1,500-year-old church uncovered

Israeli archaeologists have announced the discovery of a 1,500-year-old church, complete with a remarkably well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.

A spokesperson for the Israel Antiquities Authority, Amir Ganor, said the church located in the hills south-west of Jerusalem was active as a faith community between the fifth and seventh centuries.

Archaeologists only began digging around the site after noticing thieves plundering it.

Mr Ganor said archaeologists were thrilled to discover a mosaic "unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation".

Experts initially believed the discover was a synagogue, but after further investigation concluded it was a Byzantine church.
Journalists were allowed a brief viewing of the mosaic before it was recovered until funding becomes available for its proper preservation.

Obama and Jesus ranked top of the pops by teens

A recent Barna Group survey has found that among American teenagers, the US President Barack Obama and Jesus Christ get equal ranking as role models.

While the majority of teens name a relative, friend or teacher as a primary role model, a significant number also named public figures such as sports stars, actors or other celebrities.

In the study, done on teens between 13 and 17, 6% named entertainers as their role models compared to only 1% who listed science or medical professionals. Sports heroes as a whole garnered 5% of the vote, with political leaders at 4% and faith leaders also at 4.

Figures such as Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James and Paul McCartney were repeatedly named as heroes.

President Obama and Jesus Christ were also commonly named, each receiving 3% of the total vote. Teenagers such they admired Obama for his hard work and confidence, while Jesus was respected for his concern for others and being an example to follow.

“For better and worse, teens are emulating the people they know best,” said David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group. “Many parents and youth workers fret about the role models of the next generation. Yet, one reason to remain hopeful about the development of young people is their reliance upon the people they know best: friends, relatives, teachers, pastors, and coaches.”

“At the same time, that reality underscores the insistence of many parents that they influence the people with whom their child associates, in order to be sure that their kids are surrounded by people modeling positive values and life choices,” he added.

The majority of teenagers nominated their role model based on personality traits (26%), identifying them as being caring, loving, polite, or courageous. The second biggest factor in teens’ decision for their role model was someone they could emulate or “follow in the footsteps” of (22%). Other factors included a role model accomplishing his or her goals (13%), encouraging them by helping them become a better person or being there for them (11%) and overcoming adversity (9%).

Interestingly enough, Kinnaman observed that faith and religion played a relatively minor role in the choosing of teen role models.

“Even among young Christians, their role models are virtually no different than other teenagers,” he noted.

‘Wicked Bible’ on display

Cambridge University have opened a previously unseen section of their library archives to public display that includes a collection of rare religious texts.

The exhibition is centred on the King James Bible of 1611, which is widely regarded by literary experts as the most influential English book ever written.

However, the display will also include a copy of the 1631 edition of the Bible in which the word "not" was accidentally omitted from one of the commandments reading ‘Thou shall commit adultery.” The omission earned a public rebuke from the Archbishop of Canterbury for its printers. This particular translation became known as the ‘Wicked Bible’ and was mostly destroyed with only a handful surviving to this day.

Other bibles on display include the Gutenberg Bible of 1455, which is the first printed bible, Henry VIII's enormous Great Bible and an ancient 11th century psalter.

Author and journalist Adam Nicolson launched the exhibition and in his opening address described the King James Bible as ''the great national text''.

He said: ''The King James Bible is the most influential book in the English language. For almost 300 of its 400 years it was the core of English consciousness and the touchstone of the culture.

''For those years it became the great national text, a national shrine, the one umbrella under which the whole country could gather.

''It gathered all the best from the translations of the 16th century and winnowed them, sifting out what was good, coining new phrases where these were better.

''The King James Bible is the most marvellous polishing job in the history of English and nothing I have ever seen brings that home more clearly than this exhibition.''

John 3:16 Super Bowl advert rejected by Fox Sports

Super Bowl final advertising is big business in the States, and has not been shy of a little controversy either in the last few years. In their review of advertisements for this years Super Bowl final, Fox Sports has rejected a Christian group’s application to flight a commercial featuring the Bible verse John 3:16. This is because The Fixed Point Foundation’s “Lookup 316 commercial” was deemed as containing too much “religious doctrine,” said FOX.

"[The commercial] was deemed to be too offensive," confirmed Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point Foundation, in an interview with The Christian Post.

However, Taunton strongly disagrees with Fox’s assertion. He describes the advert as beginning with a living room scene of men and women watching a football game. They all cheer at something that occurs on the screen, although you are not shown what. The camera then zooms in on a football player with John 3:16 written on his eye black. One of the fans watching the game asks his neighbor what John 3:16 means and the neighbor shrugs. A fan reaches for his cell phone and says, "I'll look it up." Then the commercial ends.

The advert does not actually feature anything from the Bible other than that verse, nor does it show a preacher or a sermon. It just asks people to look up John 3.16, which is why Taunton cannot understand its rejection.

"It' doesn't sell a product. It doesn't give out the Fixed Point website," argued Taunton. “It simply links to the Lookup 316 website where there is an explanation of the verse's meaning.”

The rejection of this 31-second ad comes despite the fact that the Super Bowl has often allowed quite racy ads to flight. The most famous of these was probably the 2007 “Snicker’s Kiss” ad which showed two men end up kissing after eating a Snickers chocolate bar from opposite ends. The commercial was canned only after public complaints.

"That's deemed OK. [But the 3:16 commercial] is deemed controversial," Taunton said.

Taunton refuses to give up the issue, however, and plans to try again next Super Bowl.

Hundreds of U.K. Christians pray for Egypt

Hundreds of U.K. Christians gathered together in a day of prayer for Egypt on Saturday as protests against President Hosni Mubarak reached crisis point.

The prayer day was the brainchild of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and United Action for Egyptian Christians and as a direct result of the well-publicised increasing marginalization and persecution of Christians there. There have been 53 incidents of sectarian violence from 2008 to 2010 in Egypt.

Approximately 500 Christians from various denominations and traditions attended the event, including Bishop Angaelos, the general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain.

Speaking on Egypt’s present political, social and religious crisis, Bishop Angaelos urged Christians to focus their prayers on healing the brokenness of humanity.

“We pray for God’s healing. We pray for strength. We pray for guidance for everyone in Egypt at the moment, those who are protesting, the security forces, the army the President as he stands today, and whatever happens after that. We are sure that we’re in God’s hands,” he stated.

The bishop said Christians should strive to fill Egypt with light, and spoke at length about their determination to stay in Egypt.

“As a church we’ve been there for 2,000 years. We’re a resilient bunch. We’re not going anywhere. We’re the indigenous people of Egypt and we’re staying in Egypt and people need to realize that. I do not mean that provocatively but defiantly,” he said.

“So we pray for the continuity of the church. We know we will stay. We know we will be there. We are just praying that our brother and sisters are able to worship and express themselves peacefully without persecution without marginalization.”

Southern Sudan Referendum: Almost 100% vote to secede

In the first official preliminary result announcement, a referendum official stated on Sunday that over 99 percent of Southern Sudanese voted to secede from the north.

"The vote for separation was 99.57 percent," Chan Reek Madut announced in a speech to a crowd in the South’s capital of Juba, as reported by Reuters. Madut is the deputy head of the referendum commission that organized the referendum.

Voter turnout in the South was 99 percent. Madut also said that over 60 percent of Southern Sudanese living in the north turned out to vote, with 58 percent of them voting to secede.

The chairman of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, said 99 percent of the Southern Sudanese diaspora in eight nations also voted to secede.

This means that after decades of civil war and ongoing tension between the northern and southern governments, it seems as if the south will finally become its own country, although there will be plenty of details to iron out including the fact that the South is rich with oil, whilst the North possesses the oil refineries.

It was greatly feared that further tension would break out between the mainly Arab Muslim North and African Christian and animist South during the week long referendum, but thankfully none occurred.

Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir is expected to lead the independent South, and has already urged all Southern Sudanese to forgive the North for the years of violence during the civil war. Over 1.9 million people died during the war between the North and South and more than 500 churches were destroyed in the South.

"For our deceased brothers and sisters, particularly those who have fallen during the time of struggle, may God bless them with eternal peace,” said Kiir in a speech he made at the Catholic Cathedral in Juba on in January.

"And,” he continued, "may we, like Jesus Christ on the cross, forgive those who have forcefully caused their deaths."

The final official referendum results will be announced in early February.

Kim Kardashian says she tithes to charity and church

While being interviewed on "Piers Morgan Tonight," Kim Kardashian was asked by Morgan how much she was worth.

Kim responded by saying, "Whatever it is, I give 10% away to the church and that's what I was taught. Every year, absolutely."

Kim also said that the had given millions of her money to the Dream Foundation, as well as tithing to a church her mother was involved in at Calabasas, CA.

Kourtney Kardashian who was also part of the interview was then asked whether she follows the same practices.

"I'm going to now," Kourtney said. "I was taught that too but I forgot about it."