Nigeria shuts down churches over noisy worship

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Lagos has seen more than 6,000 traditional and alternative places of worship spring up in recent years (AFP Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Authorities in Nigeria's financial capital Lagos have shut down churches across the city after a glut of complaints over noisy worship.

 

The chaotic megacity's environmental protection department said it had sealed off 22 premises on Wednesday after receiving dozens of calls a day, according to local newspaper reports.

 

Neighbours of one church -- Jesus Our Lord Divine Catholic Prayer Ministry -- said they were constantly disturbed by a congregation of mainly pregnant women, young mothers and their children.

 

"On my phone alone, I get 20 SMS on a daily basis," said Adebola Shabi, head of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, according to the national daily New Telegraph.

 

"In the next five years, if there is no stringent policy on the siting of religious houses, there will be problem."

Jimmy Carter Says Jesus Would Approve Of Gay Marriage

HuffPost Live | By Ryan Buxton

Faith is important to former President Jimmy Carter, and he writes about it extensively in his new memoir A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety. But his religious beliefs don't keep him from supporting every American's right to marry the person they love.

God Hates Divorce but He Gave Us a Remedy, Says 'When Divorce Is Right' Author, Pastor J. Bruce Sofia

By Emma Koonse , Christian Post Reporter

The author of the book When Divorce Is Right, Pastor J. Bruce Sofia, offered honest, practical remarks on divorce, including Scriptural reasons to end a marriage and what God thinks of the decision.

When Divorce Is Right is Sofia's latest book in the Hijacked Life – Rescue Your Dream series, in which the pastor lists three reasons found in the Bible as grounds for divorce: adultery, abandonment, and the hijacking of God's call. Explaining more about the three reasons for divorce, Sofia pointed out that both infidelity and abandonment cause disruption to an individual's calling and/or their walk with God.

(Photo: Courtesy of Gloucester County Community Church)
"When Divorce Is Right" author J. Bruce Sofia.

Pope Francis canonizes two Palestinian nuns

Reuters,

Pope Francis named two Palestinian women as saints on Sunday, in a ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square just days after the Vatican formalised its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine.

The canonisation of Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, founder of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, and Maryam Baouardy, who founded a Carmelite convent in Bethlehem, was not directly connected with the Vatican’s Wednesday announcement of a new accord with the State of Palestine.

How One Former American Idol Hopeful Is Drawing Millennials to Church

Madaline Donnelly



Kurtis Parks sits outside of Le Pain Quotidien in SE Washington, DC. (Photo: Madaline Donnelly/The Daily Signal)

It’s a bright, warm morning in late April, and Kurtis Parks is full of ideas.

The 33-year-old is so positively positive that it’s neither surprising nor disarming when his voice springs from spoken word into song and back again. He exudes happy energy. Everything from his near-full sleeves of tattoos to his 5 o’clock shadow to his hipster-meets-preppy wardrobe quietly affirms a comfortable confidence.

US appeals court orders release of nuclear-activist nun

Reuters

The three were convicted of cutting fences to get into the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on the night of July 28, 2012.

 

A US appellate court on Friday ordered the immediate release of an elderly nun and two other peace activists a week after overturning their sabotage convictions for breaking into a Tennessee nuclear defense facility in 2012, their lawyer said.

 
Reuters

In a 2-1 decision last Friday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed sabotage convictions against Megan Rice, 85, and US Army veterans, Michael Walli, 66, and Greg Boertje-Obed, 59.

 

The panel majority found that the three lacked the necessary intent for a violation of the federal Sabotage Act for the break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, an incident that embarrassed US officials and prompted security changes.

RE-WAS JESUS REALLY CRUCIFIED?

A letter to Abu Muhammad Hamzah Tijani
 by Rev Ola Oladejo

Dear Abu Muhammad Hamzah Tijani,

Greetings to you Abu Tijani. I have never met you before and I doubt if you know me. You might be a Sheik, Imam or Alhaji but I am not sure. Please, do not be offended that I am not addressing you by position, title or rank. I would gladly have done so since I want to give you the respect you deserve. I hope you will allow me to address you for now simply as Abu Tijani. Thank you, Sir for your understanding.

 

Your 58 page book titled, "Was Jesus (pbuh) really crucified? - scriptural evidence" got to me through a member of my congregation. Definitely it must have been sent as a reaction to my article; "For the Love of Mankind" published by the Christian Leaves blog shortly before this April's Easter celebrations.

 

In that article I chronicled the untold pain, suffering and agony of our Lord Jesus on the cross and affirmed His incontestable death on that same cross. I qouted the scriptures which proved beyond doubts that His death was not for His own sins for He was blameless, innocent and without sin. The point was made clear that He died on the cross for the sins of mankind including sins of men like you, Tijani and I. Emphatically the point was made that He was born for that purpose, to die on the cross for mankind's redemption. When your book came via email, I guess it was your effort to educate me from the stand point of your faith, Islam. I am indeed grateful.