Religious Place Names

Pomona, California State, USA: Named for the ancient Roman goddess of fruit.

Shiloh, Tennessee State, USA: Named for the ancient Israelite religious site, nine miles north of Bethel. The modern site of the ancient Shiloh is a mound of ruins named Khirbet Seilun.

Tewin, England: Named for the ancient Norse god Tyr. The name comes from Tyr plus
"ing" (meadow) or "ingas" (people belonging to)."

Weedon Lois, England: From the Old English words "weo" (temple) plus "dun" (hill). "Lois" comes from the local religious figure, Saint Loys.

Nymph, Alabama State, USA: Nymphs were minor nature deities of ancient Latin and Greek mythology. They were depicted as beautiful and amorous young maidens who loved to dance and sing. The word "nymph" has been said to mean "a rosebud" or "a swelling" (as in "pregnant"), connoting fertility.

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.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Bob Newhart: ((b. 1929, Illinois, USA; aka: George Robert Newhart) Stand-up comedian, television and film actor. Roman Catholic.

Virginia Quinn Newhart: Wife of Bob Newhart. Roman Catholic.

Chloe Grace Moretz: (b. 1997, Georgia, USA) Child film actress most known for her controversial roles in Kick-Ass (2010) and Carrie (2013).  She says that her family is “very Christian.”  I am not sure what she means by that and whether or not she, herself, is a Christian.. 

Reginald Howard White: (b. 1961, Tennessee, USA – d. 2004; aka: “the Minister of Defense”) College and professional football player and a member of the Hall of Fame at both levels. Ordained Baptist minister and evangelist.  His views on race and homosexuality became very controversial.  Late in his life, he learned Hebrew and studied under Nehemia Gordon, a Karaite Jew, who is based in Jerusalem.  White's profound interest in Torah led many to believe that he became a Jew, but he never renounced his Christian faith.

Daniel Meyer: (b. 1957) World’s only Christian sword swallower. Clown, juggler, stilt walker, fire eater, glass eater. 

Update on the Karen Shahan Murder

There has been a frustrating lack of updates about the investigation into the  23 July, 2013 murder of Karen Shahan, the wife of Richard Shahan, who is now the former Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama (USA).  At first, the cause of death was not released to the public, but it appears to have been the result of multiple stab wounds.  Also, Pastor Shahan’s status with the church was not publicized; he was on “leave.”  It has now become known that he is the former Associate Pastor of the church.

Some facts which have been released to the public: 1. There were no indications of forced entry, 2. Pastor Shahan insisted that he was out of town at the time of the murder, 3. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds, 4. Mrs. Shahan was not known to have any enemies, 5. There was apparently no theft of property from the murder site, 6.  Richard Shahan voluntarily went to the police station to answer questions and was held there for two days for what the police called “investigative purposes.”  He was released with no charges being filed and without him being officially named as a suspect in the killing. 

On 1 January 2014, Pastor Richard Shahan was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee (USA) while attempting to board a flight bound for Germany.  From Germany, the trip was to have continued to Kazakhtan.  Shahan insisted that he was leaving on a mission trip.  Legal extradiction proceedings have begun for his return to Alabama.  He has been officially charged with murder.

When more information is available it will be posted on this blog.

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.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Bartolomeu de Gusmao: (b. 1685, Brazil –d. 1724) Portuguese Jesuit priest, naturalist, philologist, mathematician, linguist, university professor, chaplain to King John V of Portugal.  He designed a lighter-than-air airship but it was never built.

Francesco Lana de Terzi: (b. 1631, Italy – d. 1687) Italian Jesuit priest, naturalist, mathematician, aeronautics theorist, developer of a pre-Braille reading system for the blind.  He worried that flying ships could be used for warfare.

Serzh Azati Sargsyan: (b. 1954, Nagorno-Karabakh) Third President of Armenia, first elected in 2008. Armenian Apostolic.

Ernest Jennings Ford: (b. 1919, Tennessee, USA – d. 1991; aka: “Tennessee Ernie” Ford) Country and Gospel music singer, guitarist, and violinist. His television show always ended with a hymn. He struggled with alcoholism his entire life. Country Music Hall of Fame 1991.

Hugo Chavez: (b. 1954, Venezuela – d. 2013) president of Venezuela 1999-2013, Socialist. Roman Catholic.

Religious Place Names

Iosepa, Hawaii, USA: “Iosepa” is the Hawaiian language version of the name “Joseph.”  The town is named for Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).

Mahabarata, Nepal: Named for the Mahabarata, one of the ancient Sanskrit language holy books of Hinduism.

Tewin, England: Named for the Norse god, Tyr (aka: Tiw) plus “ing,”  “a meadow.”  Tyr was the Norse god of single-handed combat and victory.

Thundersley, England: From the Old English, Thunor’s leah (Sacred grove of Thunor).  Thunor was a variant name of Thor, the Norse god of thunder.

Shiloh, Tennessee, USA: Named for the ancient Ephraimite city of Shiloh, located about 12 miles northeast of Bethel, in the land of Canaan..  Judges 21:19.  The modern name of ancient Shiloh is Khirbet Seilun in the West Bank..  A “khirbet” is a “ruin on a hill.”

John Piper's Definition of Sin

"This is what sin is - dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences.  ,,, failure to love him is not trivial - it is treason." John Piper

John Piper (b. 1946, Tennessee, USA) is a Calvinist Baptist preacher, theologian, and writer who currently serves as a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA).

Elvis Presley Singing "Amazing Grace"

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis.   He was raised in The First Assembly of God Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Whether or not he was actually a Christian is still debated.  Listen to what he said to his pastor in Memphis.


“Pastor, I am the most miserable young man you have ever seen. I have got more money than I can ever spend. I have thousands of fans out there, and I have a lot of people who call themselves my friends, but I am miserable. I am not doing a lot of things you taught me, and I am doing some things that you taught me not to do. But no matter what I do, I don’t forget about God. I feel He’s watching every move I make. And in a way it’s good for me. I’ll never feel easy smoking a cigarette. I just don’t think those things are right for me…I just want to let a few people know that the way I live is by doing what I think God wants me to. I want someone to understand.” (From, Last Train to Memphis, Peter Guralnick, Back Bay books)

Download the Bible to Your Mobile Device

To download the Bible to your mobile device go to www.YouVersion.com/download .  The application has been downloaded over 12,000,000 times.  The download is free from Pastor Craig Groeschel and his congregation at Life Church.  They have fourteen church campuses (in Florida, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas) and online church services.

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