A billboard put up in Columbus, Ohio by a Muslim group states that Jesus was a Muslim. The group — ask-a-muslim.com — has also put up other billboards stating “Mohamed is in the Bible’ and “Muslims love Jesus too.” A number of Christian groups are concerned this is an attempt by some Muslims to high-jack Jesus. One who has spoken out against the billboards is Coach Dave Daubenmire of Pass the Salt Ministries.
The man who died was actually a doctor himself. 39-year old Sean George worked as a specialist doctor at Kalgoorlie Hospital in Kalgoorlie, West Australia. On October 24, 2008, Sean was traveling from Esperance, Australia to Kalgoorlie after a training session, when he started experiencing chest pains. The persistent pain finally forced him to pull into a medical clinic in Kambaida about a half-an-hour out of Kalgoorlie. An ECG test showed Sean was having a heart attack.
For the first time in England’s history, married couples are now in a minority. According to the country’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), 51% of people in England are choosing to either live together or stay single (the latter group includes widowed and divorced).
Our age of instant data, micro-dinners and quick fixes too often carries over into our efforts to understand God’s Word, the Bible. Now, I’ve been guilty of this as well; you don’t understand a verse, so, a quick Hebrew or Greek definition that suits your purpose and presto! – the heavens open, angels sing, and you are now armed with all knowledge and wisdom? No? Sometimes the Hebrew word for “pot” means “pot”, and the Greek word for “hungry” may just mean “hungry”. What then? Well, you may have to dig a little deeper, spend a little more time (in the Greek “cronos”) and get into the background of a passage. Bridging the cultural, historical, and geographical gap from our world to that of the Bible passage can produce a rich, vast landscape of texture and color to a seemingly puzzling passage.
Looking back, Angus T. Jones, 20, says he regrets the way he handled his criticism of “Two and a Half Men”. “Two and a half men” is a popular CBS TV series that features two brothers Charlie (originally played by Charlie Sheen), Alan (Jon Cryer) and Alan’s son, Jake (Angus T. Jones). Charlie is a bachelor who leads a hedonistic life. When Alan’s wife divorces him, he moves in with Charlie and Jake joins the two brothers on the weekend. In November 2012, Jones came out publicly against the show calling it “filth” and warning people off watching the program. Angus was feeling conflicted. He was in the process of renewing his faith in God and was finding it difficult reconciling this renewed interest with what was happening in the series.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NASV) In an article in the New York Times, radio astronomers state they have found gravitational waves rippling through space that confirms the Big Bang theory. Gravitational waves — like waves that form when you throw a rock in a pool of water — are believed to be ripples in the space-time continuum that formed when the universe was first created. Astronomer John Kovac of the Harvard-Smithonian Center of Astrophysics said his team discovered gravitational waves that Albert Einstein predicted would occur if the Big Bang theory was correct. But perhaps more startling is they detected the starting point of the universe. The universe as we know it, did not always exist. Many thought this would be another attack on the Biblical creation account. In fact, the exact opposite has happened.
UPDATED JULY 28, 2014: Through federal mediation, the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Dr. Mike Adams have reached an agreement on his winning lawsuit involving discrimination. UNC has agreed to pay Dr. Adams: $615,000 for attorney fees and costs; and $50,000 in back pay. The UNC has further agreed: To pay Dr. Adams an annual salary of $75,000; To use reviewers from outside his department when conducting annual evaluations; and To drop all cases it has against Dr. Adams. UPDATED APRIL 9, 2014: The jury announced its decision today. The University of North Carolina (UNC) must pay Dr. Mike Adams $50,000 and award him a full professorship back to 2007 because the university discriminated against Adams due to his conservative Christian views. Alliance Defending Freedom lead counsel Kevin Theriot said after the announcement: “This is a great day not only for Dr. Adams but for all who value academic freedom. The court’s order reminds universities that they cannot retaliate against those who simply express opinions that some officials do not like.” Read the full …
The whole world knows that Ukraine has been in turmoil for several months, and recently the Crimea region of Ukraine was occupied and annexed by Russia. Many Ukrainians have criticized other nations, because they have “helped” with only criticism and mild sanctions against Russia. The pattern of aggression from Russia resembles Nazi Germany’s expansion at the beginning of World War II and there is real potential for the crisis to become a serious war. The situation is scary, and some Christians have wondered if this is the beginning of the end and if Vladimir Putin is the Antichrist. So should we be afraid? There are at least two things we should know:
In 2013, the American Bible Society (ABS) surveyed Americans to find out their views and usage of the Bible. The survey is conducted annually on behalf of ABS by the Barna Group, a major surveying company in the U.S. The survey showed, for example, that one in six people bought a Bible in 2013 and there is an average of 4.4 Bibles per home in America. But there was one result that did more than reveal their thoughts on the Bible, it also showed the profound concerns Americans have about the dramatic changes taking place in their society. Curiously, the survey also suggested this change is occurring at a very rapid pace.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:6 (NKJ) One of my own sayings that I often use is, “I’d rather be hurt by the truth than follow a pleasant lie.” To me this is essential for surviving in the Kingdom; it should be a no-brainer. Those who call themselves believers are often referred to as seekers of truth, those who follow the light. If I’m walking in an area of darkness and a brother or sister turns on the light for me, I want to thank them for their faithfulness – as soon as my eyes stop hurting, that is! I’m all for encouraging others – we all need encouragement – but never let that stop us from speaking the truth in love. Sometimes the truth hurts, but that’s okay; that’s what fellowship is supposed to be about.
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