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BIBLE scholars have sensationally claimed the end of the world could be upon us as they believe the Four Horsemen, who bring about death, war, famine and disease before the return of Jesus Christ in the holy book, have all been released.

While sorting through a gigantic pile of my deceased father's old papers, I found a newspaper clipping with the title: How Lincoln tried to enlist Garibaldi. What? I had never heard this tale before, so I immediately stopped to read the brief article. It began as follows: An argument which has raged for more than a century over rumors that a hard-pressed Abraham Lincoln appealed to Giuseppe Garibaldi to save the Union in the American Civil War appears to have been settled after the discovery of documentary proof in Garibaldi's own handwriting. The article then goes on to say that...

FRESNO, CA—Windbreak Spirit Pentecostal Church announced last week that they would be holding drive-in Sunday services, but all participants will be required to have hydraulics installed on their cars. With the liberal use of hydraulics, Pentecostal drive-in services can have the same energy and wild jumping around that their normal, in-person services have. "In order to better facilitate a Spirit-filled worship time, all cars must be rollin' on phat hydraulics," said Pastor Vince Esperanza. "That way you can jump and sway along with the songs and make your car do crazy flips and stuff when the dope bridge hits." As...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Norman Mayor Breea Clark amended her city’s reopening plan on Friday to allow churches to open immediately. The change came after admonishments from Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing that the plan discriminated against places of worship. Clark defended her plan for churches to open on May 15 as consistent with restrictions on gatherings but said, “I will not spend years feuding with the federal government over one week.” Hunter and Downing told Clark this week that keeping places of worship closed while some businesses were allowed to open violated First Amendment...

Health is a good in our society, and for good reason. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s promise to bring health and heal wounds. In Ecclesiastes we are told to delight in the health of our youth. The apostle John prayed for the health of his readers. While health is a good to be pursued and maintained, we sense we’ve turned a “good” into a “god.” Orthodox theologian Jean-Claude Larchet goes so far as to argue that clinicians constitute a “new priestly class” of this idol, in which doctors and other health care workers minister a new “salvation of health”...

While the White House looks ahead to reopening houses of worship, most Americans think in-person religious services should be barred or allowed only with limits during the coronavirus pandemic — and only about a third say that prohibiting in-person services violates religious freedom, a new poll finds. States have taken different approaches to resuming gatherings as the coronavirus continues to spread, raising tough questions for religious leaders and the faithful about the appropriate time to return. But the findings of the new poll by The University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggest...

A network of 3,000 California churches are planning to defy Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shutdown orders by reopening for in-person services, Fox News reported Friday. California Church United pastors, which represents nearly 2.5 million members, announced Thursday that they plan to reopen May 31 instead of waiting for stage 3 reopenings, which includes churches along with businesses like salons and gyms, according to Fox. The leaders chose May 31 because it marks Pentecost and the birth of the Christian church, making it fitting for a “rebirth” of services. “Our churches are part of the answer, not part of the problem,”...

Vaccines purportedly protect people against many deadly and dangerous diseases. Different than most medicines that treat or cure diseases, vaccines prevent you from getting sick with the disease in the first place stimulating your immune system to produce antibodies. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to the disease, without having to get the disease first. The alternative to vaccines, which mankind has practiced since time immemorial, is to allow your immune system to fight the disease in order to gain essential antibodies in the process. Healthy living and prayer are also part of this second approach. Here is an honest...

People who attended religious services at least once a week were significantly less likely to die from “deaths of despair,” including deaths related to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol poisoning, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study showed that the association between service attendance and lower risk of deaths from despair was somewhat stronger for women than for men. “Despair is something that can confront anyone dealing with severe difficulties or loss. While the term ‘deaths of despair’ was originally coined in the context of working class Americans struggling with unemployment, it...

The power of the word classic cannot be underestimated, communicating as it does the idea of excellence, truth, order, discipline, and beauty. The word “classic” brings to mind something that has withstood the test of time, and by virtue of this fact, participates in some way in the timeless and the eternal. And what is the only thing we know of with these attributes but God and His Eternal Word? When looked at this way, every Christian should want a classical education for their children: It has everything we instinctively want. But when we examine this word “classic,” we find...

Liberate Idaho Posted onFriday, May 1, 2020 by Douglas Wilson Remarks on the steps of the Capitol in Boise/May 1, 2020 Introduction It is a great privilege to be here, and a high honor to be able to address you all, and so I thank the organizers of this event. In the kindness of God, I have spoken to many assemblies, congregations, and conferences. I have spoken to small groups and to large ones. I have spoken in numerous states, and in many different countries. But I do have to say, in all honesty, that I have never spoken to...

Our gospel tune this morning is We Need A Lot More Jesus (And A Lot Less Rock & Roll) by Cowboy Copas (1961). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Ramadan—the Muslim holy month of fasting—has officially started across the world, with politicians and celebrities alike sharing messages to the Muslim community on social media. President Donald Trump issued a presidential message on Thursday, expressing wishes to all Muslims in the U.S. and around the world. "For millions around the globe, this holy month is an opportunity to renew and strengthen their faith through rigorous fasting, devout prayer, reflective meditation, reading the Quran, and charitable deeds," read the message. "These acts are closely aligned with the universal values that the Islamic faith promotes—peace, kindness, and love and respect for others....

Some likely scenarios: â–ºIncreased willingness to trade freedoms for promises of security. At tax payer expense, what is left of them. â–ºCensorship of speech by private media against those who oppose the above, and the demonizing of such the MSM. â–ºPersecution and prosecution by the government against protesters of compelled COVID-19 restrictions. â–ºProlonged food shortages. â–ºIncreasing reliance upon government. â–ºVast increase of a welfare class. â–ºA form of Universal Basic Income being promised and incrementally provided. â–ºUniversal health care. â–ºVast increase of the national debt. â–ºSubstantial increase in taxes upon businesses and tax payers. â–ºIncome disparity reduced as all become...

Jimmy Walters was an old-school “hellfire and brimstone” pastor at a Baptist church on the Navajo Nation. His wife, Rachel Walters, was equally devout and spent her time caring for their children and home, and weaving Navajo rugs to sell. Their son, 48-year-old Davis Begaye, lived with them in a four-bedroom house overlooking the mesas, plains and Ute Mountain in the small community of Cudei, outside Shiprock. He worked at the Home Depot in Farmington for several years. That’s where the family suspects Begaye got infected with COVID-19 – the illness caused by the coronavirus – in early April. Over...

Ramadan is upon us, and many Americans -- not least the millions who were denied church access during Easter -- are wondering: will mosques experience the same ban or will the usual double standard prevail? Among those wondering is America’s president, Donald Trump. Recently asked at a press briefing why he retweeted a tweet by author Paul Sperry -- “Let's see if authorities enforce the social-distancing orders for mosques during Ramadan (April 23-May 23) like they did churches during Easter” -- Trump said: I would like to see that… I would say there could be a difference. But we’ll have...

NYPD cops arrested a teenage boy and were seen sprinting after a hearse at an Orthodox Jewish funeral in Brooklyn Thursday, two days after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a 'zero tolerance' crack-down on gatherings. The 17-year-old was pictured being pinned to the side of a vehicle by a police officer after chaos broke out between law enforcement and mourners at the funeral of Rabbi Cheskel Wagshel in Borough Park. Shocking footage also showed officers chasing after a hearse as they tried to disperse the crowds of people ignoring social distancing. Screams and shouts can be...

As covid-19 spread rapidly in the first weeks of March, Esther grew nervous. It was nearly time for her monthly visit to the ritual bath that many observant Jewish women use to purify themselves after every menstrual cycle, and she worried she might catch the virus at the very place meant for physical and spiritual cleansing. “I have a disability and many underlying health issues,” said Esther, 43, an ultra-Orthodox mother of seven. “Deciding whether or not to go was very, very stressful.”

Egyptian lawmakers have called for stricter surveillance of women on video sharing apps after the arrests of a popular social media influencer and a well-known belly dancer on charges of debauchery and inciting immorality. Instagram and TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam, 20, is under 15 days detention for a post encouraging women to broadcast videos in exchange for money, while dancer Sama el-Masry faces 15 days detention for posting “indecent” photos and videos. MP John Talaat was among several politicians to complain, and has submitted a request to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to increase monitoring and censorship of apps that young...

A U.K. politician has apologized after he shared a photo of bacon as he prepared to fast in solidarity with Muslims during Ramadan. Ian Manning, a county councillor in Cambridgeshire, tweeted the image in the early hours of Saturday as he prepared to join fellow Liberal Democrats in fasting for a day on Saturday. He shared a picture of his pre-dawn meal of boiled eggs and bacon on Twitter, adding in a caption: "Up early to start my fast for #LibDemIftar! Really not sure I'll get through to the evening but we'll see!" But after many pointed out that Muslims...