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Once available only to selected scholars, five of the fragile, 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls, which include some of the world’s oldest known biblical manuscripts, are now available online. Anybody with an Internet connection can now browse the the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the War…

Why doesn’t the press care that Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces execution for refusing to deny Jesus Christ? The former Muslim turned Christian preacher in Iran has twice refused to recant his Christian faith during two court hearings held in Rasht, Gilan Province, on September 25 and 26. “Sources close to Christian Solidarity Worldwide indicate that recanting will…

Stepping up to take charge of the Duke of Connaught’s Own British Columbia Regiment, India native Lieutenant Colonel Harjit Singh Sajjan is the first Sikh in the Canadian Army’s history to take such a command. Sikhism has a following of over 20 million worldwide and is ranked as the world’s fifth largest religion. It preaches a message of devotion and…

ABC-TV’s “Dancing With the Stars” went from “PG-13” to “R” Monday night as guest dancer Nancy Grace’s dress couldn’t contain her endowments, then singer Chynna Phillips cussed on the air. Already the show was pushing the edges of family-appropriate viewing as it showcased transexual Chaz Bono — known until recently as Sonny and Cher’s lesbian daughter Chastity.…

President Barack Obama passed a key test Monday night in case anybody is worried that he might be the Antichrist. Speaking at a campaign fundraiser at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, Obama was interrupted by a man identified as David Serrano who repeatedly yelled that “Jesus is God.” As Serrano was being physically…

If it’s debate she wanted to spark, Irshad Manji has been successful. Her first book, The Trouble With Islam, was called “Bin Laden’s worst nightmare” by one reviewer. In a controversial 2007 documentary, Faith Without Fear, the unabashed lesbian — who remains a devout Muslim — “seems driven by a sense of duty.” “She manages a Facebook community of 10,000…

Their faithful fear the day is coming when all that remains in the public’s memory of Zoroastrianism will be composer Richard Strauss’ 1896 tone poem “Also Sprach Zarathustra” — also known as the opening theme to Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”   According to their own estimates, only 11,000 Zoroastrians remain in the U.S. They are…

British police are claiming they did nothing wrong when they questioned a cafe owner for almost an hour until he turned off a video displaying Bible verses. Jamie Murray, owner of the Salt and Light Cafe in Blackpool, 240 miles northwest of London, said two uniformed officers from Lancashire Constabulary arrived at lunchtime on Monday, the cafe’s busiest…

In Tumbang Saan, a village of huts built on stilts in Borneo’s vast rainforest, village elder Udatn had a problem. He’s a spiritual leader in Kaharingan, one of a number of names for the ancestor-worshipping, spirit-divining religion of Borneo’s indigenous forest people, the Dayak. In Indonesia, bureaucrats cite a law that citizens must choose between the government’s six officially recogized religions: Islam,…

The football coaches at Westmoreland Middle School in Sumner County, Tenn., got into trouble for bowing their heads during a student-led prayer before a recent game. According to local NBC affiliate WSMV, the unnamed coaches didn’t say anything aloud themselves, but bowed their heads respectfully in observance alongside the students. Now the principal and the school district have officially…

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