Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Alexander Britton Hume: (b. 1943, Washington, D.C. (USA); aka: Brit Hume) Television journalist, political commentator. Episcopalian.

Nagesh: (b. 1933, India – d. 2009;aka: Nageswaran  C. Krishna Gundu Rao), a Tamil film actor and comedian who appeared in over 1000 films.  He was called “the Jerry Lewis of India.”  He was shunned by his family for his conversion.

Regina Rao: Wife of “Nagesh” (Nageswaran  C. Krishna Gundu Rao), a Tamil film actor and comedian who appeared in over 1000 films

Samuel Fosu-Mensah: Muslim convert to Christianity. University professor, Christian missionary. He prepared a verse by verse Christian commentary on the Quran.

Pocahontas: (b. ca 1595, Virginia (USA) – d. 1617, England; aka: Matoaka, Matoika, Matoax, Amonute, Rebecca Rolfe)  “Pocahontas” (“little wanton” in the Powhatan language) was the childhood nickname of Matoaka, the daughter of Wahunsunacawh (ca 1545- ca 1618), a Powhatan chief.  The Pocahontas legend is that at the age of ten she saved the life of John Smith who was about to be executed by her father.  As an adult, Pocahontas took the name of Rebecca and married John Rolfe.  Her descendents include Edith Wilson (wife of US President Woodrow Wilson), Admiral Richard Byrd, State of Virginia Governor Harry Byrd, First Lady Nancy Reagan, actor Glenn Strane, and the Randolph family of Virginia.  

Pray for the People of Alabama

Today is a beautiful sunny mild day.  Yesterday was sheer terror.

Yesterday there were at least 164 tornadoes in six southern states (Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and Kentucky) of the United States.  At least 280 people died, with 195 of those in Alabama.  They are still finding more and many are still missing.  Hundreds were injured.

Please pray for the people of Alabama.

The tornado which hit Tuscaloosa and Birmingham (it was the same mile-wide tornado) was probably an EF3 - EF5.  An EF3 tornado has wind speeds of 158-206 mph while an EF5 has speeds of 261-318 mph.  The EF ratings are part of the Fujita Scale devised by Tetsuya "Ted" Fujita (1920-1998) in 1971 at The University of Chicago.

The authorities are discouraging people from showing up to help because of the danger; you can not safely just begin to pull and tug on some of these buildings or they might collapse on you. The National Guard, police, and firemen are doing that work.  Local churches are helping in another way; preparing food for the hundreds of rescue workers.  This is a noble work by the churches.  Please pray for them, the rescue workers, the injured, and the families which have lost loved ones.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

Cullman, Alabama

http://tweetbeat.com/events/16695-tornado-strikes-cullman-alabama?mqhom=car

30 Incredible Pictures of the Tuscaloosa Tornado

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/30-incredible-pictures-of-the-tuscaloosa-tornado?s=mobile

Stacked up cars

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150562248780293&set=a.10150162584525293.415108.261724115292&type=1&ref=nf

12 photos

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150172071421336&set=a.10150172070936336.296372.15704546335&type=1&ref=nf

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Juan de Zumarraga: (b. 1468, Spain – d. 1548) Spanish Basque Franciscan and the first Bishop of Mexico. Protector of the Indians. In 1531, peasant Juan Diego had a vision of the Virgin Mary at Tepeyec and an image of Mary appeared on his cloak.  Bishop  Zumarraga oversaw the building of the Basilica of Guadalupe, which, because of Juan Diego’s cloak, has become the most visited Roman Catholic shrine in the world.  By 1536, the number of baptized Indians in Mexico was estimated to be five million.

Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun: (b, 1944, Laos) Roman Catholic bishop of the Vicariate Apostolic of Pakse.

Sokhom So: Vice president of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters, a group of anti-Communist militants. He became a convert to Christian Evangelicalism in 1997.  He is now a jewelry executive in the State of Virginia (USA).

Simeon: (aka: Niger) A Christian leader in the church at Antioch (Syria).  Acts 13:1,2.

Stephen Edwin King: (b. 1947, Maine, USA, aka: Richard Bachman; John Swithen) Novelist, short story writer, comic book writer (horror, suspense, science fiction, fantasy).  His forty-nine (as of 2010) novels have sold over 350,000,000 copies and have spawned numerous films. Methodist.