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CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 16, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI believes that the recovery of the practice of "lectio divina," prayerful meditation of Scripture, will bring a "new spiritual springtime" for the Church. When meeting today with more than 400 experts attending a congress in Rome on "Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church," the Holy Father recommended this ancient practice which literally means "divine reading." "Assiduous reading of sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer makes that intimate dialogue possible in which, through reading, one hears God speaking, and through prayer, one responds with a confident opening of the heart," the...

Tapestry with Bible passage hung in county courthouse Fearing an expensive legal challenge from the ACLU, a county commissioner begrudgingly ordered removal of a display of the 23rd Psalm from a courthouse. Lawyers with the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union charged that displaying the tapestry at the Oglethorpe County Courthouse in Lexington, Ga., essentially is the same as displaying the Ten Commandments, the Athens, Ga., Banner-Herald reported. As WorldNetDaily reported, the U.S. Supreme Court this summer ruled against the Decalogue's display in a Kentucky courthouse. County Commission Chairman Robert Johnson directed an employee Monday to remove the...

1 Corinthians 14 (New American Standard Bible) 34The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.

An encounter with a Bedouin robber in a desert valley has led to what one Israeli archaeologist described as one of the most important biblical finds from the region in half a century. Professor Chanan Eshel, an archaeologist from Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, said yesterday that the discovery of two fragments of nearly 2,000-year-old parchment scroll from the Dead Sea area gave hope to biblical and archaeological scholars, frustrated by a dearth of material unearthed in the region in recent years, that the Judean desert could yet yield further artefacts. "No more scrolls have been found in the...

An influential cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, which has long been regarded as an ally of the theory of evolution, is now suggesting that belief in evolution as accepted by science today may be incompatible with Catholic faith.

Modern spirituality invents its own standards and rituals, but the Bible stands as an authority over all traditions. Throughout history human beings have been incurably religious. Religion has continued and even flourished under atheistic regimes such as those imposed by Marxism. Despite the secular mood of our day, religion has not disappeared, it has surfaced again often under the guise of ‘spirituality’. Contemporary spirituality retains its popularity and it is so often undemanding. It is more interested in whether spirituality meets a felt need rather than the truth. We can invent our own rituals and standards of behaviour. In particular,...

Collect of the Day Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. First LessonDeuteronomy 10:17-21 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not...

"You search the Scriptures in vain, thinking that you have eternal life in them, not realizing that it is they which testify concerning me." With these words, our Lord confronted what has always been the temptation in our reading of Holy Scripture: to read it without Christ as the supreme focus of revelation. Many people who come to embrace the specific tenets of the Protestant Reformation (grace alone, scripture alone, Christ alone, to God alone be glory, faith alone, etc.) are liberated by the good news of God's free grace in Christ. Pastors who used to preach a human-centered message...

Attorneys for a Rutland man who wants to put a biblical message on his license plate dispute a contention that because vanity license plates are state property he shouldn't be allowed to put his message there. "To be sure, title to these thin tin plates may rest in the state, but the message on a vanity plate is that of the registered owner, not the state," wrote attorney Jeremy Tedesco in his most recently filing in U.S. District Court in Rutland. Tedesco is an attorney for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that states it defends religious liberty...

by Terry Watkins ". . . ye have PERVERTED the words of the living God. . ." Jeremiah 23:36 This generation has a hunger for perversion. What was perversion just a few years ago, is now "normal". What was "hiding" in the closet is now "parading" in our streets. Perversion has found a welcome home - from the living room, to the White House; from our churches - to even the word of God! Our friend Webster, defines "pervert" as 1. to cause to turn aside or away from what is good or true... 2. to twist the meaning or...

A Weapon of Mass InstructionThe Power and Authority of God's Word “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” 1 Thess. 2:13. The most effective weapon we possess as Christians for the work of the ministry is not pragmatic methodology, our TV shows, book clubs, music concerts, radio programs, our celebrities, famous pastors, or even our social alliances...

To whom it may concern, This letter is to explain my observations of various bible verses regarding homosexuality. Since the ordination of the actively homosexual bishop in the Episcopal Church, I needed to answer certain questions to my satisfaction. While I am still pursing answers, I thought it would be helpful to you to understand what I have ascertained for myself. You will find that some of my approach is different than the typical writings from traditionalists. It is different because the traditional arguments fail to address the theological arguments that homosexuals actually use and they fail to address the...

A Web forum-based Scripture Study for TRADITIONAL Catholics will begin on March 21st. Details here: Catholic, you're invited!

  James 2 1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become...

  James 1 1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:Greetings. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,...

A distinctly pro-abortion course on reproductive issues debuts at the Chicago Theological Seminary, but many pro-life groups think it's neither scriptural nor theological. The curriculum, called "Theology and Reproductive Choice," will focus on feminist theological perspectives, pastoral care, and philosophy and ethics. It's part of an effort, according to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), to prepare the next generation of pro-abortion clergy. Parker Williamson of the Presbyterian Lay Committee called it nothing more than "an apologetic for abortion." "Calling it a theology is really a misnomer," Williamson said. "There's no 'theos' or God in it. God, for the...

Purportedly "sexist" language has become taboo in some circles today. "Mankind" must be changed to "humankind," "he" must be changed to "he or she," and words like "businessmen" or "mailman" are taboo. Bible translations such as the New Revised Standard, the Good News Bible, and the New Living Translation have also adopted regendered language, and now the most widely used contemporary translation, the New International Version (NIV), is imitating them with Today's New International Version (TNIV). Some Bible scholars think that's great. Craig Blomberg, a Bible scholar at Denver Seminary, tells of young people and new Christians asking "Why are...

I've always considered myself something of a First Amendment absolutist. By that I mean I am every bit as fervently supportive of freedom of speech and freedom of religion as our Founding Fathers were. But there are many people in America today who are misrepresenting what freedom of speech and freedom of religion really mean. They are distorting the original intent of the First Amendment. They are selectively applying this American concept to some while denying it to others. Once again, the Ward Churchill affair is illustrative of this problem. You've heard his defenders. They say the tenured University of...

STOCKHOLM, February 11, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Swedish pastor convicted of a hate crime for preaching against homosexuality in 2003 has had his conviction overturned on appeal. Ake Green, the pastor of a Swedish Pentecostal church in Kalmar, Sweden, was sentenced in July to one month in prison by a Swedish court for inciting hatred against homosexuals. Green was prosecuted in January 2004 for “hate speech against homosexuals” for a sermon he preached citing Biblical references to homosexuality. The Goeta Appeals Court said that although the court disagrees with Green’s opinions on homosexuality, it is not a crime to preach...

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Catholic educators need better teaching programs about evolution "to correct the anti-evolution biases that Catholics pick up" from the general society, according to a U.S. bishops' official involved in dialogue with scientists for 20 years.