The Snuson Confessional Sacristy & Bulletin

[wa3zrm]

Space aliens walk among us? Indeed, claims retired Temple prof

HE WAY David M. Jacobs sees it, aliens from outer space have been kidnapping humans for aeons and sexually molesting them to create human-alien hybrids that walk among us today undetected and will soon take over Earth.
He knows that sounds crazy.
But he long ago quit caring what people think of him. As director of the International Center for Abduction Research, Jacobs, 71, has made it his life's mission to investigate claims of extraterrestrial abduction.

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...

[wa3zrm]

I Admit, I’m Christian Because I Need a Crutch And I’m Brainwashed
Townhall.com ^


I cannot understand how atheists are able to ignore the spiritual realm as if it doesn’t exist. They explain away miracles and supernatural events as if these thousands of occurrences over many years are all just random. I’ve had hundreds of answers to prayer in my life, but atheists tell me they’re all coincidences.

One of the most frequent arguments I hear against my faith is that I believe in God because I’m “weak” and need some kind of support. Really? Me? Weak? I may be horribly flawed, but I wouldn’t describe myself as weak, after all the loudmouthed articles I’ve written, which I take a lot of heat for every week. I am flawed just like anyone else, prone to sin and doing things that don’t measure up to God’s standards of holiness, so why would I want or need some religion that tells me I can’t cheat, lie, etc., ever?
Although I was raised in a Christian home, I’ve discovered that it’s not easy living a Christian life. You’re never going to be very cool or popular; for the most part, Hollywood and being a musical star with their scanty clothing and drug-using lifestyles is off limits for Christians today. As the culture becomes more and more degenerate, it’s a daily battle to not cave in to it - to obey God rather than man.
I love science, and I love to debate, so I’ve spent many years reading books about Christianity, evolution and related subjects by scientists and brilliant academics. Many like C.S. Lewis, began their quest for truth as atheists seeking to disprove Christianity, but changed their minds the more they researched. I understand that most people believe in God based on faith alone, but I wanted to give intelligent reasons for the faith I held. Josh McDowell and the late Dr. D. James Kennedy have been two of the most influential thinkers in this area for me.
After years of reading all I could on the subject, I discovered that a few interpretations of certain Bible verses over the years may have reached relatively minute differing conclusions. Maybe the earth isn’t literally 6,000 years old, it may be older (2nd Peter 3:8 says that one day to us is like 1,000 years to God), and that the Bible was actually very forward thinkingwhen it came to women’s equality. It’s fascinating that Jesus first appeared to a woman, Mary Magdalene, after his resurrection, telling her to go tell his disciples that He had risen. Even basic Biblical doctrine, no matter how conservative/fundamentalist, disagrees here.
It doesn’t matter how many billions of Christians there are in the world, nor how intelligent and well-read they are, the other side keeps insisting we’re all brainwashed and need a crutch. The Christian faith is being pushed out of the public sphere more than ever today, as liberals in most parts of life - academia, government and the judiciary - try to squelch it. At the same time, Christians are standing up for Christ against powerful opposition, pushing back, often after great personal sacrifice.
There is a devout Satanist movementout there, which actively engages the dark side of the spiritual realm, including Satan and demons, and it is growing in size. How do atheists explain that away? Satanists hate God, and want to defeat Him, but they at least don’t try to pretend the supernatural world doesn’t exist, because they don’t ignore it. Explain away tarot cards, wiccans, and ouija boards “rationally.”
The intellectual Christian C.S. Lewis, who many - including myself - consider the greatest writer of all time, next to the Holy Spirit-inspired writers of the Bible, was a devout atheist for many years until he couldn’t escape the evidence any longer. He has said he was he was brought into Christianity like a prodigal, "kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape … That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”
Lewis had been a close friend of the science fiction writer J.R. Tolkein - Lewis also wrote many brilliant sci-fi books, including the Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe Narnia series - and started an Inklings intellectual discussion group with Tolkein at Oxford. Tolkein was ecstatic to see his friend convert, although he would have preferred he choose Catholicism over Anglicanism. Lewis remained neutral when it came to sectarianism.
It reminds me of the liberal and atheist commentator Kirsten Powers on Fox News, who recently became a Christian. She toldChristianity Today, “I'll never forget standing outside that apartment on the Upper East Side and saying to myself, ‘It's true. It's completely true.’ The world looked entirely different, like a veil had been lifted off it. I had not an iota of doubt. I was filled with indescribable joy...The horror of the prospect of being a devout Christian crept back in almost immediately. I spent the next few months doing my best to wrestle away from God. It was pointless. Everywhere I turned, there he was. Slowly there was less fear and more joy. The Hound of Heaven had pursued me and caught me - whether I liked it or not.”
Why do I need a “crutch?” I don’t. I only believe in God because the evidence is so overwhelming; as someone with half a brain, I can’t ignore it. I guess if I wanted to live a self-centered, hedonistic life, ignoring others around me who are suffering, I could ignore all the signs that Jesus/God/Holy Ghost exists. I’d love to sound like the “scientific, morally superior and super cool” one to all my peers, and spend most of my time partying and bettering myself, without doing anything for others in need. What an easy life that would be, especially if I were to become the typical narcissistic Hollywood star with all the fans. Who wouldn’t want that? But that’s not where the evidence leads; claiming otherwise is really ignoring all the evidence - which, as the opposing side ironically says about us, isn’t very scientific, but instead, “narrow minded, judgmental and condescending.”

[trebli]

Try Beano. Works for me.

[wa3zrm]

Feds Research Breeding Sheep With Lower Methane-Emitting Flatulence
Daily Caller ^

The U.S. government funded research into methane emissions from sheep digestive systems — flatulence and burps — to see why some sheep produce more of the greenhouse gas than others.
Researchers with the Energy Department’s Joint Genome Institute wanted to find out exactly why animals of the same species produce different levels of methane. The ultimate hope of the the research is to find ways to breed livestock that produce less methane when they pass gas.
“The deep sequencing study contributes to this breeding program by defining the microbial contribution to the methane trait, which can be used in addition to methane measurements to assist in animal selection,” said senior scientist Graeme Attwood with AgResearch Limited, a senior author on the paper.
JGI researchers looked at the methane emissions of 22 sheep that are part of a breeding program in New Zealand that aims to breed sheep that emit less methane. They found that sheep with low methane-emitting flatulence had elevated levels of Methanosphaera — a species of methanogen. Sheep with high methane-emitting flatulence had elevated levels of the methanogen Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii.
Researchers “then identified a methane-producing pathway and three variants of a gene encoding an important methane-forming reaction that were involved in elevated methane yields,” according to JGI.
“We wanted to understand why some sheep produce a lot and some produce little methane,” said JGI Director Eddy Rubin. “The study shows that it is purely the microbiota responsible for the difference.”
The publishing of the study comes as the Obama administration launches its plan to cut methane emission in its crusade against global warming. The largest man-made source of methane emissions comes from livestock, particularly cows and sheep.
Republicans have warned that regulating methane from livestock could lead to de facto taxes on animal flatulence. The Obama administration wants to reduce methane emissions from the dairy industry by 25 percent by 2020, which have lawmakers worried.
“The agriculture community is committed to environmental stewardship, which is evidenced by the 11 percent reduction in agriculture-related methane emissions since 1990,” Republicans, led by South Dakota Sen. John Thune, wrote to the Obama administration. “It is our hope that the EPA, USDA, and DOE will work with Congress and the agriculture industry to outline voluntary measures that can be taken to reduce emissions without imposing heavy-handed regulations on farms across America.”
The Environmental Protection Agency says that methane is 28 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and atmospheric levels of it have reached 1,800 parts per billion. One-fifth of methane emissions come from livestock, according to the EPA.

[sgreger1]

I mean I understand their apprehension, but hopefully the parents let them know it was only a sim grenade and not a real one.

[wa3zrm]

Conn. Mom Arrested After Son Brings Grenade To Show-And-Tell

The mother of a 12-year-old Connecticut boy has been arrested after police say her son brought a grenade to school for a show-and-tell related to 70th anniversary of D-Day
Lisa Miguel, of Stratford, was charged with risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and illegal possession of an explosive.
Stratford Academy was placed on lockdown Friday. Students were sent to the back of the school. A bomb squad determined the grenade was a simulator used for training and still had the pin inside.

(Excerpt) Read more at newyork.cbslocal.com ...

[Burnsey]

"If a couple can’t have fun WITH each other (not at the expense of each other) what’s the point of getting married."

I often ask myself this very question.......

[wa3zrm]

How I Predict Divorce Based on the Wedding Cake

As a pastor who regularly performs weddings, I can tell that some couples are more likely to divorce than others. It’s not most evident in pre-marital counseling or private comments made before the service. I can’t see it as the vows are said or rings exchanged. It’s not even in the kiss. As a pastor, I can predict the likelihood of divorce based on how the wedding cake is exchanged. I’ve been performing wedding ceremonies since I was 18. One of the first ceremonies I performed was pretty routine. Everything went without a hitch until it came time for the cake exchange. What began as a playful moment turned ugly. He pushed it into her face; she pushed it harder into his; and he forced her to the ground. The crowd laughed; I was shocked; and a few weeks later they were divorced. So began my interest in watching how the traditional exchange of wedding cake is played out. (See: The Number One Cause of Divorce) The wedding cake moment gives a glimpse into the relationship in a way that few other events can. The couple is nervous because of the occasion and crowd—nerves often exploit the worst of us. The cake comes at the end of a long experience so any pretending which has been taking place is less likely to occur as time goes on. The moment requires the couple to do something which is not a normal activity. All of these circumstances create a unique moment to answer one question: which is more important, the relationship or one spouse’s reputation? While most cake exchanges are cute, playful, gentle, and respectful, some of them get ugly. Here are the signs of a marriage in trouble based on the cake exchange:
Force. Gentleness is a trait of a healthy marriage. Specifically, men need to be gentle with their wives. Our strength is to be used for the wellbeing of our spouses, not to their determinate. When someone uses an extreme amount of force when they are happy and in public, it makes me wonder what they are willing to do when they are angry and in private.
Revenge. The cake exchange is supposed to have a bit of “gotcha” in it. You get me; I get you. However, some individuals ratchet up the revenge. They don’t just get even, they make sure their “get back” is better. This might be meaningless with cake, but it is fatal in fights. This trait will cause every disagreement to turn into a nightmare of a battle. A spouse who does this can never have a small fight. Every word spoken to them will be returned with a harsher word. Every assumed slight will lead to a greater slight directed back toward the spouse.
Pride. If you can’t lose, you might as well not get married. Every married person is going to have to lose on occasion. Sometimes you will lose because you are wrong and sometimes you will lose because you care more about the relationship than the argument. Some people can’t lose—even when it comes to the cake exchange. If they have to be the victor at the expense of their spouse, they might win the cake but they will lose the marriage. If a person isn’t humble enough to have a little cake on their nose in a happy moment, they will never have the humility to submit to their spouse during a tough time. (See: Pride–The Only Enemy of Marriage)
Contempt. It is shocking to me how often an apparent disdain for a spouse is revealed moments after committing their lives solely to one another. It is one thing to get a playful laugh, but it is something far different to completely disrespect your spouse’s personhood in order to look victorious at feeding each other cake.
These are the negative aspects of cake exchanges gone bad. Here is what a cake exchange should reveal:
Playfulness. If a couple can’t have fun WITH each other (not at the expense of each other) what’s the point of getting married. Feeding each other cake is an odd tradition, but one that should be defined by lighthearted fun. (See: One Sign of a Healthy Marriage)
Respect. Healthy marriages are built on mutual respect. No matter the setting or circumstance, spouses should always respect the dignity and well-being of their spouse. Even if an action will get a good laugh, a wise person will never exploit their spouse in order to get the laugh. (See: Respect–A Necessary Ingredient For a Successful Marriage)
Love. It seems obvious, but the next time you attend a wedding and watch the cake exchange, ask a simple question: “was that done in a loving way?” You will be shocked at how often it is not loving. If the cake exchange isn’t executed with love, the couple will have little chance of navigating the difficult issues of marriage with love.
It’s a funny habit—to watch newlyweds exchange cake wondering what I can decipher about their relationship—but one that has been sadly accurate over the years. Next time you are at a wedding watch and see. Of course if the bride hits the floor as the groom laughs, take back your wedding gift, because the couple will likely be divorced within the year. What other common situations reveal the true character of a relationship? For more, see: The Warning Sign of a Bad Marriage You Might Miss

[wa3zrm]

The House Paint That Can Prevent Diseases

Chemist Pilar Mateo has come up with a paint that slowly releases insecticides, making homes inhospitable to parasite-spreading bugs.
Across Latin American, large beetles known as vinchucas spread Chagas disease. The disease can lie dormant for years, but when it emerges, it can damage the digestive system and heart, sometimes fatally.
The vinchucas, technically Triatoma infestans, are also known as kissing bugs, because of their tendency to bite on the face. They inhabit the crevices of mud or adobe houses, coming out at night. Latin America is the epicenter of this beetle’s territory, with about 7 to 8 million people are infected with Chagas disease. Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, the disease’s namesake, identified its source in 1909.
-SNIP-
A local hospital facing a cockroach infestation inspired Mateo to come up with an idea for infusing paint with insecticide. It would be slow-releasing; toxic to the insects, but not to humans.
-SNIP-
It worked. She describes the process as vaccinating the house rather than its inhabitants. Deploying Inesfly, as the paint is known, reduced infestation rates from as high as 90 percent to nearly zero.

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...

[wa3zrm]

26 women in affairs with priests plead to Pope Francis to end Catholic Church's celibacy vow
NY Daily News ^

A group of 26 Italian women - all claiming to be in affairs with priests - have written to Pope Francis pleading with him to end the Catholic Church's celibacy vow.
The women said that there were many more like them who were "living in silence."
"We love these men, they love us, and in most cases, despite all efforts to renounce it, one cannot manage to give up such a solid and beautiful bond," they wrote in a joint letter.
They added that "very little is known about the devastating suffering of a woman who is deeply in love with a priest".
The women met through Facebook, reports the Telegraph.
Some 6,000 former priests in Italy have left the church so they can marry.
Pope Francis, who had a girlfriend as a young man in Argentina, has previously said he favored maintaining celibacy, but claimed it was more church tradition than dogma.

[wa3zrm]

China considers building a rail link to America: 8,000-mile journey would take less than 2 days

China is considering building an 8,000-mile high-speed rail link to America that would take less than two days to travel.
Travelling at around 217mph, the train would leave the north east of the country, run through Siberia and enter a 125-mile tunnel under the Bering Strait, the shortest crossing between Russia and Alaska.
It would then resurface and head south through Canada, before reaching its destination in the US.
It is unclear whether the American, Canadian or Russian governments have agreed to the proposals.
But engineers claim it would provide a viable alternative to air travel, according to China Daily.
If completed, it would be 2,300 miles longer than the Trans-Siberian Railway, making it the longest train route in the world.
The underwater passage would also be four times the length of the Channel Tunnel, which connects France and the United Kingdom.
Even though the plans haven not been finalised, it is believed the project would be developed and financed by the Chinese, who have become global leaders in high-speed rail travel.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...

[wa3zrm]

Crocodiles can climb trees, study finds

Despite the fact they lack the physical adaptations of a climber, crocodiles can climb trees and do it regularly, a new study in Herpetology Notes finds.
After studying five crocodilian species on Africa, Australia and North America, the team found that the reptiles can climb as high as six feet off the ground. Juveniles have been spotted as high as 30 feet. Combined with anecdotal evidence in these areas, the researchers found that the smaller crocodiles were able to vertically scale trees, while their larger counterparts relied on angled branches.

(Excerpt) Read more at pbs.org ...

[wa3zrm]

A Modern Pope Gets Old School On The Devil

A Modern Pope Gets Old School On The Devil
A renewed interest in exorcism: Nearly 200 delegates — most of them priests and nuns — from more than two dozen countries attend a Vatican-sponsored exorcism conference in Rome. Although it is difficult to measure, Vatican officials talk about a resurgence of mystical rites in the Catholic church, including exorcisms.
By Anthony Faiola
VATICAN CITY — A darling of liberal Catholics and an advocate of inclusion and forgiveness, Pope Francis is hardly known for fire and brimstone.
Yet, in his words and deeds, the new pope is locked in an epic battle with the oldest enemy of God and creation:
The Devil.
After his little more than a year atop the Throne of St. Peter, Francis’s teachings on Satan are already regarded as the most old school of any pope since at least Paul VI, whose papacy in the 1960s and 1970s fully embraced the notion of hellish forces plotting to deliver mankind unto damnation.
Largely under the radar, theologians and Vatican insiders say, Francis has not only dwelled far more on Satan in sermons and speeches than his recent predecessors have, but also sought to rekindle the Devil’s image as a supernatural entity with the forces* of evil at his beck and call.
Last year, for instance, Francis laid hands on a man in a wheelchair who claimed to be possessed by demons, in what many saw as an impromptu act of cleansing. A few months later, he praised a group long viewed by some as the crazy uncles of the Roman Catholic Church — the International Association of Exorcists — for “helping people who suffer and are in need of liberation.”

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

[wa3zrm]

Iowa Distillery Raises Pigs to Taste Like Whiskey
WQAD ^ |

We use alcohol in meat marinades all the time, but what if your food already had the taste without the wait?
The founders of Templeton Rye Distillery in Templeton, Iowa are trying to do just that by creating pork that tastes like their famous whiskey. “We have a little motto here. My dad always told me, ‘Nothing good happens after 12 p.m.’ So, it seems like that’s when this idea was probably thought of – after we had a few drinks,” laughs the distillery’s co-founder, Keith Kerkhoff.
He hopes the Templeton Rye Pork Project will be the exception to his dad’s motto.
They’re raising 25 pigs, born in early January 2014, on a farm in Woodward, Iowa, about an hour east of Templeton. Nick Berry, who has a Ph.D. in Animal Science focused on meat and eating quality, looks after the pigs. Berry works in the commercial pig industry for an animal health company, and he’s a friend of the Templeton team.
The pigs are purebred Duroc, which Berry says are known for their meat quality and are a natural fit for the project.
Despite what you may think, the pigs are not drinking any whiskey. Instead, they’re eating a distinct diet that incorporates the dry distillery grain, from the whiskey-making process, into the feed.
Kerkhoff says they’re already getting a variety of inquiries about the pigs, from backyard pit masters to famous restaurant owners like Chicago’s Stephanie Izard, winner of ‘Top Chef.’
“I don’t think we’re going to have any problem getting rid of the 25 pigs,” he says. They’ll decide in June where the pigs will go.
Kerkhoff says their pork experiment has never been done before, and that’s exactly why they’re doing it.
“This is something somebody is going to do, and we want to be at the cutting edge of it, and I think we are,” Kerkhoff said.
Berry says the project is a natural combination for Templeton Rye and their home-state’s animal agriculture industry.
“I think it really falls in line with what their roots surround — whiskey making and rural Iowa and the Midwest,” adds Berry. “This project really fits right in line with a lot of their history and heritage.”
The project also sends a message that’s important to Templeton.
“The whole aspect of giving back to your community, giving back to your state and producing something that creates jobs,” said Kerkhoff. “It’s all about economic development.”
“I would say my grandfather was probably outside the law a little bit,” says Kerkhoff. “My grandfather was one of what we call the ‘entrepreneurs’ during Prohibition, that made Templeton Rye,” Kerkhoff said.
“It got into the coffers of Al Calpone and that’s where it got the name ‘The Good Stuff,’” he said.
The 2014 team has a rebellious spirit to take some risks with their spirits, like the pork project.

[wa3zrm]

Why I Filmed My Abortion [abortion counselor has unprotected sex, then films her own abortion]


When Emily Letts got pregnant, she knew she would get an abortion. Then she decided to film it. Letts, 25, is an abortion counselor at Cherry Hill Women’s Center in New Jersey, which is where she had her abortion. The non-graphic video focuses on her face...
... the idea of helping women through an abortion and supporting them and reassuring them that they are still wonderful and beautiful resonated deeply with me.
I found out I was pregnant in November. I had been working at the clinic for about a year. It was my first pregnancy, and, full disclosure, I hadn't been using any kind of birth control, which is crazy, I know. I’m a sex educator, and I love talking about birth control.
...I didn’t have any long-term partners.

(Excerpt) Read more at cosmopolitan.com ...