Christians // Current

Is it logical to believe in god?

I think this video is fascinating. It's been a question which I've been going over in my head as of late so I was kind... more

middle_east
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1 day ago

Monks brawl at Christian holy site in Jerusalem

Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.
The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.
The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — and give the Armenians a claim to the site.
The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were forced to intervene after fighting was reported. They arrested two monks, one from each side, he said.
A bearded Armenian monk in a red-and-pink robe and a black-clad Greek Orthodox monk with a bloody gash on his forehead were both taken away in handcuffs after scuffling with dozens of riot police.
Six Christian sects divide control of the ancient church. They regularly fight over turf and influence, and Israeli police are occasionally forced to intervene.
"We were keeping resistance so that the procession could not pass through ... and establish a right that they don't have," said a young Greek Orthodox monk with a cut next to his left eye.
The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.
Father Pakrat of the Armenian Patriarchate said the Greek demand was "against the status quo arrangement and against the internal arrangement of the Holy Sepulcher." He said the Greeks attacked first.
Archbishop Aristarchos, the chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, denied his monks initiated the violence.
After the brawl, the church was crowded with Israeli riot police holding assault rifles, standing beside Golgotha, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, and the long smooth stone marking the place where tradition holds his body was laid out.
The feud is only one of a bewildering array of rivalries among churchmen in the Holy Sepulcher.
The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit in the church, which regularly fills with thousands of pilgrims and has only one main door, but the sects cannot agree where the exit will be built.
A ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down.
More recently, a spat between Ethiopian and Coptic Christians is delaying badly needed renovations to a rooftop monastery that engineers say could collapse. Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument... more

synclaire
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25 responses

9 days ago

Five Policemen Suspended in Nun Rape Case

As we have mentioned the shamed incident of a nun being gang raped in Orissa, India. The Orissa Government have suspended five... more

afridi
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14 days ago

Islam, papa Benedetto XVI ospita i fratelli musulmani.

Citta del Vaticano apre le porte ad una delegazione di studenti musulmani. Lo Stato Vaticano ha organizzato infatti il "One... more

nancymt
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15 days ago

Muslims seek crisis management plan with Vatican

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Muslim scholars due to meet Pope Benedict and Roman Catholic... more

bedeboop
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16 days ago

Virgin Of East LA

The Virgin of Guadalupe is a 16th century Mexican icon of the Virgin Mary which appears on wall murals and tattoos around the... more

BooksBrown
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13 responses

8 months ago

America is not a Christian nation. Think about it.

There are many zealous evangelical leaders in the U.S. who proclaim America was founded on Christianity and that their faith alone... more

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27 responses

1 month ago

Bill Maher Pt. 1 | The Daily Show | Comedy Central

Bill Maher says the tenets of Scientology are no crazier than Christianity.

hsaleem
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4 responses

1 month ago

Nun Gang Raped in India by Religious Fanatics

We all know that Christians are no more safe in India. According to the Indian Religious Fundamentalist group “All... more

afridi
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1 month ago

Iraqi Christians protest end to legislative quotas

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's prime minister sought safeguards Sunday for small religious communities in this mainly Muslim country as Christians protested parliament's decision to stop setting aside seats for minorities on provincial councils.

In Baghdad, a series of explosions struck mostly Shiite areas, killing at least 32 people and wounding nearly 100, police said. The attacks appeared aimed at reviving sectarian tensions that once threatened to plunge the nation into civil war.

Parliament last week approved a new law mandating elections in most of Iraq's 18 provinces. But the law removed a system that reserved a few legislative seats for Christians and other religious minorities.

Lawmakers cited a lack of census data to determine what the quotas should be. But many Christians saw the move as an effort to marginalize their community.

"I think that some political groups are pushing the remaining Christians to leave Iraq," worshipper Afram Razzaq-Allah said after services at a Catholic church in Baghdad. "They want us to feel that we are no longer Iraqis."

In a letter sent to parliament Sunday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed to the legislators and the electoral commission to restore the quota system.

"The minorities should be fairly represented in the provincial councils and their rights should be guaranteed," al-Maliki wrote.

Hundreds of Christians staged street protests after Sunday church services in and around Mosul, a northern city where many of the country's Christians live. Some said the removal of the quotas is an attempt to force them to leave Iraq.

"This is an unjust decision and it affects our rights as Christians," Matti Galia, a local politician, said at a rally in Mosul. "We are original citizens in this country. The politicians' goal was to divide the Iraqi people and create more struggles. Indirectly, they are telling us to leave Iraq."

Iraq's Christians have been targeted by Muslim militants since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, with priests, churches and Christian-owned businesses attacked. The violence has led many Christians to flee the country.

Sectarian violence has receded since U.S. troop reinforcements were sent in last year. However, U.S. commanders have warned that extremist groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq are still trying to rekindle sectarian warfare to undermine the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.

The string of explosions in the capital Sunday began near sundown as Muslims were preparing for Iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's prime minister sought safeguards Sunday for small religious communities in this mainly Muslim country... more

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1 month ago

Obama effigy hung from tree at US Christian college

Officials at a US Christian college have launched an investigation after a cardboard effigy of Democratic presidential candidate... more

ihateyou
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1 month ago

Fundamentalist Christians attack anti-homophobic bullying group

An academic conference organised by a group that works to fight homophobic bullying in British schools has been attacked by... more

JanaPokana
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3 responses

2 months ago

'You float my ark': dating workshops for Christian singles

A new series of workshops offers to help Christians to improve their dating skills from chat-up lines to body language.

Dwindling congregations and a lack of experience in relationships have left many churchgoers struggling to find a partner. Jackie Elton, founder of the workshop agency, said that the number of people using Christian dating sites has doubled over the past year. "There's been a massive rise in internet dating sites as Christians are struggling to find a partner in church," she said. "They know what they want, but many congregations are too small or have a gender imbalance that makes it really difficult for them. As a result they are not getting the kind of experience they need and that's why they are turning to the workshops."

Peter Spalton, known as the dating doctor, said that churchgoers tended to be more reserved and could benefit from tips on how to appear more attractive. Lessons include how to greet someone, how to hold good eye contact and how to judge whether the other person wants to be kissed at the end of the evening.

"The first meeting is crucial in making or breaking a relationship," said Mr Spalton. "The workshops are all about giving people the confidence to make their date a success. They go through the whole process of what is acceptable to talk about and when it is appropriate to try to take things to the next level."

Mr Spalton said that chat-up lines can be a good way to make someone laugh and feel relaxed, but that some Christian jokes might not be well received. Among those highlighted as best to avoid by Christian Connections - an online dating agency - are one-liners such as "You float my ark" and "I didn't believe in predestination until tonight".

Christian Connections asked churchgoers for chat up lines that they had used, or that had been used on them. Examples included:
'Now I know why Solomon had 700 wives. He never met you.'
'Is this pew taken?'
'My parents are home, wanna come over?'
'Is that a thinline, duo-tone, compact, ESV travel bible in your pocket?'
'Let me sell you an indulgence - it's a sin to look as good as you.'
'How many times do I have to walk around you before you fall for me?"
'I like to arrange the substantial Christian section of my bookshelf into alphabetical order. Coffee?"
'The name is Will. God's Will.'A new series of workshops offers to help Christians to improve their dating skills from chat-up lines to body language. ... more

JanaPokana
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1 response

2 months ago

Christina Hendricks on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Once again busty Christina Hendricks looks so great. Lovely red hair, pale skin, and terrific facial features with those awesome... more

b2r
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2 months ago

Indian Maoists kill Hindus over Christian conversions

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Suspected Maoists killed a senior Hindu leader and four others in a remote eastern Indian village,... more

CCashman
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3 months ago

China confiscates Bibles from American Christians

Chinese customs officials confiscated more than 300 Bibles on Sunday from four American Christians who arrived in a southwestern... more

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3 months ago

Jihadist cells urged to target Canadians

A virulent Al-Qa'ida website has issued a new call for followers to kill Canadians and other westerners and attack oil and economic targets.

The message on the password-protected al-Ekhlaas.net forum was posted July 7, the third anniversary of the London transit massacre. The website is a favoured site of hardcore jihadists.

Experts are debating the significance of the latest al-Ekhlaas threat calling for the targeting of Christians, especially those from Canada the U.S., Britain, Spain, Australia and Italy.

Most unsettling, perhaps, is the instructional nature of the posting. Details of the Arabic-language posting, titled "Clandestine work inside the city," were recently translated and reported by the Jamestown Foundation, a conservative Washington think-tank.

Under the nom de guerre Abu Hajar Abdul Aziz al-Moqrin (the former leader of Al-Qa'ida's Saudi wing killed in 2004), the posting explains how a four-unit jihadist cell should be properly trained in urban terror warfare before activation.

Further, the intelligence cell that collects information on a target must not know the purpose of the information. Al-Moqrin warns jihadists not to attack religious figures because it harms the cause. Instead, urban cells should seek economic targets, such as Jewish investments in Muslim countries, international companies, international economic experts, exports from "Crusader countries" and raw materials being "stolen from Muslim countries by the enemies," with al-Moqrin calling for attacks on oil wells, pipelines and oil tankers.

Terrorism experts are divided on the message's import.

"The reference to Canada is fairly peripheral and embedded in a broad anti-'kufar' (non-believer) strategy targeting Jews, Christians, apostate Muslim leaders, and 'secular officials,' " said Wesley Wark, a security expert. "The main interest in the story would seem to me the effort taken on some jihadi websites to try to encourage professionalism and clandestinity in terrorist operations."

Martin Rudner, founding director of the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies, believes the specific threat to oil interests and possibly overseas corporate executives is worrying, especially for Canadian energy interests in such places as Yemen, where the offices of Calgary-based Nexen Inc. were shaken by a bomb blast in April.A virulent Al-Qa'ida website has issued a new call for followers to kill Canadians and other westerners and attack oil and... more