Iron Dome operator: 'I witnessed this miracle with my own eyes'

MORE claims of divine intervention are being reported in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, with an operator of Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system saying he personally witnessed “the hand of God” diverting an incoming rocket out of harm’s way.

Israel Today translated a report from a Hebrew-language news site, which noted the Iron Dome battery FAILED three times to intercept an incoming rocket headed toward Tel Aviv last week.

For centuries, scientists have been searching for an ancient temple dedicated to a winged warrior. Now, one archaeologist thinks he may have found it. Only problem: It’s in the middle of a war zone.

In an ancient stone carving, warriors brandishing shields and swords swarm over the columned facade of a grand temple. On one side, a palace stands with three women perched on top; on the other, above private homes, a ruler on a throne dictates to royal scribes. In the foreground, the peaks of northern Iraq soar.

As we can all recall, Chick-Fil-A was the center of controversy as they were accused of “forcing their religious views” on others when president Dan Cathy made his political leanings known regarding gay marriage.  You’ll never guess what the once demonized business is now forcing on others now – FOOD.  Yep, that’s right, food.

According to Fox News, a local Chick-Fil-A came to the rescue as a rare snowstorm in the South left citizens stranded on icy interstates and highways, including Highway 280 in Birmingham, Alabama.  Thanks to the kindness and generosity of the restaurant employees and owner, Mark Meadows, a good number of stranded motorists were able to find food and shelter from the storm.

The weekend's sermon at Saddleback Church was "Surviving Tough Times," a theme Pastor Rick Warren planned before his youngest son killed himself with a gun Friday.

Matthew Warren, 27, committed suicide "in a momentary wave of despair" at the end of a lifetime struggle "with mental illness, dark holes of depression and even suicidal thoughts," the pastor wrote to the staff of his Southern California megachurch.

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic church on Wednesday chose as their new pope a man from almost "the end of the world" – the first non-European to be elected for almost 1,300 years and the first-ever member of the Jesuit order.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, becomes Pope Francis – the first pontiff to take that name – an early indication perhaps of a reign he hopes will be marked by inspirational preaching and evangelisation.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the Catholic Church's Pope, taking the name Francis.

Appearing on a balcony over St Peter's Square in Rome, he asked the faithful to pray for him, with cheers erupting as he gave a blessing.

The 76-year-old from Buenos Aires is the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to be pontiff.

In front of rapt crowds, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of moments of struggle as well as joy Wednesday during his final public address from a stage set up in St. Peter's Square.

In an unusually personal message, he said there had been "many days of sunshine" but also "times when the water was rough ... and the Lord seemed to sleep."

Pope Benedict XVI will become the first pontiff in 600 years to abdicate when he’s airlifted out of the Vatican today, as cardinals set to elect his successor assess the impact of a secret dossier on church intrigue.

The pope, 85, will cease being leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics at 8 p.m. Rome time after being flown by helicopter to the papal summer residence south of the Italian capital in Castel Gandolfo. Swiss guards who’ve protected him since his election in 2004 will abandon their station at the doors of the 17th-century villa, leaving the task to Vatican gendarmes.

THERE is a poignant air, almost wistful, to electing a pope in the modern world. In a time of discredited monarchies, can this monarchy survive and be relevant? There is nostalgia for the assurances of the past, quaint in their charm, but trepidation over their survivability. In monarchies, change is supposed to come from the top, if it is to come at all. So people who want to alter things in Catholic life are told to wait for a new pope. Only he has the authority to make the changeless church change, but it is his authority that stands in the way of change.

Journalists have a habit of calling too many things "historic" -- but on this occasion, the word is appropriate. The Roman Catholic Church is run like an elected monarchy, and popes are supposed to rule until death; no pope has stepped down since 1415.

We’ve spent a lot of time in the South Pacific because of various shows we’ve made, and I had an experience in Fiji with Roma [Downey, Burnett’s wife and the star of the television series Touched by an Angel] that I knew was a genuine, physical experience with the Holy Spirit, for sure. It’s my own experience, and my own physiology told me this is real.

I was praying, and I felt that Jesus—not felt, I know—that Jesus was physically hugging me. I just know that to be true. Anybody could say, “Well, how did you know?” I don’t need to explain to people. It just happened. I just said, “OK. Wow.”

Citing advanced years and infirmity, Pope Benedict XVI stunned the Roman Catholic world on Monday by saying that he would resign on Feb. 28 after less than eight years in office, the first pope to do so in six centuries.

After examining his conscience “before God,” he said in a statement that reverberated around the world on the Internet and on social media, “I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise” of his position as head of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics.

The illusion of religion helps people feel good, despite miserable experiences.

Atheists are heavily concentrated in economically developed countries, particularly the social democracies of Europe. In underdeveloped countries, there are virtually no atheists. Atheism is a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Why do modern conditions produce atheism? In a new study to be published in August, I provided compelling evidence that atheism increases along with the quality of life (1).

Sylvester Stallone grew up Catholic, stopped going to church after he tasted fame and fortune, but now considers himself a churchgoing Catholic again.

Stallone's shift back to church started when his daughter Sophia was "born sick," Stallone said in a Dec. 7 telephone interview from Dallas to promote his new movie, "Rocky Balboa."

In November 1996, at age 2 months, Sophia underwent open-heart surgery at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center.

With a succession of recent incidents raising concerns in Indonesia, religion continues to divide some communities across the archipelago. But in Madiun, East Java, harmony was the prevailing mood as a local Muslim youth organisation helped guard against attacks on Christians celebrating Christmas.

Dedi Subarno, a member of the Islamic Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Islam) described the move as "an example of tolerance in our region". It is not the first time young Muslims have reached out across religious lines, he added.

IN a recent conversation with a fellow journalist, I voiced my exasperation at the endless talk about faith in God as the only consolation for those devastated by the unfathomable murders in Newtown, Conn. Some of those grieving parents surely believe, as I do, that this is our one and only life. Atheists cannot find solace in the idea that dead children are now angels in heaven. “That only shows the limits of atheism,” my colleague replied. “It’s all about nonbelief and has nothing to offer when people are suffering.”

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was originally sentenced to death in his native country for his Christian faith, was acquitted of apostasy charges and released from custody.

Nadarkhani, 32, was imprisoned for three years and waiting execution for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. His charges

A spokesman for Billy Graham says that the 93-year-old is doing well Monday after being hospitalized over the weekend for a lung infection.

The Associated Press reports that Graham was admitted to the Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina on Saturday