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I grew up in a Christian home, where a photo of Jesus hung on my bedroom wall. I still have it. It is schmaltzy and rather tacky in that 1970s kind of way, but as a little girl I loved it. In this picture, Jesus looks kind and gentle, he gazes down at me lovingly. He is also light-haired, blue-eyed, and very white. The problem is, Jesus was not white.

A Turkish man has been sentenced to prison on charges of membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the basis of his identity card showed his religion as Zoroastrian, Turkish newspaper Evrensel said. The case began in 2006, at which time Yücel Delek was a student at Niğde University. He was taken into custody on suspicion of having attended a PKK-linked protest, but was acquitted the following year after the university provided evidence he had been attending a class at the time. The case was re-opened in 2013. This time he was not so lucky. The evidence against him...

Christian Designs Found in Tomb Stones of Eastern Han Dynasty [2002-08-02] Studies show that as early as 86 A.D., or the third year under the reign of "Yuanhe" of Eastern Han, Dynasty Christianity entered into China, 550 years earlier than the world accepted time. When studying a batch of stone carvings of Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.) stored and exhibited in the Museum of Xuzhou Han Stone Carvings, Christian theology professor Wang Weifan was greatly surprised by some stone engravings demonstrating the Bible stories and designs of early Christian times. Further studies showed that some of these engravings were made...

UNITED KINGDOM, March 23, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Despite his years of denouncing religion, Richard Dawkins does not welcome a European future without Christianity. On Wednesday, the atheist author and evolutionary biologist warned those inclined to “rejoice at the death throes of the relatively benign Christian religion” to keep in mind the danger of "something worse" taking its place. That worse alternative, Dawkins suggests, is Islam, which he has previously called “the most evil religion in the world.” Dawkins was reacting to a Guardian report on recent polling that shows 70% of people in the United Kingdom between the ages of...

Archaeologists are to return to the potential site of a lost Pictish monastery where Scottish Gaelic was written down for the first time. Archaeologist Alison Cameron and her team could be on the brink of making a discovery of national importance at land close to Old Deer in Aberdeenshire... For 10 years, a search has been made for the monastery that dates from the sixth century but disappeared around 1,000 years ago. Some believe the Book of Deer, a richly decorated pocket-sized book of gospels was created here with Gaelic notes on local life later written in the margins by...

Seeps from which gas and oil escape were formative to many ancient cultures and societies. They gave rise to legends surrounding the Delphi Oracle, Chimaera fires and "eternal flames" that were central to ancient religious practices - from Indonesia and Iran to Italy and Azerbaijan. Modern geologists and oil and gas explorers can learn much by delving into the geomythological stories about the religious and social practices of the Ancient World, writes Guiseppe Etiope of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy. His research is published in the new Springer book Natural Gas Seepage. "Knowing present-day gas fluxes...

Median era ring discovered in Iran Sat, 10 Nov 2007 09:56:15 A Faravahar, a symbol of Zoroastrianism A unique ring belonging to the Median era adorned with a carved Farvahar, a symbol of Zoroastrianism, has been found in western Iran. Archeological excavations in Iran's western province of Lorestan resulted in the discovery of a ring which dates back to the Bronze Age and is decorated with a symbol of Zoroastrianism. The figure in the Farvahar is wearing Mede attire and a hat. The long-bearded man is facing the left as he emerges from the Sun. Wide open wings are seen...

Duhok's Director of Antiquities, Hasan Ahmed Qassim, has announced the discovery of a Zoroastrian temple near Jar Ston Cave, a famous ancient site. The temple is believed to be the most complete to have been unearthed in the region. It is also said that it was a Metherani temple... "This new discovery will alter the history of the region due to its unique architectural style, which differs considerably from Zoroastrian temples previously discovered," explained the Director of Antiquities. "The temple's style which looks toward the four-directions is a unique style ever discovered in the area; thus it becomes an entry...

Russian archaeologist says Merv was origin of Zoroastrianism TEHRAN, June 10 (MNA) – Russian archaeologist Victor Sarianidi believes that Merv, a province in southern Turkmenistan, was the cradle of Zoroastrianism, the Persian service of Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported here Saturday. According to Sarianidi, his archeological team has recently discovered some Zoroastrians’ temples in the region. Each has two fire temples -- one was presumably used for religious ceremonies and one for cooking, he added. The temples date back to some 3,000 years BC, estimated the archaeologist. Sarianidi had already named the legendary land of Margush as the origin...

The Indian city of Bombay is home to the Parsi community - descendants of Persians who fled to India centuries ago. Now, their numbers are dwindling, giving rise to fears that the group, with its distinctive religion, is dying out. VOA's Patricia Nunan was recently in Bombay, where she spoke to two well-known Parsi personalities to hear their ideas of what the future may hold for the community. One is an 88-year-old retired business magnate, a leader of India's Parsi community for the past 60 years, the other is a 34-year-old television host and "video jockey" on the Indian outlet...

Archeologist says Central Asia was cradle of ancient Persian religion Fri Mar 18, 6:24 PM ET Science - AFP ATHENS (AFP) - The mysterious Margianan civilisation which flowered in the desert of what is now Turkmenistan some 4,000 years ago was the cradle of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, Greco-Russian archeologist Victor Sarigiannidis claimed here. He said the theory would provoke controversy amongst his fellow archeologists, but said his excavations around the site of Gonur Tepe have uncovered temples and evidence of sacrifices that would consistent with a Zoroastrian cult. The religion was founded by Zarathustra, a Persian prophet...

Zarin Havewala doesn't call herself a professional matchmaker, but her track record suggests otherwise. "So far, 55 couples have found their partners through my efforts — 53 couples are already married, and two more couples are engaged to be married soon," says Ms Havewala, a Mumbai-based mother-of-two. Ms Havewala is a Zoroastrian — or 'Parsi' (meaning 'Persian') as they're known in India — a member of an ancient monotheistic faith that pre-dates Islam and Christianity. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of Persia, its birthplace, for more than a millennium, but today the community is a fraction of its former size,...

Scientists studied more than 100 dice dating back to more than 2,000 years ago They discovered that dice made before 400 AD had major differences in shape, material, size and configuration of numbers, suggesting there was little fairness By Renaissance times, dicemakers realized the object's size affected game play Researchers believe that die changed shape as we started to believe in chance

Exact purpose of these ancient stone constructions is unknown. The main assumption is that they, perhaps, symbolized a border between the world we live in and the world of spirits. Labyrinths were used for rituals to help souls to cross over to the other world. Other hypothesis is that labyrinths, perhaps, served as fishing traps. However, the major flaw in this argument is that many labyrinths have been found inland throughout the world... After entering a labyrinth and circle several times around the center, you leave it through the same entrance. Just after several turns it becomes unclear how much...

"The Secret of Kells" is an anachronism many times over, and what a good thing that turned out to be. A ravishing, continually surprising example of largely hand-drawn animation in the heyday of computer-generated imagery, an inexpensive and sophisticated European production in an age of broad-stroke studio films, even a spirited defense of books and bookishness while Kindles walk the earth, "Kells" fights the tide every way it can. Yet this longshot that began as a college project for Irish director Tomm Moore edged Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" for one of five feature animation Oscar nominations, and in a year without...

Let's do some good here: Post photos and tributes to your favorite black conservatives!!!

Imagine going to sleep and waking up sounding British. It's a real thing, and it happened to a Valley woman who has never even left the country. "Everybody only sees or hears Mary Poppins," said Michelle Myers, a mom of seven who lives in Buckeye. Myers is a former Texas beauty queen who has never even left the United States. Three times in the past seven years, Myers has gone to sleep with blinding headaches only to wake up with a different accent. The first time it was Irish. The second time was Australian. Both incidents lasted about a week....

Myers says she has been diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome. The disorder typically occurs after strokes or traumatic brain injuries damage the language center of a person's brain — to the degree that their native language sounds like it is tinged with a foreign accent, according to the Center for Communication Disorders at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Greek Pagans are granted legal status as polytheism is officially a religion in Greece, according to the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (YSEE). YSEE is a religious organization claiming they work to restore the indigenous religion of Hellas. The organization put out a statement saying that Greek polytheism has received legal status in Greece. Until now, Greek Pagans did not enjoy religious freedoms such as the right to buy land in order to build houses of worship nor could Pagan priests perform marriage ceremonies. Now the Greek State, through a decision of the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious...

White House evangelical Pastor Paul Begley said first lady Melania Trump demanded that the White House be spiritually cleansed and that pagan, demonic items and artificats from the Obama and Clinton years be removed. Melania Trump reportedly said, “I’m not going to go into that White House unless it has been completely exorcised,” according to Pastor Begley. One thing was left, a cross on the wall. “They cleansed the White House,” he said. “They had people in there anointing it with oil and praying everywhere.”