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POPStax++tax,s i guess we are peasants,,keep the church,s we,lneed to sleep somewhere
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POPSChild Killed at New Year’s Eve Church Service A good argument for gun control? When emergency officials arrived at the scene, Marquel was crying, Peters said. Still, there was no obvious indication of what had happened. There was no gaping hole in the sanctuary, and nothing fell from the ceiling. Except for a bullet that struck the child in the head. Marquel was transported by ambulance to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where he later died. An X-ray at the hospital confirmed that it was a bullet that struck Marquel, his uncle said. Doctors at the hospital had hoped to do surgery on the child, but it was too late.
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POPSWhere The Preaching Goes Too Far There is no war on evangelical Christians here and they are not being thrown to the lions. As this article states, they are childishly chafing against societal shifts. They don't want to see civil rights for us all because they believe God discriminates and it's their view of religion/politics or the highway. They will always find "token" gays to mimic their views because those poor souls think loving their oppressors will win them approval. But spreading these views to parts of the world with less freedom is downright dangerous and unconscionable.
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POPSThe Globlization Of Gay Bashing "This destitute nation is the kind of place that you may have seen in late night infomercials where flies buzz around the lips of starving children. Yet, the good citizens of Burundi have time to chant and hold signs demanding the imprisonment of homosexuals. n Nigeria, lawmakers are debating a bill that would imprison gay people who live together and jail anyone who doesn’t rat out the gay couples. What we are seeing in front of our eyes is the globalization of gay bashing. The United States has exported marketing techniques and church structures to culturally homophobic countries. The sexual minorities caught in these nations do not have the same freedoms that we enjoy in the west, so they can’t fight back. They are essentially voiceless and fearful – allowing insidious myths and stereotypes to go unchallenged. With gay people effectively demonized and hatred promoted by civic and religious leaders, hysteria on gay issues ensues. "
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POPSWootton Bassett - the debate
I have decided to publish a section of the letter available to anyone (by clicking the link). My reasons? I am heartily sick, in this enlightened year of 2010, having this meaningless preamble with a religious bigot. I say so not because he is a Muslim, but because he incants the very superstitious tripe uttered by Roman Catholics and other zealots the world over. Being brought up with the Prodestant Work Ethic, my education was tested in the back streets of the Shankill Road and the Crumlin, my beliefs were reinforced by the attitudes of religious leaders from the Dominee of the Afrikaans religion, to the wishy-washy bullshit of the Anglican church led by Desmond Tutu. Perhaps the finest and most moving orator of my generation would be the Reverend Ian Paisley, but his single mindedness to his form of religion is precisely the problem I have with all religious sects and creeds. The irony of it all is that collectively, these people could be and probably are most generous of sp
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POPSJesus Hated War-Why Do Christians Love It So? More from the article below: "A major unasked question is “what should be the role of religion (specifically Christianity) in the starting and perpetuation of politically motivated wars?” If war-makers mix religion and politics by invoking God’s blessings on the cannons and the cannon fodder, shouldn’t the churches, which are supposed to be the consciences of the nation, apply core Christian ethical principles to the war question and refuse to cooperate with the slaughter of fellow children of God? Sadly, for the past 1,700 years, Christian churches have not done so. They have largely failed in their moral obligation to teach and live the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount."
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POPSSometime During The Night and Early Morning of Dec 29-30 1916, Grigory Rasputin Is Murdered by Russian Nobles
Fearful of Rasputin’s growing power (among other things, it was believed by some that he was plotting to make a separate peace with the Germans), a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Youssupov, the husband of the czar’s niece, and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Nicholas’s first cousin, lured Rasputin to Youssupov Palace on the night of December 29, 1916. First, Rasputin’s would-be killers gave the monk food and wine laced with cyanide. When he failed to react to the poison, they shot him at close range, leaving him for dead. A short time later, however, Rasputin revived and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, whereupon his assailants shot him again and beat him viciously. Finally, they bound Rasputin, still miraculously alive, and tossed him into a freezing river. His body was discovered several days later and the two main conspirators, Youssupov and Pavlovich were exiled.
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POPSHot Mormon Moms Pose for Calendar After looking at the calendar "website" it is obvious that these are not "active" Mormons. The site selling both the "hot mom" and "hot missionary" calendars also has anti-Mormon bumper stickers.
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POPSDec 26: Boxing Day Celebrated in Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, U.K., Ireland. It was once a day when the church's poor boxes were opened. In Britain, originally a day when gifts (boxes) are given to servants, tradespeople, or others who provide services.
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POPSWhy Is The Catholic Church Firing Women? "In the last 30 years there’s been a dramatic expansion of the body of teachings to which Catholics must assent wholly to remain in good standing. As Horton pointed out, “They speak a great talk of justice for the world, but in their own church they don’t recognize it.”
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POPSA Christmas Day Sermon 1758: Christmas a "Superstitious" Custom
They preached-up "liberty" from this custom! This renowned Presbyterian pastor just prior to the American Revolution demonstrates the "superstition" of Christmas, while preaching about the incarnation or nativity of Christ, entirely different than is done today. He expands: Chrysostom, who lived in the fourth century, has these words, “It is not yet ten years, since this day, that is, Christmas, was plainly known to us ;” and he observes, the custom was brought to Constantinople from Rome. Now since this day was not religiously observed in the church in the first and purest ages, but was introduced as superstitions increased, and Christianity began to degenerate very fast into popery; ought not we to imitate the purity of these primitive times, and retain none of the superstitious observances of more corrupt ages? 18th century American society also did not commonly employ decorated trees (a pagan custom) if they did observe Christmas.
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POPSSanta Claus 'buried in Ireland' It is thought that the man who inspired the tradition of leaving presents under a Christmas tree, came from a wealthy family and he is believed to have given much of his fortune away. Early pilgrims visited the cathedral in Myra to pay their respects to the bishop. The bishop was originally buried at a local church in Myra, in modern day Turkey, when he died. Historians now believe his body was later moved to the abbey in Ireland by early crusaders. “St Nicholas Church is still standing and there is a slab on the ground which marks St Nicholas's grave,” he said. Few locals know of the much-loved figure’s link with Kilkenny. “It is an amazing story and yet very few people in Ireland know about St Nicholas's connection with this country,” he said. “Every year now we get visitors to the site, but still not that many.” i
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POPSGOP'S NEW PRAYER GURU "Engle's role as leader of TheCall has now received some mainstream media notice but the source of his influence is still largely unknown. Lou Engle serves, alongside Sarah Palin's prayer group leader Mary Glazier, on the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, one of the key leadership groups wielding influence over a sprawling, global new incarnation of the religious right known as the New Apostolic Reformation. Peter Wagner was advisor for Rick Warren's dissertation for a Doctorate of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. In a mid-December statement from Rick Warren, Letter To Uganda's Pastors, Rick Warren lied about his connection to Wagner."
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POPSVatican will be asked to remove four bishops if they don’t quit 
The Bishop of Limerick Dr Donal Murray, who was also an auxiliary bishop in Dublin before being promoted to Limerick, resigned from his position last week. It has emerged that if the four bishops — who say they did no wrong — do not stand down voluntarily on the principle of collective responsibility, Archbishop Martin will petition the Congregation of Bishops in Rome to remove them early in 2010. On Friday, the Irish Primary Principals' Network also wants the four bishops to be accountable for their actions — or inactions — in discharging their child protection responsibilities. Taoiseach Brian Cowen backed Archbishop Martin's stance, saying it was “a time for leadership and accountability” in the Catholic Church. Mr Cowen said: “The resignation of Bishop Murray is a welcome indication that those who are in positions of leadership and responsibility in the Church are facing up to their responsibility in the light of the very clear findings of the Murphy Commission.” Howeve
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POPSChurch Leaders Call for Holy Land Pilgrimage The Ministry of Tourism, eh? I have faith, this appeal has nothing whatsoever at all to do with just making money. So, take a vacation to Israel and help bring peace to the Middle East! Yay! .:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6NsvJSGMVk
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POPSGreat Renaissance Nativity Paintings Strongly suggest you click through to get the best possible images. These are beautiful! From the author: "Hi, this is Luis Miguel Goitizolo. As you may know, one of my topmost interests has always been the art of the world's great masters from the European Renaissance onwards. Here I show all of my Great Art of the World* pages with their selected master works. You just need to click the artists names"
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