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<p>William Peters was working as a volunteer in a hospice when he had a strange encounter with a dying man that changed his life.</p> <p>The man’s name was Ron, and he was a former Merchant Marine who was afflicted with stomach cancer. Peters says he would spend up to three hours a day at Ron’s bedside, talking to and reading adventure stories to him because few family or friends visited.</p>

Since 2009, archaeologists have been slowly excavating the ancient town of Magdala—thought to be the home of Mary Magdalene—near the Sea of Galilee. Among their finds has been a first-century synagogue where, experts say, Jesus likely preached. Image: Israel Antiquities Authority Although Jerusalem and Bethlehem are the sites most commonly associated with Jesus, Father Eamon Kelly—vice president of Israel's Magdala Center and vice chargé of the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center—points out that Jesus spent almost his entire life in what is now northern Israel. "Eighty percent of Jesus' public life was here," he tells the Israeli...

With British and German forces separated only by a no-man's land littered with fallen comrades, sounds of a German Christmas carol suddenly drifted across the frigid air. "It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere: and at about 7 or 8 in the evening there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and there were these lights -- I don't know what they were. And then they sang, "Silent Night" – "Stille Nacht." I shall never forget it, it was one of the highlights of my life. I thought, what a beautiful tune,"...

The ascetic and moralizing movements that spawned the world's major religious traditions -- Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity -- all arose around the same time in three different regions... The emergence of world religions, they say, was triggered by the rising standards of living in the great civilizations of Eurasia... It seems almost self-evident today that religion is on the side of spiritual and moral concerns, but that was not always so, Baumard explains. In hunter-gatherer societies and early chiefdoms, for instance, religious tradition focused on rituals, sacrificial offerings, and taboos designed to ward off misfortune and evil. That...

In an October 21 TV interview, Egyptian human rights activist Ahmad Harqan explained why he had become an atheist and said that Islam is a "harsh religion," which was being implemented by ISIS and Boko Haram. They are doing "what the Prophet Muhammad and his companions did," said Harqan. According to media reports, Harqan and his pregnant wife survived an assassination attempt on October 25, and when they went to the police to complain, were arrested for disrespect to Islam. Following are excerpts from the program, which aired on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV: Atheist Ahmad Harqan: I do not believe in...

After reading about the lady in Florida that was dead for 45min, I was wondering about near-death experiences. There have been a lot of these experiences written about here in our country, but I was wondering if anyone has info on near-death experiences in other countries. Specifically, is there anything recorded about those individuals that are not Christian and have experienced near-death?

Turin Shroud Was Made For Medieval Easter Ritual, Historian Says Charles Freeman believes relic venerated as Jesus Christ’s burial cloth dates from 14th century and was used as a prop Charlotte Higgins 23 October 2014. The Turin shroud, revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, dates from the middle ages, historian says. Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP When it is exhibited next year in Turin, for the first time in five years, 2 million people are expected to pour into the city to venerate a four-metre length of woven cloth as the shroud in which Jesus Christ was wrapped after...

The new research could help doctors to quickly identify patients who are aware despite appearing unresponsive and unable to communicate. Researchers from University of Cambridge in the UK have identified hidden networks in vegetative patients that could support consciousness, even when a patient appear to be unresponsive. There’s been a lot of interest lately into how much patients in vegetative states, such as comas, are aware of their surroundings. Recently, research involving functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning has shown that even patients who are unable to respond or move are able to carry out mental tasks, such as imagining...

"First hint of 'life after death' in biggest ever scientific study", headlines The Telegraph, going on to say: "Southampton University scientists have found evidence that awareness can continue for at least several minutes after clinical death which was previously thought impossible". Does this prove that there is life after death and that God exists? Of course not, but it shows without a shadow of a doubt that there are many phenomena and events that science doesn't explain about the nature of consciousness and of the mind in general. Someone's answer to that migtht be that science will one day...

Religion is such an important force in the world. So how well do we really understand it? What are the major religions in the world? Where are their adherents located? Check out these 11 fascinating maps and learn something new! You can click on any map to enlarge it.

Charlier, for his part, has made a name for himself as a forensic scientist who has debunked several myths. Among them: that bone fragments in the Vatican's possession were those of Joan of Arc. He determined they were actually from a cat and Egyptian mummy.

Did the Prophet Muhammad really exist? This question, which may seem bizarre on the surface, is at the root of a new book by Robert Spencer, a prominent author and the director of Jihad Watch. Spencer, a figure who is praised by his fans and loathed by his detractors, has written numerous books on Islam. Earlier this week, The Blaze spoke with the expert about his controversial, new book, “Did Muhammad Exist?” As can be derived from the title, the text delves into some uncomfortable subject matter, as Spencer examines the historical documentation surrounding the Muslim prophet.The book’s official description...

Toby Lester, the author of "Oh, Gods!" in the February Atlantic, talks about the Darwinian way in which religions evolve and mutate. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses upon the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, in 1517, he could hardly have imagined that he would succeed in spawning a new, Protestant branch of the Christian Church. He would also no doubt be surprised if he could see the direction Protestantism has taken in the past 500 years. What would Luther think if he were somehow to visit the state of Utah, essentially a homeland for the Mormon...

Green Jesus. That is the image that now greets visitors to the Huffington Post Religion page at the very top. If you think that the Huffington Post has an agenda it is pushing, you would be correct. A total of seven stories are devoted to the topic of global warming in general and Sunday's "People's Climate March NYC" in particular. The extent that the Huffington Post is inappropriately using religion to push a worldwide political program of big spending programs on a problem that doesn't exist can be seen in the "religion" articles used to hype this agenda. The desperation...

A structure once believed to form part of an ancient town is identified as a 5,000 year old monument believed to have been used to honour the Mesopotamian moon god 'Sin' A stone monument in the shape of a crescent moon found in northern Israel is more than 5,000 years old, archaeologists have said. The structure, known as Rujum en-Nabi Shua'ayb or Jethro Cairn, is located near the Sea of Galilee and predates the construction of Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid in Egypt, as well as the writing of the Bible. It was initially discovered in the early part of the...

Editor's note: This article is cross-posted at JohnHanlonReviews.com “The road to despair is becoming ever easier,” actor Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart, Into the Storm) noted recently during a roundtable interview in Washington D.C. The three-time Golden Globe nominated actor was in the city to promote his new religious film Calvary and both he and writer/director John Michael McDonagh sat down to talk to film critic Nell Minow and I about the project. Gleeson stars in the drama as Father James, a local priest in a small Irish community who is faced with a deadly threat as the film begins. A male...

U2 frontman Bono talks about his faith and answers the question "Who is Jesus?" in the video below. Click play to watch. Link Here with Video (2 mins 46 secs)

The canonical Bible is filled with mysterious characters, many of whom drop in for a cameo, do their thing, and then slide out, never to be heard from again. Some are merely extras, but some have a contextual presence that begs further examination. And some are, well, just weird. 10 MelchizedekProbably the single most mysterious figure in the Bible, Melchizedek was a priest-king of Salem (later known as Jerusalem) in the time of Abram (Abraham), suggesting a religious organization, complete with ritual and hierarchy, that predated the Jewish nation and their priestly lineage from the tribe of Levi. He is...

Barak Hussein Obama's introduction to the world in 2004 occurred on July 27 July. The date on the Jewish Calendar was Tisha b'Av. The 9th of Av. The same date of virtually all major Jewish Calamities occurred: (see them below) The First Temple built by King Solomon and the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans The Romans crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destroyed the city of Betar, killing over 100,000 Jews Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple and the...

Twelfth-century Hindu temple breaks with tradition after Supreme Court rules against two Brahmin families who have claimed exclusive ancestral rights to choosing priests for centuriesA twelfth-century Hindu temple that attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually is to admit women and lower-caste men as priests for the first time. The historic break with tradition came about after India's Supreme Court ruled against the two Brahmin families, Badve and Utpat, who had provided the temple's priests for centuries. The court ruled against their claim to exclusive ancestral rights over the earnings and rituals at Vitthal Rukmini temple, in the town of...