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We are fast becoming a pornographic society. Over the course of the last decade, explicitly sexual images have crept into advertising, marketing, and virtually every niche of American life. This ambient pornography is now almost everywhere, from the local shopping mall to prime-time television.

By some estimations, the production and sale of explicit pornography now represents the seventh-largest industry in America….

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To the tune of “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” no less, with eagles, an owl, baby bears, and elks galore among many other things. Watch it all–KSH.

As posted on the TREC website: “The members of the Taskforce want to hear the memories, hopes and dreams that people have for The Church. We are trying to reach as many people as we can over the next few months. We will use what we hear to help us shape recommendations for The Church’s structure, administration and governance.”

TREC member the Rev. Joseph M.C. Chambers pointed out, “The Engagement Kit on the web offers an opportunity for people to participate as individuals, even though it was designed for in-person gatherings. “

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In the end it was Dr [David] Drew’s Christian faith that was used to bring him down. Including a well-known prayer by St Ignatius in an email as an incentive to his staff was not considered an issue by anyone who received it. His department was multi-faith and faith issues were frequently discussed. At the tribunal a text message from Dr Drew to one of his colleagues, Rob Hodgkiss, wishing him “a peaceful Christmas” was presented. A report noted: “While DD may regard such messages as benign RH perceived them as aggressive and unwelcome intrusions into his private time.” Such an overly sensitive reaction is almost laughable.

Dr Drew’s case has been supported by Dr Phil Hammond who writes the Medicine Balls column for Private Eye and Andrew Mitchell MP now has taken it to the Health Select Committee to be looked over.

This shocking story is summarised well by Dr Drew in his own words:

”˜In a much deeper way than the fact that I sent a prayer to some colleagues my case is fundamentally about my faith. I have behaved honestly and with integrity as a Christian should throughout. I do not doubt that staff of other faiths or none are capable of experiencing the same moral compulsion. But speaking up for children and their parents and for my colleagues, especially the nurses, and against what was clearly dishonest and unethical behaviour was always for me a Christian duty.’

Read the whole thing and do follow the links as well.

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Two high school friends reunited for the weekend, with one, now a USC freshman, showing off her new campus to her out-of-town guest.

But the night ended tragically for the young women, when the freshman was struck by a random bullet while waiting for a taxi near the iconic fountain in Five Points. Martha Childress, 18, is paralyzed from the hips down, after a .40-caliber bullet lodged in her spine, said her uncle, Jim Carpenter, who is serving as the family’s spokesman. She also suffered damage to her liver and a kidney, but doctors were optimistic those wounds would heal, he said.

Childress graduated in the spring from J.L. Mann High School in Greenville. She earned a 4.0 grade-point average there and chose to study at the University of South Carolina, her parents’ alma mater, Carpenter said. She had declared international business as her major and was pledging the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.

Makes the heart sad–read it all.

Legendary Pictures LLC, the company behind this summer’s monster movie “Pacific Rim” and a coming film adaptation of the hit videogame “Warcraft,” makes anyone authorized to read one of its scripts purchase a special iPad app that allows them to view it for a only few hours before the digital document, like a “Mission Impossible” assignment, self-destructs.

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In his church office, pastor Chuck Smith kept a crown made of thorns and a jar full of candy. The thorns were from the Holy Land. The candy was for his grandkids. The image suggested his special appeal as a preacher: A harsh, old-school Christianity delivered with grandfatherly sweetness.

Smith, the founder of the Jesus People and the Calvary Chapel movement, and one of the most influential figures in modern American Christianity, died Thursday morning at his home in Newport Beach after a two-year battle with lung cancer, church officials said. He was 86.

“He was definitely a pioneer,” said Donald E. Miller, a professor of religion at USC. “He had a transformative impact on Protestantism.”

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St. Robert Bellarmine proposed as a mark of the true Church the efficacy of doctrine in inspiring believers to moral greatness. That this should be so is due to the hypostatic nature of the Church, which is the body of Christ. Human and divine, it is necessary that members of the Church, if they are to live in full unity with God and one another, be transformed through that same mode of existence, inflating neither at the expense of the other. In order to demonstrate this essential coexistence of nature and grace in the life of the Church, and the life of the believer, it must be shown that doctrine is necessary for salvation, not superfluous, but essential to the Church’s mission given by Christ. Secondly, it must also be shown that, of itself, doctrine is inefficacious without the subjective element of faith that makes it salvific. From the proper delineation of doctrine established by the above, the role of the Church in proposing doctrine for belief becomes clear. Finally, the dynamic of faith and action comes forth, by which the believer is indeed inspired to moral greatness.

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O God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst move Teresa of Avila to manifest to thy Church the way of perfection: Grant us, we beseech thee, to be nourished by her excellent teaching, and enkindle within us a lively and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

O Lord Christ, thou Prince of peace, the faithful and true: Grant to us all, we beseech thee, that putting on the whole armour of God, we may follow thee as thou goest forth conquering and to conquer; and, fighting manfully under thy banner against sin, the world, and the devil, may be found more than conquerors, and at the last may be refreshed with the multitude of peace in the holy city of our God; whose is the greatness and the power, the victory and the majesty, world without end.

Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the church may be edified. Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how shall I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will any one know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves; if you in a tongue utter speech that is not intelligible, how will any one know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning; but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

–1 Corinthians 14:1-12

Top Senate leaders on Monday said they were within striking distance of a deal to sidestep a looming debt crisis and reopen the federal government two weeks after a partisan deadlock forced it to close.

Fourteen days after a partial government shutdown began, senators signaled a bipartisan resolution could come soon.

“I’m very optimistic we will reach an agreement that’s reasonable in nature this week to reopen the government, pay the nation’s bills and begin long-term negotiations to put our country on sound fiscal footing,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said on the Senate floor.

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A Malaysian court ruled on Monday that a Christian newspaper may not use the word “Allah” to refer to God, a landmark decision on an issue that has fanned religious tension and raised questions over minority rights in the mainly Muslim country.

The unanimous decision by three Muslim judges in Malaysia’s appeals court overturned a 2009 ruling by a lower court that allowed the Malay-language version of the newspaper, The Herald, to use the word Allah – as many Christians in Malaysia say has been the case for centuries.

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Tom Leopold is a comedy writer who has written and produced for classic shows including “Seinfeld” and “Cheers,” as well as for the shows honoring Tina Fey and Will Ferrell for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Three years ago Leopold converted from Judaism to Catholicism. He chronicled that spiritual journey in a one-man show, “A Comedy Writer Finds God.” The show also explores how his family coped with his daughter’s struggle with an eating disorder. Tom can also be found cohosting the radio show “Entertaining Truth” with Fr. Leo Patalinghug on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel. Here he talks with Managing Editor Kerry Weber.

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