The Cost of Relativism; An African Ordination; Six Christians Murdered at Nigeria Church...more

Soldiers Kill Six Christians at Nigeria Church Upset that watchmen of a Catholic Church in Kaduna state on Sunday (March 8) set up a road-block as a security measure, Nigerian soldiers killed five church members, eyewitnesses said.

Shortly after opening fire on St. Peter's Catholic church in Gidan-Waya, the soldiers shot and killed a Christian from another church as he returned to his home near the site in the Jama'a Local Government Area of southern Kaduna, they said. In the clash that ensued between soldiers and area residents, a soldier was reportedly killed an several people were injured...

ISIS’s Sledgehammer Against Civilization
 Scenes of Islamic State mauls smashing ancient statues—one a winged bull from ninth century, B.C. Assyria—in the museum of Iraq’s northern city of Mosul and in the ancient city of Nimrud, reveal a new and profound dimension in radical Islam’s twenty-first century war on world civilization. When the slaughter, enslavement, and genocidal designs on other religious groups are joined by culturally catastrophic destruction of non-Islamic arts and artifacts, then the world faces a fully totalitarian enemy whose rationale is directly declared: “Oh, Muslims, these artifacts that are behind me were idols and gods who lived centuries ago [and were] worshipped instead of Allah,” the smasher said to the camera. “Our Prophet,” he continued, “ordered us to remove all these statues as his followers did when they conquered nations.”...

David Brooks: The Cost of Relativism
 ...The health of society is primarily determined by the habits and virtues of its citizens. In many parts of America there are no minimally agreed upon standards for what it means to be a father. There are no basic codes and rules woven into daily life, which people can absorb unconsciously and follow automatically.

Reintroducing norms will require, first, a moral vocabulary. These norms weren’t destroyed because of people with bad values. They were destroyed by a plague of nonjudgmentalism, which refused to assert that one way of behaving was better than another. People got out of the habit of setting standards or understanding how they were set.

Next it will require holding people responsible. People born into the most chaotic situations can still be asked the same questions: Are you living for short-term pleasure or long-term good? Are you living for yourself or for your children? Do you have the freedom of self-control or are you in bondage to your desires?...

‘Star Wars’ to Introduce First Gay Character ...Del Rey Books editor Shelly Shapiro has revealed that the upcoming Star Wars novel Lords Of The Sith, written by Paul S. Kemp, will introduce the first canonical LGBT character in the world of the science fiction juggernaut.

Sci-fi website Big Shiny Robot reports the upcoming novel will feature a character named Moff Mors, who is described as “an Imperial who has made some very serious mistakes but she is an incredibly capable leader.“ Moff also happens to be a lesbian...

A Glimpse into an African Ordination ...Each candidate was asked to quote 50 Bible verses. They did not falter or hesitate. Each one started then picked up speed and more zeal as they quoted. The audience started to respond right during the quoting. They stood up as the quotes rose to a fever pitch. Then they began cheering and taking pictures. The candidates were not just reciting, but passionately declaring the words of Scripture as the best news ever heard. It was better than football, because the audience felt every verse was a glorious goal...