as worshipers were leaving a Mass at the Church...

Official announcement follows day of unrest in Alexandria neighbourhood where car-bomb attack claimed 21 lives Sunday's announcement came as congregants were back praying in al-Qiddissine [The Saints] church, targeted the day before by a car bomb that also wounded 97 people. Dozens of worshippers attended Sunday Mass at the church, located in the Sidi Bechr district of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, while riot police backed by armoured vehicles were deployed outside. The service was marked by the grief and anger felt by a congregation devastated by the attack, which took place on Saturday outside the church's door about...

A few months ago, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting in which I discussed how studying other religious faiths and their scriptures had enriched my life. When the meeting was over, a couple approached me and said they wanted a copy of the talk to give their daughter because she described herself as a “Buddhist Mormon.” The couple said their daughter couldn’t decide whether to be a Buddhist or a Mormon, so she was trying to be both.I responded that in a certain sense I considered myself a “Buddhist Mormon” as well, and that the beauty of true Mormonism...

Sri Daya Mata, who for more than five decades was the leader of one of the most influential Hindu groups in the United States and an ardent advocate of the healing power of meditation, died on Tuesday at the group’s retreat for nuns in Los Angeles. She was 96. The society, whose monks and nuns adopt Indian names, teaches that there is a unifying truth behind all religious experience, and the group encourages its members to honor their roots in other faiths. Most members follow a vegetarian diet, practice yoga, chant and meditate Sri Daya Mata, who was born Faye...