Police recover head of 800-year-old mummy stolen from a church

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Police recover head of 800-year-old mummy stolen from a church

The head of The Crusader was taken from a crypt in St Michan’s Church last month.

The crime was discovered when a guide went to open the church for visitors.

 

The vault was badly damaged and several of the mummies, including the 400-year-old remains of a nun, had been desecrated.

The Crusader’s body was turned over and his head removed.

Officers from Bridewell garda station said they recovered the head of The Crusader on Tuesday and another skull that had been taken over the weekend of February 24.

A garda spokesman said: “The items were recovered as a result of information that came into the possession of the investigating gardai.

“The National Museum of Ireland are acting in an advisory capacity.

“An Garda Siochana would like to thank the public for their assistance in the investigation, which remains ongoing.”

 

The Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson had described his outrage at the incident last month.

“I am shocked that someone would target this ancient burial place and desecrate the remains of those lying within it,” he said.

“Not only have these individuals desecrated…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Major New Research on Declining, Plateaued, and Growing Churches from Exponential and LifeWay Research

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I love solid research. This new release is absolutely incredible.

I am grateful to Exponential for engaging LifeWay Research to discern current levels of church health according to a number of factors. While worship attendance trends over a three-year period were a primary indicator of health in this study, the Exponential research also included conversions, income, and staffing in the data.

In addition to the categorization of churches as declining/subtracting (Level 1), plateauing (Level 2), and growing/adding (Level 3), the study looked at two other supplemental categories. A Level 4 (reproducing) church places a high value and priority on starting new churches. A level 5 (multiplying) church takes church planting to multiple generations of congregations.

The accuracy of this research cannot be overstated. LifeWay Research phoned 1,000 Protestant pastors. Quotas were used to maintain the correct population of each church size. Responses were weighed by region to reflect more accurately the total U. S. population. The sample provides a 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +/- 3.2%. This information from the statistical nerds assures us the study is very accurate.

Here are some of the fascinating findings:

  1. 70% of churches are subtracting/declining or plateauing. Only 30% are adding/growing. This data is largely consistent with other research we have done. The period covered is three years.
  2. There are relatively few reproducing churches. The research categorized only 7% of the…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

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Student Says a Christian Can’t Survive at Yale Law School

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Student Says a Christian Can’t Survive at Yale Law School


Student Says a Christian Can’t Survive at Yale Law School


A third-year student at Yale Law School said he thought he could survive as a Christian and a person committed to constitutional freedoms at the school, but recent events showed him that he was mistaken.


Writing at The Federalist, Aaron Haviland explained how he and other conservatives became targets of a coordinated protest by liberal students. A few weeks ago, Haviland and some friends sent out an email on behalf of the school’s chapter of the Federalist Society announcing that an attorney from the Alliance Defending Freedom would be on campus to discuss the recent Supreme Court verdict in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The backlash surprised him and revealed the depth of the hostility conservatives face on campus.


The Alliance Defending Freedom has argued and won First Amendment cases before the Supreme Court, but this has not stopped the Southern Poverty Law Center from listing them as a hate group. News stories frequently mention this designation. In a recent Huffington Post article about Allison Jones Rushing’s confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4thCircuit, the author lists her work with the Alliance Defending Freedom as one of the concerning aspects of her nomination. In the piece, the author’s only explanation of the Alliance Defending Freedom’s work was to mention the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate group”…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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Cathedral lifts ban on cameras for the first time

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Cathedral lifts ban on cameras for the first time

A decision by bosses at Durham Cathedral to relax the rules comes into force on Friday. Taking photographs for personal use has been banned at the 920-year-old landmark to help protect “peaceful worship”.

Canon Chancellor Charlie Allen, said: “It is important for us to reflect that we are a living, working, progressive place of worship, with many visitors wanting to create lasting visual memories of their time at Durham Cathedral.”

 

Despite the rule being dropped, flash photography will remain prohibited and areas including the Gregory Chapel shall remain photography-free. Camera use will still not be permitted during services.

 

Charlie Allen added: “With the rapid advancement of social media, a lot of our visitors are keen to share their experience with family and friends, and it feels good that we can now encourage them to do so, spreading the wonder of Durham Cathedral and all that it represents to a wider audience.”

 

Some Church of England sites including St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey continue to operate strict no-camera polices. Other Anglican landmarks are more lenient,…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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What happened when Joe Biden called Mike Pence ‘a decent guy’?

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What happened when Joe Biden called Mike Pence ‘a decent guy’?

Joe Biden recently called Mike Pence “a decent guy.”

The outcry was immediate.

Cynthia Nixon, an actress and unsuccessful candidate for New York governor, tweeted this response: “You’ve just called America’s most anti-LGBT elected leader ‘a decent guy.’ Please consider how this falls on the ears of our community.”

Biden quickly apologized. “You’re right, Cynthia,” he wrote. “I was making a point in a foreign policy context,” he explained, “but there is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights, and that includes the Vice President.”

CNN’s Chris Cillizza explained that Biden “is a creature of a totally different political time,” his comment “a reflection of the general collegiality that reigned in politics when Biden came up in the game.” However, as Cillizza notes, “Things have changed drastically since then.”

Cillizza assumes that Biden will run for president in 2020 and calls him “a benefit-of-the-doubt guy running to lead a party who views the other side as not just dumb and incompetent, but evil.”

Is the other political party “fair”?

Cillizza has the facts on his side.

A recent survey found that 61 percent of Democrats view Republicans as “racist/bigoted/sexist”; 31 percent of Republicans feel the same way about Democrats. Fifty-four percent of Democrats consider Republicans to be “ignorant”; 49 percent of Republicans feel the same way about Democrats. And 44 percent of Democrats consider Republicans to be “spiteful”; 54 percent of Republicans feel this way about Democrats.

Only 4 percent of each party consider the other party to be “fair.” Three percent of Democrats and 4 percent of Republicans consider the other party to be “thoughtful.” Two percent of Democrats and 3 percent of Republicans consider the other party to be “kind.”

In 1958, 33 percent of Democrats wanted their daughters to marry a Democrat; 25 percent of…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

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Will Smith’s son and church unite to help city hit with water crisis

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Will Smith’s son and church unite to help city hit with water crisis

The 20-year-old rapper’s JUST goods company and First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church will distribute mobile water filtration systems for residents hit by a five-year water crisis.

The city’s water supply was found to be contaminated with lead in 2014 after the drinking water source for the city was changed from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to Flint River.

 

More than 100,000 residents were affected and instructed to use only bottled or filtered water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing.

 

First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church has already given more than 5 million bottles of water to residents, but according to the Associated Press, bottled water donations are on the decline.

Facebook/First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church

 

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s son hopes the “The Water Box” will reduce lead and other potential contaminants in the city’s water.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Lawyers declare ‘victory’ for Christian baker in transgender cake row

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Lawyers declare ‘victory’ for Christian baker in transgender cake row

In a deal struck with state officials at the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Jack Phillips from the Denver suburb of Lakewood also agreed to end his counter lawsuit against the public body.

Jim Campbell, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom group which had been defending him, said: “We hope that the state is done going along with obvious efforts to harass Jack.

 

“He shouldn’t be driven out of business just because some people disagree with his religious beliefs and his desire to live consistently with them.”

The Commission initiated proceedings after it found reasonable grounds to believe Mr Phillips had discriminated against Autumn Scardina by refusing a request for a cake to mark her transition from male to female.

 

The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop then initiated his own lawsuit, arguing his view that gender “is given by God…and cannot be chosen or changed.”

As part of the new deal, both sides will now pay their own costs and legal fees. It remains unclear whether Ms Scardina intends to embark on legal action of her own.

Alliance Defending Freedom

 

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said: “The larger constitutional issues might well be decided down the road, but these cases will not be the vehicle for resolving them

“Equal justice for all…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Fire crews praise God after Bibles survive church inferno

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Fire crews praise God after Bibles survive church inferno

Crews said “everything” inside Freedom Ministries Church in Grandview, West Viriginia ought to have been destroyed by the blaze, yet “not a single” Bible perished.

After scouring the charred remains of the site, the firefighters published on their Facebook page: “Though odds were against us, God was not.

 

“Picture this, a building so hot that at one point in time, firefighters had to back out. In your mind, everything should be burned, ashes.

 

“Not a single Bible was burned and not a single cross was harmed! Not a single firefighter was hurt! Prayers for the pastor and the congregation today.”

The remarkable pictures prompted thousands of comments on social media. They were shared more than 40,000 times.

Coal City Fire Department

 

One Facebook user, Sharon Lackey said: “When our house burned in Texas, I had the family Bible laying on dad’s army trunk that he carried around the world doing his tours of duty.

“The top of the trunk burned a hole through the top where the bible was laying and it didn’t damage the Bible in any way.

Coal City Fire Department

 

“I still have both the trunk and the Bible. They serve as a reminder to me how great the word of God can be.”

Another social media user, Jennifer Stauffer said: “Books usually don’t burn unless parted. The compression of the paper leaves no room for air to feed the fire. Smoke damage and light burning on outside is…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Christian baker in transgender cake row reaches lawsuit truce

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Christian baker in transgender cake row reaches lawsuit truce

In a deal struck with state officials at the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Jack Phillips from the Denver suburb of Lakewood also agreed to end his counter lawsuit against the public body.

Jim Campbell, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom group which had been defending him, said: “We hope that the state is done going along with obvious efforts to harass Jack.

 

“He shouldn’t be driven out of business just because some people disagree with his religious beliefs and his desire to live consistently with them.”

The Commission initiated proceedings after it found reasonable grounds to believe Mr Phillips had discriminated against Autumn Scardina by refusing a request for a cake to mark her transition from male to female.

 

The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop then initiated his own lawsuit, arguing his view that gender “is given by God…and cannot be chosen or changed.”

As part of the new deal, both sides will now pay their own costs and legal fees. It remains unclear whether Ms Scardina intends to embark on legal action of her own.

Alliance Defending Freedom

 

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said: “The larger constitutional issues might well be decided down the road, but these cases will not be the vehicle for resolving them

“Equal justice for all…

… Read More

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Joyce Meyer Devotional 6 March 2019 — God Hears Our Prayers

CM Editor
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Joyce Meyer Devotional 6 March 2019 — God Hears Our Prayers

Topic: God Hears Our Prayers [Joyce Meyer Devotional 6 March 2019]

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its crops [as usual]. — James 5:17-18 (AMP)

I like the fact that James makes the point that Elijah had a nature like ours. He was imperfect and displayed weaknesses, but God heard and answered his prayers.

He will do the same thing for us. Don’t let Satan convince you that God won’t hear your prayers because you have sinned. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23), but we all may be forgiven and restored through God’s grace and mercy.

When we repent of our sins, God forgives them and forgets them. To Him, it is as if we never did anything wrong and have a totally clean slate. We should learn to see ourselves the same way and boldly approach God’s throne in prayer (see Hebrews 4:16), expecting Him to answer.

Prayer Starter: Thank You, Father, for Your amazing grace, mercy and forgiveness that allow me to come to You in confidence. Help me to run to You for help on every occasion, knowing that You delight in hearing my prayers and long to show Yourself strong in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Prayer Starter: Father, help me to wait well—with patience and hopeful expectation. Help me to use the challenging times in life as opportunities to grow closer to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

The post Joyce Meyer Devotional 6 March 2019 — God Hears Our Prayers appeared first on Flatimes.

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