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ONCE MARY AND JOSEPH, with a number of friends and relatives, were traveling back home from Jerusalem and, supposing the young Jesus to be in the company, went a whole day's journey before discovering that He had been left behind. Their fault was that they assumed that what they wanted to believe was so in fact. They took too much for granted. A simple check at the start of the journey would have saved them a harrowing experience of fear and uncertainty and two days' unnecessary travel. Theirs was a pardonable fault and one that we ourselves are in great...

The Bible - Almighty God’s Infallible Word – exposes in greater depth the inner workings not just of fallen corrupt mankind, but of the demonic "political" machine of heaven’s lawless angelic intelligences and their fierce leader, the original radical, slanderer, blasphemer and character assassin - (aka. Lucifer). My friends, we are ALL subjected to a GREAT spiritual war raging today for the hearts, minds and souls of mankind and are at the very end of our times journey as a human race. My dear friends, ALL things are headed to that great Day and time called the “Day of the...

Two renegade Catholic bishops plan to consecrate a new generation of bishops to spread their ultra-traditionalist movement called "The Resistance" in defiance of the Vatican, one of them said at a remote monastery in Brazil. French Bishop Jean-Michel Faure said on Sunday (March 29) the new group rejects Pope Francis and what it calls his "new religion." Bishop Richard Williamson and Faure initially belonged to a larger dissenting group that been a thorn in Rome's side for years and have since broken off to form their own religious group. Asked what the new group called itself, Faure said it is...

The continent retains the flavor if not the fervor of ChristianityAmerican travelers to Europe might arrive thinking they are visiting a continent where religion – or at least Christianity – is all but extinct, having succumbed to massive secularism. Particularly if those travelers arrive anywhere near Easter, though, they would quickly be surprised if not shocked to see just how strong the underlying Christian framework remains. I recently spent a pleasant time in Norway, which, like other Scandinavian lands, is not noted for strong religious sentiments or behavior. Yes, people are usually baptized and confirmed, although in decreasing numbers, but...

April 1, 2015Wednesday of Holy Week    Reading 1 Is 50:4-9a The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue,That I might know how to speak to the wearya word that will rouse them.Morning after morninghe opens my ear that I may hear;And I have not rebelled,have not turned back.I gave my back to those who beat me,my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;My face I did not shieldfrom buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help,therefore I am not disgraced;I have set my face like flint,knowing that I shall not be put to shame.He is near...

Most evangelism programs, church growth tactics, and other attempts to reach the “unchurched” concentrate on Millennials, young urbanites, college types, and the suburban middle class. But, as Robert Putnam reminds us, the demographic that is the most unchurched is the working class, the lower income non-college-educated folks. A big segment of these blue-collar workers has just stopped going to church. They are also, with the personal and family problems that Putnam documents, arguably, most in need of ministry. This is ironic, since the working class used to be the biggest supporters of conservative Christianity. And yet, I’m unaware of any...

March 31, 2015    Tuesday of Holy Week    Reading 1 Is 49:1-6 Hear me, O islands,listen, O distant peoples.The LORD called me from birth,from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.He made of me a sharp-edged swordand concealed me in the shadow of his arm.He made me a polished arrow,in his quiver he hid me.You are my servant, he said to me,Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain,and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,Yet my reward is with the LORD,my recompense is with my God.For now the LORD has spokenwho...

PLYMOUTH (CBS) — A woman has been arrested after fire officials say she set a fire in one of the oldest churches in New England. Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the First Parish Church in Town Square shortly after 6:30p.m. Sunday. Officials said a woman inside had put items in the front entryway of the church and set them on fire. The woman allegedly threw items at responders. According to the parish’s Facebook page, the woman had been hiding inside the church after Sunday’s service. The fire caused some damage to the foyer carpeting. No one was hurt.

Full Title: Pope Francis Says Protecting the Environment Is 'Ultimate Pro-Life, Pro-Poor, Pro-Family' Issue That Bible Calls Christians to Engage In Pope Francis is set to release an encyclical letter which calls the environment the "ultimate pro-life, pro-poor, pro-family" issue that Christians are called to engage in. The Vatican has said that this is not a political statement, but one stemming from biblical teaching. Catholic News Service reported that Pope Francis is finishing up his encyclical on the environment, set for publication early in the summer, which is set to build on the statements of his predecessors who have urged...

March 30, 2015Monday of Holy Week    Reading 1 Is 42:1-7 Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,Upon whom I have put my Spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,Not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.A bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,Until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD,who created the heavens and stretched them out,who spreads out the earth with its crops,Who gives breath to its peopleand spirit...

The following is a study of John 6, with a particular focus on the Jewish aspects of it. John 6 is often cited by Roman Catholic apologists in support of their church's teachings on the Lord's Supper, but the issue of Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament is typically ignored, which drastically affects the understanding of events. One claim frequently made by Catholic apologists is that their church is merely taking literally what Jesus says about His body and blood in John 6, while Protestants who take the Bible literally choose not to do so when it...

As the NCAA Basketball Championships continue through March Madness into the last of the regionals this weekend, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is targeting five college teams for their use of chaplains.

March 29, 2015Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion    At the Procession with Palms - Gospel Mk 11:1-10 When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem,to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you,and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.Untie it and bring it here.If anyone should say to you,‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,‘The Master has need of itand will send it back here at once.’”So they went off and found...

Who Are the Atheists? [excerpts] For reporting purposes at Barna, we often combine atheists and agnostics into one group, which we call skeptics. Skeptics either do not believe God exists (atheists) or are not sure God exists, but are open to the possibility (agnostics). Skeptics represent one-quarter of all unchurched adults (25%). Nearly one-third of skeptics have never attended a Christian church service in their lives (31%). That’s nearly double the proportion of “virgin unchurched” who are not skeptics (17%)... Five Demographic Shifts among Skeptics They are younger. Skeptics today are, on average, younger than in the past. Twenty years...

On Easter Day (April 5th, 2015), faithful Christians will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus bodily from death. Later on this year, faithful Christians will also (on August 15th, 2015) celebrate the resurrection of Mary the mother of Jesus (before her body could see decay) and her Assumption into heaven. With the shows on CNN (Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact and Forgery) and O'Reilly's book, "Killing Jesus" on television (both this Sunday), there seems to be an uptick in the interest on the life of Jesus, the Apostles and early followers of Jesus - as well as Mary's role, too.

Twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly (raised Catholic in an Irish-American family) are about to embark on an important scientific experiment on Friday. Scott Kelly will begin spending a year in space on the International Space Station (ISS) while his brother stays back here on earth as a control subject. NASA will be studying how extended time in space changes Scott relative to his brother Mark. Living for an extended time outside the gravity of earth and partially exposed to the radiation of space can impact one’s bones, heart, eyes, muscles, and who knows what else. It’s probably important to...

March 28, 2015Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Ez 37:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD:I will take the children of Israel from among the nationsto which they have come,and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.I will make them one nation upon the land,in the mountains of Israel,and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations,and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them...

Moving back from the Theodosian Code, which stated the scriptures they believed to be heretical, back to the First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., which decreed that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were to be in the fixed New Testament Canon of scripture, and back to earlier dates we find the following: A.) The Clermont List - a codex which embraced the Canon as it existed in Egypt (i.e. Alexandria) c.300 A.D. It lists the New Testament books which are the same as ours except that the Gospels are listed Matthew, Mark, Luke (the apostolic authors...

Catholicism and Islam are monotheistic religions, that is, both believe that there is but one God. However, that does not necessarily imply that they worship the same God. Two men may be married to one woman, but that does not mean that they are married to the same woman. So, the question is whether Catholics and Muslims worship the same one God.The modern Catholic Church has defined her relations to non-Christian religions in a document entitled Nostra Aetate. The section on Islam begins thus: The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting...

There have been few times in my life when I have been truly soul sad. As a Pastor, I have stood by the bed of dying patients and encouraged them to hope in Heaven when earth offered them none. I have held the hands of mothers when their cries had no comfort, because the terminally ill child in their arms would be the pain of unfulfilled dreams. I have listened to the hurt of children betrayed, seen the terror of marriages destroyed by temptation, and cried when good people have made devastatingly bad choices. For these my soul has hurt,...