Christianity

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Jordan Cave May Be World's First Church

Unearthed cavern could be oldest place of Christian worship

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found what might be the world’s oldest Christian church in Rihab, Jordan, the BBC reports. The cavern, located under the also-ancient church of St. Georgeous, dates to between 33 and 70 AD, and doubled as a home.

Christian Star Bids Goodbye to Slain Daughter

Chapmans remember tot accidentally killed by brother in memorial

(Newser) - Christian pop star Steven Curtis Chapman and his family yesterday bid goodbye to his 5-year-old daughter in a memorial service that honored a little girl who loved to draw flowers and do dishes "buck naked," People reports. Maria Sue Chapman, one of three daughters Chapman and his wife...

150 Animals to Star in Massive 'Ark' Musical

Where? Where but Branson, Missouri?

(Newser) - Hold on to your camels, folks: A full-blown Biblical gala is opening tonight in Branson, Mo., in the form of Noah—the Musical. The show will feature more than 40 actors and 150 animals, half live, half animatronic, the Economist reports.

Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens
 Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens 
May 14, 2008 10:04 AM CDT

Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens

If God wants to create aliens, 'we can't limit his freedom,' says astronomer

(Newser) - Believing in God doesn’t mean you can’t believe in aliens, the Vatican’s chief astronomer told L’Osservatore Romano. God may well have created other creatures, including intelligent ones. “We cannot place limits on God’s creative freedom,” he noted.

McCain May Pray For Pastors to Zip It

Hagee not talking, but another high-profile preacher may be in news soon

(Newser) - John McCain may be heading for his own preacher problems, but at least one of his problematic pastors is clamming up for now, Newsweek reports. John Hagee, who called Hurricane Katrina “the judgment of God,” and Catholicism a “false cult system,” recently answered a request for...

Easter Defies Madison Avenue
 Easter Defies Madison Avenue 
Mar 23, 2008 8:00 AM CDT

Easter Defies Madison Avenue

Religious holiday's originis too wild to tame into commercialism

(Newser) - Christmas’ religious meaning is lost in a sea of advertising, parties, and major retail dollars, but Easter has resisted becoming a “consumerist nightmare”—and that’s because its Christian origins demand serious thought, writes James Martin in Slate. While “the Christmas story is easily reduced to pablum,...

World's Holy Days Converge
 World's Holy Days Converge 
Mar 21, 2008 8:51 AM CDT

World's Holy Days Converge

Believers of almost all stripes have something to celebrate today

(Newser) - This Good Friday is not simply the most solemn day in the Christian calendar but a convergence of movable feasts that doesn't occur more than once in a century. March 21 is also the first day of the Jewish festival of Purim and the celebration of the birth of the...

Gorbachev Admits He's Christian
Gorbachev Admits He's Christian
Mar 19, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

Gorbachev Admits He's Christian

Ex-Soviet prez publicly atheist, but Reagan sensed 'closet believer'

(Newser) - Nearly 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union's atheist empire, Mikhail Gorbachev has admitted he is a Christian, reports the Daily Telegraph. On a visit to Italy the last president of the Communist state prayed at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, and later told priests the...

Evangelicals Turn Back to Ritual
Evangelicals Turn Back
to Ritual
Mar 8, 2008 12:51 PM CST

Evangelicals Turn Back to Ritual

Some adopt previously shunned confession, communion, Lent

(Newser) - Evangelical Christians are increasingly turning to long-shunned traditions as a means of practicing their faith, reports the Washington Post. In a trend some call “worship renewal,” some are reviving Catholic customs such as fasting for Lent, going to confession, and weekly communion. “Evangelicalism is coming to point...

Teddy Teacher Spurs UK to Kill Own Blasphemy Law

House of Lords strikes down statute questioned since Sudan teddy-bear case

(Newser) - Britain's House of Lords voted yesterday to abolish blasphemy laws after an international incident sparked debate over secularism and tradition, the Los Angeles Times reports. With the UK and Sudan at odds in November over the prosecution of a British teacher allowing students to name a teddy bear Mohammad, many...

Pope to Cut Luther a Break
Pope to Cut Luther a Break
Mar 6, 2008 5:33 AM CST

Pope to Cut Luther a Break

Vatican changing view after 500 years

(Newser) - Five centuries after he ignited the Reformation by challenging papal authority, Martin Luther is expected to get a break from—of all people—Pope Benedict XVI. The pope is German and ostensibly that's the only thing he has in common with Luther. Nevertheless, the pope plans a warmer and fuzzier...

Rice Plans Another Vampire Book
Rice Plans Another
Vampire Book
Feb 25, 2008 12:50 PM CST

Rice Plans Another Vampire Book

Interview author had vowed to concentrate on Christian writing

(Newser) - When atheist and chronicler of the undead Anne Rice embraced Christianity in 2005, she seemed to seal the coffin on her Vampire Chronicles. But she's backtracking on her vow to write only about the Lord and not Lestat. "I have one more book that I would really like to...

$3.7M Study Questions Origins of Faith

UK researchers will ask if people believe in God naturally

(Newser) - UK researchers will spend $3.7 million probing whether belief in God is a matter of nature or nurture, the Times of London reports. The University of Oxford crew will examine whether faith in a deity conferred an evolutionary advantage, or might be byproduct of other advantageous human characteristics, such...

I-35 Beckons the Faithful
I-35 Beckons the Faithful
Feb 16, 2008 6:45 PM CST

I-35 Beckons the Faithful

Prayer movement hopes to touch communities along highway

(Newser) - A group of Dallas Pentecostal Christians reading the Bible one day noted that Isaiah 35, Verse 8, mentions a "highway for holiness." That put them in mind of nearby Interstate 35, which runs from Laredo, Texas, to Duluth, Minn., NPR reports, and that, in turn, prompted an unusual...

Jesus-Themed Cosmetics Fail to Amuse
Jesus-Themed Cosmetics
Fail to Amuse
Feb 14, 2008 11:29 AM CST

Jesus-Themed Cosmetics Fail to Amuse

Mock-religious line pulled from shelves in Singapore

(Newser) - What would Jesus use? A line of cosmetics that worked just that angle has been whisked from shelves in Singapore after a Catholic backlash, reports the Independent. The US-made line, called "Lookin’ Good for Jesus," drew criticism over slogans for lotions and bubble bath like “Get Tight...

Bishop: Heaven a Place on Earth
Bishop: Heaven a Place on Earth
Feb 9, 2008 6:34 PM CST

Bishop: Heaven a Place on Earth

He says common Christian view of afterlife is a misconception

(Newser) - There is no heaven—or at least not the way most Christians think of it, according to Episcopal Bishop N.T. “Tom” Wright, who lashes out at the common angels-and-clouds view of the afterlife. “That’s a very damaging distortion,” the prominent theologian tells Time magazine. “...

Bishops' Bright Idea: Give Up Carbon for Lent

Brits urge faithful to fast to cut emissions, fight global warming

(Newser) - For many Christians, Lent is a time to forgo chocolate or ice cream, but two senior British bishops have a better idea: “fasting” away your carbon footprint. “The poor are already suffering the effects of climate change,” says Liverpool’s bishop. “To carry on regardless of...

Priests Brawl With Brooms at Church of the Nativity

Punch-up in Bethlehem injures 5 priests, 2 cops

(Newser) - A holiday cleanup at the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born turned ugly Thursday, as Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows, the Times of London reports. Robed priests pummeled each other with brooms and stones in the Church of the Nativity...

The Good Book Is Good Biz
The Good Book Is Good Biz
Dec 25, 2007 9:19 AM CST

The Good Book Is Good Biz

New looks, special themes drive $770M Bible industry

(Newser) - In the thriving business of Bible publishing, the lone calligrapher in his scriptorium has been superseded by marketing execs armed with PowerPoint. About 25 million Bibles were sold this year in America, reports the Los Angeles Times—that's 11 million more than the latest Harry Potter installment. But since the...

'Geeky Hip' New Billy Graham Grabs Next Generation

Masses won over by Bell's 'Letterman' style

(Newser) - Bible-thumper Rob Bell wears geeky-hip glasses, once aspired to be David Letterman, and was momentarily poised for rock stardom, reports Time magazine. And he may be "one of the most important 21st Century Christian leaders," according to one biblical scholar. Nine years ago, Bell founded a nontraditional church...

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