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New Tablet Suggests Christ Wasn't Alone in Resurrection

CitizenSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:02:28 -0700

A three-foot tall tablet tells the story, in Hebrew, of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days. That sounds familiar, right? Well, the messiah mentioned, isn't Jesus. David Jeselsohn, an antiquities expert innocently purchased what looked like an ancient stone with centuries old Hebrew script — until one day a friend visited. This friend just happened to be an Israeli scholar who read the stone and came to the conclusion that the stone may hold another important key to the history of Christianity.

The stone, which was discovered nearly a decade ago, seems to point to a commander in Herod’s army named Simon who was believed to have been resurrected three days after being slain — suggesting that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique to Jesus Christ, but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

A professor of Talmudic culture says the tablet is causing a stir. To see how,

Nigerian Archbishop: Polygamy Makes a Mockery of Christians

LibertySugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Polygamy isn't limited to America, where a second child was born to an underage member of the FLDS in custody. Archbishop Peter Akinola, the leader of Nigeria's Anglican Church, is telling Christian polygamists to cut out the big love.

Nigeria is religiously divided: the north is predominately Muslim, while the south is mostly Christian and animist. As a sort of recruiting tool, Muslims converting to Christianity were allowed to maintain their polygamist lifestyle.

Not any more. In a letter to his congregation, which includes 17.5 million Nigerians, the Archbishop wrote:

The observation [of polygamy] will destroy our witness if not firmly addressed. We cannot claim to be a Bible-believing church and yet be selective in our obedience.

Women that give up the polygamous lifestyle — which the Archbishop says is necessary — often remain single, even though they are free to remarry in the church. Their children remain with their ex-husbands.

Should women converts be forced to separate from their husbands and leave their families? Since Christians inevitably are selective in what they follow in a sometimes contradicting Bible, should an exception be made for Muslims who want to convert, but don't want to break up their families? Or, should these converts accept monogamy as a crucial tenant to the faith to which they hope to convert?

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Check This: Two Can Play the Outrageous Pastor Game

LibertySugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:00:54 -0700

Frank Rich of the New York Times wrote a great piece about the other pastor with outrageous YouTube clips. John McCain sought out and received the endorsement of the Reverend John Hagee, the pastor of a Texas megachurch. Some of Hagee's most controversial statements include calling for a "holy war" against Iran, referring to the Roman Catholic Church as the "Great Whore" and saying that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina because the city was holding a gay pride parade that Monday. Rich says that race, and inconsistent treatment of the political parties, explain why these clips haven't been rebroadcasted in the mainstream media.

There is not just a double standard for black and white politicians at play in too much of the news media and political establishment, but there is also a glaring double standard for our political parties. The Clintons and Mr. Obama are always held accountable for their racial stands, as they should be, but the elephant in the room of our politics is rarely acknowledged: In the 21st century, the so-called party of Lincoln does not have a single African-American among its collective 247 senators and representatives in Washington.

Rich says that if we are going to judge black candidates based on their most controversial associates, we must judge white politicians by the same yardstick.

Both Rev. Hagee and Rev. Wright's comments offend me; however, neither of them is running for president. To some extent, the American people deserve to know what company their potential leader keeps. I'm just not sure it should be the focus of the campaign. How much should it matter to voters that Obama's pastor made inflammatory statements, or that John McCain offered some legitimacy to Hagee's positions by seeking out his endorsement?

Do you agree with Frank Rich? Will Democratic groups start circling the Hagee YouTube on television ads? Are they naive not to, since Republican groups are already buying ad time to play the Wright comments? Is there a high road?

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