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The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well. Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following: "First, we need to know how the mass of...

Msgr. M. Francis Mannion is still at it, giving bum answers to good questions. In his regular column in Our Sunday Visitor (Nov. 16, 2003), he is asked: "My 25-year-old son was recently killed in a motorcycle accident. He was a very good man and a good son, and he had a lot of integrity. However, he was an agnostic…. Now, I worry about his salvation. I want to believe he is with God or at least in purgatory…. Should I worry that he might be in hell?" Mannion answers: "If we love someone and hope for their [sic] salvation,...

Multi-millionaire heiress Teresa Keinz Kerry, wife of Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry, refuses to disclose her tax records.

Taxpayers tell IRS: We've been through Hell Community has fun with normally dour event Friday, April 16, 2004 BY LEANNE SMITH News Staff Reporter Kevin Wilson has lived in Putnam Township near Hell all his life. Mailing his taxes from there Thursday, just in time to meet the filing deadline, was no big deal. "Hell is just Hell," he said. But to about 400 people, some coming from as far away as Walled Lake in Oakland County, sending their taxes from the postal station inside Livingston County's Hell Country Store made the day easier to take. "We've been busy," said...

(Reprinted with permission from NEW OXFORD REVIEW, 1069 Kains Ave., Berkeley, CA 94706, U.S.A.) (Part I here) No Souls in Hell? One of the most pernicious errors that plagues the Catholic Church today is creeping universalism. While few will come out and baldly state that no one is damned to hell, the door is left open to that conclusion by writers such as Hans Urs von Balthasar in his book Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved?". We have seen this played out in the pages of the NEW OXFORD REVIEW (Jan. 2001, July.-Aug. 2001, Oct. 2001), as the...

Hell is becoming a byword. The concept of the eternal torment of the damned is something people do not care to teach, talk about, preach about, or believe. (Even by Christians!) Hell has come to take on many different meanings. Some people believe this world is our own "hell." There are those who believe hell is a state of mind. Some people associate hell with the river Styx and the boat-keeper Charron of Greek mythology, a place fairy tales are made of. The philosopher Sartre thought "Hell is people." But what does the Bible say concerning hell, and what does...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A second-grader was suspended for a day for telling a classmate he would go to hell for saying, "I swear to God." Brandy McKenith, 7, was suspended for swearing for saying the word "hell," but her family says she was referring to the biblical location of fire and brimstone. She served the suspension Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Public Schools' student code of conduct prohibits profanity, but doesn't provide a definition, spokeswoman Pat Crawford said. The school would not comment further. Brandy's father, Wayne McKenith, said when he learned about the suspension, he thought perhaps his daughter had said...

<p>A relatively new government program meant to ease emotional pain in young people, treat serious mental illness and keep disturbed children from needing institutional care has grown from a speck in the budget to more than $800 million in less than 10 years.</p>

WASHINGTON — Bill Clinton could pose a striking — and promising — contrast to President Bush's efforts if he accepts the mission proposed by two would-be Democratic presidents to pursue Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, say some foreign policy analysts. Those supporters add that considering the former president for the job helps Democrats John Kerry (search) and Howard Dean send the right message about their visions for peace in the Middle East. "Clinton would be a formidable negotiator. He has plausibility with both sides in the region, he knows the players and he knows the issues, probably better than any president — probably better than this president," said Will...

<p>For those concerned about their final destination after they die, beware: There apparently isn't a lot of space available in heaven. But if you don't mind the utter lack of oceanfront housing, hell appears to have plenty of room.</p> <p>This we can discern from the results of a new poll of several hundred Americans on matters pertaining to the hereafter. Barna Research Group of Ventura, Calif., found that when it comes to the prospect of eternal damnation, only a fraction of folks seem remotely prepared for the possibility.</p>

City Council prepares for Phelps By Eric R. Wright rep7@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - City officials said Friday they have talked about what to do if a controversial pastor wants to put up an anti-gay monument on public property here. But they don't have a definite plan of action yet. "I think there are as many options as there are ideas," Mayor Jack Spiker said. The Rev. Fred Phelps and his Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church made clear this week their intention to erect such monuments in Casper; Rupert, Idaho; and in cities nationwide where the Ten...

For an overwhelming majority of Americans, uttering the phrase "for heaven's sake" isn't just an idle expression. A new study shows the majority believe heaven is exactly where they're headed. A national poll of 1,000 adults conducted by Barna Research Group found 76 percent of Americans believe heaven exists and 64 percent believe they're headed for the Pearly Gates, reports the Los Angeles Times. The California-based independent marketing research firm, which has tracked trends related to beliefs, values and behaviors since 1984, says the percentage of those who believe is the same as a decade ago. Among the believers, nearly...

Next stop, the Pearly Gates ... or hell? Nearly two-thirds think they're going to heaven, while few believe they're hell-bound, survey finds By K. Connie Kang Los Angeles Times Posted October 24 2003, 10:57 AM EDT LOS ANGELES -- An overwhelming majority of Americans continue to believe that there is life after death and that heaven and hell exist, according to a new study. What's more, nearly two-thirds think they are heaven-bound. On the other hand, only one-half of 1% said they were hell-bound, according to a national poll by the Oxnard-based Barna Research Group, an independent marketing research firm...

(Ventura, CA) Despite the constant flux in many dimensions of Americans’ lives, a new study from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, shows that most people have retained surprisingly traditional views about life after death. Although the lifestyles, values, and self-perceptions of most adults have undergone significant change – and millions of Americans have embraced many elements of a postmodern worldview – the vast majority continues to believe that there is life after death, that everyone has a soul, and that Heaven and Hell exist. However, more than 50 million adults are uncertain regarding their personal eternal fate. The...

That very large majorities of the American public, and almost all (but not all) Christians believe in God, the survival of the soul after death, miracles, heaven, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Virgin birth will come as no great surprise. What may be more surprising is that half of all adults believe in ghosts, almost a third believe in astrology, and more than a quarter believe in reincarnation – that they were themselves reincarnated from other people. Most of the 84% of the public who believe in the survival of the soul after death are optimists. Almost two-thirds...

On the AAC conference's second day, attention shifted from the past and present to the future. A morning panel dramatically titled "Intervention!" opened with the Rev. Bill Atwood, general secretary of the Ekklesia Society, speaking about the viewpoint of the Anglican primates and bishops of Africa and Asia--the global South. Atwood, who describes himself as a "facilitator" for conservative primates, described churches that largely reflect the evangelical theology of their founding missionaries and the communitarian values of their surrounding cultures-and for whom Western individualism and liberalism are antithetical. "One archbishop said to me, 'You know, when the missionaries came here,...

CBN.com – On November 30, 2001 Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu's brakes failed and his car slammed into a concrete pillar. He was rushed to a Nigerian hospital. His condition was serious. For some reason, Daniel wanted doctors to transfer him to another hospital. The doctors warned that the trip would kill him. They were right. Daniel's wife remembers her husband's dying words. "My husband called to me and told me that I should take care of the children and the ministry. He said he had built a house for me, and that I should not worry. I should take care of...

According to the September 23 Washington Post, when America's viceroy, L. Paul Bremer, testified to Congress on why he needs more than $20 billion to rebuild Iraq, he said those dollars "bespeak grandeur of vision equal to the one which created the free world." So now we really know why we are in Iraq. It isn't because Saddam had anything to do with 9/11; even George Bush says he didn't. It isn't because Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, because we have found none. It is for "grandeur," that old quest of kings, French kings in particular. Who, I thought,...

What in the HELL are you talking about? By Darren Morrison I am talking about Hell, that’s what. When I was younger and before I know the Lord I was caught up in that heavy metal craze of the 1980’s. There were album covers that pictured hell as some wild party with a fiery back drop where Satan was the master of hosts. Hell was a fascination with that crowd. I can’t say that I was fascinated by the place but I know that there were many songs about it. The devil and hell was the topic of so many...

Press Release Prison Rape Elimination Act Becomes Federal Law September 4, 2003 SPR Hails Historic Move Toward Safer, More Humane Detention WASHINGTON D.C. – President George W. Bush signed into law the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 today, marking the first time the U.S. government has ever passed a law to deal with sexual assault behind bars. “The passage of this law is a major milestone, finally bringing prisoner rape out of the shadows,” said Lara Stemple, executive director of Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR), a national human rights organization that has worked on the issue for more than two...