Iraqi Christians put to the sword - Telegraph

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Iraqi Christians might not be able to boast such a heritage – though even if there is no way of proving their belief that the apostle Thomas brought the faith to Iraq in the first century AD, theirs is still one of the oldest Christian communities on earth. Yet after a series of attacks in the past month by Islamist extremists – whose creed is the parvenu of the monotheistic religions in the country – fears are mounting that Christianity in Iraq is doomed to follow Judaism into oblivion.
At the end of last month, in the most ferocious attack on the community yet, Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaeda burst into Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation Church during evening mass and took the congregation hostage. The gunmen began executing clergymen and worshippers before tossing a grenade into a safe-room where 60 parishioners had huddled to hide. As Iraqi forces stormed the church, the assassins surrounded themselves with children and detonated explosives secreted in suicide vests.
By the time it was over, 52 Christians were dead. Blood smeared the walls of the church, body parts and scraps of seared flesh littered the pews. A policeman standing guard outside the church afterwards summed up the scene: "Blood, flesh and bones. You can't bear the smell."
A group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq, a self-acknowledged front for al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility and issued a chilling warning, telling Christians it would "open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood". Delivering on their promise, 11 car bombs aimed at Christian shops and homes in Baghdad exploded on Wednesday, killing another five members of the minority.

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Methodist Seminary is Abdicating Christianity, Says Theologian

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I really find it so sad that somehow Christians today are so delusional to believe this might actually be a good thing.
As Christians we have a choice. Every other so called Religion listed here is not a choice. It is law.
The fact of the matter and from what I see here is this. Somehow I think some people actually think the Christianity will be accepted by all these faiths. Which, if anyone has actually read their Bibles they would know what the outcome of all this will bring.
We need to pray for our Churches and watch out for pastors that may be turning this way.
Quote from the page.

I think the most puzzling part of all this is that somehow they seem to be implying that there are just different flavors of religious professional out there, and some of them show up as evangelical preachers, some of them show up as mainline pastors, some of them show up as imams, as rabbis, well you name it," he stated. "And from a Christian perspective, that's just profoundly not what we're doing as Christian ministers. As a seminary president, that's profoundly not what we're trying to produce

clipped from www.christianpost.com Despite a Methodist seminary president's insistence that he is not compromising Christianity by turning the school into a multi-religious one, evangelicals and conservative Christians remain unconvinced. Claremont School of Theology, located in Southern California, "is basically abdicating the faith," said Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "There's just no other way you can actually understand this from any evangelical or orthodox Christian understanding," the prominent evangelical and theologian said Thursday on his radio program. Students will be trained in their own religious traditions as well as gain understanding of other faiths through shared classes with the Academy for Jewish Religion and the Islamic Center of Southern California. Eventually, the seminary plans to expand its training to include Hinduism and Buddhism, among others.

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Excitement on Temple Mount as Rabbi Prostrates Himself

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clipped from www.israelnationalnews.com A large group of hareidi-religious Jews ascended the Temple Mount Tuesday and received friendly service from the police there – unlike the harsh police treatment that Jews typically receive on the Mount in recent years. One of the Jews was even allowed to fully prostrate himself in prayer, facing in the direction of the location of the ancient Temple – which is now occupied by a Muslim mosque. Unlike previous Jewish ascensions to the Mount in the recent past, and in contrast to this group's last ascension on Passover, in which their entry to the Mount was blocked, police on the Mount were courteous and friendly. They were gripped by excitement when one of the rabbis prostrated himself facing the presumed location of the Temple's Holy of Holies in ancient times. Police allowed this religious act as well. The rabbis say they intend to bring ever-larger groups of Jews to the Mount with the purpose of eventually holding a Passover sacrifice there.

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The new interfaith theologians

clipped from newsweek.washingtonpost.com The conference we were gathered for, "Educating Jewish, Christian & Muslim Leaders for Service in a Multi-Religious World: The American Seminary Context,", felt like it might mark an important moment for the interfaith movement in its own right. It helped our students explore what particularly Christian responses could be to religious diversity and also helped them to press at the questions they felt hadn't been answered. Professor Knitter smiled. "These young people - they're writing the new theologies. They're the new theologians." May it be so: that the young people on the forefront of the interfaith movement today know themselves as the new theologians - and the academics, preachers and teachers - of faith in a diverse world. And may they know the rich legacy of work that comes before them.

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PM Urged to Place Temple Mount on Heritage List

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clipped from www.israelnationalnews.com As Jerusalem Day approaches, redoubled efforts are underway to increase Jewish awareness of the Temple Mount and to have the site included on the National Heritage Sites list.  Highlights of the campaign include a visit by 43 rabbis to Judaism’s holiest site on Monday and a petition to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to include the location on his recently-formulated list of National Heritage sites. Elkin and others led to the inclusion of the Machpelah Cave (Tomb of the Patriarchs) in Hevron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. These are the only two sites on the National Heritage Sites list that are located in areas liberated by Israel during the Six Day War of 1967. 3,100 signatures at http://www.gopetition.com/online/35455.html. “The Temple Mount is the holiest site in the world for the Jewish people,” the petition states, “yet the Muslim authorities, aided by Israel Police, systematically deny the right of religious expression on the Mount to all non-Muslims

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DNA Tests Show Africa's Lemba Tribe Truly Jewish

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clipped from www.bible-prophecy-today.com A British university professor says he has uncovered genetic evidence that a black African tribe living in Zimbabwe and northern South Africa is related to the Jewish people. Leaders of the Lemba tribe have claimed Jewish origins for many centuries. Tribal legend says that seven Jewish males left ancient Israel around 2,500 years ago, making their way to the southern part of the continent. There they met and married local African women, teaching them their biblical religious and dietary practices. The Lemba tribe has many customs and rituals that are quite similar to those practiced by Jews since biblical times He carried out DNA tests on many tribal members and compared the results with similar tests done over the years on thousands of Israeli Jews. He told the BBC that while many people have characterized the Lemba claims of Israeli ancestry as far fetched, scientific evidence has now established that their oral tradition is based on fact.

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Arab Protesters Leave Temple Mount, Muslims Call for War

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clipped from www.israelnationalnews.com (IsraelNN.com) Twenty Arabs, who had barricaded themselves on a Temple Mount mosque since Saturday, left the holy site on Sunday after police took the unusual action of entering the controversial area. Seven Arabs were arrested, and four policemen were lightly injured by rock-throwing protesters. As quiet returned to the Temple Mount, louder voices escalated the Arab war of words that included incitement for more violence. The Qatari daily Al-Watan called for a new Palestinian Authority-led Intifada with the support of Muslim countries. The Hamas minister of religious affairs urged violence to “protect our Islamic holy places” from Jewish claims. Nabil Abu Rdainah, an aide to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of preventing the PA from resuming talks on establishing a new PA state and trying to “affect the American efforts and destroy them.” An Arab Muslim cleric from Jerusalem accused “extremist groups” of “storming” the Temple Mount.

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