The Scriptorium

Yet another archaeological discovery has been made of a place mentioned in the gospels. Archaeologists in Jerusalem have identified the remains of the Siloam Pool, where Jesus cured a man of blindness (John 9).

Archaeologists in Jerusalem have identified the remains of the Siloam Pool, where the Bible says Jesus miraculously cured a man’s blindness, researchers said Thursday — underlining a stirring link between the works of Jesus and ancient Jewish rituals.

The archaeologists are slowly digging out the pool, where water still runs, tucked away in what is now the Arab neighborhood of Silwan. It was used by Jews for ritual immersions for about 120 years until the year 70, when the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple.

MSNBC – Archaeologists identify traces of ‘miracle’ pool

Remember when the YMCA used to be a Christian organization? It appears those days are over. A Chicago YMCA allowed an all night transgender fashion show at its facilities, and, because of a scheduling problem, children coming to their swim meet the next morning were welcomed by “he/she/its” in the locker rooms when they arrived.

The AP article tries to paint the parents as bigots, and focuses on the names some of the parents used to describe the transgender “models” lurking around the facility. What the AP article fails to mention, are the used condoms thrown all over the women’s locker room. I think if my children walked into a locker room filled with men in leather and women’s clothes and there were condoms all over the room, I’d have some choice words too.

The employee who was fired for allowing the show to be held at the Y claims he feared he would be fired for discrimination if the transgender group filed a lawsuit against the Y. Sadly, he’s probably right. The Y has every right to deny the use of their facilities to anyone they choose. However, you’re almost guaranteed a lawsuit if you exercise that right. It’s sad when Christian organizations feel they have to cater to people who are against everything they stand for.

Chicago Tribune

AP Article

Local Palestinian elections show strong support for electing terrorists as their leaders. Why does this not surprise me? Hamas and Fatah came out on top, signaling that the Palestinian people aren’t giving up their terrorist tactics after the death of their terrorist leader, Arrafat. For those who thought Arrafat’s death would lead to a new era where peace could be achieved, things don’t look too promising. It’s hard to imagine a strong support for Abbas in the presidential elections in light of the local elections. If Abbas does win, he will be under heavy pressure from Hamas and Fatah to continue the fight to push Israel into the sea. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is still saying “peace and security”.

The radical Hamas movement made a surprisingly strong showing in local Palestinian elections, according to preliminary results obtained Friday, signaling a drop in popularity for the ruling Fatah (news – web sites) movement ahead of next month’s presidential poll.

Elections for local councils were held Thursday in 26 communities perceived as Fatah strongholds, with some 150,000 eligible voters choosing from among more than 800 candidates. Sixteen percent of the 360 local council seats were reserved for women.

According to preliminary results obtained by The Associated Press, Fatah won a majority of council seats in 14 towns, while Hamas, participating for the first time in Palestinian elections, took control in nine communities.

Associated Press

Yet another UN scandal, and this one could put the nail in the coffin of the U.N. – that is if the MSM will even cover it. Pornographic tapes and pictures created by U.N. peace keeping forces are on sale in Congo, yet the media doesn’t report them. Remember the constant, daily showing of Abu Graib pictures just as soon as the story broke. I’m sure the pictures from the Congo scandal are so vile they’re nothing the media should or would put on television. I just find it interesting that, with that kind of evidence out there, the media isn’t touching it. A sting operation recently netted a UN official who got caught in the act, but I had no idea this was still being investigated until I saw this article in a British newspaper. Isn’t the U.N. great. They’ll steal your money, designate your private property a wild life preserve, rape your women, and sit by and watch while Muslims commit genocide in Sudan. Sadly, the U.S. taxpayer is paying for it to happen.

HOME-MADE pornographic videos shot by a United Nations logistics expert in the Democratic Republic of Congo have sparked a sex scandal that threatens to become the UN’s Abu Ghraib.

The expert was a Frenchman who worked at Goma airport as part of the UN’s $700 million-a-year effort to rebuild the war-shattered country. When police raided his home they discovered that he had turned his bedroom into a studio for videotaping and photographing sex sessions with young girls.

The bed was surrounded by large mirrors on three sides, according to a senior Congolese police officer. On the fourth side was a camera that he could operate from the bed with a remote control.

When the police arrived the man was allegedly about to rape a 12-year-old girl sent to him in a sting operation. Three home-made porn videos and more than 50 photographs were found.

Times Online

Fearing bombings and shootings by Islamic militants, some Christians in Indonesia are abandoning traditional churches in favor of more unorthodox but secure confines, such as hotel ballrooms and office blocks.

With foreign governments warning of holiday terror attacks, tens of thousands of police officers will guard churches in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Metal detectors will be in place for most services and armed escorts will accompany parishioners, church officials said.

“It puts us at a lower risk for being a target for religious persecution,” said Pastor Steve Lunn, originally from Seattle, whose International English Service holds worship services for 1,000 people in a downtown Jakarta office building.

Associated Press

A display on public property contained a nativity scene, a display honoring Zoroastrianism, and a display honoring Festivus. The city made the area an open forum where people of all faiths could put up displays. But, the ACLU still had a problem with it. According to the ACLU the nativity scene violates the separation of church and state, however the Zoroastrian display is fine. Separation of church and state is just a smoke screen for the real goal of the ACLU, to remove Christianity from the public square. The sad thing is they make this so obvious to all by singling out Christianity on a regular basis, and no one seems to care. For liberals the separation smoke screen acts to ease their conscience while allowing them to ignore the blatant discrimination against Christians.

When a church group put a nativity scene on public property, officials warned it might open the door to other religious – and not-so-religious – displays. They were right.
Since the nativity was erected in Polk County, displays have gone up honoring Zoroastrianism and the fake holiday Festivus, featured on the TV show “Seinfeld.”
The Polk County Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to permit the nativity scene to remain across the street from the courthouse, as well as to make that area a “public forum” open to any type of display.
But the commission insisted that unless someone claims a particular display and submits a written request asking it remain, it would be removed. By Wednesday evening, no one had claimed the Festivus display, and the commission said it would come down; a woman claimed the Zoroastrianism display, which was to stay.

BostonHerald.com