Israeli archaeologists have discovered a sprawling 5000-year-old city so enormous that it has been dubbed the “New York” of the Bronze Age.

The massive town, which was uncovered during an excavation funded by the Netivei Israel Company, was located in northern Israel’s Ein Iron area as workers prepared to undergo roadwork construction in the area. It is thought to have been home to some 6,000 people and featured public roads, neighborhoods, a ritual temple and fortifications, according to the BBC.

“This is the Early Bronze Age New York of our region; a cosmopolitan and planned city where thousands of inhabitants lived,” the excavation directors explained in a statement.

“There is no doubt that this site dramatically changes what we know about the character of the period and the beginning of urbanization in Israel.”

The city is roughly 161 acres and offers researchers a distinct insight into the lives and culture of the people living in the area at the time. Indeed, amongst the treasure trove of ancient artifacts was a huge stone basin for liquids, thought to be used during religious ceremonies in the temple courtyard.

“What we are calling a temple is a very unique building, we don’t know of anything like it,” said Israeli Antiquities Authority archaeologist, Dina Shalem, according to Bloomberg.

“Even in our wildest…

NFL player Benjamin Watson told the senior pastor at a church in Rhode Island that his faith has made a significant impact on his life.

“We attach our value to our performance, and God is saying ‘No, you have value because I’ve created you in my own image and you have dignity because of that,’” he said, according to CBN News.

Watson was speaking with senior pastor Jordan Boyce as part of an interview at the church. In the interview, Boyce asked the football player how he uses his platform as an NFL star to point to Jesus.

“I think the biggest part of that is realizing that we must decrease, and he must increase,” Watson said. “We do exist for His glory, God created man and woman to glorify Him. Our ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God. He’s given us all talents and abilities, which we use, but ultimately, He created us to glorify Himself because He is God and He can do that.

“Ultimately we need to realize that. While we do exist to make Him famous and glorify Him, we also realize on the flip side that He doesn’t need us. That we are part of a larger body, globally, internationally, and it’s simply our turn to carry the torch,” he added.

He said Christians are meant to “carry the torch” in the same way the disciples and early church members did.

He also spoke about the idea of celebrities and…

The pastor of a church in Memphis, Tenn. says he forgives the vandals who destroyed pews and musical instruments, cut off the power in the church, and painted the walls of the building.

“I would love for whoever is responsible to consider my heart when I say, ‘I love you and God still loves you. And that this is not the end, there is life after this,” Pastor Devante Hill of One Church told WMC. “And that whatever it is that has you broken, whatever it is that has you destroyed on the inside, there is help for you.”

Police are investigating and say that there is some $15,000 to $20,000 in damage to the church property. Hill says he estimates the damage at up to $50,000, Fox News reports.

“A lot of the money that it took to start the church, came out of my personal finances,” Hill said.

Hill found the church vandalized Sunday morning. He said the vandals destroyed property inside the church and stole money and speakers from the church.

“When I walked in… what broke me, was not the condition of the sanctuary, what broke me was the condition of someone’s heart to be willing to do such a thing,” the pastor said, according to WREG News.

Hill’s church launched only five months ago.

“To my surprise that I would find not only myself but our church, a beacon of light for this community, to be going through a storm…

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up a major abortion case that pro-choice groups fear will “gut Roe” but that pro-life advocates hope will lead to the reversal of the landmark decision.

At issue is a 2014 Louisiana law that requires every abortion doctor to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. 

The Supreme Court struck down a similar Texas law in 2016, when Justice Anthony Kennedy – who supported Roe v. Wade – sided with the majority in a 5-3 decision. But since then, Kennedy has been replaced by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Neil Gorsuch has taken the seat formerly held by Antonin Scalia, who opposed Roe but who died four months before the decision was released. 

It is rare for the Supreme Court to take up a second case that is so similar to an earlier one – especially within a mere few years of the first decision. Although the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, the Supreme Court could have reversed that court without hearing oral arguments. The high court is expected to hear the case next year.

Pro-choice advocates and analysts say the Supreme Court appears poised to reverse its 2016 decision. 

It will be the high court’s first abortion case since Kennedy – who was a swing vote on the issue – retired. 

The liberal website Slate.com posted a story under the headline,…

This weekend, Lauren Daigle made history with her hit song “You Say” by staying put as the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs for 62 weeks, according to Fox News. At 62 weeks atop the Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs, “You Say” now holds the record for the longest time a song has stayed in the number one spot on the chart. The previous contender, “Oceans” by Hillsong United, was the inspiration behind the 28-year-old’s success. Oceans sat at number one on the chart for 61 weeks.

“I really pondered the journey of the song ‘Oceans,’ and I remember seeing the impact that song made on so many people. It was just so beautiful to me,” Daigle told Billboard. “I hoped that I could be a part of something that shakes the earth like that song. I didn’t know that would ever happen, and I had no idea that ‘You Say’ would be something that would parallel the life of ‘Oceans.’”

Her accomplishment came days after she announced her first-ever headline arena world tour, starting in Australia.

Daigle wrote “You Say” after her first Dove Awards Show.

“This song is just a reminder of identity. A reminder that, when I’m weak, He’s strong, so how do I change that and bring that into my everyday life?” she said. “When I feel inadequate, how is it that there’s always these moments where I feel…

The Museum of the Bible removed one of several miniature Bibles from its display after an expert questioned whether or not it actually went to the moon with an Apollo 14 astronaut.

According to USA Today, the Apollo Prayer League gave Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell a handful of tiny Bibles to bring to the moon with him in 1971. 

The museum had put a microfilm Bible, which they believed had ventured into outer space with Mitchell, on display. Later, however, the museum removed the Bible after they were unable to authenticate it. 

Still on display, however, is a pocket-sized Bible donated to the museum by an Oklahoma woman who authored a book about the Apollo Prayer League.

 “We know for sure that one on display right now went to the moon, but we could not verify for sure that the one we had originally on display had gone to the moon,” museum spokeswoman Heather Cirmo said in a statement. “We couldn’t disprove it, it just wasn’t certain,” she added.

Late last year, the museum also had to pull from display five fragments believed to be from various Dead Sea scrolls. 

According to Religion News Service, the museum, which is owned by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green and his family, removed the fragments after suspicion that they were forgeries was confirmed. The museum replaced the fragments with others…