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Gunman admired Ted Haggard 2007-12-20 06:28:13 Raise up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old...DENVER -- Among the items taken from a search of gunman Matthew Murray's home was a picture of former New Life pastor Ted Haggard, according to police documents released Wednesday.Murray lived in the Englewood home in with his father, mother and brother. The family was very devout and the parents had home-schooled both children, neighbors said.According to the police documents, officers confiscated a Beretta, ammunition, a pamphlet entitled "Fall of America," literature on Youth With A Mission, a Bible, a journal, a pistol, a homicide investigation manual, prescription pills, several hard drives, gun cases and boxes of ammunition.In several online writings, posted weeks before the two deadly church shootings, Murray expressed his rage at organized religion and at Youth With A Mission, which had kicked him out of a missionary program for unspecified "health reasons."Murray wrote that he would rain Columbine down on the Chri ...

I think it is time to step out of my cocoon 2007-12-19 21:05:59 By Stronger NowSo there I was, in a truck pulling a float in a christmas parade. A float celebrating the birth of Jesus, complete with a manger scene, and birthday cake no less. How did I get there, you ask? Well I'm really not sure. It seems like it would be against my volition to be pulling a float that was promoting Christianity, but I must say I was never really asked. I was conscripted by the Christian majority, whether I liked it or not. I suppose I should bear the blame for this odd circumstance. After all, I could have put my foot down and refused to do any such thing. Of course that would have been tantamount to outing myself as an atheist and thereby calling my wife's worldview into question. For which she most certainly would have gotten blacklisted in the area and her little business would have went belly up in less than a month. Economic forces keep my wife from being her true self in the establishment that her business is set up in. I dare say that monetary issues ...

Honor the Child - a different take on Christmas 2007-12-19 21:00:57 Honor the ChildMarlene Winell, December, 2007The Christmas season is often busy and complicated with families and schedules and special events. There are standard criticisms of materialism and holiday angst. Yet at the center of it all there is a powerful image that speaks to all of us – the Child. It’s fascinating to me that once a year so many people stop everything, or at least pause, to acknowledge a Child. But who is this Child of Christmas and why does the image have such power? We have religious and secular interpretations, and I would like to suggest a third – a soulful interpretation. For Christians, this is a specific Child, the baby Jesus, entering the world to be its savior. This is why the angels sing and the wise men visit. God has at last fulfilled his promise, and there is rejoicing. For other people, not Christian, the Christ Child still represents hope and renewal. As with the solstice and the new year, the Child symbolizes newness and birth, the pro ...

Genesis Family Values 2007-12-19 20:57:57 According to Christians, the story of Abraham and Isaac (from Genesis chapter 22) is a testament to Abraham's great love for God.Basically, God ordered Abraham to kill his son, Isaac, and present him as a "Burnt Offering." So Abraham ties Isaac to a wooden alter (as instructed) and, knife in hand, gets ready to kill his son. Then, an angel stops him just in time and God let's him kill a ram instead.What a horrible story!What kind of "loving" god would order such a thing? It sounds more like something a gang member might have to do to prove his loyalty.And what kind of father was Abraham? He was willing to kill his son in cold blood and burn him, without protest or even questioning God.The real answer lies in verse 12. The angel says, "now I know that thou fearest God." The story is not about love, but fear! Like most of the Old Testamentt, the story is designed to scare people into submission to "Almighty God."And what about poor Isaac? How fucked up would that kid be after his fathe ...

You Can’t Have it Both Ways 2007-12-19 19:13:10 Three brief discussions on difficult Christian topics, by Brian Worley.1. Faith/Reason Oxymoron2. Gay/Straight Sexuality3. Christian Castaways…C.S. Lewis exampleTHE FAITH/REASON OXYMORONAll right Christian, I will accept your definition of faith as the reason why you believe what you believe in. You should grant to me the same courtesy and accept my belief in reason for me being a religious atheist. The basic difference between us is that I believe in one less god than what you believe in.I have considered being a “evangelistic atheist” at times in the past. I have since abandoned this idea and am content to reaching out only to those that are open to reason.I haven’t forgotten that I once held Christian beliefs for 23 years. Some atheists feel that Christians are really stupid people. I beg to differ with these smug atheists. Many Christians have never been presented with a proper case against Christianity. And once presented with this information, it may ...

O come all ye faithless 2007-12-19 05:17:40 A controversial Christmas card reading “O come all ye faithless” has been strongly criticized by Christians as an “ill judged and insensitive joke.” Borders book stores began giving away the card free with every copy of Richard Dawkins’ well known atheist work, The God Delusion, this Christmas.The Rev. Jonathan Edwards, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. said the idea was “crass.”“I am quite sure that Borders intended their Christmas card as a joke. However, I personally find it an ill-judged and insensitive joke,” he said, as reported by Baptist Times.He continued, “Christians have always been used to being punch bags but I would have hoped that, in a society in which we are seeking to show respect to all people and beliefs, we might have grown out of this kind of nonsense.”He was supported by Justin Thacker, head of theology at the Evangelical Alliance, who said, “It won't surprise me if this spectacularly fails. Christmas still holds a ...

Christians from Africa fight the Devil in Washington 2007-12-18 20:43:37 WASHINGTON: At an hour when most people here are sleeping or sinning, the worshipers of the Spiritual Warfare ministry gather in the cold sanctuary of a neighborhood church to battle evil.The students, taxicab drivers, homemakers and entrepreneurs, all Christians, mostly from French-speaking Africa, attend a midnight service four nights a week to seek deliverance from lust, anger, fear and sadness.They sing. They pray fervently. Finally, they kick and shadowbox with what they contend is the real force behind life's problems: the witches and devils whose curses they believe have ground down their families, towns, entire nations in Africa, and that have pursued them to a new country, making it hard to find work, be healthy and survive."Some situations you need to address at night, because in the ministry of spiritual warfare, demons, the spirits bewitching people, choose this time to work," said Nicole Sangamay, 40, who came from Congo in 1998 to study and is a co-pastor of the ministry ...

Without god, everything makes sense 2007-12-18 20:12:02 Sent in by KorinneI was raised in a secular household, and never had more than background input from religion. I was always encouraged to think deeply and rationally, and ended up studying science at university.While at uni, I met some Xians, who invited me over for a chat which ended in a massive discussion about everything under the sun - the reliability of the bible, the reality of god, morals, homosexuality, all that. They were very patient and non-judgmental. We had a really open and honest discussion, but I was still unconvinced. I stayed in touch, though, and eventually went to church and had what I felt was a supernatural experience. I tingled, I felt elated, I "gave my life to Christ".I still had questions but I suspended my disbelief and threw myself into Xianity completely, alienating myself from all my gay and feminist friends, eating meat again, talking about demons and angels, and adopting quite a superior attitude - all this was encouraged on the basis that my queer ...

The Four Horsemen 2007-12-17 20:56:59 Part 1 Part 2 On the 30th of September, 2007, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens sat down for a first-of-its-kind, unmoderated 2-hour discussion, convened by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) and filmed by Josh Timonen. All four authors have recently received a large amount of media attention for their writings against religion -- some positive, and some negative.In this conversation, the group trades stories of the public reaction to their recent books, unexpected successes, criticisms, and common misrepresentations. They discuss tough questions about religion that world is facing, and propose new strategies for going forward. The authors' recommended books: "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, "Breaking the Spell" by Daniel C. Dennett, "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris, "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris, "God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens ...

Bible disclaimer 2007-12-16 10:47:49 ...

In Jesus' name 2007-12-16 09:41:25 Another video by Pat Condell ...

I refuse to call myself a Christian anymore 2007-12-16 08:36:56 From MarieI grew up in a Christian Fundamentalist home, where the Bible was law and nobody questioned its authority. As a child we would watch the "Those Who Are Left Behind" type propaganda movies, and I was left with a deep fear of the so-called "End Times." I would never dream about my wedding day, having kids, or anything else most kids dream about, out of fear that I would be found "not diligently waiting with a lamp full of oil when the groom returns." I believed that it was pointless to plan ahead, as we are living in the End Times, and I would probably never get married anyway. As I grew older a new fear took its place. I was taught that God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for our sins. Great. Since I was saved I had nothing to worry about. Not! Enter the fear of grieving the Holy Spirit. To this day I have no idea what that means, but it is terrifying. Constantly walking on eggshells. Checking your thoughts all the time. Never daring to question, never daring t ...

Keeping the Mass in Christmas 2007-12-16 08:13:26 By Dave, the WM "Merry Christmas" gives the political correctness crowd lots to write about, but I think they've all missed the boat on this. We should all be campaigning to preserve and promote the real reason for the season. We need to keep the Mass in Christmas! From Wikipedia: The word "Christmas" originated as a contraction of "Christ's mass." It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter ? (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-sixteenth century ?, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Hence, "Xmas" is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas. So, having the X in Xmas is still keeping Christ in the holiday, but people have forgotten the real reason for Christmas – celebrating the Mass! Continuing from Wikipedia: The identification of the birth date of Christ did not at first insp ...

Christmas Unwrapped -- the history of Christmas 2007-12-16 07:24:11 Purchase this DVD at Amazon.com.From the History Channel:The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not ... History

African Christians declare war on child witches 2007-12-15 16:37:29 WM note: When I was a Christian, I heard time and time again how miracles were constantly happening in Africa and other undeveloped parts of the world. The reason? Because the people there were more filled with faith!In the West, science, education and a general prosperity encourages skepticism in regards to the supernatural. In contrast, the ignorance and poverty of the Third World reinforces magical thinking. And when magical thinking dominates a population...From The Observer: The rainy season is over and the Niger Delta is lush and humid. This southern edge of West Africa, where Nigeria's wealth pumps out of oil and gas fields to bypass millions of its poorest people, is a restless place. In the small delta state of Akwa Ibom, the tension and the poverty has delivered an opportunity for a new and terrible phenomenon that is leading to the abuse and the murder of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children. And it is being done in the name of Christianity. A ...