WorldNet Daily: "Latest Noah's Ark 'just wood planted on Ararat'"

Earlier this week we posted a story about the possibility of the discovery of Noah's Ark by a group of Chinese Evangelicals. The story apparently was not over.

According to WorldNet Daily, "At least two seasoned archaeologists who have made numerous expeditions to Mount Ararat in search of Noah's Ark are throwing cold water on this week's claim the Old Testament vessel has finally been discovered, saying it's a hoax involving wood hauled in from the Black Sea region."

Apparently the validity of the discovery is still very much up for debate.

US Senate Debate Mentions Prominent Christian Ministry, Answers in Genesis

Ken Ham, President of Answers in Genesis, wrote on his blog today that his ministry was mentioned by a Republican candidate for the US Senate in a recent debate amongst the candidates.

Ham states, "One nominee is the former superintendent of Public Instruction in the state, John Stephenson (that was back in the early ‘90s), and in his answer about abortion, he indicated that all people are created in God’s image, and that’s why he supports Answers in Genesis—and he indicated that he supports everything that Answers in Genesis does. He even noted that an AiG staff member was in the debate audience."

Fox News: Has Noah's Ark Been Found?

Fox News has a very interesting story on what looks to be a very interesting archaeological discovery on Mount Ararat in Turkey. Explorers from Noah's Ark Ministries International believe it to be Noah's Ark.

The video of the discovery is quite interesting indeed.

Answers in Genesis says of the discovery, "Answers in Genesis has seen many photos that were released, but without corroboration by the leading creationist organizations and not knowing all the research methods that were employed, we will withhold judgment until further study. Over the decades, we have learned to be cautious about such Ark claims."

Fox News: Comedy Central Censors 'South Park' Episode After Muslim Site's Threats

According to Fox News, the Muslim website RevolutionMuslim.com, has made a threatening statement on their website in response to Comedy Central's recent show on Islam in which the Prophet Mohammad was depicted in a bear suit.

The Fox News piece said that RevolutionMuslim.com stated this on their website: ""We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," the posting reads. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

RevolutionMuslim.com also posted a clarification about the South Park incident on their blog.

Comedy Central evidently has decided to edit the South Park episode in an attempt to protect itself from a violent Muslim backlash.

Witch School Opens in Salem, Mass.

As was discussed on this blog a few months ago, Witch School announced that it planned to relocate to Salem, Mass.

Witch School, which is a school offering courses on Wicca and other forms of Paganism recently announced that it will be opening its doors in Salem, Massachusetts.

Witch School originally opened its doors in Roseville, Illinois in 2003 boasting a student enrollment of over 120,000 and now is the most trafficked Pagan website in the world.

Wisconsin Federal Judge Rules Day Of Prayer Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled yesterday that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.

According to WCCO in Minneapolis, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Wisconsin stated in her ruling, "the government can no more enact laws supporting a day of prayer than it can encourage citizens to fast during Ramadan, attend a synagogue or practice magic. 'In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual's decision whether and when to pray.'"

Joyce Meyer: Jesus Would Have Owned a Jet

Russia: Iran's Nuke Reactor Ready In August

According to a Reuters report yesterday, Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's state-controlled nuclear corporation said,

"The launch is scheduled for August. We're on schedule." Bushehr doesn't threaten the regime of nonproliferation in any way. No one has any concerns about Bushehr."

Temple for the worship of dogs built in India

A oneindia piece titled, "People build a temple for dog in Karnataka," reports that Hindus in India have decided to build a temple dedicated to the worship of the dog.

According to the piece, "The common dog has been raised to the status of God in Channapatna's Ramanagar district, where the people not only have built a temple for the animal but are also conducting poojas to the dog-God. Besides idolising the dog for its faithful nature, the worshippers believe that the dog has the capability of donning a far more grave and unplayful avatar, when needed, to stop any wrongdoing or to set things right. This aggressive animal is believed to work alongside the village deity. There are two idols in the temple representing the two faces of the animal."

Iran: if Iran is Attacked Nukes Will Go Off in U.S. Cities

Debkafile had a rather disturbing story yesterday titled "Tehran: If Iran is attacked, nuclear devices will go off in American cities."

According to Debkafile, Iranian leaders said, "If the US strikes Iran with nuclear weapons, there are elements which will respond with nuclear blasts in the centers of America's main cities." The piece goes on to say, "For the first time, Debkafile's military sources report, Tehran indicated the possibility of passing nuclear devices to terrorists capable of striking inside the United States."

Equally disturbing is this statement from Debkafile's military source, "Although Iran has yet to attain operational nuclear arms, our military sources believe it does possess the makings of primitive nuclear devices or 'dirty bombs.'"

A Muslim and a Christian Talk About Jesus

Dr. Jeff Crawford, Senior Pastor of Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas posted a very interesting piece on his blog today.

Grand Avenue Baptist Church hosted a very interesting event yesterday: a debated between a Muslim and Christian apologist, James Walker.

Crawford stated of the event,

"Last night, our church did something that has never been done in our 75+ year history: we hosted a live 2 hour “debate” between a Christian and a Muslim. The topic was Jesus. In fact, I have not known of any church to host, in their own facilities, anything like what we did last night. I am sure somebody has done it but it certainly is not common. We had over 600 people show up to witness the exchange. For two FULL and fast paced hours, James Walker (president of Watchman Fellowship) and Khalil Meek (president and CEO of the Muslim Legal Fund of America) went head-to-head in a warm and civil discussion about Jesus. I found the whole exercise fascinating. Over 150 questions were text messaged into our system. Unfortunately time only allowed for a handful of those to be addressed."

Evangelical Seminary Professor Endorses Evolution and Leaves Seminary

Dr. Bruce Waltke, Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary has reportedly left the seminary over the issue of Evolution.

According to USA Today, Dr. Waltke made a statement in a recent video in which he "not only endorsed evolution, but said that evangelical Christianity could face a crisis for not coming to accept science."

According to the USA Today piece Waltke said, "If the data is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult ... some odd group that is not really interacting with the world. And rightly so, because we are not using our gifts and trusting God's Providence that brought us to this point of our awareness."

Witch Killed Man as Apparent "Sacrifice"

CBS News reports that a woman involved in Wicca evidently killed a man as her "sacrifice."

According to the CBS story, "Angela Sanford, an Albuquerque woman thought to be a practitioner of modern witchcraft, killed a man in an apparent sacrifice, authorities say. A detective reviewing Sanford's cell phone said the victim's phone number was actually programmed under the word 'sacrifice.'"

Atheist Evangelist Preaches at Atheist Church in Dallas

Atheist evangelist, Brother Sam Singleton, recently preached at the atheist North Texas Church of Freethought according to the church's website. That statement sounds like a caricature, but it is apparently true.

According to the church's website, "BROTHER SAM SINGLETON will be performing at the April 4th Regular Monthly Service of the NTCOF! You can find out about the ministry of Brother Sam, the Atheist Evangelist, at http://www.samsingleton.com/Foyer.html which includes videos of his preaching. It will be noticed that Brother Sam, like the "Holy Bible" itself, frequently includes profanity and sexual references in his material. But the presentation for the NTCOF on April 4th will be family friendly without such references.

Atheist group places billboard on busy highway in Springdale, Arkansas

KFSM in Northwest Arkansas had an interesting story yesterday.

According to the KFSM story the atheist group, Northwest Arkansas Coalition for Reason, placed a billboard along the busy highway in Springdale, Arkansas.

I find it interesting that atheist groups refer to themselves as "Free Thinkers" and a "Coalition for Reason" inferring of course that theists do not think for themselves and are unreasonable. Ironically, it seems that the atheists are becoming more and more engaged in proselytizing as evidenced by the recent rash of billboards, the birth of atheist churches such as the North Texas Church of Freethought and even an atheist evangelist.

Emerging Church Leader Brian McLaren Blasts Evangelicals and Wonders Why They 'Dislike' Him

Brian McLaren, who in my view, fancies himself as some sort of modern-day Reformer, is wondering why Evangelicals "don't like him." McLaren has been a leading critic of Evangelicals urging them to reconsider their position on issues such as who Jesus is and homosexuality and embrace more liberal positions on these issues.

Newsbusters has a very interesting piece on McLaren titled, "Liberal Preacher McLaren Blasts Evangelicals; Wonders Why They Dislike Him." Not surprisingly, McLaren, blames the "authoritative" leaders of the religious right for Evangelicals' disliking of him as if Evangelicals cannot think for themselves. McLaren's blaming conservative Evangelical leaders for his unpopularity is reminiscient of the tactic liberals have used in politics recently in blaming George W. Bush for all that is wrong in the world. McLaren who routinely labels his critics would likely resist labels on himself, but interestingly, it appears that he is now closely tied to the left as evidenced not only by his beliefs, but also by his writing for the liberal blog, The Huffington Post. Hence, perhaps McLaren is not some kind of new Christian at all, but is a liberal.

New Age guru, Deepak Chopra, says his meditation caused earthquake

New Age guru, Deepak Chopra, is receiving some criticism due to his absurd remarks regarding the recent earthquake in Southern California.

Chopra said this on Twitter on April 4, "Had a powerful meditation just now - caused an earthquake in Southern California."

UNCONFIRMED REPORT: IRANIAN LEADER MAY BE IN CRITICAL CARE AFTER CAR EXPLODES

Joel Rosenberg published a blog piece today that is shocking!

According to Rosenberg, "Pars TV, a Farsi-language satellite TV network, first reported that the Ayatollah Khamenei was critically wounded by a car explosion. The reporter was Mr. Morteza Lutfi who broadcasts from Paris using first-hand accounts from sources inside Iran. Akbar Hashemi Mr. Rafsanjani, a top Iranian official, has reportedly travelled to the city of Ahvaz to visit Khamenei. 'I just watched Pars TV news at 2pm [eastern],' wrote an Iranian national that I know and trust in an email I just received. 'The reporter in the U.S. while talking to Mr. Lutfi in Paris was explaining to the viewers that the explosion report has not been officially confirmed yet and the validity of the report is at this time uncertain….Mr. Lutfi, who is a well-respected reporter, was very offended and reassured the Pars TV reporter and the viewers that his information is always valid otherwise he would not report it.'"

Rosenberg concluded by cautioning his readers on the story's validity at this point.