Don't Blame Elgin

In case you weren't informed, apparently it's the Middle PA District Office which controls what is getting covered in our sister publication.

Clergy Still Trying To Figure Out Condoms

via Unreasonable Faith

Cyber Monday

Circus

Bang!

It's Black Friday!

Giving Thanks

Sharing the Blame

BMC has announced that their request for exhibit space at the 2012 Annual Conference has been approved. However, it could simply not have been on the merits of their request. Obviously there were other forces at work.

Keep calm and carry on.

The Famous Question

God's Backhand

Stuff Happens

The Christian Playthrough

America's 5 Favorite Ways to Ignore Jesus

Try Harder

Tweet Me

21st Century Ark-Building

20 years ago, Dutch construction company owner Johan Huibers had a dream that part of Holland had been flooded. The very next day, he was stricken with the compulsion to build an ark.

In 2004, Huibers completed his first ark, which was about half the size of Noah’s described ark in the Bible. He chartered the craft through Holland’s canals, charging $7 a person, which has funded his most recent project.

The new ark, which began construction in 2008 and has cost him just over $1 million, is every bit as large as Noah’s and is even being crafted using his measurement of cubits (the length from one’s elbow to fingertips). The ark weighs just under 3,000 tons, the official length of the vessel is 450 feet and it is being designed to carry 1,500 passengers, including two live chickens and a few pair of fiberglass animals.

Made out of pine, as God had requested a resinous wood, the ark would not have been architecturally sound without a steel hull. Amongst architects and boatbuilders, there is some skepticism as to how Noah’s Ark may have been so long, as historically, no wooden ship has ever been successfully built over 350 feet as the length does not allow for enough support to keep the hull watertight. So Huibers built her with a steel keel.

According to Mr. Huibers, the ark is about ready to set sail, and he is in negotiation with London about bringing the ark down the Thames for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

How Christianity Briefly Conquered the Solar System

By the 1700s, there could no longer be any doubt. Earth was just one of many worlds orbiting the Sun, which forced scientists and theologians alike to ponder a tricky question. Would God really have bothered to create empty worlds?

To many thinkers, the answer was an emphatic "no," and so cosmic pluralism - the idea that every world is inhabited, often including the Sun - was born. And this was no fringe theory. Many of the preeminent astronomers of the 18th and 19th century, including Uranus discoverer Sir William Herschel, believed in it wholeheartedly, as did other legendary thinkers like John Locke and Benjamin Franklin. How could so many geniuses believe in something so silly?

Holy Town

Do you love GOD? Ever wondered what it would be like to start your own Church and bring more people to GOD? Well find out in Facebook's first Christian game, Holy Town!

Making Money in Nigeria

God is good, especially if you’re a Nigerian pastor with some business savvy. These days, millions of souls, desperate for financial breakthroughs, miracles and healing, all rush to the church for redemption. And while the bible expressly states that salvation is free, at times it comes with a cost: offerings, tithes, gifts to spiritual leaders, and a directive to buy literature and other products created by men of God.

Pastors are no longer solely interested in getting people to Heaven; they’ve devised intelligent ways to make good money while reaching out to souls.

Did Jesus die for Klingons too?

What would the discovery of an alien civilization mean for the most basic tenets of Christianity? This question was explored last Saturday at the 100 Year Starship Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

At this DARPA-sponsored event, theologian Christian Weidemann of Ruhr-University Bochum attempted to square the messianic salvation of mankind with an endless galaxy rife with laser-griffins and sentient mop empires.

Liturgical Dance as Outreach

via naked pastor

Let Go

via naked pastor

Beware of Smurfs

Workcamp in Haiti

Dates of Jan. 29-Feb. 5, 2012, have been set for the next workcamp in Haiti sponsored by Brethren Disaster Ministries working with the Haitian Church of the Brethren (L'Èglise des Frères Haitiens). Participants will rebuild homes in Port-au-Prince and outlying villages that have received displaced survivors of the 2010 earthquake, will help complete the guesthouse at the new church offices, and will worship with Haitian brothers and sisters. Leaders are Ilexene Alphonse and Klebert Exceus. Cost is $800, which includes all expenses while in Haiti such as meals, lodging, in-country transportation, travel insurance, and $50 toward building supplies. Participants purchase their own round-trip transportation from home to Port-au-Prince. The deadline for registration and a $300 deposit is Dec. 31. More information is at www.brethren.org/bdm/haiti.html.

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