The universal problem of religious freedom

We’ve looked at a bit of the coverage of the Swiss ban on the construction of minarets — the spires on mosques that are sometimes used for the call to prayer. Earlier this month, I noted a single story that looked at how religious freedom is handled in some Muslim countries .

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The universal problem of religious freedom

 
Abolish casteism to integrate Hindus: RSS – Express Buzz

Abolish casteism to integrate Hindus: RSS Express Buzz By Sivaraman Hinduism is like a major river fed by various stream that are parallel but in the end join a mainstream. These streams may carry contradictory …

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Abolish casteism to integrate Hindus: RSS – Express Buzz

 
Just half of Britons now call themselves Christian; ‘nones’ growing

Only half of Britons now consider themselves Christian after a “sharp decline” in religious belief over the past quarter of a century, according to a new academic study. At the same time, the proportion of Britons who say they have “no religion” has increased from 31 per cent to 43 per cent.

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Just half of Britons now call themselves Christian; ‘nones’ growing

 
Oral Roberts, Fiery Preacher With Vast Empire, Dies at 91

Oral Roberts, the Pentecostal evangelist whose televised faith-healing ministry attracted millions of followers worldwide and made him one of the most recognizable and controversial religious leaders of the 20th century, died Tuesday in Newport Beach, Calif. He was 91. He was the patriarch of the “ prosperity gospel ,” a scam that promotes the idea that Christians who pray and donate with sufficient fervency will be rewarded with health, wealth and happiness

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Oral Roberts, Fiery Preacher With Vast Empire, Dies at 91

 
Polygamist FLDS sect member Allan Keate convicted of sex assault

A 57-year-old member of a polygamist group raided by Texas authorities last year has been convicted of sexual assault of a child. He faces up to life in prison for his alleged so-called “spiritual marriage” to a 15-year-old girl who gave birth at age 16.

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Polygamist FLDS sect member Allan Keate convicted of sex assault

 
Colossians 4:2-6 – Christ’s Mission

Opening thought : Lottie Moon was one of the most famous of all Southern Baptist missionaries, and her mission carried her to China. She often wrote letters home to her churches asking for prayer and encouraging the people of God to be more involved in missions and evangelism

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Colossians 4:2-6 – Christ’s Mission

 
Yoga practitioners should get out their hymnals and Vedas – Colorado Springs Gazette

Yoga practitioners should get out their hymnals and Vedas Colorado Springs Gazette The organization maintains that yoga's rituals predate Hinduism by centuries, and argues yoga shouldn't be classified as a religion simply because multiple …

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Yoga practitioners should get out their hymnals and Vedas – Colorado Springs Gazette

 
Abuse of process

The application of law to warfare is among the greatest advances in Western civilisation over four centuries. In the name of human rights, that tradition is being traduced by a politicised campaign to harass the statesmen of a democracy. It is unlikely that you will have needed to read this far to learn that the targeted nation is Israel

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Abuse of process

 
How the gates were closed on the jet-set era

Nearly a hundred years ago, the architect Le Corbusier looked to beautiful, lean aircraft as a reprimand against clunky buildings. He said: “L’avion accuse.” Now it is the management and staff of l’avion who accuse each other of unreasonable behaviour and the passengers who accuse them of ruining Christmas.

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How the gates were closed on the jet-set era

 
Britain needs the Bomb? That was the last war

Trident survives. The most severe defence spending review in history — searching for savings of almost £40 billion — ignored the £20 billion that is to be spent on a nuclear weapon that will be redundant before it comes into service

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Britain needs the Bomb? That was the last war

 
Don’t waste your money on an early election

There were only half a dozen sheep in Harrow and I needed to find them in a hurry. It was going to be nip and tuck, but I knew that I had only myself to blame

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Don’t waste your money on an early election

 
Fashion in Your Email Inbox

Here’s a little shopping secret for you: when you sign up for sale email alerts, you know about hot fashion sales before everyone else does. Rather than sign up to receive the email newsletters of various retailers and wind up with many emails in your inbox, you can instead sign up for sale alerts through a third party provider and receive the bargain information of all your favorite retailers in one email. Best of all, the service is FREE

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Fashion in Your Email Inbox

 
St. Nicholas the prayer warrior

While there are many legends of Nicholas, this one is an historically documented account. Approximately 200 years after the birth of Christ, a meeting of the elders of a little monastery church in Myra, Turkey had just been called to order

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St. Nicholas the prayer warrior

 
Muslim Turks Threaten to Kill Priest over Swiss Minaret Decision

In response to a Swiss vote banning the construction of new mosque minaret s, a group of Muslims this month went into a church building in eastern Turkey and threatened to kill a priest unless he tore down its bell tower, according to an advocacy group.

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Muslim Turks Threaten to Kill Priest over Swiss Minaret Decision

 
Main Street Christian Church Russiaville, IN Preaching/ Full Time

220 West Main St P.O. Box 155 :: Russiaville, IN 46979 Average Attendance: 150 Contact Information Search Committee (765) 883-5265 (765) 883-5260 (fax) mscc9@sbcglobal.net Position Description Seeking a full time senior (preaching) minister. Candidates need to be graduates of a Christian college or seminary with a minimum of 5 years of ministry experience.

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Main Street Christian Church Russiaville, IN Preaching/ Full Time

 
Charitable Front: Some Bay Area organizations appear to be part of a secretive group

Knowledgeable sources say that the Physicians Organizing Committee is one of several Bay Area front groups set up to disguise a strange political cult. The cult, an umbrella organization based in New York, goes by names such as the Provisional Communist Party and the National Labor Federation, abbreviated as NatlFed

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Charitable Front: Some Bay Area organizations appear to be part of a secretive group

 
Schools criticised for replacing baby Jesus with sheep in nativity plays

In the UK a growing number of schools have scrapped the traditional Mary and Joseph performances in favour of secular alternatives such as Snow White or Scrooge, writes the Telegraph . Others have removed explicitly religious messages from their re-enactments of the birth of Christ for fear of upsetting pupils of other faiths.

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Schools criticised for replacing baby Jesus with sheep in nativity plays

 
North Carolina councilman may face lawsuit over his atheism

Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell believes in ending the death penalty, conserving water and reforming government — but he doesn’t believe in God. His political opponents say that’s a sin that makes him unworthy of serving in office, and they’ve got the North Carolina Constitution on their side

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North Carolina councilman may face lawsuit over his atheism

 
Egypt Forces Coptic Christians to Hide as Muslims Hit Swiss Minaret Ban

While Muslim leaders criticized the Nov. 29 vote in Switzerland that banned construction of minarets, they don’t support Christians who want to build churches in some Islamic countries.

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Egypt Forces Coptic Christians to Hide as Muslims Hit Swiss Minaret Ban

 
Wasting away? I’ll give you a square meal

This week I went on my usual groceries shopping trip at the local supermarket. I walked past the front doors, skirted round the car park and wandered nonchalantly into the loading bay where the delivery trucks come and go.

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Wasting away? I’ll give you a square meal

 
Symbolic gestures won’t deter this regime

Iran has pursued its nuclear project with a strategy inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Purloined Letter. In that short story, the police fail to find a stolen letter because they think it must be elaborately hidden

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Symbolic gestures won’t deter this regime

 
The missing motivation

When the House of Representatives passed the Stupak amendment preventing federal tax dollars from being used to fund or subsidize abortions, it was hard to find a story that didn’t mention the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. That group, and several other organizations that oppose abortion, had worked for months to ensure passage of such an amendment

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The missing motivation

 
Hindu groups outraged at Fox News’s Ganges remark – Times Now.tv

Hindu groups outraged at Fox News's Ganges remark Times Now.tv The Universal Society of Hinduism has urged Fox and its owner News Corporation to be more sensitive when handling faith related subjects.

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Hindu groups outraged at Fox News’s Ganges remark – Times Now.tv

 
Lindsay Lohan to seek spiritual succour in Bihar – Sify

E! Online (blog) Lindsay Lohan to seek spiritual succour in Bihar Sify The actress, who is in India currently, is known to be 'deeply inspired by Hinduism '. Lohan, 23, will work in three British Broadcasting Corporation …

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Lindsay Lohan to seek spiritual succour in Bihar – Sify

 
Labour faces wipe-out if it waits till May

Last Saturday evening I was the speaker at the Christmas dinner of the North East Somerset Conservative Association. I sit as an independent peer in the House of Lords, but allow myself to support members of my family, and this is the seat for which our son Jacob is standing.

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Labour faces wipe-out if it waits till May

 
These mystery men can break governments

Last week Moody’s — one of the big three international ratings agencies — warned that the UK’s top bond rating would be under threat if Britain failed to sort out its public finances in the next three years. For the first time in decades, British Chancellors have to worry about the bond market.

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These mystery men can break governments

 
Catching a gimel on the river

I’m pretty sure that my favorite story of this Hanukkah season was this one from Good Morning America : For centuries, the Dreidel game has been a Hanukkah tradition. The simple gambling game remains a fixture at Hanukkah parties, but today it’s often more decoration than entertainment – a party favor and not a party favorite.

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Catching a gimel on the river