Top 10 Bible-Minded Cities in US for 2017 Revealed

How do Americans from each region interact with the Bible? A study by Barna Group explores the faith profile of 131 cities to identify the top 10 most Bible-minded cities as well as the least Bible-minded cities in 2017.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#hoFlhdSAt2oaIPHt.99

How do Americans from each region interact with the Bible? A study by Barna Group explores the faith profile of 131 cities to identify the top 10 most Bible-minded cities as well as the least Bible-minded cities in 2017.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#hoFlhdSAt2oaIPHt.99

Barna's annual Bible-Minded Cities report, in partnership with American Bible Society, is based on interviews with 76,505 adults over a 10-year period. And it found that Chattanooga in Tennessee is the most Bible-minded city in America, for the second year in a row.

The evangelical polling organization determined "Bible-mindedness" by asking the respondents how regular they are in reading the Bible and what they think of its accuracy. Based on the results, the group found that 50 percent of the population of Chattanooga is Bible-minded.

Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa in Alabama have taken the second spot, with 49 percent. In 2015, these cities had the first spot.

Roanoke and Lynchburg in Virginia, with 48 percent, are the third most Bible-minded.

Then it's back to Tennessee, with the Tri-Cities area, also around 48 percent, coming in at fourth place.

Shreveport in Louisiana (47 percent) has taken fifth place.

The next five are also from the Southern "Bible belt." They include Charlotte in North Carolina (46 percent); Springfield in Missouri (46 percent); Little Rock and Pine Bluff in Arkansas (44 percent); Knoxville in Tennessee (44 percent); Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson in South Carolina and Asheville in North Carolina (44 percent).

Which are the least Bible-minded cities in America?

Albany, Schenectady and Troy in New York with only about 10 percent of their populations being Bible-minded is at the top of that list for the second year in a row.

The New England area takes the second and third positions, with Boston in Massachusetts and Manchester in New Hampshire at 11 percent.

Providence in Rhode Island and New Bedford in Massachusetts with 12 percent are close behind.

Cedar Rapids and Waterloo in Iowa, at 14 percent, is the only Midwest city in the top five least Bible-minded cities, slightly ahead of another New York state contender, Buffalo at 14 percent.

The East coast and the West make up the remainder of the top 10 spots, including Las Vegas in Nevada (around 14 percent); San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose in California (15 percent); Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut (16 percent); Salt Lake City in Utah (17 percent); then back to New York with the biggest American city New York (17 percent) sliding into tenth place.

Nationally, only 25 percent of the population is considered Bible-minded, according to Barna. Individuals considered to be Bible-minded are those who report reading the Bible in the past week and who strongly assert the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches.

"This definition captures action and attitude — those who both engage and esteem the Christian scriptures. The rankings thus reflect an overall openness or resistance to the Bible in various U.S. cities."

Barna recently also released data revealing which of America's cities are the most "churched," "unchurched," "dechurched" and "post-Christian."

According to the data, the two most "churched" areas in the United States are Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Salt Lake City, Utah, which are both 59 percent churched. The areas of Augusta-Aiken, Georgia, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ranked as the third and fourth most churched cities, being 57 percent churched. The area of Birmingham-Anniston-Tuscaloosa, Alabama, ranked as the fifth most churched area at 56 percent churched.

Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa in Alabama have taken the second spot, with 49 percent. In 2015, these cities had the first spot.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#hoFlhdSAt2oaIPHt.99Barna's annual Bible-Minded Cities report, in partnership with American Bible Society, is based on interviews with 76,505 adults over a 10-year period. And it found that Chattanooga in Tennessee is the most Bible-minded city in America, for the second year in a row.

The evangelical polling organization determined "Bible-mindedness" by asking the respondents how regular they are in reading the Bible and what they think of its accuracy. Based on the results, the group found that 50 percent of the population of Chattanooga is Bible-minded.

Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa in Alabama have taken the second spot, with 49 percent. In 2015, these cities had the first spot.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#hoFlhdSAt2oaIPHt.Barna's annual Bible-Minded Cities report, in partnership with American Bible Society, is based on interviews with 76,505 adults over a 10-year period. And it found that Chattanooga in Tennessee is the most Bible-minded city in America, for the second year in a row.

The evangelical polling organization determined "Bible-mindedness" by asking the respondents how regular they are in reading the Bible and what they think of its accuracy. Based on the results, the group found that 50 percent of the population of Chattanooga is Bible-minded.

Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa in Alabama have taken the second spot, with 49 percent. In 2015, these cities had the first spot.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#hoFlhdSAt2oaIPHt.Barna's annual Bible-Minded Cities report, in partnership with American Bible Society, is based on interviews with 76,505 adults over a 10-year period. And it found that Chattanooga in Tennessee is the most Bible-minded city in America, for the second year in a row.

The evangelical polling organization determined "Bible-mindedness" by asking the respondents how regular they are in reading the Bible and what they think of its accuracy. Based on the results, the group found that 50 percent of the population of Chattanooga is Bible-minded.

Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa in Alabama have taken the second spot, with 49 percent. In 2015, these cities had the first spot.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#hoFlhdSAt2oaIPHt.99

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/top-10-bible-minded-cities-in-us-for-2017-revealed-189274/#UlSBkhpyK2rUgqBq.99

Christian Converts in India Beaten for Refusing to Worship Hindu Gods

People in India have been converting to Christianity following what has been described as miraculous healings done in the name of Jesus, persecution watchdog group Open Doors has said.

These Christians have remained devoted to their new faith in Jesus, despite enduring immense pressure from radicals who beat them for refusing to worship Hindu gods.

Open Doors shared the stories of several Christians from India on Monday, with one man, identified as Sohan, describing what happened to him after he and others in his village decided to follow Christ: "The villagers crowded around us and started punching and kicking us, all over our bodies. They asked us to praise Hindu gods and goddesses. We refused. They kicked us harder."

Sohan was accused by the radicals of converting people to Christianity, which is against the law in five of India's states.

He said that despite his fear of being arrested, which led to him spending four days in jail, he prayed to God, and saw those prayers answered.

"I preached the Gospel and prayed for an inmate who was sick. He was healed and believed in Christ instantly. My other cell mate was a person suffering from intense depression. He kept saying that he wanted to kill himself. I prayed for him and the suicidal thoughts left him. He also accepted Christ," Sohan revealed.

He added: "The third person I met was a young man falsely accused of raping a woman. He also used to remain very upset and felt hopeless about his life. I shared the Gospel with him, and he also accepted Christ inside the prison. This way I saw God's immense power and deliverance."

Open Doors, which monitors and provides relief to persecuted Christians around the world, was able, along with its partners, to bail out Sohan, who has reportedly returned to his village, which wasn't named, and lives among the people who attacked him and had him arrested.

"I suffered with many physical ailments and financial troubles before I became a Christian. Now I have freedom from all those problems and have a new life. This new life I will live only for Him, even if it includes persecution," Sohan said of his experience.

"I give thanks to your organization for your help."

Another Christian, identified as Mohan, said that while he was still a Hindu, his family prayed to Hindu gods and sacrificed animals in the hopes of healing his sick father.

One day a Christian villager advised that they start praying to Jesus instead.

"When we did, my father was healed. There was no more sickness in my family. Of course, we followed Jesus after that. To be honest, we never anticipated resistance," Mohan revealed.

His fellow villagers were angry when they saw that the family was happy and healthy and following Jesus, and told them to leave their home. Mohan's family refused, however, and for the past 10 years they've faced constant discrimination and attacks.

"Fifteen men came to their house, tied his parents' hands behind their backs, and forced them to stand in a pool of water up to their shoulders until Mohan's brothers could pay for their release. The couple were kept like this for 17 hours," Open Doors said.

"When Mohan got married, local people forced him and his wife to take part in a Hindu marriage ceremony, and would not allow them to perform a Christian wedding. When Mohan's father died, their Hindu relatives wouldn't allow him to be buried in the village; Mohan's family had to bury him in the jungle."

Open Doors says it has been helping people like Mohan's family recover and pay for medical expenses, and asked for Christians to pray and help support efforts reaching out to persecuted people in India.

There have been several recent reports of Hindu radicals attempting to convert Christians back to Hinduism.

International Christian Concern, another watchdog group, reported back in May that as many as 15 Christian families were forced to undergo such reconversion ceremonies in the Junwani village of Chhattisgarh over Easter.

"They can stop me from going to church but they cannot take Jesus from my heart. I will find ways and secretly come to church," one Christian who was forcefully reconverted told a local pastor at the time.

7 Ways Satan Tries to Destroy a Church

"Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8, MEV).

I'm not a pastor who is constantly looking for Satan behind everything which goes wrong. I concentrate my attention on Jesus and encouraging others to follow Jesus—and not to focus on the defeated one.

We are to keep "our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith."

Yet, I'm fully aware Satan loves to destroy—or attempt to destroy—a church. Obviously, Satan is a limited being—and God's church is secure. The gates of hell shall never overcome what God started. But, Satan certainly loves to disrupt the work of God's church—and the work of those who love the church.

Here are seven ways Satan tries to destroy a church:

1. Church conflict. Satan loves business meetings that get out of hand or when two church members have disagreements inside or outside of church. He loves when church members argue about trivial things, such as colors of the carpet or big things, such as whether to add another service. Worship style or pastoral authority doesn't matter to the evil one. Show him a potential argument and he's willing to stir the fire—and these days he may use social media to do it. 

2. Staff or volunteer burnout. Satan loves to burn out a church volunteer, staff member, or pastor. If he can make them feel they are no longer needed, their work is not appreciated, or they no longer have anything to offer—he feels he's winning part of the battle. He loves to spread the lies of discouragement and unworthiness.

3. Rumor spreading. Satan is the stirrer of dissension. He likes to plant little seeds of a juicy story, about someone in the church or community—sometimes even the pastor or staff—and watch them quickly spread. The version, of course, usually grows to a larger portion than reality. Satan likes this too. If you're tempted to repeat something you know you shouldn't, the enemy will make sure you find an opportunity.

4. Busyness. Satan loves to distract churchgoers with a plethora of activity, which produce little results in kingdom-building, but make people feel they've done something. He loves programs, activities, full calendars—if they keep people busy in the church, so they never have time to share the gospel outside the church. And, he has been known to guilt people into staying busy, so they never rest and eventually burnout—then fallout altogether. 

5. Lies. Satan attempts to interject what is often called a "half-truth"—just a hint of false doctrine—and then watch it disrupt or divide a body. Of course, we all know half-truth is really just a cleaned up version of a bold-faced lie, but Satan is clever enough to disguise a lie in a way where false teachers gain entry and do damage before being discovered. The enemy also loves to condemn you, convince you you'll never measure up, and remind you all the things you did wrong. He is not afraid to lie about God's grace, His unconditional love, or the Spirit's work in your heart.

6. Scandal. Satan loves when the church makes the news—especially if there's a good, juicy, gossipy headline in the local paper. If it will split, divide or destroy a church body—even better. If it will destroy someone's kingdom calling or work—he'll take it too. He's striving for Christian leaders—he wants to destroy their reputation—the more people thought it was foolproof the better.

7. Marriage and family disruptions. Satan loves to destroy any relationship, but he also goes after key leader's marriages—even the pastor's marriage. He likes to encourage prodigal children—to never return home. He wants to cause families to fight within the church and fight with the church. Satan knows if he can destroy a home, he has a better chance of destroying a church.

Thankfully, there is good news:

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4, MEV).

Let's be aware—and stand strong, church. 

What other ways have you seen Satan try to destroy a church?

Ron Edmondson is the senior pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. For the original article, visit ronedmondson.com.

A Deadly Deception Emerging in the Prophetic Movement

The church needs prophets who can rightly discern the moving of the Lord—and the moving of the enemy. We need prophets who will stand in the gap and make up the hedge so the enemy cannot infiltrate.

Anyone with a sensitive spirit can pick up on the rising level of spiritual warfare in this hour. Just look at the attacks on major cities in our nation. Just look at the persecution of Christians. Just look at the number of church leaders who have fallen. Just look at how many churches are closing. Just look. Clearly, darkness is raging against the church.

Spiritual warfare is real, despite some who insist we don't have to fight because the devil is already defeated. Spiritual warfare is biblical, despite those who argue we should ignore the operations of the devil. Spiritual warfare is necessary because principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness (Eph. 6:12) and other forces are raging against all those who call Christ Lord.

Why Are Prophets Arguing About Warfare?

As I share in my book, The Making of a Prophet, one of my apostolic mentors offered me six words of advice: Warfare goes along with prophetic ministry.

I understand why some denominations don't believe in spiritual warfare, even though I don't agree. But prophets who insist we should not put any focus on spirits like Jezebel, Python, Absalom or other demonic culprits that work to wreck lives, ministries, cities and nations puzzle me. After all, spiritual warfare is part of the prophet's mantle.

Look at Elijah in the showdown at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-39). He engaged in natural warfare to slay 850 false prophets who were propagating Jezebel's false religion. This is a mirror of the spiritual warfare we fight against wicked spirits today. Elijah also battled the spirit of death in his ministry—as did Jesus Himself—raising someone from the dead. Elisha battled the spirit of infirmity. I could go on and on. You can't separate a prophet from spiritual warfare realities.

Moreover, I believe it's dangerous for prophetic ministries to trumpet a message insisting that we should not sound the alarm about the enemy's plots and plans. Paul clearly warned us not to be ignorant of the devil's devices (2 Cor. 2:11). James instructs us to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). We can't resist a devil we don't discern—or one we ignore. Prophets are watchmen charged with sounding the alarm.

Peter warned us to, "Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him firmly in the faith" (1 Pet. 5:8-9). The Amplified translation of verse 9 says to "withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]." You can't withstand something you aren't willing to look at.

Is Hypergrace Infiltrating the Prophetic?

Claiming we only had to repent in the moment of salvation and never again is one of the prime markers of the hypergrace movement. Clearly, we need to ask for forgiveness of our daily sins to avoid hindering our fellowship with the Father. But could this doctrine of man that argues we should focus on Jesus and ignore the devil find its roots in hypergrace? I have to wonder.

Bishop J.C. Ryle, the first Anglican bishop in Liverpool, England, was faced with the hypergrace message in the 1800s. He wrote, "We must fight. There are no promises in the Lord Jesus Christ's Epistles to the Seven Churches, except to those who 'overcome.' Where there is grace there will be conflict. The believer is a soldier. There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight. It is a fight of absolute necessity. Let us not think in this war we can remain neutral and sit still ... We have no choice or option. We must either fight or be lost. It is a fight of universal necessity. ... The foe we have to do with keeps no holidays, never slumbers, and never sleeps. So long as we have breath in our bodies we must keep on our armour, and remember the enemy's ground. 'Even on the brink of Jordan," said a dying saint, 'I find Satan nibbling at my heels.' We must fight till we die."

Whatever the root of this anti-spiritual warfare sentiment in the prophetic movement, it's dangerous and those who adhere to it may wind up needless casualties of war in much the same way as are those who take on principalities and powers without the Lord's leading.

I'll end with this, a comment I posted to my Facebook page when I learned of the growing emphasis among some prophetic ministries to criticize those who sound the alarm about wicked spirits arising in various seasons:

"It so grieves me to see prophetic ministries gain popularity by attacking leaders who believe in the reality of spiritual warfare. By the mercies of God, I beseech you to stop letting the devil use you to tear down those presenting balanced truth clearly presented in the Word of God.

Yemen Now Facing ‘Worst Cholera Outbreak In The World

Seized by violence and teetering on the edge of famine, Yemen is grappling with another danger that threatens to outpace them both: cholera.

"We are now facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world," international health authorities said in a statement Saturday.

Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, and Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, say that "more than 1,300 people have died — one quarter of them children — and the death toll is expected to rise."

They suspect that is because Yemen now has upwards of 200,000 cases to grapple with, and that number is growing quickly — by a rate of roughly 5,000 cases a day.

"And geographically, it is expanding," Mohamed El Montassir Hussein, Yemen director for the International Rescue Committee, told NPR's Jason Beaubien earlier this month. "It's not a small area. It's almost the whole country."

Hussein added:

"There is nowhere in the country you can say, 'This place is better than another'," says Hussein. "Every family is suffering from something whether it's cholera or lack of food, having child soldiers in the family or having someone go join the rebels or the military. There's been a whole collapse of the social life."

After more than two years of civil war, Yemen's health care system is at risk of "complete collapse," a UNICEF spokesman told Jason.

The country has been roiled by violence since Houthi rebels seized power and ousted the president, who fled to neighboring Saudi Arabia. Since then, a Saudi-led coalition supported by the U.S. has waged a protracted campaign against the rebels — and some worry that support makes the U.S. complicit in Yemen's deepening humanitarian crisis.

"There's a U.S. imprint on every civilian death inside Yemen that's caused by the Saudi bombing campaign," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told NPR's Michele Kelemen last month after the U.S. signed a new arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

"The Saudis simply could not operate this bombing campaign without us," he continued. "Their planes can't fly without U.S. refueling capacity. They are dropping munitions that we've sold them. We are standing side by side with them often when they are reviewing intelligence about targets."

Saudi Arabia's new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman — who, as NPR's Deborah Amos reports, is said to have been "the prime mover in the kingdom's decision to go to war in Yemen" — recently authorized a $66 million donation to support UNICEF and WHO's anti-cholera efforts there.

"We look forward to discussing this contribution with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre," UNICEF responded in a statement Friday. "Such generosity will make a great difference to thousands of children at risk of contracting this rapidly spreading disease."

Lake and Chan made clear in Saturday's statement just how rapid it's spreading — and, in turn, just how rapid the response needs to be.

"We are working around the clock to detect and track the spread of disease and to reach people with clean water, adequate sanitation and medical treatment. Rapid response teams are going house-to-house to reach families with information about how to protect themselves by cleaning and storing drinking water," they said.

"We call on authorities in Yemen to strengthen their internal efforts to stop the outbreak from spreading further."

RESCUED FROM RUBBISH Premature baby is thrown in the BIN by his parents...

A MAN searching through a bin was stunned to discover a premature baby boy that had been abandoned because his parents feared he would have poor health throughout his life.

The unidentified man was looking for valuables in the bin in the Chinese city of Chongqing and found the tot dumped among the rubbish.

He took the baby to a nearby hospital and doctors there were able to track down the parents.

Horrifyingly, the mum and dad admitted the dumped the blameless boy because they were worried he would be sickly throughout his life after weighing only 3 pounds after being born at around 30 weeks, reports qq.com.

The couple told a reporter from Sohu: “We were afraid he [the baby] wouldn’t live long because he was born prematurely.

“We didn’t think carefully before throwing him in the rubbish bin.”

The  parents told the police they regretted their horrendous choice and promised to care for the baby.

Residents in Japan told to seek shelter or lie on ground in terrifying TV broadcast

RESIDENTS in Japan have been told to seek shelter or lie on the ground in the event of North Korea missile strike in a terrifying new nationwide television broadcast.

The half a minute announcement also states people should stay away from windows and protect their heads if they are inside a building should a missile be fired in the direction of Japan from North Korea.

The broadcast also confirmed, in the event of a missile attack, the Japanese government will inform members of the public though speakers across the country, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

Between now and July, 43 television stations across Japan will broadcast the announcement while 70 Japanese newspapers will publish written instructions.

The announcement following an increase in tensions after North Korea conducted another missile test.

Kim Jong-un was pictured grinning following the test while another photo showed a huge crowd of soldiers cheering next to the surface-to-air missile launcher.

The missiles are the fourth new system the hermit state has tested this year.

Japan is the only country to have suffered nuclear war after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the last days of World War 2.

This killed 250,000 with many more dying of cancer because of radiation.

apanese residents appear to be growing more worried about the increasing risk of a missile attack and in April it was reported that sales of nuclear bomb shelters had surged in Japan.

A small Japanese company that specialises in building nuclear shelters has revealed its orders have gone through the roof as terrified civilians prepare for the worst.

Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, based in Kobe, western Japan, has received eight orders in April alone –compared with six orders during the whole of a typical year.

The business has also sold out its stock of 50 Swiss-made air purifiers, which are said to keep out radiation and poisonous gas, and is trying to get more, according to company director Nobuko Oribe.

A downloadable doomsday pamphlet is now available on the island nation’s civil defence website advising what to do should nuclear war break out.

Called “Protecting Ourselves against Armed Attacks and Terrorism,” it outlines emergency measures in the event North Korean missiles are fired at the country.

Hillsong United promote New Age Jesus of ‘The Shack’.

The difference between Christianity and Hillsong is that Christianity believes in the Word of God alone.

Hillsong does not.

n fact, since Hillsong’s inception, they have continually demonstrated that they are willing to defend anything else but the bible. If any Christian upholds the teachings of Jesus (which is what being a disciple of Jesus does), Hillsong members treat the more discerning Christian with hostility, accusing them of being haters or being too judgmental.

We see this whenever Hillsong go out of their way to promote movies that do not reflect the Christian faith. We saw this with Hillsong endorsing the incredibly pagan film ‘Noah,’ attacking any Christian who had a problem with this as being “religious.” They did something similar when Brian Houston and Hillsong endorsed the New Age film ‘Heaven is For Real’. As critics rightly pointed out with that particular film, people were being led by the irrational theology of a child. Hillsong followers demonstrated they cared more about the child’s ‘theology’ and his questionable heavenly experiences rather than the word of God.

Hillsong are known to ‘bend the knee’ to pop culture, coming into conflict with those who dare hold to the word of God as their final authority. When pastors rightly defend their flocks against being influenced by false teaching, Hillsong continually undermine their work.

Once again, Hillsong has attempted to undermine the faith of millions of Christians through their world-wide popular worship team Hillsong UNITED. This is because Hillsong UNITED endorsed ‘The Shack’, a movie that attacks and undermines the foundation of the Christian faith.

Joel Houston is featured in the video below. He is the Hillsong UNITED worship leader and writes a lot of Hillsong worship songs and is a major influence on many churches with his worship music.

n the video below, he claims Young’s popular work of fiction is “perfect for right now, is because people are searching for something real. And something true.” He boldly tells his audience, to go  see The Shack because “it helps people see why they’re here, what they’re made for and has the potential to change your life.”

That’s what the New Age movement teaches. It teaches people self-actualization and enlightenment, confusing its millions of followers with subjective truth claims. This is not what the bible teaches. Furthermore, God did not send Jesus to potentially “change your life” – He came to die for the sins of the world so we can have everlasting life with God in heaven.

… The reason I believe the people need to see this film, why ‘The Shack’ is perfect for right now, is because people are searching for something real. And something true. And something that is, uh, more substantial, more valuable, um, than all the noise there is, um. There is something beautiful that this film does and it’s been a pretty amazing experience, just to be able to participate in it. Just want to encourage you, um, you need to see ‘The Shack’ and I don’t say that lightly.

There’s a million films that you can go see. But if there’s one film you see this year, it needs to be ‘The Shack’ because not only is it a beautiful story, I believe that it helps people see why they’re here, what they’re made for and has the potential to change your life. I believe it will. Get out and see it.”

‘Jaw-dropping’: Rare total solar eclipse will ‘bring people to tears’

The US is set to experience its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in almost a century on August 21 – giving millions of Americans the chance to observe the rare celestial event.

NASA revealed details and viewing advice for the upcoming eclipse, which will see the moon pass between the sun and Earth, casting a dark shadow and making visible the solar corona – the sun’s normally obscured atmosphere, as well as bright stars and planets.

A total of 14 states from Oregon in the west to South Carolina in the east will experience more than two minutes of darkness in the middle of the day over a span of almost two hours.

This will be the first total eclipse in the US since 1979 and the first coast-to-coast eclipse since 1918.

The US will be the only country to experience the total eclipse. International visitors, however, are expected to descend on the country for the rare chance to see the sun disappear behind the moon, transforming daylight into twilight.

“It brings people to tears,” Rick Fienberg, a spokesperson for the American Astronomical Society (AAS), told Space.com. “It makes people’s jaw drop.”

t least three NASA aircraft, 11 other spacecraft, and more than 50 high-altitude balloons, as well as the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, will capture images.

“Never before will a celestial event be viewed by so many and explored from so many vantage points – from space, from the air, and from the ground,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington said.

NASA is warning potential viewers to put safety first and use specialized solar viewing glasses to observe the non-eclipsed or partially-eclipsed sun.

The space agency says it’s safe to look at the total eclipse with the naked eye only during the brief period of totality, which will last about two minutes, depending on location.

NASA will broadcast live video of the celestial event, along with coverage of activities held across the country in its honor.

Biggest tragedy in years’: At least 57 killed, 59 injured in Portugal forest fires

A major forest fire sweeping through central Portugal has led to at least 57 fatalities, with 59 more people injured, Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes said, adding that many were burnt to death in their cars while making a desperate attempt to flee.

Secretary of State of Internal Administration Jorge Gomes had previously put the death toll at at least 43 people.

Jorge Gomes said that about 600 firefighters have been trying to put out the fires since Saturday.

He reported that at least 18 people were “burned to death in their cars,” while several others died from smoke inhalation.

Six firefighters have been injured, Gomes added.

Eighteen of the 59 injured are being treated in hospitals in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto, Gomes said, as cited by local media. 

This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,” said Valdemar Alves, mayor of Pedrogao Grande. “I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.”

The country’s prime minister has called it “the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years.”

The source of the fire, which broke out at around 2pm local time on Saturday, is so far unknown, but will be determined “in due course,” PM Costa added.

Since noon on Saturday when the fire started in a mountainous area of the central Leiria district, measuring some 128 square kilometers, it has spilled over to another three municipalities: Castanheira de Per in Leiria, Figueiro dos Vinhos, and Gois.

The blaze has been exacerbated by extremely high temperatures, which have gone as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

“The fire continues with four active fronts, very violent, very strong, and reinforcements are continuing to arrive,” Gomes said on Saturday, while enacting an emergency civil protection plan in Leiria. He said that a field hospital and an additional mortuary have been set up as part of the effort.

Costa said the government’s main priority for now is “to save people who could still be in danger” and contain the fire.

President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker expressed condolences to the victims’ families on his Twitter. He also promised to provide help through an EU civil protection mechanism.

Billionaire PayPal Founder Admits to Drinking Children's Blood

The billionaire founder of PayPal Peter Thiel has admitted to drinking the blood of teenagers in a bid to extend his own lifespan.The 48-year-old has funded startups dedicated to extending the human lifespan and claims that people are conned by "the idea of the inevitability of the death".

During an interview with Inc.com’s Jeff Bercovici, Thiel admitted that he harvests young blood and infuses himself with it in a practice known as parabiosis which he claims is the closest modern science has come to creating an anti-aging panacea.According to reports, Thiel spends $40,000 per quarter to get an infusion of blood from a teenager during the process of "parabiosis", which means the biological joining of two individuals.The huge expense involved in anti-aging parabiosis could lead us to a dystopian future where the wealthy, who wish to live forever, will thrive on the blood of the poor, who will die at a normal age.

Breaking Down The News reports: Thiel — a hedge funder who acted as a delegate for Donald Trump and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention — is reportedly obsessed with defying death and extending the human lifespan.He has injected funds into startups that are experimenting with ways to forestall the body’s inevitable decline and death.

“I’m looking into parabiosis stuff,” Thiel told Bercovici, “where they [injected] the young blood into older mice and they found that had a massive rejuvenating effect. … I think there are a lot of these things that have been strangely underexplored.”Parabiosis experiments began in the 1950s with crude exercises in which rats were cut open and their circulatory systems restructured and manipulated.Recently, some companies have been advancing human trials with parabiosis. Bercovici wrote that U.S. studies in the field are currently lagging behind trials in China and Korea.

A California company called Ambrosia is conducting human trials in which healthy people aged 35 or older receive transfusions of blood plasma from people under 25. Participants pay $8,000 to take part and their health is closely monitored for the two years they receive the transfusions. Participants must live in or have the means to travel to Monterey, CA.Ambrosia’s founder Jesse Karmazin told Bercovici that participants experience a reversal of aging systems across every major organ system. Furthermore, the results appear to be long-lasting, he said, if not permanent.“The effects seem to be almost permanent,” Karmazin said. 

“It’s almost like there’s a resetting of gene expression.”Jason Camm — chief medical officer at Thiel Capital — reached out to Karmazin, saying that the company is interested in his studies. Camm is listed on his LinkedIn page as, “Personal Health Director to Peter Thiel … and a number of other prominent Silicon Valley business leaders and investors.”In an interview last year, Thiel told Bercovici that our culture is “a little too biassed against all these things” that purportedly prolong life. When the reporter asked Thiel if he was looking at parabiosis as a business opportunity or a personal medical decision, Thiel said the latter.

The practice, he said, isn’t necessarily patentable, which compromises its potential money-making value.However, he said, the FDA needn’t get involved or study the practice because “it’s just blood transfusions.”There are rumors that some wealthy individuals in Silicon Valley are doing courses of parabiosis, but Thiel said last year that he hadn’t “quite, quite, quite started yet.” A spokesman for Thiel Capital said that nothing has changed since then.