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Shammu
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« Reply #705 on: February 18, 2009, 10:21:01 AM »

Pope to visit Jordan mosque during Holy Land tour

By JAMAL HALABY,
Feb 17

AMMAN, Jordan – Pope Benedict XVI will visit Jordan's largest mosque during his first papal tour of the Holy Land in May, a local Roman Catholic priest said Tuesday.

The pope's stop at the Hussein bin Talal Mosque in Amman will be his second visit to a Muslim place of worship since becoming pope in 2005, said Rifat Bader, a Catholic priest in Jordan who is the spokesman for the Jordanian leg of the pope's Holy Land tour. In 2006, Benedict prayed at Turkey's famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

"He will also meet there with Muslim leaders and religious scholars at the mosque, underlining the coexistence between religions," Bader told The Associated Press.

The mosque, built in outskirts of Amman nearly four years ago, is named after the late King Hussein, who died in 1999.

Jordan will be the pope's first stop on the Holy Land tour from May 8-15, Bader said. He will also travel to Israel and the West Bank, making stops in cities including Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Bader said discussions were under way to possibly add Gaza on the pope's itinerary.

During his three-day stay in Jordan, the pope will also visit biblical sites including Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have first seen the promised land, and a spot on the Jordanian River, where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, Bader said.

The pope also plans to hold a public Mass in Jordan, where 3 percent of the country's 5.8 million people are Christians.

Benedict will then travel to Israel, where President Shimon Peres is expected to escort him. Bader said the pope will stop at the recently renovated Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum during his visit to Jerusalem and will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

The late Pope John Paul II came to the Holy Land in a 2000 pilgrimage, visiting Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The visit to the Mideast comes at a time of strained relations between the Vatican and Israel. The fragile relations worsened last month when the German pope reinstated an excommunicated bishop who has questioned the extent of the Holocaust. Benedict later condemned the bishop's remarks and spoke out against anti-Semitism.

Relations between the Vatican and the Muslim world have also been tense in recent years. In 2006, Benedict made remarks on Islam and holy war during a speech in Germany that angered many Muslims, leading him to backtrack and declare himself "deeply sorry."

Pope to visit Jordan mosque during Holy Land tour
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« Reply #706 on: February 27, 2009, 09:12:41 PM »

Prince of Wales calls for 'bridges' to be built between faiths
26 Feb 2009

The Prince of Wales called for bridges to be built between faiths as he addressed members of a centre for Islamic studies at a special dinner.

He talked of the need for society to develop understanding and find strength in diversity to help overcome "dangerous prejudice".

The Prince was speaking at a reception hosted by The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, a recognised independent Centre of Oxford University.

Established in 1985 the Centre encourages a better understanding of the culture and civilisation of Islam and of contemporary Muslim societies.

The Centre, of which the Prince is patron, pursues academic excellence through teaching, research and publication, and the cultivation of sustained dialogue and collaboration within the global academic community.

The Prince, who was invited in celebration of his 60th birthday, last night addressed an audience including local dignitaries, scholars and other guests including Jack Straw at the university's Magdalen College.

He told them: "One of the challenges we face is the process of integration which in many ways is a dynamic one, evolved with each successive generation.

"To be successful in developing a truly harmonious society in which everyone's talent can be recognised and developed on its own merits, we have to find the right ways to derive strength from our diversity.

"As inhabitants of this country we all have a role to play in shaping our society on the basis of one fundamental principle and that is understanding."

The Prince said the great faiths needed to concentrate on what they shared in common rather than "an obsession with the differences between them" and the chasms that creates.

He added: "The future surely lies in rediscovering the universal truths that dwell at the heart of these religions.

"All I have ever wanted to do is build bridges that span these chasms."

The Prince said he was delighted by the Centre's work in increasing understanding and breaking down barriers.

He also talked about the Centre's positive response to raising awareness of the need to protect the environment and "human stewardship" of the natural world.

He thanked the Centre for helping conduct research into conservation practices in the Islamic world including methods of preserving rainwater.

At present Centre Fellows teach in a range of departments and faculties of the University of Oxford including Politics, International Relations, Development Studies, Theology, Anthropology, History and Continuing Education.

It attracts visiting scholars from all parts of the Muslim world.

It is currently constructing a new building including a library, auditorium, prayer hall, dining hall and exhibition gallery.

Next year it will begin a scholarship programme for young British Muslims.

Dr Farhan Nizami, the Director of the Centre, paid tribute to the Prince's "guidance and encouragement" and said they owed him a great debt of gratitude.

He said: "These great environmental practices are examples of how the centre is trying to learn from the works of his Royal Highness.

"We wish to contribute to a society where people work together for the common good and equality and mutual respect."

Prince of Wales calls for 'bridges' to be built between faiths
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« Reply #707 on: February 27, 2009, 09:24:49 PM »


Prince Charles really needs to study the Bible.

He's about one of the most immoral public figures out there. No, I am not name calling but labeling his behavior. He is not one to speak on anything regarding faith or morals.

I do agree that because someone believes differently that you shouldn't hate them nor want their demise. But he is preaching to a religion that believes killing infidels is a command from their God.

That is a unique belief in itself, that makes Islam so dangerous to freedom. If he researched Islam he'd already know that. Islam is a religion of hate and intolerance to any other faith.
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« Reply #708 on: February 27, 2009, 09:51:14 PM »

Jewish Center Attacked in Venezuela; No Injuries

February 26, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Representatives of Venezuela's Jewish population say a community center has been attacked by unidentified assailants who threw an explosive at the building.

Abraham Garzon is president of the Jewish Community Center located in downtown Caracas. He says a small explosive resembling a pipe bomb was lobbed at the building before dawn on Thursday. The explosion damaged the doors to the center, but nobody was injured by the blast.

It was the second attack against a Jewish institution this year.

A Caracas synagogue was ransacked and vandalized last month. The assailants shattered religious objects, spray-painted "Jews, get out" on the temple's walls and stole a computer database with names and addresses of Jews living in Venezuela.

Jewish Center Attacked in Venezuela; No Injuries
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« Reply #709 on: February 28, 2009, 12:00:02 AM »

Prince Charles really needs to study the Bible.

He's about one of the most immoral public figures out there. No, I am not name calling but labeling his behavior. He is not one to speak on anything regarding faith or morals.

I do agree that because someone believes differently that you shouldn't hate them nor want their demise. But he is preaching to a religion that believes killing infidels is a command from their God.

That is a unique belief in itself, that makes Islam so dangerous to freedom. If he researched Islam he'd already know that. Islam is a religion of hate and intolerance to any other faith.

I wonder if Prince Charles knows that senseless killing, unending violence, suicide bombing, and cutting heads off is BAD FOR ISLAM'S PUBLIC RELATIONS. Let's not even mention total intolerance for other religions, disgusting abuse of women, denial of basic human rights, and never-ending threats to annihilate other races and religions off the face of the earth. Other religions don't do these things, and other religions don't hate Islam. Most religions have no desire to kill innocent people and EVEN TRY to be NICE TO OTHERS. JUST BEING NICE TO OTHERS WOULD DO WONDERFUL THINGS WITH "BRIDGE BUILDING" AND UNDERSTANDING.

All of us would love to see better understanding and respect. A good beginning is knowing that innocent people will not tolerate being threatened, killed, or forced to convert to another religion. Islam needs to understand this. STOPPING THE VIOLENCE AND KILLING IN THEIR NAME WOULD IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS IMMEDIATELY!
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« Reply #710 on: February 28, 2009, 04:06:17 PM »

The fact that Islam, and many other false religions, have highjacked the true scriptures and added in there own brand of violence speaks volumes.
It's not the religious aspects of this plagiarized book which needs to be addressed, it's the interpolation which commands faithful followers, not of God, but of Mohomad, to kill the enemies, again, not of God, but the hijackers themselves, who stole scriptures in order to build an army of blind faithfull followers to do their killing for them.

Mohamed was sly, and knew if he only had God on his side, he could rally the masses and trick them into surrendering their own lives, or the lives of their children, as "godly warriors" so that Mohamed and his pals could grab hold of power, real estate and wealth, and so all of a sudden, Mohamed had a vision, not of an angel, but of satan himself, who later magically turned into an angel of God, and the rest is history.

Once we make it clear that the killings and the wars are not based on the will of God, or any so called repression of religious freedom, but rather the murderous will of Mohamed and his followers exclusively,  then we can go on to address the plagiarizing itself, and set the record straight.

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« Reply #711 on: March 10, 2009, 11:02:08 PM »

PERV GROUP PUTS 10G 'HIT' ON ANDY
By FREDRIC U. DICKER
March 9, 2009

ALBANY - A $10,000 In ternet bounty was placed on Attorney General An drew Cuomo's head by a suspected agent of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, The Post has learned.

The shocking death threat by the infamous organization of pederasts was posted three weeks ago on an Internet news-group bulletin board that originated in The Bronx, law-enforcement sources said.

The threat, described by a source as "unprecedented" because it is believed to come from an organization, prompted a sweeping and ongoing criminal probe by the Attorney General's Office and at least one other law-enforcement organization, and subpoenas were issued, sources said.

The "reward" was offered under the headline: "$10,000 to shoot Andrew Cuomo in the face!"

"I am an official of NAMBLA, and I can confirm that we have raised the cash to reward any individual who manages to accomplish this task. Thank you," read the message, a transcript of which was obtained by The Post.

The message, which investigators have linked to an imprisoned pervert with strong NAMBLA ties - and whom Cuomo's office is seeking to keep behind bars under a "civil commitment" law - was spotted by a citizen who brought it to the attention of Verizon, his Internet service provider. Law-enforcement sources declined to reveal the imprisoned man's identity.

But an informant connected to the man's case told investigators NAMBLA is, in fact, out to kill Cuomo, sources said.

"He said he believes the death threat on the Internet is connected to an effort by NAMBLA to kill the attorney general," an investigative source said.

"It is our understanding that people in the, and I hate to call it this, 'pedophile community' are angry at Cuomo's office because he's been making the [Internet service providers] take responsibility for policing child pornography - and he's been very aggressive in seeking to keep NAMBLA types behind bars through civil commitment."

Verizon security officers quickly removed the posting and notified police agencies, including Cuomo's office, sources said.

"An aggressive criminal investigation" was then launched with subpoenas issued targeting the Internet site and the person who sent the message, the sources said.

Security around Cuomo - normally light to nonexistent - was immediately tightened.

The attorney general, who has recently garnered national and international attention through his investigation of huge bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives as their firm was being acquired by Bank of America, is now being accompanied during public appearances by several armed investigators who work for his office.

Criminal investigators, working with Verizon, tracked the message to a news group maintained by a woman living in a private home in The Bronx.

The woman denied any knowledge of the message, allowed investigators to examine her personal computer, and was eventually told she was not a suspect, sources said.

"She was clearly not involved," one source said.

Investigators, meanwhile, tried to track the source of the message itself - locating a partial e-mail address - but computer-tracing efforts "led to a dead end," according to the source.

Cuomo's office has kept at least 75 convicted sexual predators, including several linked to NAMBLA, in state prison under a tough, new civil-commitment law approved in 2007. The measure allows sexually violent offenders to be confined even when their sentences would otherwise be up.

A Cuomo spokesman called the threat "an ongoing security matter that we take very seriously."

Security surrounding public officials is a sensitive subject rarely discussed openly, but in early 2007, after then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer authorized State Police protection for former Gov. George Pataki, it was revealed that Pataki had been the subject of 146 "high-risk" threats during his 12 years in office.

NAMBLA, once a publicly active organization with chapters in New York City and on the West Coast, has largely been driven underground by a series of criminal prosecutions, civil lawsuits and aggressive infiltration by law-enforcement organizations.

PERV GROUP PUTS 10G 'HIT' ON ANDY
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« Reply #712 on: March 10, 2009, 11:07:40 PM »


This needs to hit the media full force!!

They openly want to protect their ability to molest young children. And they seem willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. I think anyone associated with NAMBLA should be behind bars to protect the rest of society.

By the way, why does the investigator "HATE" to call them the pedophile community? Is it because he hates the fact there is such a community? Or is it that he doesn't like to label them pedophiles?
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« Reply #713 on: March 10, 2009, 11:09:33 PM »

Violent Intruders Attack Brooklyn Synagogues
Adar 15, 5769 / March 11, '09
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

(IsraelNN.com) For the second time in less than a week, a packed Brooklyn, New York, synagogue has been the target of threats of violence by intruders.

On Monday, according to Yeshiva World News, an Arab man in his mid-30s entered Boro Park's 'Sephardish Shul' and began making proclamations of jihad. Members of a Jewish volunteer security organization, the Shomrim, apprehended the threatening individual. They held him until police officers arrived at the scene, arresting the suspect. Detectives spoke with the "Middle Eastern man" at a station house near the synagogue.

Police officials reminded the community, "If you see something, say something." Security in Brooklyn's heavily Jewish Boro Park area has been stepped up during the Purim holiday.

Just two days earlier, a man wielding a butcher's knife burst into a Kerestir Chassidic synagogue in Williamsburg. He initially turned up unarmed and began throwing soda cans at the gathered worshipers, which hit one of them, and returned shortly thereafter with the bladed weapon.

The attacker was prevented from using the butcher's knife on anyone by a young man, described as a "friend" of the knife-wielding intruder, who then fled together with him.

The recent attacks come just over a month after Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn was targeted in a series of English-language jihadist videos posted on the Internet. The videos and accompanying texts singled out "770," but also intimated that all Orthodox Jewish organizations were equally worthy of attack by Muslims. The threatening material included images of the 770 synagogue and study house, pictures of the police van out front, and indications of which parts of the building are crowded at what times.

The source of the thinly-veiled threats, a group called Revolution Muslim, is domestic to the United States.

Violent Intruders Attack Brooklyn Synagogues
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« Reply #714 on: March 11, 2009, 02:36:54 AM »

This needs to hit the media full force!!

They openly want to protect their ability to molest young children. And they seem willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. I think anyone associated with NAMBLA should be behind bars to protect the rest of society.

By the way, why does the investigator "HATE" to call them the pedophile community? Is it because he hates the fact there is such a community? Or is it that he doesn't like to label them pedophiles?


Brother,

All I can tell you is that most law enforcement officers get sick to their stomach just thinking about these child predators. Average people would throw up just being told about what these people do. One of their sick little slogans used to be "eight is too late". How could anyone even imagine the horror their victims go through:  physical, psychological, and emotional. It's impossible to understand how a human being could do what is done to these small children. I'll just say that it's a nightmare for everyone involved except for the INHUMAN SICKO committing the crime. I could say more about their methods of operation, but I can't stand to think about this more right now.
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« Reply #715 on: March 11, 2009, 09:57:22 PM »

Teen kills 15 in Germany before taking own life
Vanessa Gera, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 37 mins ago



WINNENDEN, Germany – A 17-year-old wielding a Beretta 9 mm pistol burst into classrooms at his former high school Wednesday and gunned down students — some of whom died with their pencils still in hand — in a rampage that ended with 15 dead before he took his own life, authorities said.

There was no immediate indication of motive, but the gunman's victims were primarily female: eight of nine students killed were girls, and all three teachers were women. Three men were killed later as the suspect, identified by police as Tim K., fled.

"I heard two shots and then screaming," said a 15-year-old student who gave her name only as Betty. "At first I thought it was a joke, but then someone called 'Run, run!' and I saw students jumping out of the windows and took off running."

The gunman — dressed in all black — took students in the first classroom completely by surprise, evidenced by the morbid scene that awaited the first officers to arrive, said regional police director Ralf Michelfelder.

"Children were sitting at their tables, with pencils still in their hands, their heads fallen over on the table," he said. "Most of them had shots in their head — it must have all happened in seconds."

The dark-haired teen, shown wearing glasses in pictures on German television, apparently took the weapon from his father's collection of 16 firearms along with a "multitude of ammunition," police said. His father was a member of the local gun club and kept the weapons locked away except for the pistol, which was kept in the bedroom.

Police said the suspect was a German teen who was a below-average student at the school of about 1,000 pupils, but managed to graduate last year.

"He was lower than average, and he wasn't engaged in school events," Michelfelder said.

A sister of the suspect attends the school.

Police received an emergency call from the school at 9:33 a.m. The first officers responded about two minutes later, said Baden Wuerttemburg state interior minister Heribert Rech. They heard shots on the second floor and ran upstairs, catching a glimpse of the suspect on a staircase, Rech said.

He fired a shot at the police and then fled, killing his last victims in the school — two teachers — on his way out, Rech said.

"Our officers were very quick," Rech said. "Through the immediate police intervention they were able to prevent a further escalation of the crime."

After fleeing the school, the suspect ran into downtown Winnenden, a town of 28,000, where he shot two people walking by a psychiatric clinic, killing one and wounding the other, police said.

The gunman then hijacked a car and forced the driver to head south while threatening his life from the back seat, triggering a land and air manhunt involving 700 police officers and four helicopters, according to Stuttgart prosecutors.

The driver swerved off the road to avoid a police checkpoint and managed to escape, while the suspect fled from the car into an industrial area in the town of Wendlingen, about 24 miles (40 kilometers) from Winnenden.

He entered a car dealership, where he shot and killed his final victims — a salesman and a man shopping for a car — and then went back outside, prosecutors said.

He opened fire on police swarming the area, who shot back and hit the suspect, who fell wounded to the ground, Michelfelder said.

But he got back up, reloaded his weapon, and fled into what turned out to be a dead-end street. Police found him there dead, having apparently shot himself in the head.

Two police officers suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

The death toll was close to that of Germany's worst school shooting.

In the 2002 shooting, 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser shot and killed 12 teachers, a secretary, two students and a police officer before turning his gun on himself in the Gutenberg high school in Erfurt, in eastern Germany.

Steinhaeuser, who had been expelled for forging a doctor's note, was a gun club member licensed to own weapons. The attack led Germany to raise the age for owning recreational firearms from 18 to 21.

German Chancellor Angel Merkel called the shooting "a horrific crime."

"It is hard to put into words what happened today, but our sadness and sympathy goes out to the victims' families," Merkel said.

The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, stood in silence for a minute, to honor the victims.

"It is our task as responsible politicians in the European Union and, indeed, all the member states to do our utmost that such deeds can be prevented," said EU assembly president Hans-Gert Pottering, a German.

Teen kills 15 in Germany before taking own life
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« Reply #716 on: March 11, 2009, 10:02:15 PM »

Quote
WINNENDEN, Germany – A 17-year-old wielding a Beretta 9 mm pistol burst into classrooms at his former high school Wednesday and gunned down students — some of whom died with their pencils still in hand — in a rampage that ended with 15 dead before he took his own life, authorities said.


Lord Jesus I know I've asked you this often but, how much longer are you going to tarry??

Please Lord, comfort all those affected by the recent killings, of this lone gunman.
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« Reply #717 on: March 11, 2009, 10:17:55 PM »

Many Vt. Church Leaders Support Gay Marriage
Burlington, Vermont - March 11, 2009

182 members of Vermont's clergy have signed on to a declaration in support of same-sex marriage.

They represent nine religious denominations and spoke out in advance of next week's Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Some clergy told reporters at a press conference today they had the support of their congregations, but not necessarily the support of their churches' governing bodies.

"Both congregations would on the whole support our church celebrating and their pastor officiating at a gay marriage," said Rev. Rebecca Clark, who serves both the Grace United Methodist Church in Plainfield and the Trinity United Methodist Church in Montpelier. "But it still would not be permitted by the United Methodist Church. Although the majority of United Methodists in Vermont support gay marriage and have supported civil unions in our own legislation, the United Methodist Church sets its polity as a global body. The global body has a different stance."

Vermont's governor says he's against gay marriage. Jim Douglas says Vermont's civil unions law is good the way it is and the state doesn't need a "divisive" debate on the topic.

Many Vt. Church Leaders Support Gay Marriage
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« Reply #718 on: March 11, 2009, 10:20:23 PM »

Many Vt. Church Leaders Support Gay Marriage
Burlington, Vermont - March 11, 2009

182 members of Vermont's clergy have signed on to a declaration in support of same-sex marriage.

They represent nine religious denominations and spoke out in advance of next week's Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.



All I can say is, they NEED to come back to God, and NOT go against the Bible. God has told us in His written Word, about this subject.

Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
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« Reply #719 on: March 11, 2009, 10:23:02 PM »

'Sex-y' sermons cause stir in rural Alabama
March 11, 2009 - 8:58 AM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GOOD HOPE, Ala. - It's one thing for a church in a big city like Dallas or Atlanta to tackle the ticklish topic of sex. It blends in with the urban scene.

It's another thing when a small-town congregation puts up billboards with the phrase "Great sex: God's way" on rural highways to promote a sermon series. You can't even legally buy beer in Cullman County, and a preacher is talking about S-E-X on Sunday morning?

Daystar Church, whose congregation has grown dramatically under pastor Jerry Lawson, has run up against the sensibilities of a conservative north Alabama community with a monthlong focus on sex.

Sex just isn't an appropriate topic for church, some say, and others are upset over the church's signs, which advertise the sermon series and accompanying Web site.

"It's really stirred up the people here," said Good Hope town clerk Joann Jones.

Evangelist Roland Belew, a self-described fundamentalist and former trucker who now preaches at a truck stop, said the whole idea goes against the teaching of New Testament apostles.

"Paul said preach the Gospel," said Belew. "Talking about sex ain't gonna get nobody to heaven."

The controversy is a bit ironic considering the church's overall point is about as straight-laced as they come: That God intends for sex to be enjoyed solely within a heterosexual marriage, and that anything else - adultery, pornography, homosexuality, even "sexual arousal" outside of marriage - is sin.

Churches have been talking about sex and sexual purity more often. In November, the Rev. Ed Young of the Fellowship Church based in Dallas drew nationwide attention by challenging married couples to have sex for seven straight days in the name of strengthening marriages.

But an expert who tracks evangelical Christianity, Larry Eskridge, said few are addressing the subject as directly as Daystar.

"It sounds like an example of one of those church-growth, market-savvy campaigns going out to an area where you wouldn't normally see it," said Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College in Illionis. "I could see where in that particular setting, that could raise some eyebrows."

City Hall has gotten a few complaints about the church's sexy signs from a handful of people like Belew, 71, who preaches in a trailer off Interstate 65.

Even the 22-year-old mayor, Corey Harbison, worries that the "great sex" message will force parents to talk about the birds and the bees with inquisitive young children before either is ready.

"I understand what they're trying to do. I get it," said Harbison. "(But) some people just aren't ready for that. Good Hope is just a good old, country town."

Lawson, the pastor at the center of the debate, said the purpose of his sermons and the billboards was to get Christian parents talking to their kids about sex before they learn too much immorality from TV or playground buddies.

"I think some people are kind of missing the point," said Lawson.

Lawson is the lead pastor at Daystar Church, which is affiliated with the Church of God and draws about 2,000 people on Saturday nights and Sunday to its $5.7 million campus on a hilltop beside I-65. People come from as far away as the northern suburbs of Birmingham, 45 miles to the south.

The church's attendance is slightly larger than the entire population of Good Hope, which has three other churches in its town limits and five others within a stone's throw. The community is a mix of farm homes, middle-class subdivisions, mobile home parks and a few McMansions.

Daystar was a country church called Glory Hill Church of God when Lawson arrived nearly nine years ago. The church "relaunched" itself in the pattern of an urban megachurch in 2002 - there's Starbucks coffee in the lobby and video screens everywhere - and took off.

"In the next seven years 100 people became 2,000 people," said Lawson, who sports the hip, young megachurch look - short hair, a goatee and dark clothes, minus a tie.

The church has a second-hand clothes shop for needy neighbors, and Lawson said it sends out 100 volunteers at a time for local work days. Members even are trying to raise $10,000 to put new sod on the baseball field at the local high school.

But it's the "great sex" series - timed to coincide with Valentine's Day - that got people talking about Daystar. More than anything, people noticed the blue billboard along Alabama 69 with the "GreatSexGodsWay.com" Web address beside a drawing of a bride and groom.

Belew worries that vulnerable teenagers will get the idea from the sign that God says it's OK for them to have sex.

"It's a delicate subject. Preach the word of God and people will live right and get right," said Belew, who has a big wooden cross and U.S. flag in his front yard.

The mayor said some longtime residents already were a bit leery of Daystar because it's gotten so big so quickly, drawing members from other cities and dwarfing everything else in town. The focus on sex - particularly the billboards - turned some off even more.

Lawson said his sermons are more than marketing at Daystar, which dreams of opening satellite churches in big cities. The church needs to be out front on the topic of sex when even kids' TV shows depict illicit relationships and homosexuality, he said.

"It comes down to God saying the most healthy place for sex and the only right place for sex is within a marriage - one man, one woman, and one marriage," Lawson said.

Ed Scarborough's landscaping company is almost directly beneath one of Daystar's "great sex" billboards. He doesn't go to Lawson's church, and he likes the idea behind the signs and the sermons. But still ....

"For Christian people I think it's portraying the message God sent in the Bible," Scarborough said. "But I do wonder if a non-Christian would get it."

'Sex-y' sermons cause stir in rural Alabama
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