Hillary Clinton Campaign Office Staff Taken Hostage

(WBZ) ROCHESTER, N.H. A man is holding at least two people hostage at the presidential campaign office for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Rochester, New Hampshire. WBZ has learned he walked into the office with some sort of device strapped to him, claiming it was a bomb.State Police said the man released a mother and a child from the office, but is holding others.
Clinton is not there.

You can read more here.

Nehemiah's Wall Exists

The findings suggest that the structure was actually part of the same city wall the Bible says Nehemiah rebuilt, Mazar said. The Book of Nehemiah gives a detailed description of construction of the walls, destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.
"We were amazed," she said, noting that the discovery was made at a time when many scholars argued that the wall did not exist.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-What do you think of this finding?
-Does the fact that historical accounts given in the Bible are proving true give more validity to the Bible?
-If historical accounts included in the Bible are shown to be true and accurate, does that give room for other accounts in the Bible to also be true and accurate?
-What are your thoughts about the validity of the Bible?

Atheism Adopts A Church Practice

Some parents who hope to raise their children as atheists have come to the conclusion that they need something more. As most Christians in America pack up and drive to Sunday School and Church, most atheists would devote their time to other things; that is, until now.

Albert Mohler concludes: In a strange way, the rise of atheist Sunday Schools illustrates the central dilemma of atheism itself. Try as they may, atheists cannot avoid talking about God -- even if only to insist that they do not believe in Him. Now, atheist parents are organizing Sunday Schools as a parallel to the Christian practice. In effect, atheists are organizing themselves in a way similar to a local church. At least some of them must sense the awkward irony in that.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-What do you think of this development?
-Do you think Mohler paints an accurate picture of what is going on?
-What do you think is the root of this need for a Sunday School type meeting?

First For Fridays

If you had the opportunity to go back in history and ask 1 person 1 question who would you ask and what would your question be?

Prostitute Up for Auction

A Chilean prostitute has auctioned 27 hours of sex to raise money for the country's largest charity during an annual fund-raising campaign.
Speaking about Maria Carolina's unusual donation, campaign organizer Mario Kreutzberger said he would not encourage "immoral" activities, but said he would accept her pledge.

The fund raising event is for poor, disabled children.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you think it right for Mario Kreutzberger to accept the funds from the prostitute? (prostitution is legal in Chile).
-Do you think this auction "item" will get any bids? What of modesty?
-Should the Roman Catholic church respond? (it is a heavily populated Roman Catholic country).

Man-Centered, Youth-Led, Worship-Rebellion

Tikkun Leil Shabbat, an independent Jewish prayer group which is also called a minyan, has gained popularity along with many other minyanims across the country. Mainly springing up in urban areas the minyanim differ from synagogue services due to several distinctions: they are led by lay persons, not rabbis. They are inclusive in that they allow for women to participate as well as gays in the readings and singing and prayer and singing is done all throughout to keep things lively and interesting. Minyanim are not extensions of the synagogues, but replacements for most who attend.

A certain danger is inherently present anytime one strays from the norm due to it not having what I want included in it. See below:

Ms. Kaplan said seeing her peers lead worship made her faith seem more accessible. “My friends who I play football with and have beers with are leading service here. I feel like if I wanted to lead a service, I could, too.”

Rebecca Israel said: “If Judaism is central to my morality, then its practices needed to reflect the morality that I learned from it. In religious practices that limit women’s participation, Orthodox shuls were not living up to that equality that is important to me.”

“It has been a spiritual hit for our families,” Ms. Brockman said. “We were all looking to go back to Jewish summer camp — the ease of community, this feeling of ‘go ahead and try it, try a reading’ — and we found it.”

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Is worship more about what I want or more about what God demands bibilically speaking?
-Should my wants be met over and above scriptural guidelines?
-What is the purpose of worship?
-Should worship be man-centered in its approach or God-centered in its approach?
-Do you see the inherent danger of straying from the norm due to the I mentality?
-Is there a difference in "this is what I want" and "this is what scripture says"?

Stand Up If You're Overweight

Really. Stand up. According to researches headed up by Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, standing is a key factor in weight loss.

In most cases, exercise alone, according to a team of scientists at the University of Missouri, isn't enough to take off those added pounds. The problem, they say, is that all the stuff we've heard the last few years about weight control left one key factor out of the equation. When we sit, the researchers found, the enzymes that are responsible for burning fat just shut down.
You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you think this research holds any weight (pun intended)?
-What if that really is the answer to America's obesity problem? Remove desk chairs and allow students and professionals alike to stand for the most part of the day. Anyone up for a field study?
-Do you think most Southern Baptist preachers would benefit from just standing :)