The government is urging councils across the country to stop giving hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax breaks to the Church of Scientology . The communities secretary, Eric Pickles, said a majority of the public did not want the “controversial organisation” to be given the kind of favourable treatment usually reserved for charities and questioned this use of public money.
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UK Government urges councils to stop giving tax breaks to Scientology
“Allahu Akbar!” For anyone who paid attention to the news last year, the words shouted by the gunman responsible for a rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Food Hood, Texas, come as no surprise. In widespread news accounts, witnesses reported that Maj. Nidal Hasan, an American-born Muslim, shouted the Arabic phrase for “God is great!” before opening fire.
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Do all readers speak Arabic?
Have you ever seen uber-offensive pieces of “art” that completely demeans Christ, and you can’t do a thing about it? Don’t get me wrong, they are pieces of something but you still can’t bury them. There are pictures like this mess – not done in fun, not meant to make people think, not intended for
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Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. Well, and this chic’s.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom this week sent a letter ( full text ) to President Obama urging him to highlight the importance of religious freedom during his upcoming visits to Indonesia and India. On Indonesia, the letter said: In our visit earlier this year, USCIRF was impressed by the commitments made by officials from different levels of government to advance religious freedom and related human rights as essential to Indonesia’s democratic future.
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USCIRF Urges Obama To Raise Religious Freedom Issues On His Trip To Indonesia, India
Islamic banking is growing fast in Malaysia which is promoting itself as the world’s center for Shariah compliant financial products. Bloomberg Business Week reports today that Malaysian banking assets that comply with the Islamic ban on interest rose to the equivalent of $109 billion (US)– 20% of Malaysia’s total banking assets. Also Islamic insurance (takaful) now accounts for 9% of Malaysia’s insurance industry.
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Malaysia Promotes Islamic Finance
Water has always been an important symbol for Christians. We use water in our baptism ritual. Christ turned water into wine and Catholics mix water into the wine that becomes Christ’s blood during our Mass.
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Water: A Basic Human Need
I had an enjoyable conversation with a friend today about note takers in church. Some preachers love it when listeners are taking notes. After all, it means they are listening, learning and will be going over the message again later. But actually it doesn’t. They are half-listening, may be learning, may or may not go over it again later. I’ve read research that suggests the best way for listeners to learn from a message is to listen attentively, and then have time immediately afterwards to make some retrospective notes. That allows them to give full attention to the message, rather than trying to recall and write while you are preaching. It also allows them to immediately distill main point and applications of the message, rather than fooling themselves into thinking an outline equates to learning or life change. Attention given to one thing means less attention given to something else. If people are writing, then their minds are distracted from what is being said at that moment
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Preaching and Note Takers
I discovered HM Magazine in the early ’00s when I was listening to a lot of bands like P.O.D, Pillar and .rod Laver. Bands such as these were featured on the cover of the magazine so I picked it up, and I have been hooked ever since.
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Music: HM Magazine celebrates 25th anniversary in print
W hen comedian Stephen Colbert brought his act to Capitol Hill last month and stole the spotlight with his satirical shtick, no one was more surprised than lawmakers. “You run your show,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers scolded him, “we run the committee.”
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Behind right-wing funnyman, a quiet faith
I recently attended John Piper’s Desiring God gathering in Minneapolis, and yes, the Reformed crowd there was pretty alive and well, and the crowd seemed particularly young for a conference.
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The Economist discovers Calvinists