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Planetary warming, also known as climate change, continues to accelerate. The last eight years have been the warmest on global record, which is well-documented, with information dating back to 1850. Additional warming will continue in the years to come, but how much more warming depends on the decisions we make in the coming decades about energy use. For those looking to take individual actions, and in recognition of Earth Day, there are many that are relevant across income levels: 1. Reduce food waste This can be as simple as being sure that food is consumed before it goes bad and...

The Bible is full of explanations of why people behave the way they do and how they change. Beginning with Genesis, God demonstrated the basic problem of mankind: separation from God through sin. And, God provided the only lasting remedy for change: a restored relationship with Him by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. A person’s separation from God or his active relationship with God will affect every attitude, every choice, and every action. The study of mankind from any other perspective will bring about a distorted view. Although we can observe, record and report external aspects of...

They want governments to develop and implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation TreatyReligious groups and activists around the globe have called for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and just transition from non-renewable resources in a global campaign letter released ahead of the global climate summit in Egypt. The open multi-faith letter released on Nov. 1 is the result of an initiative spearheaded by the Laudato Si Movement and GreenFaith, a grassroots multi-faith movement for climate justice, which together represents more than 1.5 billion supporters. The letter called upon “governments to urgently commence negotiations to develop and implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation...

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver caused a social media storm Monday, closing a public prayer with “Amen and a woman,” as if the Hebrew word meaning “let it be” was somehow gendered. Cleaver, of course, later claimed the embarrassing episode was actually “a lighthearted pun” in recognition of women, a description that might draw water on paper, but which the video clearly shows is not the case. But there’s far more than simple ignorance on display in the Democrat and Methodist pastor’s blessing of the new year’s legislative session. The prayer’s true scandal was largely ignored — and is indicative of a...

Upon returning from his historic Apostolic Journey to the Arabian Penninsula, specifically the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis said that the Islamic world and the Christian world will work together to promote "common values." Speaking before his general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis discussed his meeting with the Great Imam of Al-Azhar and their signing of the document on the Human Brotherhood, which condemned all forms of religious violence, and the spreading of authentic values throughout the world. "The Great Imam of Al-Azhar and I signed the document on the Human Brotherhood, in which together we...

(CNN)Two of the country's largest and most influential religious groups, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals, are urging the United States not to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees after the deadly terrorist attack in Paris last Friday. "Of course we want to keep terrorists out of our country, but let's not punish the victims of ISIS for the sins of ISIS," Leith Anderson, NAE president, said on Tuesday. House Speaker Paul Ryan has called for a "pause" in the U.S. program accepting Syrian refugees and 30 governors have said they will not welcome...

Donald Trump suggested Monday that U.S. counterterrorism officials should shut down certain mosques in response to the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris last week. “I would hate to do it but it’s something you’re going to have to strongly consider,” the 2016 Republican frontrunner said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when asked if he would recommend taking the measure. “Some of the absolute hatred is coming from those areas,” he said.

Susan Sarandon led a very belated funeral procession for her dear friend, the 'godfather of LSD' Timothy Leary, at Burning Man on Saturday. Clutching his ashes on the march into a makeshift church, the 67-year-old actress - who was wearing a bridal gown - said she had wanted to lay Leary to rest where he would be surrounded by revelers who had taken the psychedelic drug to honor his memory. 'I think he'd be so happy,' Sarandon said of Leary, who died and was cremated in 1996. 'I think he would have loved the chaos. He would have loved it....

SALT LAKE CITY (CBS/AP) – The Episcopal Church has completed its embrace of gay rights, changing church law to allow same-sex religious marriages throughout the denomination, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide. The new policy won overwhelming approval from the top Episcopal legislative body Wednesday, following decades of debate and conflict. It came 12 years after the denomination blazed a trail by electing the first openly gay bishop.

Reverend Franklin Graham, son of world renowned evangelical pastor Billy Graham, said that President Barack Obama was “fundamentally mistaken” about radical Islam; questioned why peaceful Muslims do not collectively condemn jihadist terrorism; and argued that Islam “is a false religion” and that “it is impossible for a false religion to be a true religion of peace.” Rev. Franklin Graham also cited examples from a speech he recently gave outside the White House, decrying the actions of followers of a “peaceful religion” who practice “female circumcision,” hijacking, kidnapping, “honor” killings, and decapitation. Rev. Graham commended President Obama for sending some U.S....

Channel 4 has become embroiled in controversy after viewers claimed that a programme distorted the history of Islam. The broadcaster and regulator Ofcom and received nearly 550 complaints after Islam: The Untold Story was screened last week. The show’s presenter, Tom Holland, was subjected to a wave of criticism for his investigation into the origins of the religion and its early texts. He said there was little written contemporary evidence about the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and claimed that the Koran makes little or no reference to Islam’s holy city of Mecca. Holland, an award-winning writer and historian, received...

An elderly woman was left on the floor at a care home for up to ten minutes because a nurse was praying, an inquest heard. Alzheimer's sufferer Dorothy Griffiths, 87, was found sitting down after staff heard a bang and a carer went to the office for help to lift her. But agency nurse Abdul Bhutto, who was in charge, said they would have to wait. Carer Zoe Shaw told the Sheffield hearing: "It took between five and ten minutes because he was praying upstairs in the office on his prayer mat. A staff member told me we had to...

As we enter the GOP primary season, I'm starting to notice more and more an annoying trend here in FR. It seems as though everytime there's an article, or someone posts a comment about Romney, either pro or con, it nearly always devolves into an extended, and acrimonious discussion about the Mormon faith. Those who defend it, and those who, for whatever reasons, can't abide it, both sides seem determined to wage an "end of times" batte on all the FR threads. Frankly, I'm tired of it, and just wish it would stop. I think that probably 99% of others...

By and large any controversy in this matter has swirled around two doctrinal issues—our view of the Godhead and our belief in the principle of continuing revelation leading to an open scriptural canon. In addressing this we do not need to be apologists for our faith, but we would like not to be misunderstood. So with a desire to increase understanding and unequivocally declare our Christianity, I speak today on the first of those two doctrinal issues just mentioned.

A God of Miracles     Sydney S. ReynoldsFirst Counselor in the Primary General PresidencySydney S. Reynolds, "A God of Miracles", Ensign, May 2001, 12  I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles.  With Moroni of old, I believe in a God of miracles. Moroni wrote to the people of our dispensation, “Behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, … and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are” (Morm. 9:11). Moroni proclaimed that Jesus Christ did many mighty miracles, that many mighty miracles...

Conservative policy experts and religious leaders have collaborated to condemn the radical environmentalism movement in a 12-part video series. The series, called “Resisting the Green Dragon,” features criticisms of the green movement which religious leaders contend is a false religion that puts nature above people. "Environmentalists have a long history of believing and promoting exaggerations and myths," says Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in the video. One such myth speakers cite in the video is the notion that humans are causing global warming. According to The Cornwall Alliance founder Dr. E. Calvin Beisner,...

Most of us have had a Mormon Missionary knock at our door.  If you have ever invited them in and listened to a presentation of their beliefs, you probably found most but not all of what they said very similar to those beliefs held by Christians.  However, while trying to convince you that your Church is wrong and the Mormon Church is right, there are several points they intentionally leave out.  Below is a list of Mormon beliefs the missionaries will be reluctant to tell you about:   They will be reluctant to tell you that the God they...

Al Gore says global warming is an inconvenient truth. “Inconvenient” adds a clever twist to the name of the would-be president’s popular documentary and book. But far worthier of scrutiny is the other word in the title: “Truth.” Man-made global warming, says the former politician and a rising sea of climate alarmists, is not just inconvenient, it’s an unequivocal, undeniable truth. In fact, the truth about global warming is so convincing that “debate in the scientific community is over.” Says who? Well, the United Nations for starters. On February 2 last year, the United Nations issued a press release highlighting...

GUIDE TO THE SCRIPTURES Alma, Son of Alma See also Alma the Elder; Amulek; Mosiah, Sons of In the Book of Mormon, the first chief judge and prophet in the Nephite nation. In his early years he sought to destroy the Church (Mosiah 27: 8-10). However, an angel appeared to him and he was converted to the gospel (Mosiah 27: 8-24; Alma 36: 6-27). Later he gave up his position as chief judge in order to teach the people (Alma 4: 11-20). The book of Alma: A separate book in the Book of Mormon, comprising an abridgment of the records...

Yoga Cred by: Deborah Lambert, January 29, 2008 Although students at Needham (Mass) High School may have felt a lot less stressed after principal Paul Richards stopped publishing the list of honor roll recipients last year, it seems the relaxation guru was just getting started, according to Michelle Malkin, who noted that his latest idea was for the school to sponsor “in-school yoga classes.” “It’s not that I’m trying to turn the culture upside down,” Richards told the New York Times, explaining that his goal was simply to bring “the culture to a healthier place.” These health concerns not only...