Immoral behavior

[Soldier4Christ]

This was more than just a violation of his civil rights. There should be more than just a termination called for.

The situations children are being forced to go through is getting worse by the day.

God bless the two who said no

Amen! At least there were some that had a semblance of love.

[Shammu]

TV newsgal-wannabe goes bonkers when fired
'You don't know where I'm from. I'll mess you up, b----'
Posted: November 20, 2008
1:10 am Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily


A young TV news intern is now facing charges after allegedly going on a bleep-worthy, destructive rampage when her station in Minnesota fired her for not being able to handle her duties.

Jennifer Nicole Anato-Mensah, 21, a University of Minnesota student, started working part-time in early September in a paid internship for KSTP-TV, the ABC affiliate in St. Paul. She was responsible for logging and organizing videotapes for newscasts.

But on Oct. 13, things reportedly went bad. Very bad.

"This is a young girl who was not understanding concepts in a television newsroom," Danielle Prenevost, 33, executive producer of the station's early evening newscasts, told the Pioneer Press. "I said, 'I don't think your level of college experience is enough for this job.'"

At that point, Prenevost said, Anato-Mensah "just lost it."

According to the criminal complaint published by the Pioneer Press:

   Several newsroom employees heard Anato-Mensah shouting, yelling obscenities and threatening Prenevost, saying,    "You don't know where I'm from. I'll mess you up, b----."

 Prenevost attempted to walk away from Anato-Mensah, but the intern followed her. A male employee stepped between her and Prenevost, who went into a nearby conference room. The male employee tried to get Anato- Mensah to calm down and pack up her things, but Anato-Mensah left her desk and again tried to get to the conference room, the complaint said.

Several male employees then stood at the conference room door as Anato-Mensah continued to yell and swear and try to push her way in. At one point, she kicked at and broke a window in the conference room door. She had to be restrained to keep her out of the room, the complaint said.

"The whole situation was very scary," Prenevost told the paper.

Police arrived after Anato-Mensah was already gone. She has since been charged with criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct, both of which are misdemeanors. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 30.

The case is already getting plenty of public reaction at the newspaper's website, with comments including:

    * Welcome the new generation to the workplace! We can look forward a great deal more of this sort of behavior. There is a word, which begins with the letter "e" which accurately describes them. It's not "excellent." It's not "exceptional." Try "ENTITLED." And if they do not get their way, look out!

    * I'm sure the attorneys are already lined up at her door to file the discrimination lawsuit against KSTP. Even though the station has countless witnesses to her inappropriate criminal behavior, I'm sure they'll settle out of court, much to the delight of "Miss way too many names" and her attorneys. Which is what this was all about to begin with.

    * Her parents must be so proud. Oh, but wait, this is the age where you tell your children they never do anything wrong, so is anyone surprised that this happened? Maybe if her parents had guts she wouldn't be such an idiot.

    * If you are going to work at a job that requires some professionalism, perhaps you should acquire that skill before looking for work. Grow up. If your work was not up to expectations, the company has every right to terminate you. Welcome to the real world! By the way, obscenities are how the ignorant express themselves.

    * Seems to me she has missed her calling as a professional protester. Being a minority female combined with a "Super ----- " personality she would have been great at putting the "Man" in his place at the RNC. I would suggest she find a radical or terrorist group looking for help.

[Shammu]

Texas Teacher Arrested for Giving Topless Photo to Boy, 14

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

SAN ANTONIO —
A 27-year-old woman has been arrested on charges of distributing harmful material to a minor after a 14-year-old's parents found a topless photo of her on his cell phone.

Victoria Ann Chacon, a former middle school teacher, allegedly met the boy at their church, where she was a Sunday school teacher. Authorities at Somerset Independent School District said they found no evidence of any inappropriate relationships with students; the 14-year-old attended school elsewhere.

The boy's parents called police in March after finding racy letters in which Chacon professed her love. The boy initially refused to give a statement about the relationship, the arrest warrant says.

Several months later, the parents found a cell phone with a topless photo of Chacon. The phone was owned by Chacon and the two had been calling on another, according to court documents.

The woman was arrested Tuesday. Jail records had no attorney listed for her.

Texas Teacher Arrested for Giving Topless Photo to Boy, 14

[HisDaughter]

Public school teachers wild on social networks
Students see instructors in explicit photos, drinking alcohol, discussing sex online© 2008 WorldNetDaily

As part of a disturbing new trend, America's public-school teachers are increasingly posting questionable and even sexually explicit information on video-sharing websites and social networks frequented by youth.

According to several nationwide reports, students often search for their teachers on MySpace and Facebook, and some find more information about their instructors than they ever expected.

Looking for an alternative to public education? Read "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool"

The National Education Association listed a number of cases, while news outlets have been consistently reporting similar incidents, including the following:

Virginia – Monacan High School art teacher Stephen Murmer posted pictures of what he called "butt art" on YouTube in January 2007. He painted his buttocks and genitals and pressed them onto canvas. Many students saw his painting before the school fired him. He then contacted the ACLU and sued the district, saying it violated his First Amendment rights. Murmer reached a $65,000 settlement with the district.

A kindergarten teacher from Prince William County, Va., posted a video of a half-nude man having an gotcha12 in the shower, the Washington Post reported. Another Prince William County substitute teacher used MySpace to post photos of a woman lifting her dress, showing lingerie and flashing breasts.

Florida – Band director Scott Davis of Broward County posted explicit material about sex and drugs on his MySpace profile. He was later dismissed by the school.

Also, Florida middle-school teacher John Bush was fired from his position after officials discovered "offensive" and "unacceptable" photos on MySpace.

Palm Beach County, Fla., kindergarten teacher Meghan Buckley posted photos on Facebook of herself drinking and having a friend spank her buttocks, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Special-education teacher Andrew Summerlin, also of Palm Beach County, described himself as "super horny" and an "A++" in bed.

Colorado – An English teacher was fired for posting explicit sexual poetry on MySpace.

Tennessee – Nashville teacher Margaret Thompson posted "racy pictures" on her MySpace profile.

Massachusetts – Teacher Keath Driscoll referred to women as "whores" and posted photographs of alcohol consumption and "sexually suggestive" pictures. He was originally fired, but the Massachusetts Teachers Association sued. Driscoll received his job back, with back pay, seniority and benefits.

Georgia – Atlanta high school football coach Donald Shockley used his school computer to store pictures of an assistant principal wearing lingerie and posing provocatively. Shockley asked a student to use his computer for work, and the teen posted the pictures on the Internet and distributed them to his peers. The coach was later fired.

Ohio – According to the Columbus Dispatch, one teacher described herself as "an aggressive freak in bed," "sexy" and "an outstanding kisser," while another instructor said she had "gotten drunk," "taken drugs" and "gone skinny-dipping" in October last year. Both teachers posted their accounts on MySpace.

Maryland – In April, Montgomery County special education teacher posted a picture of talking sperm on her Facebook profile and used a slang term for oral sex, the Washington Post reported. Another teacher, Alina Espinosa of Clopper Mill Elementary School, included the following in her "about me" section: "I only have two feelings: hunger and lust. Also, I slept with a hooker. Be jealous. I like to go onto Jdate [an online dating service for Jewish people] and get straight guys to agree to sleep with me."

North Carolina – In the latest case, the Charlotte Observer reports a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher may be fired for "posting derogatory comments about students on Facebook." According to the report, four other instructors have been disciplined for using the social network for posts showing "poor judgment and bad taste." One teacher listed drinking as a favorite hobby and described her job as "teaching chitlins in the ghetto of Charlotte."

Another special-education teacher reportedly used Facebook to write, "I'm feeling p---ed because I hate my students!"

Teachers in several states have been fired or suspended for their postings on social networks, and some challenge their termination in court, citing exercise of free speech. Now teachers' unions are warning instructors about displaying questionable material.

Michael Simpson, assistant general counsel for the National Education Association, told the Washington Post teachers should think twice before claiming free speech protection under the First Amendment, as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that governments may terminate employees if their speech harms workplace function.

"I hate to think of what's out there," Ken Blackstone, a Prince William, Va., schools spokesman, told the Post. "But as public employees, we all understand the importance of living a public life above reproach."

[HisDaughter]

Dad links son's suicide to 'The God Delusion'
Says atheism-promoting book hidden under mattress, last page bookmarked
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

A New York man is linking the suicide of his 22-year-old son, a military veteran who had bright prospects in college, to the anti-Christian book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins after a college professor challenged the son to read it.

"Three people told us he had taken a biology class and was doing well in it, but other students and the professor were really challenging my son, his faith. They didn't like him as a Republican, as a Christian, and as a conservative who believed in intelligent design," the grief-stricken father, Keith Kilgore, told WND about his son, Jesse.

"This professor either assigned him to read or challenged him to read a book, 'The God Delusion,' by Richard Dawkins," he said.

Jesse Kilgore committed suicide in October by walking into the woods near his New York home and shooting himself. Keith Kilgore said he was shocked because he believed his son was grounded in Christianity, had blogged against abortion and for family values, and boasted he'd been debating for years.

Discover how atheism and immorality are being cleverly sold to Americans in David Kupelian's controversial best seller, "The Marketing of Evil."

After Jesse's death, Keith Kilmore learned of the book assignment from two of his son's friends and a relative. He searched Jesse's room and found the book under the mattress with his son's bookmark on the last page.

A WND message seeking a comment from Dawkins or his publisher was not returned today.

The first inkling of a reason for the suicide came, Keith Kilgore told WND, when one of Jesse's friends came to visit after word of his son's death circulated.

"She was in tears [and said] he was very upset by this book," Keith Kilgore said. "'It just destroyed him,' were her words.

"Then another friend at the funeral told me the same thing," Keith Kilgore said. "This guy was his best friend, and about the only other Christian on campus.

"The third one was the last person that my son talked to an hour before [he died,]" Keith Kilgore told WND, referring to a member of his extended family whose name is not being revealed here.

That relative, who had struggled with his own faith and had returned to Christianity, wrote in a later e-mail that Jesse "started to tell me about his loss of faith in everything."

"He was pretty much an atheist, with no belief in the existence of God (in any form) or an afterlife or even in the concept of right or wrong," the relative wrote. "I remember him telling me that he thought that murder wasn't wrong per se, but he would never do it because of the social consequences - that was all there was - just social consequences.

"He mentioned the book he had been reading 'The God Delusion' by Richard Dawkins and how it along with the science classes he had take[n] had eroded his faith. Jesse was always great about defending his beliefs, but somehow, the professors and the book had presented him information that he found to be irrefutable. He had not talked … about it because he was afraid of how you might react. ... and that he knew most of your defenses of Christianity because he himself used them often. Maybe he had used them against his professors and had the ideas shot down."

He then explained to Jesse his own personal journey of seeking "other explanations of God's existence" and told of his ultimate return.

"I told him it was my relationship with God, not my knowledge of Him that brought me back to my faith. No one convinced me with facts. ... it was a matter of the heart."

Keith Kilgore believes it was a biology class that raised questions for his son, and a biology professor at Jefferson Community College in Watertown, N.Y., where his son was attending, who suggested the book.

A school spokeswoman told WND that the "God Delusion" was not a part of the biology curriculum, and several of the professors she contacted said they had not even read the book. However, the spokeswoman was unable to contact all of the professors in the department and could not state that none of them had suggested the book to Jesse.

Local police also did not respond to WND inquiries about the investigation into the death.

"One of his friends, and his uncle (they did not know each other) both told me that Jesse called them hours before he took his life and that he had lost all hope because he was convinced that God did not exist, and this book was the cause," Keith Kilgore told WND.

Keith Kilgore, a retired military chaplain who has dealt with the various stages of grief and readily admits he's still in the "anger" stage over his son's death, said his son apparently had checked the "Delusion" out of the college library.

"I'm all for academic freedom," Keith Kilgore said. "What I do have a problem with is if there's going to be academic freedom, there has to be academic balance.

"They were undermining every moral and spiritual value for my [son]," he said. "They ought to be held accountable."

He suggested the moral is for Christians simply to abandon public schools wholly.

"Here's another thing," he continued. "If my son was a professing homosexual, and a professor challenged him to read [a book called] 'Preventing Homosexuality'… If my son was gay and [the book] made him feel bad, hopeless, and he killed himself, and that came out in the press, there would be an outcry.

"He would have been a victim of a hate crime and the professor would have been forced to undergo sensitivity training, and there may have even been a wrongful death lawsuit.

"But because he's a Christian, I don't even get a return telephone call," the father told WND.

He said he tried to verify the book assignment himself several times, without getting a response from the school.

Jesse Kilgore blogged on NetPotion and Newblog, and the writings that remained mostly addressed social ills and how anti-Christian many of the world's developments appeared to be.

He used the pen name JKrapture because, his father said, "He believed in the rapture, the evangelical concept of the Lord coming back."

On the Web, Jesse described himself as "conservative and mainly independent. I am a culture warrior and traditionalist. I have been debating since I was in 5th Grade, and never looked back. It is a habit I can't let go of."

One of Jesse's uncles, writing on the same website as Jesse, wrote: "While I knew he was having struggles with his faith, I had no idea that it ran that deep. … There are not enough words to describe how devastated I am at his loss. I know that some of you got to know him pretty well and (since I already started getting some questions about him) felt that you all should know that he is no longer with us."

From among the online community came these responses: "I am shocked and so sorry for your loss – our loss. My prayers are with you and all of your family at this difficult time," and "I AM at a loss of words.....I am sooooo sorry to hear your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family."

Keith Kilgore told WND he feels, by allowing his son to move into the atmosphere of a secular school, like "I put a toddler in the front of my car."

"My son is the Adam Walsh of the culture war. That's who my son is," he said, referring to the child abduction victim whose case was used to create a wide range of amber alert and other programs to protect children.

He said he has a wake-up call over the anti-Christian agenda of public education. And he has some goals.

"I want to hold schools accountable for what they're teaching our kids. This was malpractice," he said.

Dawkins, considered one of the world's most outspoken atheists, is a professor in the United Kingdom. He came to prominence in 1976 with his book "The Selfish Gene," promoting evolution.

In his "Delusion" treatise he claims that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that faith qualifies as a "delusion" – a fixed false belief.

[Shammu]

Sweden sets date for gay church weddings

6 Nov 08 10:17 CET

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has said Sweden may allow homosexuals to marry in the Church of Sweden from May 2009 pending the adoption of a new law.

While heterosexuals in Sweden can choose to marry in either a civil ceremony or a church ceremony, homosexuals are only allowed to register their partnerships in a civil ceremony. But this could all change should parliament pass legislation due to be presented shortly

"Sweden could have a gender neutral marriage law by May 1, 2009," Reinfeldt told Swedish Radio.

Civil unions granting gays and lesbians the same legal status as married couples have been allowed in Sweden since 1995.

If the new legislation is adopted, Sweden, already a pioneer in giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children, would become the first country in the world to allow gays to marry within a major church.

The Lutheran Church, which was separated from the state in 2000, has since January 2007 offered gays a religious blessing of their union. It has previously said it wants the word "marriage" reserved for heterosexual unions.

Pastors who do not want to perform a gay wedding ceremony may however have the right to refuse, something gay rights' activists have criticized.

In 2007, 74 percent of Swedes were members of the Lutheran Church.

Sweden's four-party centre-right government has been split on the issue, with the junior partner Christian Democrats also opposed to the use of the word "marriage" for homosexual unions.

However the three other parties, the conservative Moderates, the Liberals and the Centre Party, are in favour of a gender neutral law that eliminates the current reference to marriage as something between a man and a woman.

The opposition Social Democrats, the country's biggest party, also support such a law, and together the parties would garner enough support to adopt the legislation in parliament.

The issue has been a tricky one for Reinfeldt and the leader of the Christian Democrats, Göran Hägglund.

"The coalition government has agreed that we will present a basic marriage bill to parliament. The three parties in favour of a gender neutral marriage law will then present an accompanying motion seeking to have such a law in place by May 1, 2009," Reinfeldt said.

Hägglund said he was disappointed the coalition had failed to reach a compromise, telling news agency TT "there should have been a way to find a joint agreement."

Sweden sets date for gay church weddings

[Shammu]

Left Party: 'force pastors to perform gay weddings'
Published: 11 Nov 08 16:19 CET

As Sweden moves closer to a same-sex marriage law, Left Party leader Lars Ohly wants to include a provision to force pastors to wed gay couples.

According to Ohly, the gender neutral marriage law currently under consideration is only a first step.

All political parties in the Riksdag, with the exception of the Christian Democrats, have given their support to a legislative proposal which would allow for same-sex marriages.

The current measure allows pastors or other officiates to refuse to perform wedding ceremonies for gay couples if they so choose.

The Left Party wanted to go further than the current proposal and remove the exception for pastors who wish not to wed same-sex couples.

“We weren’t able to get the others to go along with that and what’s most important now is to move forward with gender-neutral marriage,” said Ohly.

“In the long run it’s inappropriate to be allow discrimination like this. We don’t think that someone should be allowed to refuse to wed same-sex couples.”

If Ohly has his way, a pastor who says no to marrying a gay couple would lose the right to perform wedding ceremonies.

The three opposition political parties have presented their own gay marriage legislative proposal, while the centre-right Moderate, Centre, and Liberal Parties plan to present a separate proposal soon.

It remains unclear if the six parties will be able to come together around a single, common proposal while in committee.

“We have a proposal which we don’t plan on walking away from,” said Ohly.

Both proposals would allow homosexual couples the right to be married in Sweden starting on May 1st, 2009.

Left Party: 'force pastors to perform gay weddings'

[Shammu]

No matter where someone stands on the issue, I would pray that, most people could agree that a church should not be FORCED to do something that's so against their beliefs.

[Shammu]

Swedish Church to join Stockholm Gay Pride parade

The Swedish Lutheran Church will march for the first time in the Gay Pride parade in Stockholm under the slogan "Love is stronger than everything", the Church announced on Thursday.

"For the first time ever, the parade at the Pride festival will have a delegation from the Swedish Church," it said in a statement.

The parade will go through the streets of the Swedish capital on Saturday.

The Church said the delegation would include about 30 people including two deans from the Stockholm and Uppsala cathedrals.

It said it also wanted to "break the masses' big silence" regarding gays, bisexuals and transexuals.

"The Swedish Church is a Church open to everyone," Uppsala priest Ann-Katrin Bosbach explained.

Sweden, already a pioneer in giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children, looks set to allow gays to marry in the Lutheran Church by introducing a new marriage law in January 2008.

If the so-called "gender neutral" marriage legislation is adopted, the Scandinavian country would become the first in the world to allow gays to marry within a major Church.

Stockholm Pride is Scandinavia's largest Gay Pride celebration and last year 45,000 persons participated, according to its organizers.

Homosexuality was not legalized in Sweden until 1944.

Swedish Church to join Stockholm Gay Pride parade

[nChrist]

No matter where someone stands on the issue, I would pray that, most people could agree that a church should not be FORCED to do something that's so against their beliefs.

Hello DreamWeaver,

Brother, all of the pastors I know would refuse, and that would be the end of the story - EVEN if it meant they had to stop all weddings. All of the pastors I know consider marriage to be a Holy Bond between a man and a woman with CHRIST over the home. Many even refuse to do STRAIGHT weddings where CHRIST won't be the head over the home. Many Christians in all lines of work will refuse to call evil good, nor will they accept evil as good. That's just a statement of fact that won't be changed, even if it means being put to death. This is probably the most reasonable Biblical precept for all Christians to follow, regardless of what the consequences are.

Isaiah 5:20 ESV  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Brothers and Sisters, the time is coming when evil enemies of JESUS CHRIST will be crushed and reserved for eternal judgment in the fires of hell. The HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD lives in our heart and is a guide for the discernment of right and wrong. As Christians, our MASTER is ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF. We must remember that the devil is only the master for the lost and this world is NOT our HOME. As Christians, we are no longer of this world because we were QUICKENED (TRANSLATED) into THE BODY OF CHRIST at the moment of our Salvation.

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 John 4:9-11  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

[Shammu]

Iowa College Bases Musical on Bible's 'Terror' Stories

Saturday , November 22, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa —
Don't expect to hear these Bible stories at church.

Cannibalism, rape, a bear that mauls children — this is the Bible?

They're among six stories from the Old Testament acted out in "Terror Texts," a musical at Northwestern College in Orange City.

Adding to the shocking nature of the stories are the theatrics, with actors decked out in Goth attire, a rock band and a mosh pit.

Theater professor Jeff Barker said the obscurity of the stories belies their value.

"We believe we have discovered something that has been lying dormant for many, many centuries," said Barker, who created and directs "Terror Texts."

The musical was first performed at the 1,200 student Christian college in northwest Iowa in February and came back for an encore this fall, with a last performance slated for this weekend.

Barker uses the King James version of the Bible, and actors speak each verse word-by-word. It is not an interpretation or adaptation, like "Godspell" or "Jesus Christ Superstar."

"There's tremendous power waiting when you simply speak and act these stories aloud with faithfulness to the text, not trying to adapt them or add a lot of bits, but just simply play what's written there," Barker said.

Barker views the Bible as a "repository of ancient plays," and when performed they can be seen in a whole new light — even the dark stories.

"I was looking for terror text, stories I can say are thematically tied together because they are frightening and mysterious and terrifying," Barker said. "That's part of what we're saying with this whole project that life and God himself are mysteries."

William Dyrness, a professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., specializes in visual arts in relation to religious tradition.

He said biblical scholars have proposed that much of the Old Testament is poetry and was designed to be sung, especially in the temple as part of worship.

"It's not far from that to think of it as a play," he said. "Theologians have argued the best way to understand the Bible is in terms of it being a great dramatic performance."

He called "Terror Text" a creative variation of that idea.

"This is obviously a very Protestant approach where you're attempting to understand this story so that you can see the way the Bible applies to your life," he said. "You carry it on in your life. You become part of the story."

Student Hannah McBride has several roles in the performance, including as a virgin who gets kidnapped at the end of a story of rape, murder and war. McBride said it has shown her something about herself.

"This particular project has affected the way I view negative emotions — grief, anger, bitterness and spite and hate. We are meant to be emotional people. The Bible in a lot of ways shows us that that's OK," she said. "We need to embrace that we're going to be very, very sad and we won't know what to do with that."

In her role as a virgin, McBride wears a wedding dress that has been destroyed. She describes her look as a "corpse bride."

"It has that image of what could have been great, I ruined," she said.

In a world in which religion often is practiced privately or individually, Barker said he hopes people will understand the Bible better through his performance.

"These mysterious, dark stories of the Old Testament, they bring us face-to-face with the suffering of the world," Barker said. "It says we are capable of great evil and we must not forget these stories and we have some serious things to be accountable for in our own lives as a group and individually."

Iowa College Bases Musical on Bible's 'Terror' Stories

[Shammu]

Capitalizing on the "darker" parts of Scripture without an understanding, why God put it there can't be a good thing.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

People who do not know God, think that they are enlightening the world with their intellectual conclusions. I have only one thing to say, these FOOLS will learn of GOD'S RIGHTEST ANGER, at one point in time. I only pray it won't be to late.

Knowing how most people feel about God. I am wondering if they're making God out to be a Terrorist and His followers blood thirsty terrorists. I am also wondering if to be a Christian is being equated to a "terrorist"??

I was uncomfortable with the wording of "Terror Texts". Seeing how hearts are growing COLDER and God is HATED,

[Shammu]

People Said to Believe in Aliens and Ghosts More Than God
Robert Roy Britt
Nov 24, 9:48 am ET

More people believe in aliens and ghosts than in God, a new survey finds, according to a British newspaper.

The survey, however, was done by a marketing firm in conjunction with the release of an X-Files DVD, and details of how the poll was conducted were not reported in the Daily Mail. Survey questions, depending on how they are written, can greatly skew results, along with how subjects are sampled.

That said, the poll of 3,000 people found that 58 percent believe in the supernatural, including paranormal encounters, while 54 percent believe God exists. Women were more likely than men to believe in the supernatural and were also more likely to visit a medium.

Indeed, humans are prone to believing in things they can neither see nor find logical evidence for.

A survey of U.S. college students done in 2006 found 23 percent of freshmen had a general belief in paranormal concepts - from astrology to communicating with the dead. Interestingly, the number jumped to 31 percent among seniors and 34 percent among graduate students.

Researchers who have compared various human belief systems say our tendency to believe is deeply rooted.

"While it is difficult to know for certain, the tendency to believe in the paranormal appears to be there from the beginning," said Christopher Bader, a Baylor University sociologist. "What changes is the content of the paranormal. For example, very few people believe in faeries and elves these days. But as belief in faeries faded, other beliefs, such as belief in UFOs, emerged to take their place."

Religion and belief in the paranormal are not linked as one might imagine. A handful of surveys show just the opposite, in fact.

"Paranormal beliefs are very strongly negatively related to religious belief," said Rod Stark, another Baylor researcher. Some scientists think this is so because religions tend to discourage paranormal beliefs, and indeed most devout practitioners of a religion have been shown to be the least likely to believe in Bigfoot, ghosts or aliens.

People Said to Believe in Aliens and Ghosts More Than God

[Shammu]

Shooting During Services at New Jersey Church
Sunday , November 23, 2008

CLIFTON, N.J. —
A gunman drove across the country to confront his estranged wife, then killed her in a church vestibule as Sunday services let out, authorities said. Two other people were injured in the attack, which sent churchgoers scrambling for safety.

The gunman fled, and authorities were searching for him and warned people that he was believed to be armed.

About 200 people were attending services inside St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton when the gunman opened fire before noon. Churchgoers described bedlam after the shots rang out.

"Kids were crying. People were screaming," Suja Alummoottil told The Record of Bergen County. "It was chaotic."

Police Detective Capt. Robert Rowan identified the slain woman as 24-year-old Reshma James and the gunman as 27-year-old Joseph M. Pallipurath of Sacramento, Calif.

Police did not identify the other two victims, but Rowan told The Star-Ledger of Newark that all three were shot in the head and that the other two, a 47-year-old woman and 23-year-old man, were in critical condition.

A spokeswoman for St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, where the victims were being treated, declined to comment on their conditions.

Alummoottil, 40, said Pallipurath appeared angry when he confronted James in the vestibule as the service was concluding. Alummoottil said she went to get help and, a few seconds later, heard three shots.

Rowan said James had recently moved from California to New Jersey to escape an abusive marriage and had filed a restraining order against Pallipurath.

Members of the church are mostly first-generation immigrants and their children from the southern Indian state of Kerala, according to the church's Web site.

Shooting During Services at New Jersey Church

[Soldier4Christ]

'Gay' adoption ban ruled unconstitutional
Judge allows homosexuals to become legal parents of boys, 4, 8

A Miami-Dade circuit judge today ruled Florida's 30-year ban on "gay" adoption unconstitutional, allowing a homosexual man to adopt two foster children who have been in his care since 2004.

Judge Cindy Lederman issued a 53-page order allowing Frank Gill, 47, and his "gay" partner to legally adopt the 4- and 8-year-old boys they've been raising, the Miami Herald reported.

''This is the forum where we try to heal children, find permanent families for them so they can get another chance at what every child should know and feel from birth, and go on to lead productive lives,'' Judge Lederman told the court. "We pray for them to thrive, but that is a word we rarely hear in dependency court.''

She continued, ''These children are thriving; it is uncontroverted."

Attorneys for Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum immediately announced they would appeal Lederman's ruling.

''We respect the court's decision,'' attorney Valerie Martin told the Herald. But, she said, "Based upon the wishes of our client, the Department of Children & Families, we have filed a notice of appeal this morning.''

According to the report, McCollum's office argued that homosexuals are more likely than heterosexuals to experience substance abuse problems and mental illness. Foster children are already experiencing a great deal of stress, and, according to the argument, they should not be forced to live under such circumstances.

Gill told reporters he is "elated" with Lederman's ruling.

''I cried tears of joy for the first time in my life,'' he said.

Gill said the state's "gay" adoption ban does not help children by placing them only in homes with heterosexual families.

"It results in more children being left without any parents at all," he said. "They don't have a mom or a dad.''

Lederman's ruling is not the first to declare the ban unconstitutional. In August, Monroe Circuit Judge David John Audlin Jr. wrote that the restriction was a product of "unveiled expressions of bigotry" after "gays" called for civil rights protections in 1977.

''Disqualifying every gay Floridian from raising a family, enjoying grandchildren or carrying on the family name, based on nothing more than lawful sexual conduct, while assuring child abusers, terrorists, drug dealers, rapists and murderers at least individualized consideration, " Audlin wrote, is "disproportionately severe'' and violates the Florida and U.S. Constitutions.

According to the Herald, Lederman said children have "fundamental" rights to have permanent adoptive parents if birth parents are no longer in the picture.

''The challenged statute, in precluding otherwise qualified homosexuals from adopting available children, does not promote the interests of children and, in effect, causes harm to the children it is meant to protect,'' she wrote. "There is no question the blanket exclusion of gay applicants defeats Florida's goal of providing [foster] children a permanent family through adoption.''

Lederman said sexual orientation is no indicator of a person's ability to parent.

"Sexual orientation no more leads to psychiatric disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, relationship instability, a lower life expectancy or sexual disorders than race, gender, socioeconomic class or any other demographic characteristic," she wrote. ''The most important factor in ensuring a well-adjusted child is the quality of parenting.''