Scrolling around...December 28, 2012

Church on cutting edge of technology
When Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene holds Sunday services, people around the world can watch.

Capturing and broadcasting its sermons with six cameras and thousands of dollars' worth of cutting-edge equipment, the technology-friendly church streams services online, as well as through Internet-connected Roku boxes, which many customers use to stream Netflix movies on TV.

Churchgoers can pick up a DVD or Blu-ray copy of the service after it's over, and can go to the church's website (ovcn.org) to watch broadcasts...

Pornography: The Facts
...A study of 88 civilisations in the 1940’s by Professor J.D. Unwin from Cambridge University showed that, whenever there was widespread promiscuity, premarital sex, infidelity, and same sex relationships, the civilisation was dead within three generations-with no exceptions! Studies by other historians such as Arnold Toynbee show conclusively, that no society in history has been able to survive for long without a strong moral code, and, that immorality corrupts individuals and destroys societies! Moral and spiritual values have been in constant decline in Britain since the nineteen fifties. The results are: a ten-fold increase in crimes and enormous increases in social problems! WE REAP AS WE SOW!...

Baby Jesus with the Rainbow Halo
Remember the progresive (sic) Anglican church in New Zealand that brought you those disgraceful billboards where Joseph was in bed wondering how he could ever measure up to God. Last year’s Christmas billboard showed Mary holding a pregnancy test.

This year, the Revrend Glynn Cardy's latest billboard depicts the baby Jesus with a rainbow halo. It reads, “It’s Christmas. It’s time for Jesus to come out.” Cardy said he’s simply trying to highlight the humanity of Jesus.

In an interview, Cardy said, “The fact is we don’t know what his sexual orientation was.”...

Gallup: Americans 77% Christian, 0.6% Muslim
America is largely a Christian nation with 77 percent of adults identifying themselves as Christian, according to a Gallup survey, while only 0.6 percent identified as Muslim. The survey also found that Mormons were the most religious in practicing their faith.

“The United States remains a largely Christian nation; more than 9 in 10 Americans who have a religious identity are affiliated with a Christian religion,” reported Gallup on Dec. 24. “There has been little change in this portrait of religious identity in the U.S. from last year.”...

Christianity could be ‘wiped out’ in Middle East
...Christians living in the region where the faith was born are coming under increasing threat from Islamic oppression, the think tank says in a new report.

Civitas says Western politicians and media are ignoring the widespread persecution of Christians in the Middle East and the wider world because they are afraid they will be accused of racism.

The report, Christianophobia, says that Christians are more likely to be the target of discrimination or persecution that any other religious group and warns that they are particularly at risk in Muslim-dominated societies...

The Most Amazing Science Images of the Year and Can you spot the 'invisible animal'?

Sotomayor Ruled in Favor of Muslim Inmate’s Ramadan Dinner But Rejected Christian Hobby Lobby’s Appeal for HHS Exemption
Justice Sotomayer ruled in favor of Muslim inmates but ruled against Christian business owners...

Will 'Fiscal Cliff' Accelerate Millionaire Deaths?
...Many families are faced with a stark proposition. If the life of an elderly wealthy family member extends into 2013, the tax bills will be substantially higher. An estate that could bequest $3 million this year will leave just $1.9 million after taxes next year. Shifting a death from January to December could produce $1.1 million in tax savings.

It may seem incredible to contemplate pulling the plug on grandma to save tax dollars. While we know that investors will sell stocks to avoid rising capital gains taxes, accelerating the death of a loved one seems at least a bit morbid—perhaps even evil. Will people really make life and death decisions based on taxes? Do we don our green eye shades when it comes to something this serious...

Blogger publishes names, address of newspaper staff after gun-permit database
...Fountain, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment, told CNN he was offended by the newspaper’s “conflating legal gun owners with some crazed tormented devil up in Newtown” and wondered how its employees would handle the same treatment.

Fountain said he has since received emails from “abused women” who were under protective order.

“They’re terribly afraid that now their names and addresses are all over the Internet and accessible through that map,” he told CNN...

Sandy Victims Still Stranded As ‘Red Tape’ Hinders Help From FEMA
...Victims are shuffled from one desk to another for registration, an identification check, and one-on-one interviews – then referred to something called a “Mitigation Desk,” a FEMA official at a local Disaster Recovery Center explained to MRCTV...