Clipmarks | arifsali's 'christianity' clips

Now, an Indian film on Apostle Thomas

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:22:25 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

The Rs.500-million ($12 million) project is being supported by the St. Thomas Apostle of India Trust, set up by the Catholic Archdiocese of Mylapore.

Biblical stories identify Thomas as the disciple who doubted the resurrection of Christ. According to several edicts, Kushan king Vasudeva sent Thomas' remains to Syria in 232 AD.

The Roman Catholic and Anglican calendars honour Thomas July 3, the day on which his relics are believed taken from Mylapore, on India's east coast, to Edessa, Syria, where his remains are worshipped as that of the Apostle of India. Then it was taken to the Greek island of Chios in 1258 AD and then to Ortona, Italy, where it rests now.

In the 'Acts of Thomas', written in 200 AD, the original key text to identify St. Thomas with India, historians agree that two people, followers of Jesus Christ, arrived first in Sandaruk (one of the ancient Alexandrias) in Balochistan.

Tags: india, christianity

Hebrew tablet suggests tradition of resurrected messiah predates Jesus

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:10:19 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

JERUSALEM: A 3-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

When David Jeselsohn bought an ancient tablet, above, he was unaware of its significance.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, because it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era - in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

Tags: christianity, history

Anglican rift: Conservative v Liberal

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:03:05 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Anglican Communion is closer than ever before to a major split, as conservative bishops gather in Jerusalem to discuss their vision for the future.

Most of those attending the Jerusalem conference (Gafcon) will be boycotting July's Lambeth Conference - held once every 10 years.

They are divided on a number of issues from the ordination of gay priests to the need to convert members of other faiths.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS ACTIVE HOMOSEXUALITY

ORDAINING GAY PRIESTS AND BISHOPS

THE NEED FOR A SHARED UNIVERSAL DOCTRINE

THE OBLIGATION TO FOLLOW A UNIVERSAL DOCTRINE

ORDINATION OF FEMALE BISHOPS

THE NEED TO CONVERT PEOPLE OF OTHER FAITHS

Tags: christianity

Jordan cave may be oldest church

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:04:53 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: And they must be following the Didache as their guide.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Archaeologists in Rihab, Jordan, say they have discovered a cave that could be the world's oldest Christian church.

Dating to the period AD33-70, the underground chapel would have served as both a place of worship and a home.

It is claimed that it was originally used by a group of 70 persecuted Christians who fled from Jerusalem.

These early Christians lived and practised their faith in secrecy until the Romans embraced Christianity several hundred years later.

Rihab is in Northern Jordan. The cave is beneath the ancient church of St Georgeous, itself one of the oldest known places of worship in the world.

According to Dr Abdul Qader Al-Hassan, the director of the Rihab Centre for Archaeological studies, the cave site shows clear evidence of early Christian rituals that predate the church.

Dr Al-Hassan said: "We found beautiful things. I found the cemetery of this church; we found pottery shards and lamps with the inscription 'Georgeous'"

Tags: jordan, archaeology, christianity

Against Islamic Extremism

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:30:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: It is for this reason that one must approach Islam from Islamic sources if one wants to understand it. This doesn’t mean one will have to accept all that one reads, nor that one can’t be critical after you have studied it: but you will then be able to be critical of something which is true and representative of the faith, not something made up.

Clip Source: vox-nova.com

What has become one of the most difficult things for Westerners to understand is that Islam is not a monolithic religion. There are many ways Islam has manifested in history, both in its normative forms, but also in its secondary and under-represented forms. Just as it would be wrong to form one’s understanding of Christianity by looking to Christian slave-owners in the 19^thcentury (even if they could have appeared as normative to many looking to the Christian faith at that time), so it is wrong to form one’s understanding of Islam based upon 21^stcentury radicals.

Just as it is wrong to read an anti-Catholic polemical tract to understand Catholicism, so it is wrong to read anti-Muslim polemical tracts to understand Islam (even though the tracts will indeed “quote from legitimate sources” they will do so carefully, cherry-picked for the most shock value, and without a legitimate hermeneutical approach to help the readers properly understand the context of the quotes themselves).

Tags: islam, religion, faith, culture

Vatican Unveils Newly Restored Pagan Tomb

Tue, 27 May 2008 20:40:28 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Largest And Most Luxurious Of The Pagan Tombs Under St. Peter's Basilica Reopened

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

The Vatican unveiled the largest and most luxurious of the pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday after nearly a year of restoration work.

A family of former slaves built the Valeri Mausoleum during the second half of the second century, when Emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled. It is one of 22 pagan tombs in the grottoes under the basilica.

The newly restored tomb was shown to media Tuesday. Visitors can have a guided tour of the grottoes by appointment.

Emperor Constantine, a convert to Christianity, had the pagan burial grounds covered up in the fourth century so the basilica could be built over the site holding St. Peter's tomb.

Tags: pagan, vatican

Dead Sea Scroll Put on Rare Display in Israel

Wed, 14 May 2008 04:36:16 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

One of the most important Dead Sea scrolls is going on display in Jerusalem this week—more than four decades after it was last seen by the public.

The 24-foot (7.3-meter) scroll with the text of the Bible's Book of Isaiah had been in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum since 1967. It went on display two years earlier, but curators replaced it with a facsimile after noticing new cracks in the calfskin parchment.

The museum decided to put the scroll back on show for three months as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations.

The priceless manuscript, written by a Judean scribe around 120 B.C., was in a long glass case Tuesday, its neat rows of Hebrew letters distinct and legible.

The Isaiah manuscript was the only complete biblical book discovered among the Dead Sea scrolls, one of the great archaeological finds of the 20th century.

(See a time line of early Christianity.)

Tags: dead sea scrolls, jerusalem, religion

Karen Armstrong: Charter for Compassion

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:11:06 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: 2008 TED Prize wish

Clip Source: www.ted.com

As she accepts her 2008 TED Prize, author and scholar Karen Armstrong talks about how the Abrahamic religions -- Islam, Judaism, Christianity -- have been diverted from the moral purpose they share to foster compassion. But Armstrong has seen a yearning to change this fact. People want to be religious, she says; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help her build a Charter for Compassion -- to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine.

Karen Armstrong is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world. Read full bio »

Tags: religion, karen armstrong, video

Religious Books

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:49:01 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Not sure how they're doing it, but there are bunch of religious books, all available for pdf download.

The site is clean, but you'll get the Ads when you try to download.

Clip Source: revelation-online.blogspot.com

Agnosticism (1)

Archaeology (3)

Art and Architecture (4)

Bible Study (9)

Bible Translation (4)

Biblical Study (41)

Biography (17)

Buddhism (6)

Calvinism (3)

Catholicism (18)

Christian Living (35)

Christianity (87)

Hinduism (3)

History (105)

Islam (66)

New Testament (19)

Old Testament (9)

Other Religions / Practices (3)

Tags: religion, books, ebooks

Italian saint draws huge crowds

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:28:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: english.aljazeera.net

The exhumed body of Padre Pio, a saint considered a miracle worker by his devotees, has attracted thousands of pilgrims after going on display in a southern Italian town 40 years after his death.

Padre Pio, one of the Catholic church's most popular saints, is said to have the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus's crucifixion on his hands and feet.

The saint's body, displayed in a crystal sepulcher, was unveiled in a church in San Giovanni Rotondo on Thursday.

About 15,000 people attended an open air mass before the body was unveiled in the church where Padre Pio spent most of his life.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's sainthood in the church, led the mass.

"Today, we venerate his body, opening a particularly intense period of
pilgrimage,'' Saraiva Martins said.

Tags: italy, christianity

Jesus for the Non-Religious

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:16:35 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

My newest book, Jesus for the Non-Religious, just released in paperback, is written for those people who are committed to the Jesus experience, but because they are citizens of the 21st Century cannot twist their minds into First Century pretzels in order to say “I believe” to the traditional explanations offered by the biblical writers. Rather I seek the reality of the Jesus experience that made these explanations seem appropriate.

I do not believe, for example, that Jesus was born of a virgin in any biological sense, but I do believe that people found in Jesus a God presence that caused them to assert that human life could never have produced what they believed they met in him.

I do not believe that Jesus expanded the food supply, so that with a finite number of loaves he could feed more than 5,000 people in the wilderness, but I do believe that people found in him that which satisfied their deepest hunger and so they referred to him as the “Bread of Life” that is never exhausted.

Tags: spong, christianity

German minister says schools should teach Islam

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:52:13 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Offering Islam in schools will be "a very, very considerable contribution to integration and peaceful coexistence," said Bekir Alboga, a spokesman for the Muslim participants.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Schools in Germany should offer Islam - along with Christianity and Judaism - as a required religion class in the future, the interior minister said Thursday, but he insisted that the courses be taught in German.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that it would take a while before Muslim community leaders worked out a legally binding agreement with the state, but that an agreement on the issue had been reached.

"It will take some time, but we are moving ahead," Schäuble said after a third conference with representatives of Germany's estimated three million Muslims. Other participants said it would take several years before the classes became available.

Both sides have wrangled for years over the teaching Islam in state-run schools, where religion classes are required by law. Pupils now only have the choice of Roman Catholicism, Protestantism or Judaism. Many schools also offer ethics classes as an alternative.

Tags: germany, islam, schools

Vatican lists "new sins," including pollution

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:56:08 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight.

The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils.

Asked what he believed were today's "new sins," he told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the greatest danger zone for the modern soul was the largely uncharted world of bioethics.

"(Within bioethics) there are areas where we absolutely must denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments and genetic manipulation whose outcome is difficult to predict and control," he said.

The Vatican opposes stem cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning.

Tags: religion, sin, christianity

Church Must Change or Die

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:47:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: The traditional church always fights every new intellectual insight, making it difficult for educated people not to stray. Recall the fate of Galileo in the 17th Century. Observe how the church still fights Darwin with such silly things as intelligent design. Look at the present debate in the church over homosexuality in which people use a definition of homosexuality that is no longer saluted anywhere in scientific or medical circles upon which to justify their prejudice. When knowledge collides with traditional faith change is inevitable. I welcome it and if the church cannot engage this intellectually driven change, then it probably should die.

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

I think the penchant to change religious affiliations in the United States has to do first with the fact that we have become a mobile society and, second, with the economic and educational achievements that drive mobility.

Traditional religious forms, whether they are Protestant Evangelical Fundamentalism or
Conservative Catholicism are particularly strong among people who do not stray far from family roots, geographically or emotionally.

I do not, therefore, think that it is proper to characterize this transition as either good or bad for American religion. It simply is a fact of life. Religion in this country has always combined tribal thinking with cultural upheaval and social amalgamations.

By tribal thinking I refer to the fact that the ancestors of most Roman Catholic Americans come out of Ireland, Italy and Southern and Eastern Europe. The ancestors of Presbyterians come primarily out of Scotland.

The ancestors of Episcopalians come out of England

Tags: christianity, spong

Divine Impulses

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:06:13 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.intentblog.com

Video interviews of Deepak by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post on Hinduism, Christianity, death and healing.

Tags: spirituality

Clipmarks | arifsali's 'christianity' clips

Now, an Indian film on Apostle Thomas

Hebrew tablet suggests tradition of resurrected messiah predates Jesus

Anglican rift: Conservative v Liberal

Jordan cave may be oldest church

Against Islamic Extremism

Vatican Unveils Newly Restored Pagan Tomb

Dead Sea Scroll Put on Rare Display in Israel

Karen Armstrong: Charter for Compassion

Religious Books

Info

Italian saint draws huge crowds

Jesus for the Non-Religious

German minister says schools should teach Islam

Vatican lists "new sins," including pollution

Church Must Change or Die

Divine Impulses