Free Republic

Archaeologists unearth 3,300-year-old coffin at Tel Shadud thought to hold Canaanite official in service of Egyptian pharaoh :snip: Found alongside the new sarcophagus was a scarab seal ring encased in gold, carved with the name of Pharaoh Seti I, who ruled ancient Egypt in the 13th century BC. Seti I conquered the region of today's Israel in the first year of his reign in order to secure Egyptian trade routes and collect taxes for Egypt, said Ron Beeri, an archaeologist who participated in the dig. The man buried in the sarcophagus might have been a tax collector for the pharaoh,...

So says my colleague at The Week, Damon Linker, in an essay predicting that all churches would need to change doctrines to keep up with the modern world, especially the Catholic Church. Refusing to adapt doctrine to modern thought will force an exodus of people from their faiths, Damon writes, especially the Catholic insistence that ordination is limited to men: By contrast, the majority of Catholics who support women’s ordination are confronted on the altar with the all-male priesthood every time they go to church. At the moment, frustration about the issue is muted because Pope Francis has inspired so...

Ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt's Nile Delta document the region's ancient droughts and fires, including a huge drought 4,200 years ago associated with the demise of Egypt's Old Kingdom, the era known as the pyramid-building time... said Christopher Bernhardt, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey... "Even the mighty builders of the ancient pyramids more than 4,000 years ago fell victim when they were unable to respond to a changing climate," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "This study illustrates that water availability was the climate-change Achilles Heel then for Egypt, as it may well...

...the fall of the great Egyptian Old Kingdom may have been helped along by a common problem which remains with us now -- drought... a severe period of drought around 4,200 years ago may have contributed to the demise of the civilisation. Using seismic investigations with sound waves, along with carbon dating of a 100-metre section of sediment from the bed of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, the team were able to look back many thousands of years. They were able to see how water levels in the lake had varied over the past 17,000 years, with the sediment signalling lush...

Drought that destroyed a civilisation MARTIN WILLIAMS November 11 2003 IT is one of history's biggest mysteries and has confounded experts for hundreds of years. But a team of scientists believe they have discovered why the world's first great civilisation, established in Egypt nearly 5000 years ago, crumbled and plunged into a dark age that lasted for more than 1000 years. The researchers, including one academic from St Andrews University, have produced new evidence linking the demise of the Egyptian Old Kingdom with decades of drought after a study of layers of sediment at the source of the Blue Nile...

Meteor clue to end of Middle East civilisations By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent (Filed: 04/11/2001) SCIENTISTS have found the first evidence that a devastating meteor impact in the Middle East might have triggered the mysterious collapse of civilisations more than 4,000 years ago. satellite images of southern Iraq have revealed a two-mile-wide impact crater caused by a meteor Studies of satellite images of southern Iraq have revealed a two-mile-wide circular depression which scientists say bears all the hallmarks of an impact crater. If confirmed, it would point to the Middle East being struck by a meteor with the violence equivalent ...

Thursday, 26 July, 2001, 12:12 GMT 13:12 UK Disaster that struck the ancients The pharaohs of the Egyptian Old Kingdom had built the mightiest legacy of the ancient world - the pyramids at Giza. But after nearly a thousand years of stability, central authority disintegrated and the country collapsed into chaos for more than a 100 years. What happened, and why, has remained a huge controversy. But Professor Fekri Hassan, from University College London, UK, wanted to solve the mystery, by gathering together scientific clues. His inspiration was the little known tomb in southern Egypt of a regional governor, Ankhtifi. ...

“As we were shooting 'The Bible,' we knew there was another story in here.” Roma Downey, actress ... "Son of God," a two-hour movie highlighting key events in Jesus' life, ministry and death, to open nationally on Feb. ... retelling the well-known Old Testament stories of Noah and "Exodus," featuring the great flood and Moses leading the children of Israel from Egypt. Is the 2014 release of Bible-themed films a trend? "It certainly looks like it," ... "There are more of these films coming out ... But the reasons for Hollywood's recent embrace of the Bible vary from seeing the...

Rabbi S. David Sperling, isn't certain that Moses even existed or, if he did, whether the Bible provides much reliable information about him. Sperling contends that if traditional accounts of the origins of Judaism had not recorded a founder, "analogy would have required postulating him; and that is probably what happened" when ancients wrote the Bible... The introduction to Moses' life from another writer says "we cannot really reconstruct a biography of Moses. We cannot even be sure that Moses was a historical character." ...Conservative Judaism's official Torah commentary (2001) states that what should concern Jews is "not when, or...

For those who have never been to Mitzpe Ramon, you’re missing out. It’s on the edge of the Ramon makhtesh -- Israel’s Grand Canyon. In fact, although it is called a “crater” in English, it is actually a “makhtesh” i.e., a “box canyon”, formed not by a meteor or a river, but by geological processes of a receding ocean. It is the world’s largest “makhtesh”! ... In any event, no one listened, but everyone had a lot of fun. My friend Hershel Shanks who moderated my session chided me for being too confident. He wanted me to have an appropriate...

Sean Hannity tells his audience he is leaving New York state after Cuomo’s comments. Sean said he discussed it with his wife and they are moving to Texas or Florida. “Look, I have contractual obligations, I can’t leave here. My kids are in school. And there are about over 100 people who that rely on me. People who have kids and mortgages and homes. I can’t selfishly pack up and leave. But my wife and I discussed last night Dana that we are going to leave. I wouldn’t pay a 10% state tax in Florida or Texas. I would save...

In his opening monologue today, Sean Hannity announced that he is moving out of New York City, Long Island and New York State altogether for maybe Florida or Texas. Born and raised in New York, Hannity would follow other conservative stars like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck out of the Empire State because of high taxes, high regulation and lack of freedom.

(Vienna) in Austria in 2013, there were more than leaving the church than in 2012. Nearly 55,000 Catholics have left the Catholic Church as a corporate body under public law. Thus more Austrians left the Church in the first year of the pontificate of Pope Francis, than in the last year of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. The church leaders wonder about this phenomenon, which they had not expected. "We would have expected better numbers," said the Bishop of Linz Vicar William Viehböck. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. there was relief heard from not a few official...

t is probably one of the greatest finds of all time and, by the bizarre rules of biblical archeology, it’s also one of the least reported. Basically, in 1967, in Deir Alla, Jordan, Dutch archeologists discovered some kind of pagan house of worship or seminary. On its walls, there was a 2,800-year-old inscription in black ink. Key phrases are highlighted in red ink and the whole writing is framed in red. First of all, this is the oldest Aramaic inscription every found. But if that’s not enough to make it a world-headline, the inscription is 600-800 years older than the...

When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the SAFE Act in January—what he referred to as “common sense” gun-control legislation—the law not only turned many law-abiding citizens into criminals, it also drove businesses and jobs out of the state. With a move to South Carolina, American Tactical Imports has become the third firearm company to relocate its operations from New York to more gun-friendly states. According to Guns.com: ATI is largely an importer and distributor of domestic firearms, although they do some manufacturing. They plan to move from Rochester to Summerville, a city on the outskirts of Charleston, starting next...

Here is what I know: God is bigger than my sin. And God is sovereign over Supreme Court decisions and shifting worldviews. He has had the first and he will have the last word on all matters of sin and grace. The Church, Christ’s bride, is a God-made institution and will sustain herself in majesty in times of persecution or revival. Context matters not. Providence will paint the walls of this worldview. Who Owns Your Heart But Jesus, the Word made flesh, will not be drawn and quartered. He came to fulfill the whole law, every jot and tittle. And...

Transformation is Still Possible: The Closure of Exodus International July 1, 2013 http://goodnewsmag.org/2013/07/transformation-is-still-possible-the-closure-of-exod By Karen Booth and Thomas A. Lambrecht In mid-June, dramatic headlines announced that the president of Exodus International North America was issuing an apology to gay people and closing its doors. For those who have been supportive of the ministry of Exodus International, a 37-year-old umbrella organization for Christian ministry with individuals and families impacted by unwanted same-sex attraction, this headline was disappointing and misleading. As ministries working for the renewal of the The United Methodist Church, Transforming Congregations and Good News are saddened by the announcement...

A commenter in the earlier post about Exodus International is checking to see if I am ashamed of Leviticus 20:13 yet, which I am not. But before proceeding, let me quote that verse in full. “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Lev. 20:13). This passage is the Word of God, and before moving on to how we are to receive and apply it today, let us — by which I mean all Christians...

Exodus International, the 37-year-old ministry devoted to helping people deal with unwanted same-sex attraction, is to be shut down. The Exodus board of directors unanimously voted to shut down the ministry after a year of prayer and dialogue, a press release states. Local groups that were affiliated with the ministry will continue, though they will no longer be under the umbrella of Exodus. "We're not negating the ways God used Exodus to positively affect thousands of people, but a new generation of Christians is looking for change – and they want to be heard," Exodus board member Tony Moore said...

A notable Christian leader with same-sex attraction says that he holds "mixed feelings" about the recent shutting down of Exodus International and the apology issued to the LGBTQ community by its president. Christopher Yuan, pastor and author of Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God, A Broken Mother's Search for Hope, provided The Christian Post with a statement on Friday regarding the news. "I have never experienced reparative therapy, re-orientation counseling or Exodus support groups. I cannot speak personally about the effectiveness or harm of such methodologies," said Yuan. "However, I do know of Christ's atoning...