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JERUSALEM — A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection By ETHAN BRONNER JERUSALEM — A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days. If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus...“This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This...

President George Washington wrote a prayer addressed to “O most glorious God, in Jesus Christ” and ended it with this: “Let me live according to those holy rules which thou hast this day prescribed in Thy Holy Word. Direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Bless O Lord all the people of this land.” President Thomas Jefferson: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis — a conviction in the minds of the people...

LONDON. A third of the Coptic sculptures at the Brooklyn Museum of Art are modern fakes. Its collection of late Egyptian sculpture was, until now, the second largest in North America. Brooklyn curator Dr Edna Russmann, who is concluding a study of the works, warns that other museums which acquired Coptic sculptures in the past 50 years are likely to face similar problems. The unmasking of the forgeries will be revealed in an exhibition on “Coptic Sculpture in the Brooklyn Museum”, opening on 13 February 2009. The Art Newspaper can reveal that ten of Brooklyn’s 30 sculptures are now deemed...

VIRGINIA, June 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if "there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?"   His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not. "70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are 'very happy'...

“Just as Muslims have the right to exercise Da’wa - an invitation to Islam - so Christians must have the freedom to invite people to follow Jesus Christ,” explained the bishop at a press conference in Jerusalem on June 24. “Dialogue proceeds on the understanding that each is a missionary faith.

Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad warned this week that there is an effort underway “to rid the Middle East of Christians.” According to the bishop, “The war has destroyed everything and even the tradition of coexistence. One-third of Christians have fled the country because of threats, abuse and violence.” The Italian news agency SIR is reporting that the bishop made his comments in an address to the scientific committee of the Oasis International Study and Research Center, which is meeting in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the situation in Iraq. Bishop Shlemon also mentioned the “kidnapping of men of the...

(CNN) -- A top U.S. evangelical leader is accusing Sen. Barack Obama of deliberately distorting the Bible and taking a "fruitcake interpretation" of the U.S. Constitution. ~~~ Responding to Dobson's comments Tuesday evening, Obama sharply disputed the suggestion he was distorting the Bible. "Someone would be pretty hard pressed to make that argument," he told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "It is a speech that affirms the role of faith not just in my life but in the life of the American people, that suggests that we make a mistake by trying to push faith out of the public square."...

Catholic History Restored by: Malcolm A. Kline, June 23, 2008 One of, if not the main, problem with the way that history has been taught for decades is that students gain little indication of the majesty of it all. Facts that help explain why the world works as it does are casually tossed aside by those we would entrust with passing on the past because they do not fit some theory du jour. Such theories usually spin around the alleged avarice of Christian white males, such as, supposedly, our founding fathers. Richard Hofstadter famously echoed this motif in his still-widely...

(In)the last Happenings, the Church article discussed Extremism in the Church and the Mainstream. The argument was made that the universal Church overwhelmingly supports the Biblical standard of marriage between a man and a woman and the sexual ethic that upholds faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness. The view that argues otherwise must be seen not just as a minority view but as an extremist view. It is a recent teaching and stands in opposition to the testimony of the church in all times and in all places. Extremist or not, a number of persons within the United Methodist...

Perhaps it is easier to list what is not attacked in this brutal ridiculing of the Catholic faith. The production is called "Jerry Springer--The Opera in Concert" and it will run from June 26-August 3 at the New Stage Collective in Cincinnati. The so-called opera will also be showing at The Studio Theatre in Washington D.C. from July 16-Aug. 10 The American TFP and its America Needs Fatima campaign vehemently protest this production. The TFP is asking its friends and supporters to send their e-protests to both theaters right away. The TFP is also promoting a protest outside the...

In my most recent column, I introduced you to "Beyond Opinion," a Christian apologetics book, edited by Ravi Zacharias, that offers suggestions on how to approach the skeptic, depending on the skeptic's background or reasons for doubt or non-belief. Before leaving the subject, let me give you a stronger flavor of this interesting apologetics method and this fascinating book. Ravi tells us an effective apologetic "pays very close attention not just to the question but to the questioner. That, in turn, leads to the relevance of the answer." He cites Jesus' walk on the Emmaus road as an instructive example....

Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church. ---------------- The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals. ------------------------- The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus." ------------------------- Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King. -------------- Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands. ------------------ The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today...

Delhi: 50% Christian quota in St Stephen's NEW DELHI: After months of speculation, St Stephen’s on Saturday clearly stated its stand on its minority status - 50% of seats in the college will now go to Christians. In what could be a blow to the hopes of students from other communities, St Stephen’s spokesman Sunil Mathew made it clear the percentage could even increase in future. ‘‘For this year, 50% is the cap on reservation for Christians. Next year we will look into the issue again.” Some seats will, however, be added for the sports quota. Of the seats, 40%...

Baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention have fallen to a 20-year low, a trend that is setting off alarm bells in America's largest evangelical denomination.

Thursday, June 12, 2008 YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK WorldNetDaily Exclusive Biblical message now criminalized Penalties created for those criticizing homosexuality outside church walls Posted: June 12, 2008 12:45 am Eastern By Bob Unruh WorldNetDaily A new Colorado law is helping homosexual activists achieve their goal of forcing Christians to teach biblical condemnation of homosexuality only behind the closed doors of their sanctuaries. The as-yet untested state law promotes sexual identity "perception" to the level of skin color under state discrimination laws. Some opponents are calling it a "bona fide censorship law," and top analysts for Focus on the Family, the...

Israeli on Arab TV: J'lem Was Ours When Moslems Worshipped Idols ...Israeli on Arab TV: J'lem Was Ours When Moslems Worshipped Idols ... Jerusalem is our city forever and is not an issue for you, for Al Jazeera or for anyone ...Dr. Kedar: "Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran even once. You can't rewrite the Koran on air on Al Jazeera."... http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126403

Archaeologists in Jordan say they have discovered a catacomb underneath one of the world's oldest churches that may be an even more ancient site of Christian worship. Archaeologist Abdel-Qader Hussein, head of the Rihab Center for Archaeological Studies, says the catacombs were unearthed in the northern Jordanian city of Rihab after three months of excavation and show evidence of early Christian rituals. Shortly after the death of Jesus Christ, disciples founded churches in the area, many of them underground to escape persecution.

Algeria Muslim body slams Christian evangelistsSun 1 Jun 2008, 7:22 GMTALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria hit back on Saturday at foreign accusations minority Christians are harassed, saying Protestant evangelicals were secretly trying to divide Algerians to colonise the mainly Muslim north African country.http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN130142.html   The Rising Threat of Revolutionary Islam in Algeria A radical Islamic victory in Algeria would pose significant long-term threats to US interests in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Muslim world ...http://www.heritage.org/Research/Africa/BG1060.cfm   2 bombings near Algerian capital wound 6 peopleThe Associated Press - Jun 4, 2008Algeria's Islamic militants have mounted increasing attacks over the past...

The Canadian government has ordered a Christian pastor to renounce his faith and never again express moral opposition to homosexuality, according to a new report. In a decision handed down just days ago in the penalty phase of the quasi-judicial proceedings run by the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal, evangelical pastor Stephen Boisson was banned from expressing his biblical perspective of homosexuality and ordered to pay $5,000 for "damages for pain and suffering" as well as apologize to the activist who complained of being hurt. According to a report from Pete Vere at the Catholic Exchange, the penalty could foreshadow the...

It is "common sense" for Christianity to be sidelined at the expense of Islam, a Government minister claimed on Sunday. Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, defended Labour’s policy on religion after a report backed by the Church of England claimed that Muslims receive a disproportionate amount of attention. She said it was right that more money and effort was spent on Islam than Christianity because of the threat from extremism and home-grown terrorism. Ms Blears told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme: “That’s just common sense. If we’ve got an issue where we have to build resilience of young Muslim men...

"You will always have the poor among you..." In those words Jesus stated a simple fact that has held true through the centuries. In every society, no matter how rich and bountiful, there have always been impoverished people. These people evoke our concern and sympathy. We want to help them, but how? No society has ever overcome poverty. In the US today, the question of how to help the poor is particularly controversial, with two partisan sides struggling vigorously to promote their own answers. The liberal camp argues that government is the best entity to help the poor at home...

"Don't believe in God?" a bright blue billboard with images of puffy white clouds asks. "You are not alone."The 20-by-60-foot sign alongside I-95 was designed by a group of area atheists as an invitation to join the Greater Philadelphia Coalition of Reason, or PhillyCoR, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports."If you don't ... [h]undreds of thousands of your neighbors in the Delaware Valley feel the same as you do," the organization's website declares.Steve Rade, president of Wireless Accessories, Inc., gave the $22,500 to fund the billboard May 1, and he plans to keep it there until the end of August."Our mission is...

Algiers, Jun 4, 2008 / 09:26 pm (CNA).- Four Algerian citizens who converted to Christianity have been condemned to prison and heavy fines, while two others were set free after renouncing their conversion.  According to the AFP, the defense lawyer said the four were charged with “illegally practicing a non-Muslim faith.”Attorney Khelloudja Khalfoun said one of the converts was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $3,087, while the other three were sentenced to two months in prison and fined $1,544 each.  The four converts, who were condemned by a correctional court in Tiaret, refused to deny their...

Atheists like to promote the false argument that religion has killed more innocent people than any other force in the history of mankind. Is that really true about those people professing the Christian religion? Actually, according to Vox Day in THE IRRATIONAL ATHEIST, atheist regimes in the 20th Century alone killed and murdered about 153.3 million people for philosophical, political and economic reasons, while in 2,000 years people mis-representing the Christian faith killed and murdered only about 1.65 million, or 93 times less the number of people in 20 centuries compared to only one century!!! Democide* Statistics, Christianity vs. Atheism...

Over the last several years America has sustained a rash of what has been affectionately termed by the media as “Christian Bashing”. Not really on the scale of a huge social issue, Christian Bashing has been treated as though it were on the level of bashing folks who don’t like broccoli or prefer skim milk in their Espresso rather than whole milk. This is inaccurate. Christianity is a slap in the face to Marxism and Socialism because it receives and obeys an authority higher than Government dictates. Christianity stands in the way of the imposition of Socialistic principals associated with...

You can't preach the Bible here, this is a Muslim area(What a community policeman told two Christians)  By Steve Doughty and Andy Dolan Last updated at 1:19 AM on 02nd June 2008  Readings from the Koran: Naeem Naguthney Two Christian preachers were stopped from handing out Bible extracts by police because they were in a Muslim area, it was claimed yesterday. They say they were told by a Muslim police community support officer that they could not preach there and that attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity was a hate crime. The community officer is also said to have...

Two American-born pastors handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham, England, were threatened with arrest and warned of being beaten for committing what an officer called a "hate crime." Arthur Cunningham, 48, and Joseph Abraham, 65, were handing out the leaflets and talking with local youths when they were approached and questioned by a police community support officer, or PCSO. When the officer discovered the two Birmingham pastors were born in the U.S., he began a heated criticism of President Bush and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cunningham explained that the gospel message was not...

Christian churches in Algeria are under massive attack. Within the last six months, Algerian authorities have closed half of the Protestant churches in the country. If the trend continues, the Algerian Protestant church will be non-existent by the end of 2008. Algerian officials have closed 26 Algerian churches by either written order or verbal warning since November 2007. Ranging in size from several dozen to more than 1,000 members, 32 congregations in Algeria belong to the Protestant Church of Algeria, while another 20 small fellowships exist independently. Algeria, a country of 33 million in northern Africa, is home to at...

Two years after Algeria enacted a troubling religious law, Christians in the North African nation are facing an unprecedented clampdown, with churches being closed, suspected missionaries put on trial, and Muslim figures warning of devious plans to lure Algerians away from Islam. The 2006 law, known as Ordinance 06-03, outlaws anything that "incites, constrains, or utilizes means of seduction" to influence a Muslim to convert to another religion. It also bans the publication, distribution or storing of printed material that has the goal of "shaking the faith" of a Muslim. Punishments include imprisonment of up to five years and fines...

LONDON: A Pakistan born senior bishop has warned that the decline of Christianity in Britain has paved the way for radical Islam to fill a moral vacuum, a comment that could create a row over the relationship between Islam and the West. The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, claimed the "social and sexual" revolution of the 1960s had led to a steep decline in the influence of Christianity over society. The bishop, who was born in Pakistan of Christian parents, said the decline of Christian values has created a "moral vacuum" which radical Islam is filling, the...

The collapse of Christianity has wrecked British society, a leading Church of England bishop declared yesterday. It has destroyed family life and left the country defenceless against the rise of radical Islam in a moral and spiritual vacuum. In a lacerating attack on liberal values, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, said the country was mired in a doctrine of 'endless self-indulgence' that had brought an explosion in public violence and binge-drinking. In a blow to Gordon Brown, he mocked the 'scramblings and scratchings' of politicians who try to cast new British values such as respect and...

FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah on Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand. Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked. He flipped it over, and on the...

On May 12, Iranian police arrested 12 known Muslim converts to Christianity and confiscated their books, computers and printers in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz. According to Compass Direct News, "The arrests began at 5 a.m. on May 11, when two couples were taken into custody before boarding their flights at the Shiraz International Airport and sent directly to jail. All four were subjected to hours of interrogation, questioning them solely 'just about their faith and house church activities.'"

Religious persecution is well-known in Uzbekistan, where human rights group accuse the government of imprisoning hundreds of Muslims for practicing their faith outside state-approved institutions and labeling them extremists bent on overthrowing the secular government. Now, the government of President Islam Karimov is taking a broader aim against believers -- this time targeting primarily fringe Christian missionary groups. A recent documentary on Uzbek state television condemned such groups as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Gospel Church, and Blagodat (Grace) as creating a "global problem, along with religious dogmatism, fundamentalism, terrorism, and drug addiction." The documentary, "In the Clutches of Ignorance," featured...

I love you guys! The Only Way Out This message is to ALL of my friends and fans. I wasn't sure how exactly to start this...but I trusted that God would help me write this and maybe through me I could speak His word and make His will be done..... For a long time I have been very lost. So lost in myself and in the world that I didn't even REALIZE that I was lost. I have always thought of myself as a pretty good person. I love helping people, I love befriending people, I love animal rescue and...

Sir -- I am a serving army officer and I have just returned off leave. I read your article on Kosovo with great interest. It was excellent, I really am fed up reading the UN propaganda that is blindly regurgitated by most visiting journalists. While undoubtedly United Nations' Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has improved the country and the lot of the Kosovar Albanians in particular, as an international organisation it could have done so much better. So well done for telling it as it is! ... The population is as divided as ever, freedom of movement for the K/Serbs is...

A Martyr’s Cry Iranian pastor Haik Hovsepian was murdered in 1994, but his voice is still heard—thanks to a fascinating documentary about his courage. By Joel Kilpatrick In 1994, Haik Hovsepian, the leader of the Protestant churches in Iran, rose to the defense of a Christian man sentenced to die for converting from Islam. Leading an international protest, Hovsepian campaigned successfully for the condemned man’s release. But three days later, Hovsepian himself disappeared. His body was soon found riddled with knife wounds. Two other prominent Iranian Christians were martyred six months later, leaving the church stunned and grieving. Hovsepian left...

The government of the Canadian province of Quebec has rejected a proposal to remove a crucifix from above the speaker's chair in the parliament. Quebec Premier Jean Charest said the crucifix was related to 350 years of history that could not be erased. The proposal was made in a report into how Quebec's French-Canadian - and traditionally Roman Catholic - population can accommodate minorities. The report was commissioned to address a perceived identity crisis in Quebec. 'Reasonable accommodation' Quebec has struggled in recent years as the birth rate of its white, French-Canadian population has fallen and immigration - much of...

Israel always matters. Biblical scholars have devoted endless pages to ancient Israel as a religious idea, and pundits have penned endless newspaper columns about modern Israel as a geopolitical entity. The deeper implications, however, have received less attention than they deserve in recent years, overshadowed by the exigencies of Middle Eastern politics. Indeed, real questions remain: What does the sheer ­existence of the modern state of Israel mean for theology—particularly for Christian theology? And what does that theology mean for the continuing existence of Israel? “Hardly anybody will dispute that the foundation of this state had something to do...

What are your favorite books of the Bible? What Old Testament Book do you find yourself reading more than any other? Where do you go for illumination in the New Testament? My favorite books of the Old Testament are probably Exodus and Isaiah. In the New, I like the two books attributed to St. Luke---his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. John's Gospel is also very illuminating.

To follow-up, Thanks to all the wonderful Non-catholics who said that Catholics were Christians, this post is for the Catholics to chime in. Do you think Protestants are Brothers and Sisters in Christ? Are Protestants Christians?

Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that the Roman Catholic Church has the indisputable right and duty to convert anyone to Christianity. The Church’s central mission is evangelism, the pope firmly told a Vatican body responsible for encouraging Catholic missionary activity, according to Agence France-Presse. Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Gospels, called on the conversion of “all nations,� Benedict said,� and this commission remains “an obligatory mandate for the entire Church and for every believer in Christ.� "This apostolic commitment is both a duty and an inalienable right, the very expression of religious freedom with its moral, social and political...

While the stern eyes of the world are turned toward China, in India equally severe violations of freedom and human rights are taking place amid general disinterest. With Christians as the victims. The epicenter of the violence is Orissa, a state facing the Bay of Bengal, south of Calcutta. Here, since Christmas until now, there have been 6 deaths, 5,000 left homeless, and 70 churches, 600 homes, 6 convents, and 3 seminaries destroyed. "An expanse of ashes, that's what is left", exclaimed Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, after visiting the areas struck by anti-Christian violence. But alarming news is...

... According to Ms Williams, the HFE Bill must be resisted because it permits embryo experimentation, violating the sanctity of life. It also improves the rights of gay parents (homosexuality is a sin, of course). But most of her efforts will be focused on using the Bill to restrict abortion laws. By laying amendments, MPs will be able to change abortion legislation. Because Ms Williams believes that any intervention with the embryo is sinful, she is absolute in her attitude to abortion. It should be completely illegal. She knows this is not achievable any time soon, but a reduction in...

snip- Yet many scientists — 40 percent according to a 1997 poll cited by Shermer — believe in God. This isn't big news to scientists, but might surprise people who rely on mainstream views of science. A handful of those folks — including Jerome Groopman, a professor of medicine at Harvard, and William D. Phillips, Nobel laureate in physics and a fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute of the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology — are also represented in the booklet, arguing that the natural world and the world of faith are relatively separate,...

Converts from Islam to Christianity are increasingly concerned about a number of reports in recent months which have cited astounding statistics on conversion. It is true - and a matter for thankfulness to God - that more Muslims are now coming to Christ than at any other time in history. However, they are not converting on the vast scale alleged in some reports. These false reports, often initiated by non-Christians and then circulated by Christians, are a matter of grave concern, not just for those who love truth and accuracy, but also for the many individuals whose lives are being...

Fascism Was Anti-Religious Too Bethany Stotts, May 13, 2008 In our age of moral relativity, leaders like George W. Bush and Tony Blair have been cast as modern Adolph Hitlers—a practice which trivializes the “moral collapse” perpetuated by the Third Reich. Weekly Standard contributor David Gelernter, in contrast, is intent on magnifying these moral differences. Claiming inspiration from T.S. Eliot’s characterization of WWII as a choice between “Christianity” or “paganism,” the Yale professor said at the American Enterprise Institute that “The thesis I want to investigate, one that involves such a daunting tangle of complex issues and demands so many...

A great deal has been reported - and misreported - about the religious affiliation of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama. He has been described in the media as both a Muslim and a Christian. His alleged Islamic affiliation derives from his middle name, Hussein, which certain sleazy pundits and bigots are quick to associate by innuendo with terrorism. In fact, Hussein is a popular Arab and Islamic name. It means "good," "proper" or "handsome." Just because there was once an Iraqi dictator with the same name doesn't mean that all Husseins are questionable. A great ally of the United...

Until recently, Barack Obama's presidential campaign was premised on the future. The senator from Illinois orated floridly about bringing "change" to the country; a New Political Man, he pledged to soothe the feuds of old and usher in a national reconciliation amid troubled times. With the emergence of divisive figures like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's longtime friend and acerbically Afro-centric pastor, the focus has shifted to the past, and with good reason. As FrontPageMag.com senior editor Jacob Laksin discovered in his recent reporting from Chicago's South Side, the predominantly black community where Obama launched his political career in the eighties...