WORLD'S LARGEST CRUISELINER SET TO SAIL FROM FINLAND

HELSINKI: The world's largest cruise liner today began its maiden voyage to Florida, gliding out from a shipyard in Finland with an amphitheater, basketball courts and an ice rink on board. The 16-deck Oasis of the Seas spans 360 meters from bow to stern.

Its 2,700 cabins can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew. Commissioned by Royal Caribbean International, the ship cost euro1 billion ($1.5 billion) and took two and a half years to build at the STX Finland Oy shipyard in Turku, southwestern Finland. The liner has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.

There is also an ice rink that seats 780 spectators and a small-scale golf course. The Oasis of the Seas is due to make its US debut on November 20, when it will be unveiled on ABC's "Good Morning America" show at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.

The official naming ceremony will be 10 days later. The ship will embark on its first cruise, a four-day trip to the port of Labadee in Haiti, on December 1. The Oasis of the Seas left Finland's frosty shores today and is set to exit the Baltic Sea tomorrow, when it must squeeze under the Great Belt Bridge between two Danish islands.

OBAMA OFFERS NEW MULTI MILLION TECHNOLOGY FUND FOR MUSLIM NATIONS

The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world.
The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds.
The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will "catalyze and facilitate private sector investments" throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement.
Eligible projects would advance economic opportunity and create jobs in areas like technology, education, telecoms, media, business services and clean technology, the White House said.
OPIC said sample projects could help foster the development of new computer technology or telecommunications businesses, or widen access to broadband Internet services.
Proposals must be submitted by the end of November, and managers of funds that make a final short list will make presentations in Washington in January.
Final selections will be announced next June.
In his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo last June, Obama argued that "education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century" and that under-investment was rife in many Muslim nations.
As well as the fund, Obama also said he will host a summit on entrepreneurship this year to deepen ties between business leaders in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
In his speech on June 4, Obama vowed to forge a "new beginning" for Islam and America, promising to purge years of "suspicion and discord."
In what may be one of the defining moments of his presidency, Obama laid out a new blueprint for US Middle East policy, pledged to end mistrust, forge a state for Palestinians and defuse a nuclear showdown with Iran.

NIGERIA : CHRISTIAN MOVIE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, SPIRITUALITY FUELS NOLLYWOOD'S BOOMING FILM INDUSTRY

While Fireproof, Facing the Giants, and The Passion of the Christ have generated talk of a Christian filmmaking renaissance in the United States, Nigerian Christians are actively contributing to the booming Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood.
Nollywood recently surpassed Hollywood in film production, according to a UNESCO survey released in May. The Lagos-based industry has existed for less than 20 years, yet produced 872 feature-length films in 2006, nearly twice Hollywood's 485 productions. (Both trailed India, which produced more than 1,000 films.)
Most Nigerian films, almost all of which are low-budget affairs shot on location and released on DVD, are spiritual in nature. About 20 percent are Christian, according to Obidike Okafor, an arts and culture reporter at Nigerian newspaper Next. Others champion Islam, animism and witchcraft, or simple morality.
The Christian-themed movies often aim at encouragement and evangelism more than sheer entertainment. Groups or churches often screen the films and follow them with discussions or an altar call.
"Nigerian movies are really watched," said Sunday Oguntola, religion reporter for Nigerian newspaper The Nation. "[People] like to watch stories. I rent an average of five movies every weekend to watch with my family."
Oguntola's Baptist church shows movies two or three times a month during the evening service. "People like to see life in movies," he said. "They can watch them for hours." Showing movies is usually more effective than preaching, and church leaders are capitalizing on that, he said.
The films are also a major part of witnessing in Nigeria, said Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. "This is particularly good where you're dealing with people who are technically literate but like to have their material packaged in a more interesting way," he said.
Unlike Hollywood, which looks nervously at devotional movies such as Mel Gibson's Passion, Nollywood can't be separated from the Christian film component, Jenkins said. "The lines between the two—Christian and secular—are actually pretty thin."
Some Nigerian Christians would disagree. While Nollywood looks remarkably Christian compared to Hollywood, some Lagos pastors and film producers think Nigeria's film industry is full of idolatry and social evils and don't want their ministries associated with it. In 1995 the National Film and Video Censors Board tracked almost 200 G-rated movies and few others. By 2005 over 1,300 movies rated 18-and-older were outpacing G movies by 6 to 1.
"Half of the Christian movies are not done by faith-based organizations, but by directors who want to take advantage of the strong religious inclinations of Nigerians to sell [movies]," Okafor said. "The others do it to promote their faith."
Independent companies, ministries, and large churches producing hundreds of Christian films often see themselves as an alternative to Nollywood. Nevertheless, they have enjoyed mainstream success and many of the films can be seen on state television channels.
Lagos pastor Olabode Ososami uses Christian films to evangelize youth but is very selective in the films he chooses. "I have not shown any of the Nollywood films because these are primarily actors not known to me as Christians. Indeed, they portray other violent, non-Christian roles in other films," he said. "The spirit in the actor is important for me to screen a film to congregations."
Not all Nollywood actors realize this distinction is important to Christians, Ososami said. Many professional actors have seen the large demand for Christian films and are cashing in on it.

Ososami said he is more comfortable with companies that produce only Christian movies, such as Mount Zion Films and Freegift International.
"I am very uncertain about Nollywood's agenda in the Kingdom and what is behind it—apart from money, of course," he said.
International Church Growth Ministries began producing films in Nigeria two years ago to show to church leaders. "They are very effective in that they are practical to what is happening in the church and people adjust their lives by watching them," said president Francis Bola Akin-John. Watching a lesson is more effective than listening to one, said Akin-John.
Nollywood's Christian films offer revelations into what one of the world's fastest-growing Christian populations believe, Jenkins said. "When people are discussing splits within [Nigerian] churches, or moral issues, it helps to know the supernatural vision underlying some of these concerns. … If you went to America in 1800 and wanted to find out about the nature of their religion, you'd listen to the hymns. These videos also give you a good snapshot [of what Nigerians believe.]"

CHRISTIAN IN SOMALIA WHO REFUSED TO WEAR VEIL IS KILLED

NAIROBI, Kenya — Three masked members of a militant Islamist group in Somalia last week shot and killed a Somali Christian who declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, according to a Christian source in Somalia.

Members of the comparatively “moderate” Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. in her home in Galkayo, in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region, said the source who requested anonymity for security reasons. Ali had told Christian leaders that she had received several threats from members of Suna Waljameca for not wearing a veil, symbolic of adherence to Islam. She had said members of the group had long monitored her movements because they suspected she was a Christian.

The source said Ali had called him on Oct. 4 saying, “My life is in danger. I am warned of dire consequences if I continue to live without putting on the veil. I need prayers from the fellowship.” “I was shocked beyond words when I received the news that she had been shot dead,” the source in Somalia told Compass by telephone. “I wished I could have recalled her to my location. We have lost a long-serving Christian.”

Ali had come to Galkayo from Jilib, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Kismayo, in 2007. She arrived in Puntland at the invitation of a close friend, Saynab Warsame of the Darod clan, when the Islamic extremist group al Shabaab invaded Kismayo, the source said. Warsame was born in Kismayo and had lived in Jilib but moved to Puntland when war broke out in 1991. The source said it is not known if even Warsame knew of Ali’s conversion from Islam to Christianity. “She might not have known, because Warsame is not a Christian,” he said.

In 1997 Ali, an orphan and unmarried, joined the Somali Christian Brothers’ Organization, a movement commonly known as the Somali Community-Based Organization. As such she had been an active member of the underground church in the Lower Juba region. Muslim extremists have targeted the movement, killing some of its leaders after finding them in possession of Bibles.

The organization was started in 1996 by Bishop Abdi Gure Hayo. Suna Waljameca is considered “moderate” in comparison with al Shabaab, which it has fought against for control over areas of Somalia; it is one of several Islamic groups in the country championing adoption of a strict interpretation of sharia (Islamic law). Along with al Shabaab, said to have links with al Qaeda, another group vying for power is the Hisbul Islam political party. While al Shabaab militia have recently threatened forces of Hisbul Islam in Kismayo, Suna Waljameca has declared war on al Shabaab.

Among Islamic militant groups, Suna Waljameca is said to be the predominant force in Puntland. It is unknown how many secret Christians there are in Somalia – Compass sources indicate there are no more than 75, while The Economist magazine hedges its estimate at “no more than” 1,000 – but what is certain is that they are in danger from both extremist groups and Somali law. While proclaiming himself a moderate, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has embraced a version of sharia that mandates the death penalty for those who leave Islam.

Christian ServantsIn 1994 Ali worked with the Belgium contingent of United Nations Operations in Somalia as a translator. The same year she was a translator during a peace conference aimed at bringing together warring clans in the lower Juba region. Her death follows the murders of several other Christians by Islamic extremists in the past year. Sources told Compass that a leader of Islamic extremist al Shabaab militia in Lower Juba identified only as Sheikh Arbow shot to death 46-year-old Mariam Muhina Hussein on Sept. 28 in Marerey village after discovering she had six Bibles. Marerey is eight kilometers (five miles) from Jilib, part of the neighboring Middle Juba region.

On Sept. 15, al Shabaab militants shot 69-year-old Omar Khalafe at a checkpoint they controlled 10 kilometers (six miles) from Merca, a Christian source told Compass. Al Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia, as well as other areas of the nation. Besides striving to topple President Ahmed’s Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu, the militants also seek to impose a strict version of sharia. In August al Shabaab extremists seeking evidence that a Somali man had converted from Islam to Christianity shot him dead near the Somali border with Kenya, sources said. The rebels killed 41-year-old Ahmed Matan in Bulahawa, Somalia on Aug. 18. In Mahadday Weyne, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, al Shabaab Islamists on July 20 shot to death another convert from Islam, Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman, at 7 a.m., eyewitnesses told Compass. The militants also reportedly beheaded seven Christians on July 10. Reuters reported that they were killed in Baidoa for being Christians and “spies.” On Feb. 21 al Shabaab militants beheaded two young boys in Somalia because their Christian father refused to divulge information about a church leader, according to Musa Mohammed Yusuf, the 55-year-old father who was living in a Kenya refugee camp when he spoke

BIBLICA INTRODUCES E-BOOKS

As the demand grows for digital books, Biblica, formerly IBS-STL, will now be offering e-book through authenticpublishing.com.
"Our passion is to equip the missional community with great content," said Biblica marketing director Mike Dworak on their Web site. "With our e-books, people anywhere in the world have the ability to select a book and be reading in seconds."
This new format will allow Biblica to impact even more of the Christian community. Digital formats will enable Christians to access titles in places where print costs are too expensive or Christian materials are restricted.
"Digital downloads can provide isolated believers with essential resources," according to Biblica's Web site.
These e-books are available in Kindle and MobiPocket formats, as well as PDF downloads. So far, Biblica already has more than 70 popular titles available.
"Although publishers worldwide have reported shrinking book sales during the global recession, e-book sales have been exploding," according to the Biblica.
As they celebrate their launch, Authentic Books is offering a free missions e-book at their Web site: "The Missional Mind," along with a free monthly e-newsletter and an excerpt from the new Operational World missions handbook.
In addition to this, all books come with a satisfaction guarantee, and if customers are unhappy, their books will be replaced for free.
"Digital media is increasingly in demand from consumers who want or need a nonprint book format," Dworak said. "Eventually we plan to have all of our titles available in digital format."
Authentic Publishing is a division of Biblica, and you can visit their Web site at authenticpublishing.com.
Biblica's vision, according to their Web site, "is to transform lives through God's Word by translating, producing and distributing Bibles, Scripture materials and other Christian resources through ministry, distribution and retail channels so people around the world may become disciples of Jesus Christ."
Visit Biblica.com for more information.

CROSS LIKE T-SHIRT DESIGN SPARKS CONTROVERSY IN PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

A blue, cross-like design emblazoned on T-shirts at Penn State University has some critics seeing red.
The shirts — intended to foster school spirit — sport a vertical blue line down the center with the words "Penn State White Out" emblazoned across the chest, forming a design that some say resembles a cross. The back of the shirt depicts the same blue line obscured by the words, "Don't be intimated … It's just me and 110,000 of my friends." Roughly 30,000 of the shirts have been sold.
Penn State says it has received six complaints about the shirt, including one from the Anti-Defamation League's Philadelphia branch, from people who say it connotes a Christian cross. The logo design also has become the focus of controversy in the student newspaper, "The Daily Collegian," which has received several letters to the editor on both sides of the issue.
Michal Berns, a junior majoring in media law and policy, said she refused to buy the $15 shirt because of its religious connotations.
"At first glance, you don't necessarily think that's what it looks like, but when you look at it more, it does look like a cross," Berns told Foxnews.com. "That's the reason I didn't purchase it."
Berns said students can purchase the shirts when they buy season tickets for the university's nationally ranked football program or during the football season at the campus bookstore and other stores. The shirts are typically worn at Penn State's annual "White Out" game, at which a crowd of 100,000 screaming Nittany Lions fans creates a virtual sea of white at Beaver Stadium.
While Berns acknowledged the shirt's single blue stripe resembles the stripe on the team's football helmet, she and others at the university's Hillel Jewish organization plan to show their school pride in other ways.
"There always has to be some sort of separation," said Berns, referring to the state-funded school and religious affiliation. "Me personally, I'm not going to buy the shirts and I know others at [Penn State Hillel] who won't, either."
Bill Mahon, vice president for university relations, said six people have contacted Penn State to voice their objections to the shirt's design.
"Six complaints is not a controversy," Mahon wrote Foxnews.com. "Students submit shirt designs to the student paper each year. Students then vote for their favorite design and they are sold in the campus bookstore."
Mahon said the design was based on the single blue stripe on the football team's helmets and will not be pulled from store shelves as some have asked. "The shirts have sold out and no changes are planned," he said.
Stephanie Bennis, a senior at the school, said she created the shirt's design in March with fellow public relations major Emily Sabolsky, and in no way did they intend to create religious overtones. Like Mahon, she said the single blue stripe is a nod to the university's football program.
"That was the entire idea," she said. "And all we thought was normally wording goes right across the chest. That's truly the reason why we did it."
Bennis said she was "very shocked" when she learned the university had received complaints about the design.
"It's just sad to see that in this day and age, the most offensive thing on a shirt can be what people see as a religious symbol," she said.
"Are we going to ban lowercase t's in the alphabet? Where do you draw the line?"
Barry Morrison, regional director of the Eastern Pennsylvania-Delaware region of the Anti-Defamation League, said the organization contacted Penn State officials last month after receiving a complaint regarding the shirt.
Morrison said the similarity to a cross appeared to "inadvertent and unintentional," but he acknowledged that some could take exception.
"This is not intended to be a cross," he said. "But some people clearly saw this connection and decided to complain about it."
Other students contacted by Foxnews.com said if there is a hidden religious message in the shirts, they haven't seen it.
"It's a little blown out of proportion," senior John Shoemaker said. "I kind of see where they're coming from, but I don't think it was designed as a religious statement."
Shoemaker, who purchased one of the shirts for $15 to wear at Penn State's loss to Iowa last month, said they're "relatively common" on the State College, Pa., campus.
Nick Mangus, a senior majoring in East Asian studies, described the controversy as "ridiculous" and said images of crosses can be seen virtually anywhere, even in "tiles on the floor."
"Honestly, I think it's basically people just trying to stir up controversy over something that's ridiculous," Mangus said. "If you don't want to buy it, don't buy it. It's that simple. You don't have to try and force everyone else to change their ways because you think it's offensive."

BARRED FROM FIELD , RELIGIOUS SIGNS MOVES TO STANDS

FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — In response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the football cheerleaders at a public high school here wanted to make the Bible a bigger part of Friday night games. So, to the delight of fans, they painted messages like “Commit to the Lord” on giant paper banners that the players charged through onto the field.

That eight-year-old tradition ended last month after a parent expressed concern that it could prompt a First Amendment lawsuit. Church and state were not sufficiently separate, the school district agreed, and the banners came down.
Now, a month later, the new policy has produced an unexpected result: more biblical verses than ever at football games, displayed not by cheerleaders but by fans sitting in the stands.
Startled and dismayed by the district’s policy, this town of 9,600 people has taken up the cause — and the signs — of the cheerleaders. Calling themselves Warriors for Christ, a twist on the school’s Warriors nickname, fans have held rallies at churches and a local polo field and sold more than 1,600 T-shirts bearing passages from Deuteronomy and Timothy.
On game nights, the stadium of the school, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High, just south of Chattanooga, is dotted with signs reading, “You Can’t Silence Us” and “Living Faith Outloud,” along with biblical verses. Even Caleb Wickersham, a 17-year-old atheist from nearby southern Tennessee, acknowledges that fans are exercising a legal right to free speech. “From an atheist’s standpoint, it’s frustrating because I don’t want more religion in my face,” Caleb said. “But it’s their constitutional right.”
The 15 cheerleaders on the varsity squad, most of them Baptist, had painted their banners with New Testament verses like “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me in Christ Jesus” (Philippians) and “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline” (II Timothy).
But after the school was cautioned about the risk of a constitutional challenge, the school board struck down the banners, drawing a flurry of attention from news organizations and even a reference on “Saturday Night Live.” The parent who contacted the school, Donna Jackson, is a graduate student at Liberty University, the evangelical Virginia institution founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Ms. Jackson, who had taken a law class, says she was just trying to protect the school from litigation.
Federal courts have ruled that public school students are free to promote their faith, but not in school-sponsored clubs. With salaried coaches and the school’s name on their uniforms, the cheerleaders would most likely be considered school-sponsored, said the district’s lawyers.
Constitutional experts agree. Charles C. Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Washington, said the cheerleaders could display biblical verses only if they were a student-led club and were not performing at a school-sponsored event.
But the backlash demonstrates the difficulty of separating church and state in communities, especially in the South, where many prefer the two merged.
Most of those in and around Fort Oglethorpe seem to disagree with the policy. More than 16,000 people have joined a Facebook group in support of the cheerleaders, while only 77 have joined a group favoring the ban.
A leading Republican candidate for governor, Insurance Commissioner John W. Oxendine, drove to the school to endorse the cheerleaders’ cause, and a Tennessee newspaper cartoonist depicted them painting a sign that said “Go Big Red!” with the G, O and D capitalized.
“It’s the Bible Belt,” said Jeff Porter, the owner of C & C Custom Tees, which has sold 800 shirts supporting the cheerleaders. “I understand that the majority doesn’t rule, but it seems unfair that one lady could complain and cause all of this to stop.”
Kaitlynn Corley, an 18-year-old cheerleader, said the ban had put a damper on her senior year, preventing her from singing “Jesus Loves You” with other fans. The new banners display secular messages like “We Love Our Seniors” and “Prepare, Compete, Finish” that she finds less inspirational.
“I’m a Christian, and I think it’s really neat to be part of a program that wasn’t afraid to express its beliefs,” Kaitlynn said. “We are representatives of the school, but we’re also individuals, and we have the right to believe whatever religion we want.”
Many Christians, however, said that in losing a battle, they had won a war. There are now more displays of religious belief at the games, and Tracey Reed, Kaitlynn’s mother, said students “who may never have even heard these Scriptures are thinking about them and maybe going home and looking them up in their Bibles.”
Before a game last Thursday, the football team prayed on the 50-yard line, huddling around the captain, Zack Lewis. “In Jesus's name!” he shouted as players in red helmets surged out of the huddle. It was a voluntary prayer, led by students, but all the players took part.
“God has prevailed on this issue,” said Brad Scott, a local youth minister. “It’s caused Christians who were silent before to stand up for what they believe in — to come to rallies, to meetings, to find out what’s happening in their government.”
Mr. Haynes, of the First Amendment Center, said the protesters had inadvertently served as actors in the proper workings of the First Amendment: they have failed to reverse the ban, but they have promoted Christianity within constitutional boundaries.
“They’ve just proven that Jefferson and Madison got it right,” he said. “It’s a reminder of the difference between religion that’s state-sponsored and religion that is vital, voluntary and robust.”
Many of the Warriors for Christ have stopped even asking the school board to reverse its decision. They understand the risks of a lawsuit, especially in a cash-short county. But the biblical quotations are seemingly here to stay.
“As far as I’m concerned, they’ll be with us at every game,” said Mark Humphrey, the father of a cheerleader. “Home or away.”

OCONOMOWOC MISSIONARY DIES IN PLANE CRASH

OCONOMOWOC - The West family has the kind of faith you don't see much these days. They gave up a job and a new house to do missionary work in Africa. After a plane crash took the life of Adam West last week, family and friends are once again finding strength through their faith.
It was six years ago that Adam and Carrie West found a new calling. "God called him and said, "I want you to be a missionary pilot," So Adam gave up his job at Briggs and Stratton, they sold their home," said friend Doug Harper. For years, Adam worked as a mechanic, training to be a pilot. The Wests were months away from realizing their dream, flying for missionaries in Zambia, Africa.
Then, last week, the unthinkable happened. Adam, 38, and his flight instructor were killed in a plane crash in Tennessee. The cause is still unknown. "This has kind of rocked our worlds. I remember when we all got the call, we were just stunned. This isn't what we expected," said Luke Dye, senior pastor at White Stone Community Church in Oconomowoc. On Sunday night, friends at White Stone Community Church remembered West at a harvest festival. They now hope to help Adam's wife Carrie and their children, 6-year-old Micah and 2-year-old Holly. "Literally, they gave up everything. Everything they had was what they fit in their car," Dye said. The church is hoping to raise funds to help the West family in their time of need. They are asking anyone who can to donate for the family.

THE PRIESTS - A CLASSICAL MUSIC GROUP WITH A DIFFERENCE

The Priests are:

· Father Eugene O’ Hagan, aged 50, of the Parish of Ballyclare and Ballygowan: Church of The Sacred Heart and Church of The Holy Family. Diocese of Down and Connor
· Father Martin O’ Hagan, aged 46, of the Parish of Cushendun: Church of St. Patrick (Craigagh), Church of St. Mary, The Star of the Sea (Culraney). Diocese of Down and Connor
· Father David Delargy, aged 46 of the Parish of Hannahstown: Church of St. Joseph and Church of St. Peter, the Rock , Diocese of Down and Connor

Accolades to date:
Global music phenomenon of the year with more than 2 million copies of their debut album sold worldwide
Bigger than Pavarotti - The Priests was the fastest selling classical debut album of all time – an official Guiness World Record holder.
Press highlights include Time magazine, Observer Music Monthly, UK broadsheets and national TV
They have pledged never to give up their "day jobs"
The Priests are a classical musical group made up of Fr Eugene O’Hagan, Fr Martin O’Hagan and Fr David Delargy. The trio met for the first time at St MacNissi’s College, County Antrim, and quickly realised their musical prowess as a singing trio. Singing was both part of prayer plus, in their spare time, they performed in local operas, musicals and choirs.
The Priests continued following their vocational training at The Seminary in Belfast and concluded their training at the revered Irish College in Rome after studying there for a total of 16 years between them. It was in Rome that their combined and rare talent was recognised, signified by the invitation of the Pope’s private secretary, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, to sing for the Pope in the sacred liturgy.
The Priests talent was soon recognised by Nick Raphael, a Sony Music record label head, and they signed to the label for a £1Million contract on the steps of Westminster Abbey in April 2008. The Priests were adamant to never allow their music commitments to stand in the way of their day jobs and parish obligations, and this is written into their contract.
The Priests debut performance was a spectacular event in Northern Ireland’s Armagh Cathedral in September 2008 where they sang a collection of classical and religious songs for a packed cathedral as well as for film cameras that were later to be broadcast coast to coast on the United States PBS channel. The concert was later released on DVD and soon became a best seller.
Their debut album, The Priests, was produced by legend Mike Hedges and Sally Herbet and released in Ireland on the 14th November 2008 by Epic Records. Globally it sold almost 2 million copies in more than 40 countries and topped the charts in Ireland, going platinum seven times over, as well as making the top tens in album charts and hitting platinum in countries as diverse as Spain, Norway and Sweden. To mark the album release an ITV documentary was broadcast detailing their extraordinary rise from obscurity to global stardom.
The Priests have since scooped the Guinness World Record for ‘Fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act’ and been nominated for a Classical Brit. They have played in venues across the world, playing live to 3,000 people in Sydney and to 6,000 people at a homecoming gig in June 2009. Other accolades include a personal invitation to sing for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall as well as starting out their tour with a performance in the presence of HM The and Mary McAleese, the President of Ireland at a huge peace and reconciliation charity.
Their rise to global stardom has been documented across the world’s print including headline features in the Washington Post, Time Magazine and Observer Music Monthly and they have appeared in TV shows across the world with artists from Tom Jones to The Killers including the BBC’s coveted Jonathan Ross show and the News at Ten with Sir Trevor MacDonald.
Their second album, Harmony, is out on the 23rd November by Sony label Epic. The album will feature tracks such as The Lord’s Prayer and Amazing Grace and will be released once again by Sony label, Epic.

COMPLETE HARMONY FOR THE SINGING PRIESTS - A CLASSICAL MUSICAL GROUP WITH A DIFFERENCE

The Priests, the singing global superstars who broke the Guinness world record for the fastest selling classical debut album of all time, are releasing their second album in November. The album, entitled Harmony, will feature tracks such as The Lord’s Prayer and Amazing Grace and will be released once again by Sony label, Epic.
The Priests, brothers Fathers Martin and Eugene O’Hagan and Father David Delargy, were young school friends when they first sang together at the age of 12 (Martin and David) and 15 (Eugene). Their love of singing continued whilst studying for the priesthood in Rome. Once ordained, all three took up parish commitments. Singing was both part of prayer plus, in their spare time, they performed in local operas, musicals and choirs. In February 2008, a record company scout knocked on their door and asked them to make a demo. The rest, as they say is history. The Priests never allow their music commitments to stand in the way of their day jobs and parish obligations. So adamant are they that their priestly duties must come first, their recording contract stipulates that they will never be asked to put record promotion ahead of their pastoral work.
Since signing the £ million contract on the steps of Westminster Cathedral in April 2008, the Priests have enjoyed phenomenal global success. The release of their first album The Priests lead to them being nominated for a Classical Brit. If that wasn’t enough they have given one off performances to The President of Ireland, The Prince Of Wales and The Duchess Of Cornwall and last but no means least, Her Majesty The Queen.
The full time Priests and part time pop stars have performed live shows in Australia, the UK, America, Canada and Ireland, been front page news in some of the world’s largest publications, including Time magazine and The Washington Post. They have appeared on TV shows across the world with artists from Tom Jones to The Killers and made whistle stop visits to over 17 countries. They have even been interviewed by Jonathan Ross on his coveted prime time chat show as well as making the 10 o’ clock news with Sir Trevor McDonald. Their attraction then is evident, but Harmony proves once again that their talent is their most enduring feature and that 30 years of practising paid off.

PASTOR SETS WORLD RECORD IN FREE THROWING FOR FUND RAISING OF HIS CHURCH

It was a Friday night, and the crowd was abuzz with excitement as 6' 5" All-American forward Perry Dissmore confidently stepped to the free throw line. But would he make it? Would the ball float effortlessly through the air and cause the strings to "pop" as it dropped through the net . . . or would the ball drift slightly and bound off the rim?
Over the next hour, Pastor Perry Dissmore, now 38 and no longer a star forward for North Central Bible College (now North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota), would possibly ask himself that question subconsciously about 2,300 times on his way to a new world record....
Dissmore, who pastors Bear Creek Assembly of God in Panama City, Florida, has used his free throw shooting talent in the past to help raise money for building projects and other events, as people pledged funds per basket. But last year, Dissmore met with Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge (BGMC) Director David Boyd and some missionaries during a trip to Mexico. Boyd challenged Dissmore to do something with his talent that was "fantastic" to raise money BGMC.
"I went home and started investigating world records," Dissmore recalls. "I learned that the record for the most free throws made in an hour was 1,663 - about 28 free throws per minute. I didn't think I stood a chance at breaking the record . . . , but I discovered I could shoot free throws a lot faster than I originally thought."
But could he make a free throw faster than one every 2.16 seconds?
When Dissmore started practicing for the effort this past February, the attempt to break the record seemed out of reach. He was an excellent free throw shooter in college (88 to 90 percent), but now he was shooting in rapid-fire fashion and the record was "so far away, it seemed futile." But the more he practiced, the better he became.
Finally, after weeks of practice, he felt like he was within striking range of the record. So, he approached West Florida District Council Secretary Treasurer Mark Jakelsky with the idea of making this world record attempt the BGMC district fund-raiser. Jakelsky liked the idea so much, the district even created a DVD promoting the effort and encouraging churches throughout the district to help generate enthusiasm and pledges for the attempt.
"We have three specific ministries we're looking to help with BGMC funds through this effort," Dissmore says. "Fountain of Life school in Haskova, Bulgaria; Joyland, which ministers to and helps injured and orphaned children in Kenya; and job skill training for young mothers in Pakistan."
"Those pastors who have seen the DVD have loved the video and had an exceptional response to it," states Jakelsky. "We also developed a brochure for the event to help individual churches promote it and raise pledges. Our goal was to raise $50,000 for BGMC - and we're now just starting to see some of those pledges come in."
The date for the world record attempt was set for Friday, October 9, 2009. At 7:20 p.m. (Central), Dissmore stepped to the free throw line in the Chipola College gymnasium in Marianna, Florida, and with 200-300 witnesses and cameras rolling, he began his assault on the record books.
"It was really loud in there," Dissmore says. "The people were cheering and encouraging me . . . usually, every time I do it [shooting free throws for an hour in practice], I am completely wiped out by the end, but not this time . . . with the kids from all over the district there, it was an incredible adrenaline rush."
Dissmore felt confident he could break the record as he had done so before in practices. However, now his goal was to break 1,900 - a feat that would smash the world record, but something he had never accomplished in practice. An hour later, with the crowd cheering and Dissmore methodically firing up shots, the buzzer sounded, the hour was over and ball No. 1,926 dropped through the net . . . and pandemonium broke loose.
As "We Are the Champions" blared over the loud speakers, Dissmore's wife Nicole gave him a "big kiss" and the fans watching from the bleachers stormed the court, cheering and yelling and asking for autographs from the new world record holder.
"I was surrounded by people - the kids were everywhere," Dissmore recalls. "It was a very humbling when they asked for my autograph, so I spent some time doing that and talking with the kids . . . it became a neat celebration as we rejoiced in what God did that night."
"When I spoke to Perry, I just sensed a heart of compassion for the lost," says Marshall Bruner, Compassion Ministries coordinator for BGMC. "Sacrifice from people such as Perry and others - all raising money for BGMC - speaks volumes to their commitment to seeing people throughout the world come to know Christ as their personal Savior."
To place into perspective what Dissmore accomplished in shattering the old world record by 263 baskets (which is currently being verified by Guinness), first one has to understand that he "only" made about 84 percent of his shots (taking 2,300 to make 1,926). That's more than 38 free throws in a minute - and he would make 32 of them. In other words, in the three or four minutes it took to read this article, Dissmore would have shot well over 100 times - shooting a free throw every 1.57 seconds (and making a free throw, on average, every 1.87 seconds)!
According to Jakelsky, the world record attempt received great press and television coverage, helping to create a greater awareness of BGMC and the Assemblies of God within the district. However, the district is no stranger to BGMC. Although it's one of the smaller districts in the Assemblies of God (35th out of 61), it has been in the top 10 in giving to BGMC the last two years.
"Whether we hit our goal of $50,000 or not, we know children are going to be helped through this effort," Jakelsky says. "This is just part of what we're doing [for BGMC], and helps show how our district feels about helping children and BGMC."

OM RELEASES NEW RECRUITMENT DVD

Thanks to Operation Mobilization Asia Challenge Teams (ACT), now you can see what it would be like to serve in Asia. The ACT program offers potential missionaries the opportunity to travel to various locations in Asia and experience diverse cultures and peoples.
A new recruiting DVD recently arrived to educate people about mission programs in Southern and Eastern Asia. The DVD targets individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 years old.
There are three versions of the DVD, and each gives prospective missionaries a taste of Asia. An overview of ACT's one- and two-year programs is contained in the 2-minute version. More detail is included in the 5-minute version, and ACT's 8-minute version gives the greatest amount of detail. This version features interviews and personal testimonies from previous ACT workers.
Teams of 3 to 4 people from different nationalities are placed in locations around South and East Asia. They experience a wide variety of activities, as well as the Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist cultures. Most learning comes from working alongside nationals and serving the local church. Teams are moved to a different location about every 6 months.
Pray that this resource will be widely used and will stir God's people into action. Pray that lives will be changed through this video, and that it will generate prayer and support for ACT's work in Asia.
Click here to watch the 2-minute version, or visit the ACT Web site.

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER JOSE SARMAGO SLAMS BIBLE AS A " HANDBOOK OF BAD MORALS "

LISBON — A row broke out in Portugal on Monday after a Nobel Prize-winning author denounced the Bible as a "handbook of bad morals".
Speaking at the launch of his new book "Cain", Jose Saramago, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, said society would probably be better off without the Bible.
Roman Catholic Church leaders accused the 86-year-old of a publicity stunt.
The book is an ironic retelling of the Biblical story of Cain, Adam and Eve's son who killed his younger brother Abel.
At the launch event in the northern Portuguese town of Penafiel on Sunday, Saramago said he did not think the book would offend Catholics "because they do not read the Bible".
"The Bible is a manual of bad morals (which) has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people," he was quoted as saying by the news agency Lusa.
Saramago attacked "a cruel, jealous and unbearable God (who) exists only in our heads" and said he did not think his book would cause problems for the Catholic Church "because Catholics do not read the Bible.
"It might offend Jews, but that doesn't really matter to me," he added.
Father Manuel Marujao, the spokesman for the Portuguese conference of bishops, said he thought the remarks were a publicity stunt.
"A writer of Jose Saramago's standing can criticise, (but) insults do no-one any good, particularly a Nobel Prize winner," the priest said.
Rabbi Elieze Martino, spokesman for the Jewish community in Lisbon, said the Jewish world would not be shocked by the writings of Saramago or anyone else.
"Saramago does not know the Bible," the rabbi said, "he has only superficial understanding of it."
The author caused a scandal in Portugal in 1992 with "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ."
The book depicted Jesus losing his virginity to Mary Magdalene and being used by God to control the world.
Saramago quit Portugal at the time and moved to Lanzarote, in the Spanish Canary Islands

NEW VATICAN PLANS LETS ANGLICANS CONVERT EASIER

VATICAN CITY—The Vatican announced a stunning decision Tuesday to make it easier for Anglicans to convert, reaching out to those who are disaffected by the election of women and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church's conservative ranks.
Pope Benedict XVI approved a new church provision that will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining many of their distinctive spiritual and liturgical traditions, including having married priests.
Cardinal William Levada, the Vatican's chief doctrinal official, announced the new provision at a new conference.
In the past, such exemptions had only been granted in a few cases in certain countries. The new church provision is designed to allow Anglicans around the world to access a new church entity if they want to convert.
The decision immediately raised questions about how the new provision would be received within the 77-million strong Anglican Communion, the global Anglican church, which has been on the verge of a schism over divisions within its membership about women bishops, an openly gay bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions.
The Anglican's spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, downplayed the significance of the new provision and said it wasn't a Vatican commentary on Anglican problems.
"It has no negative impact on the relations of the communion as a whole to the Roman Catholic church as a whole," he said in London.
Conservative Party lawmaker Ann Widdecombe, who left the Church of England because of its policies for the Catholic Church, welcomed the Vatican's decision.
"I'm delighted if it does become easier, because when we had the last big exodus in 1992 over the ordination of women, the Catholic Church was not ready," she said in London. "There were enormous discrepancies up and down the country, and the direction from the Vatican came late in the day."
The new Catholic church entities, called personal ordinariates, will be units of faithful established within local Catholic Churches, headed by former Anglican prelates who will provide spiritual care for Anglicans who wish to be Catholic.
They would most closely resemble Catholic military ordinariates, special units of the church established in most countries to provide spiritual care for the members of the armed forces and their dependents.
"(This will) facilitate a kind of corporate reunion of Anglican groups" into the Catholic Church, Levada said.
Anglicans split with Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment.
The new canonical provision is a response to the many requests from Anglo-Catholics who want to come back, increasingly disillusioned with the progressive bent of the Anglican Communion. Many have already left and consider themselves Catholic but have not found an official home in the 1.1-billion strong Catholic Church.
By welcoming them in with their own special provision, Benedict has confirmed the increasingly conservative bent of his church. The decision follows his recent move to rehabilitate four excommunicated ultra-conservative bishops, including one who denied the full extent of the Holocaust, in a bid to bring their faithful back under the Vatican's wing.
Levada declined to give figures on the number of requests that have come to the Vatican, or on the anticipated number of Anglicans who might take advantage of the new structure.
One group, known as the Traditional Anglican Communion, has made its bid to join the Catholic Church known. The fellowship, which split from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1990, says it has spread to 41 countries and has 400,000 members, although only about half are regular churchgoers.
The new canonical provision allows married Anglican priests and even seminarians to become ordained Catholic priests—much the same way that Eastern rite priests who are in communion with Rome are allowed to be married. However, married Anglicans couldn't become Catholic bishops.
The Vatican announcement immediately raised questions about how the Vatican's long-standing dialogue with the Archbishop of Canterbury could continue. Noticeably, no one from the Vatican's ecumenical office on relations with Anglicans attended the news conference; Levada said he had invited representatives to attend but they said they were all away from Rome.
Just last week, the Vatican's top ecumenical official, Cardinal Walter Kasper, told reporters: "We are not fishing in the Anglican pond," when asked about the Vatican's negotiations with would-be converts.
Levada stressed that ecumenical dialogue with the global Anglican church would remain a priority. But he said the goal of that dialogue for 40 years had been to achieve "full visible unity."
To downplay suggestions of poaching, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster and Williams, the Anglican leader, issued a joint statement saying the decision "brings an end to a period of uncertainty" for Anglicans wishing to join the Catholic Church.
And at a press conference in London, Williams tried to put the best face on the decision.
"It has no negative impact on the relations of the communion as a whole to the Roman Catholic church as a whole," he said.
But Williams' representative in Rome, the Very Rev. David Richardson, called the Vatican's decision "surprising," given that the Catholic Church in the past had welcomed individual Anglicans in without creating what he called "parallel structures" for entire groups of converts.
"The two questions I would want to ask are 'why this and why now,'" he told The Associated Press. "Why the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has decided to embrace that particular method remains unclear to me."
Also unclear, he said, was the Vatican's target audience: those Anglicans who have already left the Anglican Communion, or current members. Levada said it covered both.
"If it's for former Anglicans, then it's not about our present difficulties, then it's people who have already left," Richardson said. If it's current Anglicans, "There is in my mind an uncertainty for whom it is intended."
The Anglican Communion has been roiled for years over disagreement on the role of women. But the long-standing divisions over how Anglicans should interpret the Bible erupted in 2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Williams has struggled ever since to keep the church from splitting, frustrated by moves by churches in the United States, Canada and elsewhere to bless gay relationships.
At least four conservative U.S. dioceses and dozens of individual Episcopal parishes have voted to leave the national denomination since 2003, with many affiliating themselves instead with like-minded Anglican leaders in African and elsewhere.
The Vatican announcement was kept under wraps until the last moment: The Vatican only announced Levada's briefing Monday night, and Levada only flew back to Rome at midnight after briefing Catholic bishops and Williams about the decision.

ELIZABETH CLARE PROPHET DIES AT 70 : FORMER LEACER OF SPIRITUAL SECT

Elizabeth Clare Prophet, retired spiritual leader of the Church Universal and Triumphant, which was based for several years in a Calabasas headquarters called Camelot and gained notoriety in the late 1980s for its followers' elaborate preparations for nuclear Armageddon, has died. She was 70.

Prophet, who had Alzheimer's disease, died Thursday in Bozeman, Mont., her legal guardian, Murray Steinman, told the Associated Press.The church's beliefs combined aspects of the world's major religions, mixing Western philosophy with mysticism.

Despite Prophet's illness, her videos and writings continued to dominate teaching in the church, which has transformed into a New Age publishing enterprise and spiritual university.Prophet was called "Guru Ma" by her followers, who believe she received "dictations" from such "ascended masters" as Jesus, Buddha and St. Germain.

She retired in 1999 from an active role in the church, which once had about 50,000 members.Elizabeth Clare Wulf was born April 8, 1939, in Red Bank, N.J. She grew up in a Christian Science environment, she told The Times in 1980, but by age 9 had gone "to every church in town" only to find that none taught "the whole truth. . . . I found that within the self.

"She was a political science student at Boston University when she met Mark L. Prophet, who in 1958 founded the Summit Lighthouse, which teaches practical spirituality using the world's major religions.After earning her bachelor's degree, they were married in 1963.In 1966, Summit Lighthouse moved to Colorado Springs.

Mark Prophet died in 1973 and Elizabeth Clare Prophet assumed the leadership of Summit Lighthouse.She founded the Church Universal and Triumphant, as well as Summit University and Summit University Press. The church moved to Pasadena in 1977 and bought the estate in Calabasas the next year.In 1981, the church purchased a remote, 12,000-acre site in Montana adjoining Yellowstone National Park from magazine publisher Malcolm S. Forbes.

Prophet, close associates and followers started moving to Montana in 1983, she said. "We felt we were divinely led here," she told The Times in 1987. "You know it is easier to meditate here than it is in Los Angeles. You have 10 million auras in Los Angeles and here you have wide open space.

"The Calabasas property was sold to Soka University in 1986. The same year, a former church follower who had been expelled in a dispute over money was awarded $1.5 million in a suit against Prophet and the church. Gregory Mull alleged that he had been subjected to a form of thought control.

Prophet's then-husband, church official Edward Francis, said the jury got inaccurate information and that the church and its beliefs "had been put on trial."In the late 1980s, news reports said Prophet expected a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, and at least 2,000 church followers headed to the Montana ranch, stockpiling weapons and supplies. The ranch included a large underground bomb shelter.

Prophet told The Times in 1991 that newspapers had distorted her statements, "literally fabricating that I had predicted the end of the world. Even if there is a nuclear war, I believe we can survive it. I don't think it's the end of the planet."Prophet's books included "Climb the Highest Mountain" with Mark Prophet in 1972 and "The Lost Years of Jesus" in 1984. She also founded, with Mark Prophet, a school based on the Montessori educational principles.She is survived by her children, Erin, Moira, Tatiana, Sean and Seth.

IRISH MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED BY PHILIPINES GUNMEN

Fears are growing for an Irish missionary kidnapped in the southern Philippines, where militants are fighting the army for a separate Islamic state.
Father Michael Sinnott, 79, was seized yesterday at 7.30pm local time (11.30 BST) by six gunmen from his gated compound in Pagadian City, on the southern island of Mindanao. The raiders reportedly duped staff at Columban House, home to 47 missionaries, to gain entry and captured the priest as he was strolling around the gardens. He runs a school for children with hearing difficulties.
Angelo Sunglao, chief superintendent of the western Mindanao police, said that the attackers bundled the priest into the back of a van and drove to a nearby beach, where a fisherman saw them escape in a speed boat heading towards the town of Tukuran.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnap, although it is feared it may be the work of an al-Qaida linked guerrilla group, Abu Sayyaf, which has been fighting the Philippines army since the 1990s.
Speaking to the Associated Press Sunglao, said a hunt for the kidnappers was under way. "We can't speculate yet on who is behind the kidnapping, but the Abu Sayyaf is known to be operating near the area," he added.
The group, thought to number around 400, is one of several militant Islamist groups in the majority Roman Catholic Philippines. It has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south and was blamed for the country's most deadly bomb attack, on a ferry in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.
Pat O'Donoghue, the Columbans' director in the Philippines, said that Fr Michael had had a heart bypass four years ago and needed regular medication. "He's a very robust man for his age, but if he does not have his medication this would be a very serious for him."
Fr Michael has spent the past four years running a school for children with hearing difficulties. He has lived in the Philippines since 1976.

HALF THE WORLD LIVES ON LESS THAN $2 A DAY

ALBUQUERQUE-- Half the world lives on less than $2 a day.
Right now, that's more than three billion people, but new research suggests the population will hit the seven billion mark within the next two years.
A news release from Audio Bible Ministry Faith Comes by Hearing said that researchers with the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) also found that the least developed regions, like Africa, Asia and Latin America, are projected to double in population by 2050.
PRB, a well respected source for world population information, recently released these statistics in their 2009 World Population Data Sheet.
Morgan Jackson, Faith Comes By Hearing's international director, said in a news release that these new figures are troubling because billions of people may never hear the message of hope and truth in God's Word.
“Already, the world's poorest of the poor are cut off from the Bible,” Jackson said.
He added, “Half of the world's people are illiterate and too poor to afford a Bible. Five of six African believers will never own their own Bible. And when people don't have Scripture in a format they can use and understand, the results can be devastating to villages and whole countries.”
Jackson, referring to a recent article in Christianity Today, explained how children in Africa are abandoned and abused after being labeled as witches.
“In Africa, witchcraft is a huge problem,” the news release reported Jackson said. “When people (or children) are labeled as witches, they are beaten, thrown out of their villages, hunted down, sometimes killed, and left with nothing. And it stems from many believers not being established in the faith through the Word of God.”
He commented, “The situation in Africa is symptomatic of what happens in cultures where the Word of God has not penetrated hearts. That's what happens all over the world. People will hear and memorize one story or passage and build whole doctrines (or even denominations) on it, and leaders can mislead the people.”
The news release said Jackson added, “I'm reminded of a story from Ghana where a pastor was unable to read. He had two young men in the church read the Bible for the people, but these men made an agreement to never read any Scripture about adultery or fornication. They used their position to have relations with women, all the while explaining that this was a service to God.”
Jackson said, “When the Konkomba Audio Bible was heard in the church as a part of the Faith Comes By Hearing listening group they were immediately found out. One fled and one repented.”
The news release said that stories like these clearly illustrate both the need for God's Word in the heart language of the people, and in a format they can use.
“Small bits of Scripture may be the only truth they have. They just don't know any different,” the news release reported Jackson said.
He added, “But modern technology is helping overcome centuries-old barriers of poverty, distance, language, illiteracy, and culture. For the first time in history, we have the tools to reach every person in the world with the Word of God-no matter where they are.”
One of these tools is the Proclaimer, a self-powered audio player that can be used in the most remote and rugged locations.
According to the news release, the Proclaimer's embedded microchip is pre-loaded with the Audio Drama New Testament in the heart languages of the world. Indigenous believers take these Audio Bibles into their villages and towns and start listening groups. Villagers in groups up to 300 gather around to listen, and then discuss what they've heard. By interacting with the Word of God, people come to know and follow the God of the Bible.
Currently, New Testament recordings in more than 397 languages are being used in Bible listening programs in 150 countries.
According to the organization, Faith Comes By Hearing's free Audio Bibles are also being used by many well-known ministries for evangelism, discipleship, church planting and leadership development in villages, hospitals, orphanages, house churches and mega-churches.

EDITOR OF CHRISTIANMONEY.COM SUSPENDED FROM TWITTER

DAYTONA BEACH - James L. Paris, Editor-In-Chief of www.ChristianMoney.com, a conservative financial news site for Christians, has been suspended today from Twitter.
Paris blogged this week in support of Rush Limbaugh when he was dropped from the investor group negotiating to purchase the St. Louis Rams. "The article I wrote in support of Limbaugh was re-posted more than 150 times on Twitter. This was not done by me, but by those that read the blog and wanted to pass it along (called re-tweeting). Due to the dates in question, my suspension can only be due to the tweets posted in favor of Limbaugh", said Paris on Saturday evening.
Paris has posted his suspension notice from Twitter on his blog www.jameslparis.com. James L. Paris is the author of more than 20 books and hosts two live Internet podcasts each week.

LOVE SCAMMERS TARGET CHRISTIAN LONELY ONLINE FOR FRAUD

Have you had the blessed opportunity to comfort a stranger-turned-friend-turned-suitor online by shipping money to his (or her) bank account in, say, Nigeria?
Evidently, this is a big scam in Australia where the Brisbane Times reports that financial wolves masked in Christian lambs' lingo are raiding the bank accounts of lonely Christian women online.
In her story, headlined, "Thou shalt not fleece," (hat tip to CathNewsUSA for pointing me there) Amelia Bentley says fraud specialists estimate& Australians are sending $4.5 million a month to Nigeria "where romance scamming is a thriving cottage industry."
Police revealed two out of three victims of romance fraud are women, who scammers target on social networking pages, dating sites and Christian chat rooms.
Detective Superintendent Hay said a recent study of 200 victims of online fraud found 120 had fallen for romance-related scams and had collectively parted with more than $21.5 million.
And Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson told Bentley:
There is something particularly brutal and cruel about targeting someone who is lonely and vulnerable, looking for company or a partner in their life.
Do you worry that sharing your faith on dating or social networking online sites could attract people who treat your values as stepping stones to a scam -- financial or spiritual?

EXPERTS FIND RARE CRUSADER-ERA MURALS IN SYRIA

DAMASCUS, Syria — Archaeologists have discovered two Crusader-era murals depicting heaven and hell in a medieval church near Syria's coast — a rare find that could reveal new information about the Christian knights who battled Muslims for control of the Holy Land hundreds of years ago.
Experts are now renovating the 12th century paintings, which were discovered last year by a joint Syrian-Hungarian team excavating an old Crusader fortress on a hilltop near the Mediterranean Sea in the western province of Tartous.
The discovery was announced Saturday by Bassem Jamous, Syria's director general of antiquities and museums, who told the state-run Al-Thawra newspaper that the paintings could provide information about the traditions and beliefs of the Crusaders.
The murals, which measure about 8 feet (2.5 meters) high and 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) wide, were hanging on either side of the altar of a 12th century chapel inside the al-Marqab Citadel and had accumulated thick layers of dust and dirt, archaeologists said.
The panel depicting hell shows people being tortured inside a wheel covered with knives and others being hanged and burned, said Marwan Hassan, head of the Department of Antiquities in Tartous. The one portraying heaven includes saints surrounded by light colors.
Hassan said the Crusader murals are important because they are the first ones found in the Middle East depicting heaven and hell.
Authorities have restricted access to the paintings while archaeologists finish their excavation
"Crusaders did not stay in one place for a long time, and so it is very rare to find such paintings left behind by them," Michel Makdisi, head of excavations at Syria's Directorate General of Antiquities, told The Associated Press.
Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade in 1095 to establish Christian control of the Holy Land. European Crusaders soon took Jerusalem, but they lost it in 1187 to the famed Muslim leader Saladin.
The al-Marqab Citadel is one of several imposing Crusader fortresses located in Syria. The country is also home to the famed Krak des Chevaliers — Castle of the Knights — that Lawrence of Arabia called the best in the world.

AN EVANGELIST EXTRAVAGANZA IN SOUTH AFRICA

The first one was in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974. The second was in Manila in 1989. The third will be in Cape Town in 2010.
I'm talking about the massive worldwide conferences on evangelism that began as the brainchild of evangelist Billy Graham, along with British Anglican theologian John Stott and Australian Anglican Bishop Jack Dain. They have since taken on a life of their own. One year from this week, the Third Lausanne Conference on World Evangelization will take place from Oct. 16-25 in South Africa.
Its Web site, www.lausanne.org, says the event will draw 4,000 people from more than 200 countries, an intriguing goal as there are only 195 official independent countries in the world. The event will be translated into Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swahili.
The United States is providing 400 delegates and Canada is contributing 50.
I first heard of the conference when I got word this spring that U.S. organizers were looking for candidates. Some 1,322 applied to go. What made things a bit tricky is that organizers wanted 50 percent of the delegates to be under 50 years old. No doubt this is frustrating for top-tier American church leaders - most of whom are well past 50 - who weren't invited to the Manila conference 20 years ago because they were considered too young.
Lausanne will be drawing the biggest names in the world of Christianity to its stage. Its advisory council members range from Ugandan Anglican Bishop Henry Orombi to Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, deliverer of the opening prayer at President Obama's inauguration.
However, Mr. Graham himself, now 90, is not expected to attend. Two of his more evangelistically minded children - Franklin Graham and Anne Graham Lotz - have schedule conflicts.
So the event clearly has moved beyond the Graham trademark. Although the African church is hosting this extravaganza, plenty of Americans are at the helm. Lausanne's executive chairman, Douglas Birdsall, is a former missionary to Japan. He is based at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. The congress director, Blair Carlson, is a Minneapolis-based clergyman with the Anglican Mission in America who worked 26 years with Mr. Graham.
Although the entire organizing committee is in Cape Town this week, I did glean some details of what's on the table. Hot topics include preaching truth to a post-modern and pluralistic world, responding to Islam, putting together a theology of suffering and reconciliation, responding to the "new atheism" and operating as a global religion.
Seven sites were considered for the congress, including China, where Christianity has arguably spread the fastest in the past 50 years. But security concerns for Chinese Christian leaders, who are still being jailed, prevented cities such as Hong Kong and Beijing from being serious contenders, an organizer told me.
Cape Town was chosen because of its high-tech convention center, the enormous growth of Christianity on the African continent and because of the ease of obtaining entry visas for the many Africans and Asians who will take part.
Let's hope they'll welcome lots of journalists as well.

BAPTIST CHURCH TO CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN BY BURNING BIBLES

CANTON —The Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, N.C. will celebrate Halloween by burning Bibles that aren’t the King James Version, as well as music and books and anything else Pastor Marc Grizzard says is a satanic influence.
Among the authors whose books Grizzard plans to burn are well known ministers Rick Warren and Billy Graham because he says they have occasionally used Bibles other than the King James Version, which is the sole biblical source he considers infallible.
According to the church’s Web site, members will also burn “Satan's music such as country, rap, rock, pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contemporary Christian, jazz, soul (and) oldies.
“We will also be burning Satan's popular books written by heretics like Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, John McArthur, James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, John Piper, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swagart, Mark Driskol, Franklin Graham, Bill Bright, Tim Lahaye, Paula White, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joyce Myers, Brian McLaren, Robert Schuller, Mother Teresa, The Pope, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Donald Miller, Shane Claiborne, Brennan Manning (and) William Young.
During the book burning, according to the Web site, barbecued chicken fried chicken and “all the sides” will be served.

ONLINE CHRISTIAN CAFE SITE : THE HOPE CAFE , NOW OPEN

The Online Christian cafe site called The Hope Cafe, the 100% family friendly online Christian Cafe site known as "The Original Interactive Virtual Christian Cafe" is now open. This Christian Cafe is not for singles seeking love, romance, dating, and relationships or a dating service connecting single Christians with each other.

There is no membership to join this Christian Cafe and no free trial necessary. It is an interactive virtual cafe for the whole family to have access 24 hour a day and find fun, hope and happiness while developing a deeper love with their soul mate Jesus Christ, all for free!
The Christian cafe, called The Hope Cafe is located at www.TheHopeCafe.net and is regularly maintained with the most engaging inspirational video's available today in the "Latte Lounge", video devo's and edifying PDF's at are found at "Holy Grounds" (you can also listen to classical music for an hour while doing your devotions or homework there or simply watch a beautiful chapter of Proverbs for the day) and prayer requests are received 24 hours a day at the "Door of Hope" page.
Along with all of that, they offer an innovative Christian cafe chat room experience with virtual chat booths & al fresco seating called "Cafe Chat" and also accept private chat reservations for Church or Christian Group meetings in which they tailor design a secure "by invitation only" Christian cafe chat room for you.
Christian 'Rising Star' singers, comedians and speakers are welcome to submit their MP3 or video samplers for review. If accepted they will be uploaded for weeks of online exposure worldwide at the "Open Mic" Talent Search page there. Games & Trivia are at "Mocha Fun" and for kids there's "Club Chai". And those who are 'A Blessing in the Kitchen' will appreciate the cafe' recipes that are always being added. (Don't forget to stop-by their "Gift Shop" to receive the "free cookbook ebooks for cooking tips and pizza making" they're giving away for the Grand Opening.)
This amazing and original Christian Cafe, The Hope Cafe experience, is open for online ministry 24/7 . . . it's free . . . and there's "never a cover charge".

FAITH BASED FILM WINS BIG AT NON FAITH BASED FILM FESTIVAL

TULSA, OK-- Writer/Director Tracy J Trost celebrated his multi-award winning weekend this week for his first feature film "Find Me." The film took home a total of three awards at two film festivals over this last weekend, including a non faith based film festival.
On Saturday. Mr. Trost won 2nd Place for Best Feature Film at the Kingdomwood Christian Film Festival in Lithonia, GA. Then on Sunday, at the Script 2 Screen Film Festival in Tulsa, OK not only did lead actor Tyler Roberds of Okmulgee, OK win Best Actor for his role as Paul Jump in the film but, "Find Me" won the Best Feature Film Award as well.
When asked about his multi-award winning weekend, Mr. Trost replied, "It is an honor for me to be recognized by a panel of judges for our work on 'Find Me.' Making this movie was the beginning of the fulfillment of a life long dream. But to be awarded Best Picture for my first project is more than I expected."
Tracy J Trost is the President and Founder of Trost Moving Pictures and also the Writer/Director of "Find Me" a faith based feature film with a message of faith, hope, and forgiveness.
"Find Me" is based on the sport of geocaching and follows two college students who get caught up in a deadly game involving the kidnapping of a Senator's son. The film has received the Dove Foundation's Family Seal of Approval and will be in stores this January. To learn more visit: www.FindMeTheMovie.com

PRAISE FOR TECHNOLOGY : TWEETING DURING CHURCH SERVICES GETS BLESSING OF PASTORS

It's Sunday night at Woodlands Church, and Pastor Kerry Shook tells parishioners to pull out their cell phones.
He has pocketed his own iPhone for now, but tells everyone else to turn theirs on.
“OK guys, you can start the twitters,” he tells the crowd of about 250.
The nondenominational church recently started a new service encouraging parishioners to tweet their thoughts, reflections and questions in 140 characters or less via Twitter, the popular micro­blogging social network.
Using the real-time messaging tool in church is gaining some steam nationwide and in Houston as some pastors look to make church more interactive, draw in new faces and appeal to younger demographics. Some see it as a diversion, but others — especially in contemporary services — are bringing smart phones to the pews and tweeting away.
The trend is likely to grow more among emerging churches still building their traditions and congregations, said Glenn Shuck, a professor in the religion department at Williams College in Massachusetts.
“In a sense it lends itself more to Protestantism than Catholicism,” he said. “At a Catholic church it would be seen as a disruption, just as it would be at any established church, because power flows from the priest to the parishioners. In this case … it certainly allows parishioners to have a great deal more involvement in what one might call ‘doing church.' ”
At Woodlands Church, the tweets are reviewed by church staff and pop up on a screen behind Shook as he preaches.
He ignores them all until he's done speaking, at which point he takes a look and addresses questions selected by a team backstage.
Recent tweets ranged from lighthearted to heartfelt:
“GREAT MESSAGE! I WANT TO DANCE :)”
“what a powerful worship tonight. what i needed.”
“How do you know the voice is truth?”
During sermon, or after?
Shook admits that when someone first suggested using Twitter during service, he worried that no one would pay attention to him.
“I was a skeptic at first,” he said. “No pastor wants their congregation to be distracted. But that's not what's happened.”
Instead, he says, it's a way to make members feel they're part of the message. To ensure that worshippers still get quiet time for the meditative and contemplative elements of spirituality, the service continues to include Communion and prayer.
Still, some say the tweeting is distracting, not only for fellow worshippers but for those posting tweets, as well. It's more productive, they say, to focus on the message.
Craig Hayes, the founder and pastor of the nondenominational CrossingPoint Christian Church in Fresno, sees the worship service as a sacred time for introspection and focus.
“If two people are talking at the same time, somebody's not listening,” Hayes said. “You cannot do two things at once and expect you're not going to miss something.”
Still, he understands that in this era of social media, organizations are looking for new ways to incorporate online networks. So he also encourages members to tweet — but after the service is over.
“It's a good way to connect good information to a larger group of people that may not normally go and get that type of information on their own,” Hayes said.
Community leaders said they haven't seen Twitter gain similar traction among the Houston area's Jews, Muslims or Hindus.
Rabbi Kenny Weiss, executive director of Houston Hillel, said he hasn't seen local synagogues adopt the practice but sees how it could help make services more inclusive. But conservative and Orthodox Jews probably wouldn't partake, as they're usually discouraged from using electricity during Sabbath, and that includes cell phones, noted Lee Wunsch, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.
At mosques, the sermon and devotional prayer are usually considered one, so tweeting would be seen as detracting from the act of worship, said Kaleem Siddiqui, a spokesman for the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Ignoring a demographic
The Houston churches that use Twitter do so in a variety of ways.
At St. John's Downtown, Pastor Rudy Rasmus tweets to 1,300 Twitterfollowers, many of whom aren't necessarily at the United Methodist church.
He sees it as a way for the church to connect to those who don't attend in person but might be intrigued enough by a tweet to pay a visit and eventually become a member.
Members will tweet anyway, he said, suggesting churches must take advantage of it to stay relevant.
“It's a tweeting, Facebooking, MySpacing world,” said Rasmus. “For a church to ignore that is literally kind of diminishing the influence of current culture, and many churches miss that influence — and ultimately miss a demo­graphic of possible attendees.”
River Pointe Church's senior pastor, Patrick Kelley, said tweeting during the service lets him and his nondenominational congregation talk about a shared experience in a way that isn't disruptive.
He also encourages the Richmond church's 3,500 members to text questions to a special number, so he and other pastors can tailor sermons around them.
“In the larger churches people tend to be treated like the masses,” Kelley said. “Here we believe that everyone matters, and if that's true, everyone should be able to raise their hand and say, ‘Hey I have a question.' It lets them virtually raise their hand, and we love that.”
Can be embarrassing
Shook, of the nondenominational Woodlands Church, is still easing into Twitter. During the first interactive service, his wife, Chris, took questions from the congregation via Twitter, and he contributed a tweet of his own: “Chris shook looks really hot tonight!”
His son tweeted in response: “please don't broadcast your attraction to mom across Twitter — kind of embarrassing.”
Shook is learning through experience.
“I forgot it went out to the whole twittersphere. I was so embarrassed...,” the pastor said. “But I can see this becoming a real part of the service.”

MARATHON BIBLE READING IN FROME - READING THE BIBLE NON-STOP FOR 76 HOURS

Christians in Frome are undertaking an unusual marathon - reading the bible non-stop for 76 hours.
Over four days, 150 people aged from nine to 90 will complete the reading in slots lasting 15 minutes.
The event is being organised by Frome Area Churches Together and will raise £1000 for the Anglican Archbishops' Appeal for Zimbabwe.
"It's going to be quite an undertaking," said Reverend David Brinn, Churches Together chairman.
The marathon, which comprises of 66 books of the bible read in 300 sessions, will finish on Sunday, 11 October.
One of the readers was the Bishop of Taunton, Rt Revd Peter Maurice who read Genesis Chapter 30 verse 13 to the end of Chapter 32 on Thursday morning.
The overnight sessions will be in St Catharine's Roman Catholic Church and other venues will include Holy Trinity Church, St John's Church and the Wesley Methodist and Baptist Churches.

JEWS AND LATINO PENTECOSTALS CELEBRATE SUKKOT

English, Hebrew and Farsi are commonly heard at Sinai Temple, one of the Westside’s largest synagogues. But Thursday night, its immense sanctuary was buzzing with Spanish.
Dozens of Latino Pentecostal church groups joined the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group, to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and bolster a budding relationship.
“We’re barely starting to know each other," Pentecostal pastor Tony Solorzano said as he held a small Israeli flag. “We are tearing down the walls of ignorance.”
Solorzano, who was born in El Salvador, said Pentecostals have a strong interest in peace in Israel.
“We believe in Jesus Christ and he came to the holy land of Israel, so we identify with that,” he said. “The Bible says pray for peace in Israel, so we take that seriously.”
A gathering of some 800 — many of them Pentecostals — donned yarmulkes, danced and socialized under the sukkah, a traditional temporary hut used during the holiday.
For Pentacostals like Reyna Monterroso, the evening was not the first time they experienced Jewish culture.
The 42-year-old Gardena resident said she has been cooking traditional Jewish dishes, such as challah bread and brisket, for years.
“Como se llama, kugel?” she said, trying to recall the name for the casserole-like dish.
Seth Brysk, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, said the interaction between the two communities has included language and cultural classes for Pentecostal pastors. The sessions had done much to improve understanding between two groups that are not traditionally close.
“Although we have all these commonalities — Israel, an immigrant experience — there had not been a lot of direct contact,” Brysk said.