By Laura Koran, CNN
Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories.
From the Blog:
CNN: Unlikely spiritual pilgrim walks 70 miles from frat house to shrine
Andrew Domini’s feet were blistered and bloodied. He could barely walk by the time he finally made it to a pink marble church and crawled the last 90 feet to a quiet shrine tucked into the corner. As he paused a couple of weeks ago in front of the wooden coffin that held the remains of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and prayed, the 19-year-old said he finally felt at peace.
Kirk Cameron released a documentary in theatres on Friday titled "Monumental.”
CNN: With 'Monumental' Kirk Cameron emerges as Christian activist
Kirk Cameron could have joined the ranks of former TV heartthrobs who rode off into the sunset, reappearing only for the occasional reunion show or career-reviving role in a TV drama. Think Ricky Schroder or Scott Baio. But Cameron, known to millions of Americans as Mike Seaver on the hit ‘80s-era show “Growing Pains,” is carving out a new niche for himself, as an unlikely voice of politically conservative American evangelicals.
Enlightening Reads:
Catholic News Service: As a man grows older: Papal milestones prompt celebration, speculation
Pope Benedict XVI's 85th birthday, April 16, and the seventh anniversary of his election, April 19, are obviously occasions for wishing the pope well and reflecting on the events of his reign thus far. Inevitably, however, these milestones also prompt speculation about what Vatican officials and observers refer to diplomatically as "papal transition."
The Guardian: Far-right anti-Muslim network on rise globally as Breivik trial opens
The international network of counter-jihadist groups that inspired Anders Behring Breivik is growing in reach and influence, according to a report released on the eve of the Norwegian's trial. Far-right organisations are becoming more cohesive as they forge alliances throughout Europe and the US, says the study, with 190 groups now identified as promoting an Islamophobic agenda.
The Christian Post: North Korea: Persecution Watchdog Launches Prayer Event on 'Day of the Sun'
As North Korea plans a national celebration for the 100th birthday of the late Kim Il-sung on Sunday, Open Doors, an international Christian ministry which serves persecuted believers, is mobilizing Christians around the world to participate in a day of prayer.
The Washington Post: Young Catholic women try to modernize the message on birth control
Ashley McGuire, 26, of Alexandria is part of a movement of younger, religiously conservative Catholic women who are trying to rebrand an often-ignored church teaching: its ban on birth control methods such as the Pill. Arguing that church theology has been poorly explained and encouraged, they want to shift the image of a traditional Catholic woman from one at home with children to one with a great, communicative sex life, a chemical-free body and babies only when the parents think the time is right.
Quote of the Day:
It was like an inspiration that came from my heart. I had no trouble writing it because it came to me in a very spiritual way.
Official papal portrait artist Natalia Tsarkova on her birthday gift to Pope Benedict: a children’s book that she wrote, in which the pope is a main character.
Today’s Opinion:
CNN: My Take: Catholics bishops against the common good
Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," gives his take on the American Catholic Bishops’ recently released statement, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.”
CNN: My Faith: Raising religious (but not too religious) children
Author Laurel Snyder writes about speaking honestly to her children about religion.
Join the conversation…
CNN: After contraception controversy, Catholic Church announces 'religious freedom' campaign
The Roman Catholic Church announced a major campaign Thursday aimed at bringing attention to what it said were growing threats to religious liberty in the United States, including the pending White House rule requiring health insurance companies to provide free contraceptive coverage to employees of Catholic organizations.
Prayer really changes things,
Prayer doesn’t not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.
An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.
The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs!.!.!
yes it do. God bless !
That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
"Yes it do"?........you sound like an idiot, I thought it was a mistake at first until I saw it 10-20 times.
You sound like a parrot of a dead atheist guy whose throat rotted out of him after a short life of blasphemy. God bless
Which guy was that? Just someone else you made up?
I prefer heretic.
Pray that my fingers rot off my hands and see if that changes anything.
Gods mess!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever should believe in Him should not perish but should have eternal life. God bless
For god so loved the world he needlessly tempted Adam and Eve and then punished them and everyone who came after them for rules he created and in order to create a loophole for those same rules he sent himself to earth in human form and killed himself as a blood sacrifice to himself. Now if you don't believe this he will torture you forever....but he loves you, he truly loves you!
This makes so much sense that I have taken his message to heart for my own life and my kids. I abandoned my kids when they were small the only thing I left them is a book so they would know I exist and love them. I will come back in 30 years and if they believe I am their father and love me I will buy them a car, if they don't I will set them on fire.
To those that are perishing the things of God seem foolish. God bless
To those that use common sense the things of God are foolish.
*fixed*
Of all the things otto could be accused of, common sense is not among them. God bless
Question: How do you know there is a god?
Answer: The Bible is the word of god.
Q: How do you know the Bible is the word of god?
A: The Bible says so.
Q: How do you know the bible is true?
A: The bible says so.
Q: Isn't that circular reasoning?
A: I know it seems that way but if you have faith it isn't.
Response: That makes no sense
just sayin response: YOU make no sense
**facepalm**
So I have been having more problems at my church lately. I tell them about how I post here to sanitize the world for its protection, but they cringe and avoid me. A few tell me to stop, to just shut up, because they think I am actually making Christians look stupid and intolerant and hypo . . . hypo . . . hippopotamus or something.
Can you believe that they think I am actually helping the atheists by being so stupid and repellant? What fools!
The pastor finally asked me to maybe, to, uh, well, he told me to go away, gave me a restraining order and suggested that the policemen take me to a psych ward very far away. Which they thought they did, but it turns out they actually took me to the religious center of the universe! Jesus is here, and he explains how it is that Jesus is actually a small Asian woman who can miraculously write with her toes when they persecute her with the snuggy jacket. And St. Paul is here, but he keeps looking for St. George and St. John and St. Ringo. And Satan himself is here, though I would not have suspected that the Prince of Darkness was a tiny little white trash-looking guy from Alabama who loved to go coon hunting, but he seemed to mean something other than racc/b>oons.
And God is here too! And imagine my embarassment to discover that God was born in Canada! I didn't tell him about my captain america thing, and I am pretty sure he doesn't know, even though he is omniscient. God sure drools a lot as he sits and watches Jersey Shore.
Pardon, madam, but your html is showing.....
So the fraud is from Canada. No wonder there. There's your sign
captain of america is from Canada. That sounds about right.
captain america's sign is pink.
Yo what up! Im jus sayin yooooo.
Who else makes multiple handles and posts under different names all the time? I know I do!
Who doesn't?!!? Hell, I'm Hitler's grandmother!
Sorry, I spelled my name wrong. It's shickelgruber.
captainprayerisforjustsayinheavensentatheismisforamerica
Don't you mean: Just sayin Atheism is HeavenSent Herbie In God We Trust Prayer Changes Captain America?
Prayer changes things.
Prayer doesn’t not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.
An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.
The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs!.!
Yes it do. God bless!
"Yes it do"
LMAO – More lies and desperation proving my posts correct. LOL!
I absolutely agree!
Prayer definately changed things for Andrea Yates family!
I have found peace and love through Jesus Christ. I do not believe out of ignorance nor do I believe in a "magical sky fairy" as some of you may say. I understand having doubts, I had many before I came to know Christ. I encourage each of you to search your hearts and search for the truth with an open mind. I wish not but peace unto each and every one of you. Thanks be to God and God bless to all!
Agreed! Peace to all 🙂
Good for you. I did exactly that and realized I'm an atheist. I followed the facts, which led me to the knowledge that there is neither evidence nor need for any of the thousands of gods humanity has worshiped throughout history.
It was a very liberating thing, to recognize that I am responsible for my own life and actions. I don't desire heaven and I don't fear hell. I love my life and this planet a great deal, because I know that this is all the life that I will have and this is the one place we can be sure that there is life in the universe.
I am free to judge people by their actions, not by a set of arbitrary laws set down in a book written 2000 years ago. Humanity is my criterion, not mythology. Because of this, I have friends who are believers and non-believers, gays and straights, republicans and democrats. I find I am a better person for my atheism.
Good for you that you find peace and love in religion. Please recognize that yours is not the only path.
With no facts to back you up, your name of "Honest" is clearly a misnomer.
You do indeed believe out of ignorance. Your lack of self-awareness is typical for most religious people.
If you believe in Jesus, then you are clearly without discernment, cleaving to false words due to indoctrination.
Confirmation bias is what you use to view the world. Your biased viewpoint distorts your every thought.
Take your peace and shove it where your head is at.
I feel sorry for you that you are incapable of peace and love without the threat of eternal torture! Please continue attending church so that us sane people can avoid being murdered.