God works in mysterious ways

JODHPUR, India - Thousands of pilgrims panicked by false rumors of a bomb stampeded at a Hindu temple in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 168 people in the crush to escape, officials said.

More than 12,000 people gathered at the temple at dawn to celebrate a Hindu festival in the historic city of Jodhpur when the stampede occurred early Tuesday morning.

The temple floors were slick with coconut milk as thousands of devotees broke coconuts as religious offerings, causing pilgrims to slip and fall as they scrambled to escape, said Ramesh Vyas, a pilgrim who was standing in line.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_as/as_india_temple_stampede_9

Oldest rocks on Earth found in northern Canada - 5999.98 years old! No, just kidding, 4.28 Billion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE48O7JW20080925

On why people believe strange things: Michael Shermer

Skeptic Society founder Michael Shermer dedicates his life to debunking myths, superstitions and urban legends, and also explaining why we believe them.In this utterly brilliant TED talk, Michael shows us how, by telling someone what to hear (in a piece of backwards music) you can make anyone hear whatever you want them to hear, with enough manipulation.

The double standards of God

Did God love his enemies when he destroyed the entire world with a flood? When he killed all the firstborn of Egypt? When he had Israel stone a man for picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Num. 15)? When he killed 90,000 Midianites (Num. 31)? 10,000 inconvenient Canaanites who had Israel’s land first (Judges 1)? 50,000 Benjaminites (Judges 20)? 1,000,000 Ethiopians (2 Chr. 14)?

How does God love his enemies when he slaughters them? How does God do good to those who hate him when he sends them to hell to be tortured for all eternity?

http://unreasonablefaith.com/2008/09/20/the-double-standards-of-god/

Authorities Raid Evangelist's Compound on Suspicion of Child Porn, Abuse

"We don't go into pornography; nobody in the church is into that," Alamo said. "Where do these allegations stem from? The anti-Christ government. The Catholics don't like me because I have cut their congregation in half. They hate true Christianity."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425697,00.html

Word of God

Sept. 11, 1822: Church Admits It's Not All About Us

Galileo was greatly influenced by the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus, who not only posited that the Earth revolves around the sun but that it makes a complete turn on its axis every 24 hours. The Catholic Church, however, considered the theory heresy, and Galileo was convicted by the Inquisition in 1633 and remained under house arrest for the rest of his life.

Nearly two centuries later, however, the weight of scientific evidence was so overwhelming that the College of Cardinals finally reversed itself and allowed the teaching of heliocentrism. Still, it would take another 170 years, until 1992, for a pope -- in this case, John Paul II -- to officially concede that, yes, the Earth isn't stationary in the heavens. Eight years after that, in 2000, John Paul apologized for the way the Catholic Church treated Galileo.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/09/dayintech_0911

Logic

God, Intellect and Universal Truth

This guy is good. Here are some excerpts:

(Full article on the link)

You’re essentially told: accept the faith as it is or meet eternal damnation.

If you have the same spiritual convictions as your parents, chances are you’ve exposed the issue to about as much intellectual light as your choice of socks this morning.

Fear prevents most people from even peeking behind the spiritual curtain.

http://www.cosmictap.com/god-intellect-and-universal-truth/

Muslim quits over bare arm policy

A Muslim radiographer has resigned from a Berkshire hospital over the NHS's "bare below the elbows" hygiene policy.

The unnamed agency worker claimed she was being discriminated against over her religious beliefs by the policies at Reading's Royal Berkshire Hospital.

This included the Islamic teaching that women should cover the body in public.

The NHS dress code was introduced in January to combat superbugs such as MRSA. The trust said the policy was explained when she first began work.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7593827.stm

It wasn't the diaper...it was God

"It wasn't the diaper that saved him," Massaneiro told the newspaper. "It was God."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26444404/