A tiny Bible that landed on the moon in 1971 in up for auction.
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Bible that landed on the moon up for auction
Bidding Starts at $50K for Bible that Went to Moon
(RNS) For the collector who has almost everything, there’s a chance this week to claim ownership of a Bible that literally was out of this world.
A Los Angeles auction firm is taking bids on a microform, or photographically reduced, King James Bible that went to the moon on the 1971 Apollo 14 space flight. Similar in appearance to a piece of microfilm, the microform is certified as containing the entire biblical text. Its print is so small that one needs a microscope to read it.
The tiny, space-traveling Bible was one of 11 that left Earth’s atmosphere in the care of landing module commander Edgar Mitchell, who died in 2016 on the eve of the 45th anniversary of that lunar landing. He carried them in a container for personal items. A print Bible would have been too heavy for a space mission, but the lightweight versions posed no obstacle.
Minimum bid for the rarity is $50,000, according to the Nate D. Sanders auction firm, which will close bidding at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday (July 26).
Apollo 14, carrying astronauts Alan Shepard Jr., Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 31, 1971. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
According to auction house spokesman Sam Heller, a similar lunar Bible flew along for the famously aborted Apollo 13 mission of 1970, in which mechanical malfunctions forced astronauts back to Earth under hardship…
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‘We won’t stop until he’s fully released’
Mike Pence’s promise follows reports on Wednesday that the American pastor, detained for nearly two years on terror and espionage charges in Turkey, will be placed under house arrest as his trial continues.
Responding to the update, Pence tweeted that both him and Donald Trump “made clear last week and have worked tirelessly for months to free Pastor Andrew Brunson”.
He added: “He should have been freed long ago. He’s now under house arrest – but we won’t stop until he’s fully released and reunited with his family, friends and church. #FreeAndrewBrunson.”
Brunson, a 50 year old evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, was arrested in December 2016 and later charged with links to a failed plot to overthrow the Turkish government in July 2016.
Supporters claim he is effectively a political prisoner being held as a bargaining chip by Turkey who is actively seeking the extradition of preacher Fethullah Gülen, which it blames for the failed coup.
Brunson faces up to 15 years in prison for “committing crimes on behalf of terror groups”.
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Police Chief Responds to Atheists’ Criticism of ‘God’s Not Dead’ Lip Sync Video
An amazing trend is taking over the internet. All across the country, police departments are performing and recording hilarious lip syncs. Then, they challenge other departments to do the same.
The Norfolk Police Department, the Sherman, Texas Police Department, and the Hollywood, Alabama Police Department have all participated, just to name a few. And their viral videos are so much fun to watch.
But when the Crandall, Texas Police Department decided to get involved, their faith-filled lip sync managed to draw heat from a group of atheists known for making trouble!
As this fun challenge swept the nation, the citizens of Crandall, Texas urged their local police department to participate.
“What an awesome way to create conversations and relationships with the community,” the department wrote on Facebook after posting their own lip sync video. “Have fun in life, keep safe and be humble.”
For their video, the Crandall Police Department decided to honor Jesus by singing along to the Christian song ‘God’s Not Dead’ by the Newsboys.
The citizens certainly seemed to love it, with loads of supportive comments rolling in. In fact, even the Newsboys themselves praised the officers for their amazing work.
But, of course, you can’t please everyone. And after giving the video a “thumbs down,” the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) issued…
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Maxine Waters Declares at LA Megachurch She Was ‘Sent by God’ to Fight Against Donald Trump
Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters of California declared in a speech on Sunday at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles that she feels “sent by God” to oppose President Donald Trump and all the harm she says his administration is doing.
“We never dreamed we’d have someone in the White House who was divisive, who could not tell the truth, and who was intent on not making America great again, but taking America down!” Waters told the congregation, referring to Trump.
“I will not sit quietly and allow the President of the United States, or anybody else, to undo all that’s been done,” she added.
“And ladies and gentlemen, I am in this fight!” she said.
Towards the end of her speech at the megachurch, the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus suggested her will is guided by God.
“You’ve gotta know that I’m here to do the work that I was sent to do, and as pastor said to me when I came in this morning, when God sends you to do something, you just do it!” Waters vowed.
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Christian mother fights back after High Court upholds prayer vigil ban
Alina Dulgheriu has filed for permission in the Court of Appeal to appeal the High Court’s decision to uphold the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) outside a Marie Stopes Clinic, implemented by Ealing Council in April.
She said: “I have sought permission to appeal the High Court decision because I believe the law has been misapplied and has allowed for the unjust criminalisation of offers of support and silent prayer.”
Ealing Council enforced the buffer zone following what it described as protests that intimidated, distressed and harassed women using the abortion clinic.
Pro-life campaign group, Be Here for Me, has denied the accusations and said campaigners pray and offer support and information for the clinic’s patients.
The High Court decided to uphold the PSPO and dismiss the challenge on 2nd July.
Soon after, Dulgheriu launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £50,000 to fund appealing the ruling. She has raised more than £26,000 so far.
The mother, who was supported outside an abortion clinic years ago when she considered aborting her daughter, said the ban on prayer vigils will have “devastating ramifications for hundreds of women and for society at large if it is allowed to stand”.
“I know how devastating the effect of this judgment will be because I received a loving offer of support when I needed it…
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Trump’s Hollywood star defaced again
Donald Trump was given a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame in 2007. In recent years, his star has been defaced several times.
The latest attack came yesterday morning when a man removed a pickax from a guitar case and smashed the red marble marker bearing the president’s name. Police arrested a twenty-four-year-old man named Austin Clay, who did not reveal a motive for the alleged vandalism.
In other news, a soccer player named Jaelene Hinkle was cut from Team USA before its upcoming tournament. The story is making headlines because Hinkle, a devout Christian, declined to play on the national team last year. Her reason: the US wore rainbow-colored numbers on their jerseys to celebrate Pride Month, a position her faith and conscience could not support.
On July 18, she received a call-up to the national team. LGBTQ advocates were outraged. Then she was cut five days later. Even her critics call her the best player in the league at her position. Now many are wondering if she was cut because of her religious beliefs.
In better news, US pastor Andrew Brunson has been released from prison in Turkey. However, he is still under house arrest and faces up to thirty-five years in prison.
Learning from Robert E. Lee
If you’re looking for stories about personal attacks, you can find them every day in the news. If you’re looking for the best way to respond to such hostility, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
In Psalm 35, David describes his enemies: “Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft” (vv. 11-12). How does he respond?
“But I, when they were sick–I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning” (vv. 13-14).
The best test of our character is how we respond to people we don’t have to treat well. This…
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Artist to preach for the Queen
He will speak on the links between art and spirituality in a sermon at Crathie Kirk, the church the Queen and royal family attend while in residence at Balmoral.
The painter, known for his expressionist Scottish landscapes, is trained as a Lay Reader in the Church of Scotland and frequently preaches at churches in Argyll.
He is the first of a group of invited speakers to give a sermon at the church while the royal family is at Balmoral this summer.
He said: “I am extremely honoured to accept this invitation. I enjoy every opportunity to preach, and every congregation is different, but this engagement is a little bit special.
“My theme will be art, creativity and spirituality, a subject close to my heart.”
Minister for Crathie and Braemar parsish, Rev Kenneth MacKenzie, said: “It’s been a practice since Victorian times of having guest preachers during the time that certain members of the royal family are here.
“It’s always a privilege to be around here at this time. Guest preachers are always hugely anticipated.”
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Dozen new abuse victims came forward following press coverage, inquiry told
Sussex Police reopened the case into sexual abuse allegations made against the disgraced bishop under the name Operation Dunhill on July 25 2012.
In total, 12 new victims came forward as a result of press coverage, more than 20 years after he received a police caution for one count of gross indecency and resigned due to ill health.
Detective Superintendent Carwyn Hughes was the senior investigating officer on the inquiry which resulted in Ball being jailed in 2015.
Mr Hughes told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) on Wednesday that one complainant “unknown to the Church” came forward when the investigation was launched.
He added that the November 2012 arrest of the ex-Bishop of Lewes and Gloucester “generated further publicity at which point seven new victims came forward”.
A further four individuals approached him following Ball’s guilty plea, conviction and sentencing.
But those cases were not considered in the public interest and not investigated as Ball was already behind bars.
Asked by IICSA counsel Nikita McNeill how the force balanced “the benefits of press coverage” with its potential to damage the investigation or trial, Mr Hughes alluded to Cliff Richard’s High Court privacy battle against the BBC, which the singer won last week.
He said: “It’s really interesting from my perspective as well, because use of the media, obviously it had a…
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Disgraced bishop’s friendship with Charles well known at Lambeth Palace
Dr Andrew Purkis, who was George Carey’s secretary for public affairs from 1992 to 1998, told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse on Wednesday that disgraced bishop Peter Ball’s prominent connections were well known.
Mr Purkis, who advised on public perception of the church and media coverage, said of the bishop’s friendship with the senior royal: “I don’t think it was (significant) for me in the dealings I had – that was not really a significant actor that was brought to bear.”
Asked if it influenced Lambeth Palace’s treatment of the clergyman, he said: “Not specifically. I think it was very well known in Lambeth Palace that not just some great and good people but also loads of church people had a very high opinion of Peter and kept writing letters saying so.
“We would take that into account in the way we talked about things publicly.”
Mr Purkis – who helped to draft press releases from Lambeth Palace – admitted that some statements at the time of Balls’ arrest in 1992 were ‘one-sided’ and gave little to no emphasis on the victim.
A press release from the Diocese of Gloucester expressed hopes that the investigation would “clear his name”, which IICSA counsel Anna Bicarregui said would not be accepted today.
Another statement in 1993 focused on the “great sorrow” felt by Lord Carey at Ball’s resignation.
He added that the then head of the Church of…
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