Sperm and egg created in Lab although goes against Religion

The advancement of technology seems to become greater everyday and still seems to amaze the world what people are capable of doing these days.  An extraordinary discovery was taken place in October in the laboratory which opens up a whole new world for the science community.  "It paves the way for a cure in infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own",states a Fiona Macrae.  The only problem with this is that it creates some tension with the religious view concerning morals.  These are babies that would be made through artificial means and not the way they are intended to be with the whole process of making babies.  

I think that this is a huge leap in technology allowing it to have positive outlooks on this discovery although it also contains its negatives.  The positive being it will help out those who are unable to have children of their own due to personal problems.  On the other hand, it clearly goes against the morals and values of religion.  It seems to be very unethical to have a child from this sort of process although I think its very reasonable for those who can not have their own.

10 failed Doomsday Predictions

Over the past two centuries, there have been ten claims of when the world is coming to an end.  All of these claims have obviously been false considering we are still here today.  Alot of these claims have to do with religion and signs that people discover from research and religious stories.  The ten claims were: The prophet Hen of Leeds in 1806 of the return of Jesus Christ,The millerites in 1843 when God was supposed to destroy the world, Mormon Armageddon in 1891 was another expected visit from Jesus, Halley's Comet in 1910, Pat Robertson in 1982, Heavens Gate in 1997, Nostradamus in 1999, Y2K in 2000, another expectance in 2000 on May 5 and God's Church ministry in 2008.  All these claims were very threatening to the community and brought large amounts of fear to the people along with confusion.  The one that induced a few suicides was the Heaven's Gate claim where 39 cult members decided to commit suicide because of the threat of the world coming to an end.  I think that when people make claims such as these in the past, It does make me wonder but then again only God knows what's to come and I strongly believe that we will never know the day in which the world will come to an end.  To be honest I don't even know if I would want to know when the world is coming to an end that way I would be able to continue my everyday life without having to worry about this day to come.  

Paying for prayer

Is this what the world has come down to, having to pay for prayer? The health care is what this is all about, having people to pay to pray for their healing.   A Christian Science Church member says "healing in christian science is the proof that helps us demonstrate what christian science stands for".  They also say that the bill would not be an expensive amount, rather a cost of about $25 a day for your prayers.  I think that this is an outrageous deal going on with the Christian Science Church.  Praying for your healing should not be something that is going to cost you money which is only another cost in which you have to worry about paying.  It's not like people have pother bills to pay for, but this church seems to only make it that much harder on money issues.  I feel that the christian science church is asking too much from people especially if their main concern is helping people out which is something I would assume they are trying to do in anyway possible.  Maybe this is just a psychological way of helping people by them thinking since they are paying, the outcome from the prayers will be worth it due to cost of it.

Things that the Bible doesnt tell us

Can we honestly believe everything that we read in the bible? Countless number of stories in the bible are all important, however the real debate is if those are all the stories.  We will never know if stories were left out of the bible due to their content that could contradict beliefs and other stories in the bible.  I have heard some conversations go on about this topic saying that many stories are left out because it does not cooperate with the message the bible is trying to send.  I personally think that there are many stories out there that are just waiting to show up someday.  There is no way that the bible contains all the stories that went on in that period of time and it just happens to be that the majority of them are inspirational stories.  So the day I hear that the stories are proven to be the only ones, then thats the day i will change my belief and agree with the side in which there are no other stories purposely left out of the bible.  

Christian Prison Proposal

In the state of Oklahoma,  a very unusual proposal was addressed in which easily brought some attention.  Many americans have united for Separation of church and state by releasing a proposal of a "christian" prison.  Although it may sound like a great idea, it comes along with some legal issues. Some attorneys responded to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections by telling them "the U.S. constitution prohibits public aid for worship and religious instruction".  Another thing is the public funds for corrections would violate the First Amendment.  The prison would only hire a christian staff and all inmates would be required to participate in a Christ-centered curriculum.  The people who disagree with this proposal say that it is wrong for taxpayers to spend money on "religious indoctrination".

I think that this idea of a prison would have a positive effect on the inmates involved however i do not believe people who commit such crimes should have the opportunity to practice religion when in jail.  I feel like jail is a place where everything is taken away from you because of an action in which you thought you could get a way with.  A religious prison would only be giving the a gift.

Muslim scholars reject Darwin's theory

Around the world are numerous opinions on the idea of Darwin's theory with only two options to choose.  You either believe in the theory or your against it, simple as that.  However, the number of muslim scholars is increasing on the amount of them who reject the theory by Darwin.  An interesting fact about this topic is that a poll showed that 62% of muslim professors and students believed evolution to be an "unproven theory" as opposed to 10% of nib-muslim professors.  

For some reason, the majority of the muslim community sees no clear evidence to back up Darwin's Theory.  

I believe that if I were to pick a side, I would easily support Darwin's Theory.  I find it very detailed with solid amounts of explanations and facts that allow the theory to seem reasonable and true.  Those that do no agree seem to know something that the rest of us believers don't considering they are positive in the theory being unproven and untrue as of the moment.  

Gay Couples and Parenting

As of 2000, gay couples are managing to raise children with as great as parenting as they can considering they are different than the normal parenting. Research shows that one in five male couples and one in three female couples were raising children. This number has significantly went up since 1990, in which at the time only one in 20 male couples raised children. One reporter says that "The sexual orientation of a parent has really little to do with their parenting". I tend to disagree with this because a gay couple cannot match up to the characteristics of heterosexual counterparts. A child need to have both a man and a woman to raise him in order to be raised with all sorts of knowledge. The man is to teach the kid to be responsible and take care of himself along with being active and learning to work hard. A mom or woman teaches the kid to be loved and to care for people, allowing the child to be compassionate with others. There are many features that cannot be matched by a gay couple considering they offer the same amount of characteristics as their same sex partner.

Pakistan Link to Fort Hood Massacre

A soldier by the name of Major Nidal Malik Hasan decided to take out some of his fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base. They say that this massacre had some links to Pakistan and is still under investigation. Fort Hood is America's largest army base which makes it a great target place for an act like this to take place. Hasan, an army psychiatrist was accused of killing thirteen people during his rage. During this tragic event, more than a hundred shots were fired leaving 42 people injured. After his shooting, Hasan was shot several times leaving him in an extremely serious condition. It has been released that he may never be able to walk again although he has a chance at receiving the death penalty. I think that this story is just unbelievable in a way that it comes to a point where we wonder who can and cant we trust. Are we going to have to worry about each muslim in our army thinking at any point in time they can pull off the same act. I find it outrageous and extremely coward-like to have to take our your fellow soldiers who are suppose to be fighting on the same side rather than going against our own army.

Muslim Countries seek Blasphemy

It all started with cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that set off an angry protest all over the Muslim world. Because of this, they are now planning to start a campaign to protect religious symbols from getting made fun of or mocked. This campaign would require them to limit free speech only if it it any way offends religious believers. This proposal is not too strong of a treaty due to the fact that the U.S. has crossed some lines with other treaties such as one on the protection of migrant workers. If any of the member states refused to join this treaty, there is a high percentage that these countries would face a good amount of criticism simply for not joining due to them believing in something that goes against their proposal. Secretary Hiliary Clinton states that she strongly disagrees with some people who think that "the best way to protect the freedom of religion is to implement so-called anti-defamation policies that would restrict freedom of expression and the freedom of religion."
I believe that this proposal by the Muslim countries was a great idea considering they are asking nicely about it instead of demanding something which could lead to many problems later problems down the road for them by maybe creating a new enemy for themself.

The death certificate of Jesus Christ

An interesting discovery has come up by a historian by the name of Barbara Frale. She is a Vatican researcher and claims to have discovered Christ's Ceritificate on the Turin Shroud. She stated that she had found the words "Jesus Nazarene" on it along with a cloth that may have been wrapped around the body. Another interesting detail was she did a computer analysis on the photographs and they revealed some words written in Greek, Aramaic and Latin but these words were barely visible. This convinced her to acknowledge that the certificate was authentic. Despite her belief in thinking it was real, many scholars went against her saying that it was nothing but a "medieval forgery". After this claim, people seemed to lose interest knowing it was all just a bust. I tend to think that it is also a fake because I would never think a certificate from so long ago would be in any condition to be able to read or get information from. The paper would be extremely fragile and have a slight chance of being all in one piece. Although despite the downfall of this finding, I think its a very exciting experience to remember for the discovery because of how much meaning something like that would have.

First-Ever Godless Holiday Campaign

The humanist are trying something new this year by celebrating a new kind of holiday tradition. This new Holiday consist of a new advertising campaign that displays ads around five different cities. The difference between last years campaign is that it will cover fuve different cities instead of just one location. These locations will be Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This will be considered the first-ever nation wide humanist holiday advertising campaign. The ads will consist of signs such as "No God?.. No problem!" all over buses, rail cars, and even inside the buses. Roy Speckhardt, a executive director of the American Humanist Association states that "We're hopinng this campaign will build awareness about the humanisy movement and our ethical life philosophy." They believe that this campaign will promote the idea og being good without God. Many who agree with this idea think that people can be good without having to believe in God.
I believe that this type of campaign is unnecessary which is why I disagree with the message they are trying to send out. I think that God plays an important role in helping people along with getting people through the day. God is what people look up to for guidance.

End discrimination against Atheist

The Freedom From Religion Foundation deals with many complaints from many taxpayers dealing with the topic of atheist and public schools.  The problem is the schools policy regarding the censorship of web content dealing with views on atheist.  The website of FFRF is open to the public and gives details on freethought and nontheism.  The problem here is that it seems to "promote religion over non-religion which goes against the Establishment Clause.  They say that it is discriminating against the 15% of the population that is non-religious. One of the quotes stated by Kratz was "The policy not only violates the rights of students in the school district, but limits their capacity to expand their knowledge and acceptance on all individuals and beliefs."   The Freedom From Religion Foundation responded by requesting the district to change its ways by blocking all religious and non-religious websites which could be a problem due to the numerous websites containing information on religion.  

I think that it is a good idea for the school district to get rid of the content that talks about atheism because it can have an effect on students either attracting them to the idea or completely going against them and then they may treat people who are atheist with disrespect.  You never know what could happen which is why it is best to not promote websites dealing with religion that way students can figure out their own beliefs instead of going off of other people's views.   

Gay Spouses Due Benefits in the state

The state's court in Albany, New York upheld policies "allowing benefits to same sex couples who are legally married outside the state, but did not rule on whether gay marriage should be legal in New York"(Danny Hakim,New York Times).  This issue is up to the Legislature to figure out and make a decision.  The court believes that same sex marriages legally performed in other states should get the amount of recognition it deserves in New York.  

I think that this is something that should not have been dealt with the way it was.  To me, it seems as if the couple found a way to get around that law allowing them to have a chance at receiving benefits from the government.  On the other hand I think they are smart and very courageous for going with it knowing that attention is going to get brought to them so that they can be the leaders and show others that you never know what is going to happen if you don't take  chance and put it out there.  Just because they are a same sex couple does not automatically mean things can not be done for them such as receiving benefits.  

Military religious freedom foundation

The military religious freedom foundation has been nominated for the 2010 nobel peace prize.  Tis civil rights charitable organization works to stop religious discrimination in the United States armed forces.  Its mission is to restore the fractured wall between the church and the state in the U.S. Military.  I find this to be very interesting considering the amount of work this organization has put into.  I think it is extremely important considering the message they are trying to get across so that people can have their own sense and beliefs in the religion they choose no matter what the differences are.  

The only part I tend to disagree on is I do not think it is capable of being nominated for a nobel peace prize.  I do not think it is a big enough deal to have a chance at winning this award only because of all the great things going on in the world today.  

Uganda plans to wipe out gays

Uganda has some strict policies when it comes to dealing with gays.  Uganda already has some strict policies in which state that gay intimacy is  dealt with by life in prison.  But apparently that was not harsh enough.  They are now coming out with a bill that penalizes anyone who attempts to commit the offense with up to seven years in jail.  Also each person charged with the crime will have to get a medical examination to check the current HIV status.  If they contain the virus then they may be executed.  This bill is to punish those who are promoting homosexuality with a solid amount of jail time.  The thing they strongly encouraged is snitching on friends and family considering :failure to disclose the offense within 24 hours of knowledge takes somebody liable to a fine or imprisonment of up to three years."  

I believe that this is a little overboard when trying to come up with something to stop gays from expanding in your town. I feel that thuse consequences are way too extreme for something that is generally not considered to be a crime in many other places around the world.  However, I can strongly agree with seeing this bill put fear in the eyes of the homosexuals knowing the severe consequences of what would happen if caught.  

Worker gets fired for religious button

Trevor Keezer, a 20 year old worker at Home Depot was fired because of a button he wore with the words on it "one nation under God, indivisible." He says how he has worn the button for 19 months ever since working as the cashier.  For more than a year, the managers never said a word about the button except for a supervisor who commented on it saying she liked it. He sees the button as a way of supporting the troops at war and expressing his christian faith.  His manager finally confronted him when him when trevor brought his bible to work. He was asked to remove the button due to it violating the dress code policy, however trevor kept it on and was sent home because of it.   He stated his reason for not taking it off is because he supports the troops and is standing up for something that is bigger than us. 

I believe that Trevor did a brave act considering his job was on the line.  Its small actions like these that truly show the passion and love we have for our country.  People may think its just a button, who cares he should of taken it off.  However thats not all it is, it represents so much more and stands for being able to back up our troops and country.

Save the Cross

In Monterey, California the city prepares to try to restore a cross in which was cut down by vandals.  The city came up with a  price in which they must reach in order to restore the cross.  For them to get this amount of money, they have come up with a fundraiser as part of a legal defense fund.  The cross is a 20 foot cross which stood for forty solid years until being cut down.  This action led to questioning the seperation between the church and the state.  A lawsuit also seems to be filed by the city once the cross is restored and standing. 

I find this act by the vandals being very immature and pointless.  Cutting down a cross with such meaning is extremely disrespectful to not only to the community but also to God.  It is seen as a slap in the face considering the amount of time the cross was there before being sawed down.The good thing is that they are trying to raise money for the cross to get out back which shows how much the community really cares and how much passion they have for their God and religion.  Many people would not want to spend money on such things like this but these people managed to donate some money for the better of their city.    

teacher makes students sign pledge dealing with hell

A professor at Middle Tennessee State University got caught up with some cheating allogations going on in his classroom and decided to take it a little too far.  He came up with the idea of having his students sign a pledge stating that if they cheated, then they will be condemned to hell and also be sorry for the rest of life and go to hell.  Many students were offended by this pledge and students complained to the board about the outrageous contract.  The professor later commented on his actions by saying he overreacted  but is simply just trying to raise standards in the classroom.  He also said he would take back the part about going to hell, which is simply what caused all the controversy and problem.  

I think that the professor clearly didnt think about the consequences that come along with this action.  I can understand the amount of frustration he was going through with led him to coming up with the pledge agreement.  He clearly wanted to make a point somehow to try to get the students to feel bad and not cheat on his test.  However, he only seemed to put himself in a hole in which his contract only got him some complaints against himself.

India's violence towards Christians

There are concerns going around that Hindu terrorists could become more tempted to target christians as opposed to others.  Muslims seem to feel threatened by christianity for some reason.  They feel as the terrorists are increasing the amount of dangers to christians.  There have been Hindu terrorists caught for their role in an explosion that took place near a church.  In this area, they say that christians make up for more than 25 percent of the population.  One of the reasons they feel the need to attack christians is because it seems to help the hindus to see themselves as "working for a Hindu cause."

I find this plan or idea of attacking christians to be a joke.  I feel like there should be no reason to attack any sort of group simply because of their religion or beliefs.  There should be no reason to attack people who are doing no harm to you and your people.  I can see if the Christians were threatening them in any way however that is not the case.  The Hindu terrorists should rethink about their actions and not attack those who have no issues with you.  

Atheist spreading the word

A group of atheists formed together and started an ad campaign around the city of London.  The city was plastered with ads with comments such as "there's probably no God, stop worrying and enjoy your life".  These were posters that were on subway trains allowing all to see and question.   I believe that it is good that these people are advertising their own opinions but it should have some limitations as to what they can and can;t do.  For example, the ads should not seem to come off as facts but yet to simply question ones mind.  The quote stated earlier of "there's probably no God" is an okay thing to say due to it not coming off as a statement but yet it makes you think.  This allows the reader to not feel threatened by the comment.  It would be a different story however if the sign stated "there is no God".  I feel that this would only cause an outburst in the community leading to greater problems that could possible involve violence and bad mouthing.  

Ex Pastor pleads guilty but gets no jail time

A former pastor by the name of Dale Griffin was accused and found guilty of rape however, he managed to avoid jail time. He was a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Cornersburg. He pleaded guilty on two counts of assualt and initially indicted on six counts of rape by the grand jury.  He was originally sentenced to one year in prison with all the prison time suspended and order to pay a $1500 fine along with 240 hours of community service.   He is now no longer to be allowed to serve as a member of the clergy as part of the plea agreement.  The sexual acts started while the girl was a minor and continued on over the years.  She stated "he acted like he was invincible,"  

I think that the the punishment for the actions taken place is very weak and unsatisfying.  I strongly agree that the punishment does not come close to what he should have got.  To me, it seems to make it worse by him being a pastor knowing and preaching good to others.  Another  factor being that it was not just a one time deal; he continued to proceed with the sexual encounters with this girl over a period of time.   I highly disagree with the amount of jail time and believe this man should be punished harder for the rough times the lady has to deal with everyday.

Fingerprint violates Freedom of religion

A texas teacher refuses to do a fingerprint identification due to a problem dealing with her religion.  The fingerprinting identification is required for all kindergarten teaches in order for them to teach at the school. The kindergarten teacher believes that fingerprinting constitutes "the mark of the beast" and also violates the first amendment rights to freedom of religion.  Due to her not cooperating with the fingerprinting, she faces a suspension  and possible dismissal if she continues to refuse the process.  This fingerprint process is maily for the care and safety of the children.  It is to maximize  care for the children by allowing the school to background check each teacher to make sure they have the amount of responsibility needed for the job.  She ties this process with the mark of the beast by relating it to the final book of the bible where it talks about receiving a mark on their hand.  I think that the teacher is taking it way too far and should not be working in such a public place if she is making such a big deal about a simple fingerprinting.  There must be a reason behind it considering her strong resistance against this process especially if she continues to resist with the process. 

Time to Purge Muslims from Our Military

It is becoming a greater risk to have muslims serve in the United States Military.  There is no guarantee that they will not turn on our own soldiers as they have done in the past.  The risk are far to dangerous to wonder if they can be trusted with fighting on the same side as us.  Brian Fischer, an AFA director of issues analysis stated that "the more devout a muslim is,  the more of a threat he is to national security".  This is completely right in every way considering they will do what they are taight to do and believe in since their early years.  

I believe that this is a hundred percent correct in any way that you could look at it.  There should be no reason to chance our own soldiers lives by putting muslims who we have double takes on if we can trust them or not.  If there is any doubt then we should not have them on our force at all considering we know what they are capable of doing only because they believe in their own country and can turn on us at any given point and time.  If i was in charge of this issue, I would have no doubt in excluding all muslims from serving in the United States military.  To me, a muslim would not have the same amount of passion and desire as our american soldiers do.  

Anti Swine Flu Holy Water

A very thoughtful italian came up with the idea of a way to stay away from catching the swine flu along with keeping faith involved.  He did this by coming up with an electronic holy water dispenser.  This will allow the church to keep the traditions going without having to worry about contracting the swine flu disease. A few of the churches around the world have stopped their use of holy water due to the chances of getting the swine flu.  This invention is a quality product that has caught a large amount of attention from many industries who enjoy the idea.  The inventor has already received a great amount of orders from all over the world.  This invention allows the community to keep the tradition going and allowing the people to have one less thing to worry about especially concerning how many deaths have already taken place to this threatening disease.  

I think that this invention is a wonderful idea along with a great investment to come.  It brings a ton of safety to the church and gives numerous amounts of people joy and excitement allowing them to continue their connection with God. 

Boy Refuses To Pledge Allegiance to flag

A ten year boy by the name of Will refuses to pledge his allegiance to the flag during class in which they do on a daily basis.  The boy's main reason for not pledging was because as there is truly no "liberty and justice for all".  The meaning being he will not pledge to the flag until gay marriages are legal.  The boy interpreted the pledge and came to a conclusion that our country is not abiding by what the pledge actually says.  Will still to this date refuses to pledge his allegiance to the flag all because he thinks that it is unfair and will not pledge until a change is made in the world.  I think that this kid is a very intelligent, courageous person.  It takes a lot of fortitude to stand up to a group of people trying to make a difference in the world and set an example of being a loyal proud american.   I also think it is a very bold action due to the amount of circumstances that come along with his actions knowing that people would find out about it.  The boy is extremely into justice and equality considering he is supporting gay rights even at the young age of ten years old.   

Man says he was set up by Jesus

A man on home incarceration was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.  When the officers confronted him about the materials found in his home, he stated that they belonged to Jesus who was setting him up.  The officers did a home check on him and found a tube of aluminum foil burnt on one end and a teaspoon with possible residue with burn marks on its underside.  I think that this guy either was busted for his own actions or just bad luck and not having a good relationship with the Lord by getting so called "set up".  I would not be surprised if the guy was on some sort of drug at the time of the bust.  Its not everyday that you hear a response like that.  Sometimes people try to get out of things but come up with alot more thoughtful excuses than saying it belongs to Jesus.  

"christian" license Plate RUled Against

A federal court  ruled against a special license plate in which seemed to violate the constitutional separation of church and state.  The plate consisted of a yellow large cross with a glass stained window with the words "I Believe".  Supposedly this clearly favors government treatment to one faith which caused it to be ruled against.  This was seen as "unconstitutional and un-american".  I think that there is nothing wrong with the license plate.  I find it completely acceptable in every way.  If you want to look down on it and believe it represents one thing then thats their problem and shouldn't worry about it.  The thing I see hard to understand is it is just a license plate.  People can express themselves in anyway they want considering this is a free country.  People shouldn't be limited to ways that they can express oneself.  I believe that people accept people for being themselves and not being afraid of doing something you believe in that causes no harm to people around you. 

Relgion and Sports

Religion is an extremely important factor to athletes all over the world.  It is extremely common to see players praying or simply giving the sign of the cross during their gameplay.  For example, a baseball player will do the sign of the cross before he goes up to bat or will do it when he reaches base safely.  Religion is a big part of a sports event.  As you watch different games, you will encounter many of these acts with religion being involved in sports.  People would be amazed with how much players use religion in their lives no only off the field but also on the field.  Religion is something we can take with us everywhere which allows us to always be faithful and safe knowing good is on our side. 

Catholic Church Threatens

The catholic church threatens to stop feeding homeless if the city does not propose a same-sex marriage law.  This threat would affect tens of thousands of people that the church helps with adoption, homelessness, and health care.  This is not only a courageous move, but could drastically change the lives of those are helped by the church.  The church clearly wants to make a point and uses threats to get their message across.  The thing I don't get is why put the frustration on the people who are in need.  It seems like they are the ones who would pay the penalty if the Church did not get what it wanted.  It seems to be extremely unfair to those who have no take in the results or outcome.  The church should strongly suggest another proposal, allowing the people they are helping to to continue them with their needs from the church.  

Representative discouraged from communion by bishop

Abortion and health care lead to a dispute between a Bishop and a representative.  A Roman Catholic bishop of Providence had instructed the representative to refrain from receiving communion because of his stance on abortion.  He had stated that the bishop also told the priests not to give him communion.  A letter was also involved saying "I believe it is inappropriate for you to be receiving holy communion and I now ask respectfully that you refrain from doing so".  The representative opposed the strengthening of anti-abortion language in the House health care bill.  The Bishop stated that he will respond publicly and strongly if the representative ever attacks the church or misrepresents the teachings of the church.  I think that the Bishop has a good point and I support his actions.  I would do the same thing, I would not be able to allow him receive communion after what he is believing in and supporting.  

God did not "create" says an Academic

The notion of God as the Creator seems to be a misunderstanding and incorrect according to a professor who looked into the matter.  She claims that the bible has been wrongly translated for thousands of years.  The main thing she found to be incorrect was the translation of the first sentence in the book of Genesis.  She stated that in the sentence, one of the words is incorrectly interpreted.  That would is interpreted as "created" instead of Separated.  It should read "in the beginning God separated the Heaven and Earth" as opposed to God created the Heaven and the Earth.  Her new translation fits in with other ancient texts studied.  From this claim, she hopes to spark a debate and to also touch the hearts of many religious people.  I think this woman made a good decision to look into this matter.  It appears to be very interesting knowing that this could have been wrong and no one ever found out about it except for this woman.  People could have been learning wrong information over the past without anyone ever knowing.

Will Religion Evolve?

Many are talking about what is to come in the future for religion.  Does religion have a future?  In the United States, church attendance is still "robust".  There could easily be a long future for religion in the United States although it could also easily disappear.  Church attendance is up do to the events going on in the world such as the war and other problems.  One of the writers comes up with this idea: "Is there not some way of transforming religion into versions better suited for the modern age? The three monotheism's were created to meet conditions in societies that existed man centuries ago.  The fact that they have endured for so long does not mean they were meant to last for ever, only that they have become like some favorite mozark opera that people are happy to hear over and over again. But the world of music did not achieve final perfection in Mozart."  I think that religion will eventually come to a point where church attendance is extremely small.  At some point, their will be no more information to give out.  People will not want to hear things that they have already heard in previous sessions. I do not expect this to occur soon but I believe it will slowly die out.

Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues

Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders signed a declaration stating that they will not cooperate with laws that can be used to force their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples.  They are trying to let the Obama administration know that they are serious about not wanting anything to do with abortion, stem cell research or gay message.  They believe that they will be able to educate them in the area of the three isues.  I believe that this is unnecessary by the christian leaders.  This is because they cannot be forced to do anything due to laws and guidelines.  i think the whole deal of them is just trying to send a message to those who are trying to forget about the situations and issues going on.  An institution cannot just be told to do something especially a church organization.  I also believe that the church leaders are doing a great job on getting their word out explaining that they do not support any of the issues above and want nothing to do with them in any way.

First Federal Gay Rights Law

President Obama signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation. "This was a milestone comepared to the passage of 1960's civil rights legislation empowering blacks." This new law simply adds acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to the list of federal hate crimes. Obama stated that the gay rights protections would protect people who are victimized because of "who they love or who they are". This amendment signed into law was named partly for Matthew Shepard. A student who was beaten to death on 1998 simply because he was gay. His parents were very instrumental in leading the fight for such legislation. I think that Obama's decision to sign this was in way possible the right thing to do. People should not have to worry about how other people are going to treat them just for being themselves and trying to live a normal life without trying to cause problems for other people simply just by a couple differences. Everyone has their own unique differences which is what makes us our own unique individuals. If everyone was the same, we would have nothing to talk about with one another.

Should Prayers Be Covered

A church official wrote a proposal to the senate offices requiring insurers to sonsider covering the church's prayer treatments just as they would with other medical expenses. If accepted, this would essentially put christian prayer treatments on the same footing as science-based medical care by prohibiting discrimination against "religious and spiritual health care." Christian Scientist want spiritual care as part of health bill. The christian Science church believes that prayer treatment is an effective alternative to doctors and other medical care. One of the greater successes that would come out of this would be that it would cut down on the costand also find an effective health care. I strongly agree with the church official trying to get the senate involved with this issue to help out with the prayer treatments. I also believe there would be no harm in allowing this to happen and provide better opportunities.

Blue Collar Town elects Muslim Mayor

In the area of Granite falls in Washington, many residents are very uncomfortable with any newcomers. One of the greater newcomers they know of is a Muslim native of Pakistan who moved to this town with intentions of opening his own bar. Throughout his time in this blue-collar town he managed to win over the town with a strong work ethic consisting of hard work and dedication. Due to this, he ended up becoming the mayor winning the election by a landslide. Saleem stated that his first couple of years living here he was nervous and didn't know how they would accept him. he even hired a white assistant manager at the bar just to try to make things easier for everyone. Now he sees the town as people who accept him for himself and not judging him by where he's from nor what he looks like. I think that this man is an extremely brave person for coming out and trying to start a life on his own in a place where you wouldn't think you would get along because of the stereotyping that may happen.

Bad Economy is Good for Church

Although the bad economy is something no one likes, their is a community that really benefits from it.  Due to the low economy, many people are left with the option of going to church simply because of the economic troubles leaving them in a state of frustration.  Ever since the Economy has been down, the church's attendance rates have consistently went up.  I would of never thought of the positive effect of the economy affecting  a church's attendance going up. It is simply just something that I would of never figured out until I read about it.  I figured that the first thing people would be thinking of was trying to make some money instead of spending time at the church.  However now that I think about it I can see how going to church would easily calm them down and providing them with hope and faith in maintaining a healthy lifestyle even with everything that is going on around them.

Impact of Religious Voters

A few of the nation's top journalist gathered together one day after the election to take a look on how big an impact religious voters made in the 2008 election.  It is said to be that Obama had made his largest gains among minority religious groups and only made modest gains among white christian groups.  Despite these facts, they did not change the overall structure of the faith-based votes.  Obama's strength was the amount of faith he had and how it was the main focus of the campaign.  Another interesting fact about this topic is how younger evangelicals were more likely to support Obama rather than older evangelicals.  I believe that the religious voters have a great impact on every election due to being able to relate and agree with someone who shares similar beliefs and plans.

Catholic Church Gives D.C. Ultimatum

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington stated that it will no longer continue the social service program that runs for the district if the city doesn't a proposed same-sex marriage law.  This threat could greatly affect thousands of people who are helped by this organization.  These people are helped with either adoption, health care, and even homelessness.   Religious organizations would no longer allow same-sex weddings although they would have to obey the laws prohibiting discrimination against same-sex marriages.  I think that the Catholic Archdiocese has every right to do this although I also think that they are going a little too far with trying to express what they want by excluding themselves from the community with certain actions they do for the people.

Health Care and Abortion

A bill was recently passed which blocked the use of federal subsidies for insurance that covers elective abortions.  Many advocates from both sides of the topic are calling this vote "the biggest turning point in the battle over the procedure since the ban on so called partial birth abortions six years ago".  This restriction on abortion coverage seems to now only make it harder on the senate side, however for all those who agree with this bill are now relieved due to not making it easier for those having abortions.  Insurance plans are now only more complicated due to what they can and cannot cover when dealing with abortions.  The bishops were strongly in support of the Health Care but not if it had anything to do with providing for abortions.  I seem to agree with the Bishops considering that it is something that goes against what the church says.  I believe that if an abortion is wanted, it should not be something to be have done without paying a single cent. 

Muslims serving in U.S. Military face complications

Thousands of Muslims have served in the United States Military.  This has been traced back all the way to the First World War.  However the problem Muslims face is the complications of confronting other muslims when out on a mission such as being deployed to Iraq.  As a psychiatrist states, "many muslim soldiers and their commanders say that the relationship between the military and its muslim service members will only grow more difficult".  I can strongly agree with this prediction due to the fact that it is difficult to have a sense that someday they will be able to get over the fact of somewhat going against your kind however you are doing the right thing.  Abdi Akgun joined the marines in August of 2000 straight out of high school.  One of his reasons for joining was to fight terrorism.  The attacks of September 11 only added on to his commitment and determination.  However a couple years later, he was deployed to Iraq and the though of him confronting other muslims in war made him stop and think.  I believe that this type of feeling is normal due to a muslim having a right conscious and thinking about it.  I also think that there are very few people who would be able to block out the complications.